Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes – PC Performance Analysis

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes has just been released on the PC, and it’s time now to see how this first game from Kojima Productions performs on our platform. Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is powered by FOX Engine and after what happened with the game’s PC specs, a lot of PC gamers wondered whether this would be a shoddy port or not. Well, we are happy to report that the PC version of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is one of the best optimized PC versions of 2014.

As always, we used an Intel i7 4930K with 8GB RAM, NVIDIA’s GTX690, Windows 8.1 64-bit and the latest WHQL version of the GeForce drivers. Thankfully, NVIDIA has already included an SLI profile that offers amazing SLI scaling. And while we did not use the latest beta driver, we do have to say that we did not notice any flicker textures or negative SLI scaling at specific scenes. Everything was working rock solid, something that definitely wow-ed us.

In order to find out whether the game scales well on a variety of CPUs, we simulated a dual-core, a tri-core and a quad-core system. At 1080p and with Extra High settings, our dual-core system was able to push 44fps, while our tri-core almost achieved a constant 60fps experience (there were some drops to 55fps). Naturally, our simulated quad-core and our hexa-core systems did not have any trouble at all with this title.

MGS Ground Zeroes CPU Graph

Moreover, we have to note that Hyper Threading did not make any difference at all on both our simulated dual-core and our simulated tri-core systems. On the other hand, what really surprised us was the multi-core CPU scaling of the FOX Engine. As we can clearly see, the engine scales even on twelve threads, making this one of the few titles that is able to properly taking advantage of CPUs with more than 8 cores.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes also surprised us with its GPU requirements. First and foremost, 4GB of VRAM are enough for gaming at 1080p. Furthermore, our GTX690 was not stressed at all while running this game at max details. What’s really shocking here is the fact that Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is a great looking game. Kojima Productions excelled themselves by putting FOX engine into good use, and the results are astonishing. Okay okay, there is no tessellation and some light sources don’t cast shadows, but there is absolutely no doubt that MGS: Ground Zeroes is one of the best looking games out there.

One of the reasons why we are so excited about the game’s performance on the PC is because this is the first game that Kojima Productions brings to the PC. And contrary to other developers – like for example Ubisoft – Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is as polished as it can be.

MgsGroundZeroes_2014_12_19_04_31_53_991MgsGroundZeroes_2014_12_19_02_44_56_446

There are proper on screen keyboard+mouse indicators that change on the fly when you start using a controller, there are lots of graphics options to tweak (though we’d love more advanced options so we could tweak effects that were included in the same settings separately, like Depth of Field and Screen-Space Reflections), you can enable the Japanese voices via Steam’s properties, the game scales wonderfully on multi-core CPUs and multi-GPUs, there are no mouse acceleration side effects, and there are some specific graphical features that were added exclusively to the PC version (without at the same time tanking the game’s performance).

All in all, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is one of the most optimized games of 2014. Kojima Productions’ first PC game is phenomenal as it looks and performs exceptionally well. Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes scales incredibly well on multi-core CPUs and multiple GPUs, and proves that a well polished game can be impressive visually without pushing every damn high-end GPU to its limits.

Enjoy!
Snake? SNAKE. SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!
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112 thoughts on “Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes – PC Performance Analysis”

  1. Indeed this game runs amazing. Glad I got it Day 1 on Steam. Looking forward to the Phantom Pain on PC now 🙂

    Edit Positive (659) Negative (24) on steam speaks for it’self
    edit 2 Even at 2715X1527 DSR the game runs at 42/55fps on Ultra on my I7 4770K/970 system without having to OC.

    1. When I first played it I was a bit perplexed by the low frame rate(between 38-45fps with everything on Extra High). Turning some options down doesn’t improve it while the CPU was running over 90 degrees celcius. That was just in the first 10 minutes of the game. I gave it a rest.

      When I got back to it again it ran as smooth as butter! The only option I lowered is the lighting at High while the rest are still at Extra. Even the CPU is at it’s normal 80 degrees at full load.

      Of course, I played this on my old 1680X1050 monitor so I’m not sure how it’ll perform on a 1080p screen. My gaming laptop has a 1080p screen but it’s powered by a GTX660M so it only achieved around 38-45fps with everything on High. Turning off AO and lowering the lighting made it run around 48fps. I don’t know what happened on my first attempt to play the game(I wonder if got to do with Firefox that I left open) but the second smoother experience was a good sign that this is a well optimized game.

      1. I only gave those specs just to show how well optimized the game is. I played with all the dsr options. 4K runs at 25fps. Which is not bad at all.

    2. I think a consistent framerate is the most important thing, I’d play at 1080p to achieve smooth 60 fps or lock the framerate to 30 if you’re playing at 1440p.

      Variable framerate can really distracting at times (second only to vsync off), so I tweak settings on my 970 to achieve best results (so I usually end up playing with no DSR, but everything maxed at 1080p)

    1. Ubisoft have DEAL and secreet contract agreements with NVidia.

      They deliberately has created unoptimized Unity as benchmark because they are EXOLOITING weak customer minds, sheeps willl buy GTX 980 SLI who cares more money to our pockets

      1. The first two Solid games are already on PC. Just saying. MGS2: Substance had top notch visuals back then, and it’s still looks relatively good.

        1. mgs2 on pc is dated , lacks widescreen and hd support , also textures are better in new release as well.. but more important are mgs3 and PW , because they are prequels to GZ

        2. How long ago? And they require patching etc. They should take the time like they did with this recent release and port them into Win7-8 again while fixing them. Otherwise even mentioning them is pointless. Just saying.

  2. yeah right analog stick on my 360 controller is not working right ether. but hey!!!! at least we have the performance!!! 🙂

    1. Does not really matter. Fox Engine pretty much has just proven it’s meant to be played on PC. Phantom Pain will offer same if not better performance.

    2. Not if you play all the missions and get the achievements (they’re actually really enjoyable to get in my opinion). Plus if you start f’ing around with the guards and get creative you can get a LOT of time out of it. I’ve spent longer playing this on PS4 than any other game. Apart from Mario Kart 8.

  3. If they want to delay MGS V: The Phantom Pain on PC, the least they could do is they should release MGS 1-4 Remastered collection for us to play while we wait.

    Similarly Rockstar should have given us Red Dead Redemption while we waited 1.5 years for GTA V to come to PC.

    1. Without OCing my CPU or GPU I just tested DSR at 4K everything set at highest Settings and I am getting a Avg of 25fps! Amazing! Would post pics but the file size is to much memory for disq to load.

      1. eh, bad optimization confirmed :)))
        it’s amazing, 13$ worth every penny.

        3360×2100 (DSR)
        cutscenes min 35fps max 45fps
        gameplay min 30 max 33

        models = extra high
        textures = extra high
        lighting = extra high
        everything else on high

        2520×1574 (DSR)
        cutscenes min 60fps max 60fps
        gameplay min 48fps max 60fps

        same settings as above.

        1680×1050 (Native) & 1840×1150 (DSR)
        cutscenes min60fps max60fps
        gameplay min 52fps max 60fps

        all settings on extra high. (lowering shadows from extra high to high = constant 60fps in gameplay)

        PS: you know on what system, 660ti and 3570k

  4. So we don’t take non(intel+nvidia) systems into account anymore? Judjing by benchmarks, where 290x is owned by 770 in 1440p and 290 is essentially equal to 280x, all i can say that Gameworks, once again, proved itself to run extremely inefficient on non-nvidia hardware.
    I still grabbed this game while it’s cheap, but i will not touch it until performance is not only playable at 1080p, but optimal for downsampling. http://gamegpu.ru/images/remote/http–www.gamegpu.ru-images-stories-Test_GPU-Action-Metal_Gear_Solid_V_Ground_Zeroes_-test-mgs_2560.jpg

  5. What a stupid ****ing title. Ground Zeroes?

    Is it some kind of a play on words for 911? If so, bad taste. Is it some binary code thing?

    Can’t they get a translator to help with their titles? No wonder I was never interested in playing anything from this console born, weak a*s franchise. Oooh… he’s got an eye-patch. So rough and edgy. What does X button do again?

    1. “Ground Zero” existed before 911 ever happened. Again, self obsession and sanctimoniousness making people look like pricks.

      1. I see it like this, if I can contribute and they see that people want what they have denied us for so long, and they take the time to make it proper, take my money and keep bringing me games I missed out for never wanting to own a console. It’s a new dawn for PC gaming, again.

  6. Good to see that this prologue game has great performance. Hopefully MGS V: The Phantom Pain will not have the same 60fps frame rate cap and extra GameWorks features like Fur, TXAA & HBAO+ would be nice as well.

  7. I don’t really like the graphics of it, but some people say that Screen Filtering on Extra High makes it look like crap.I wanna give it a try on low or off, but i believe it will look much better with a good SweetFX preset.

  8. Game is fun and runs superb on 680GTX OC, constant 60fps, but I wish they could do something with character skin in final game, it looks like there’s no sub-surface scattering shader. Also post AA is very blurry in this game, they should make separate option to turn that ugly thing off.

    1. You make some valid points. But I am so impressed with how well the game runs I kinda let those slide a bit eh eh.

    2. i guess it needs tessellation more than anything else but if it going to be the same and performs the same i’m more than happy

  9. Runs perfectly on my 2500k 3,3ghz GIGABYTE GTX 970 G1 GAMING 4K DSR evrything maxed! Game look amazing and even at this high resolution it never drops under 30 fps so the game is perfectly palyble. For 60 fps i need to run it at 1620p but 4k and more than 30 fps is better than 1620p with 60 fps so i play it on 4k

    1. Hmm, I have an MSI GTX 970 and am having a few issues with 60 fps. On the first mission it has issues with the rain. Maybe it’s all the light sources slowing it down? When I disable vsync and re-enable it it runs perfectly though, not sure why.

  10. look at some of you guys… You were bi**hing so much that you’re not gonna buy this because it’s a demo… “lol the consolefags are paying for demos, pc doesn’t need this”

    and now….

    dear god! Still absolutely beautiful on the pc this game is, performs even better! Reminds me of max payne 3

    1. But if we don’t buy it, PC won’t buy Japanese games or MGS waste of time , they’re all pirates. It’s all about the price in the end like I’d said, I wouldnt’ pay £20 for it and Steam has it for £11.38 which is cheaper than the console version anyway.

    2. of course it’s still a demo, but 13$ and it has both consoles exclusive DLCs and first metal gear solid title after at least a decade on PC and great optimization, better deal than those consolefa*s is a better deal.

      1. :)) patient dude, you don’t need it, i don’t have it and i’m able to play games really good and i’m alive too 😀 nvidia is become some evil company, it’s like if you don’t get an nvidia card then you are screwed in most games. AMD will fix it in their new driver or you still can play it on 1080p at 60fps on high, still better than consoles. 280x is pretty powerful and you just bought it, don’t spend this much money for nothing.

          1. I agree with Amir. Don’t you think it would be best if you wait like a year or 2 rather before upgrading. Then at least, you’ll get double or maybe triple the performance.

      2. You could keep your 660GTX a little bit longer. But yes, 970GTX is great card for price, it even beats 780ti in most cases, and has 4GB Vram and MFAA, not to mention Nv drivers will not stress your CPU that much compared to AMD

      3. I have a 970 and my performance is jumping between 45 and 60. In the daytime levels it sticks around 55-60 though only going to 45-ish for one second when I sprinted into an open area suddenly. It seems that on the first rainy, night level the performance takes a hit.

        It’s all on extra high of course.

        Another thing which I found weird. When I switched off vsync the game run at a rock solid 60fps even on the rainy level but when I re-enabled it it stuck at that frame rate!

        I have a MSI 970 Gaming edition, 8gb ram and i5. Turning things down to high fixes nothing for me by the way so I hope things can be fixed with a driver. I’m (kind of) happy to see it isn’t just me with issues on extra high, it means there’ll probably be a driver.

        Afterburner reported the GPU was running at 60-70% by the way on extra high.

          1. No, I don’t download beta drivers, why will that improve performance or did you think that might be causing the problem?

          2. :O Awesome! How do I get beta drivers? Visit the site or can I access them through GeForce Experience? Thanks btw.

          3. i guess you can download it from geforce.com if not go to guru3d.com you will find it there, or go a page or two back in this site and you will find it

  11. 60FPS on high with only slight drops for me which no doubt will be patched out by AMD once they get a proper update going. Though it has a bug where the Steam UI won’t pop up.

  12. ground zeroes might be refer to the fallen of motherbase
    and everyone know this is strong and one of the best franchise ever made in industry

    rough end edgy due to your lack of skill of playing games…only people do not play much game and do not know much a things make kiddies comment like this(while shamelessly pretend to be clever)

    console born or not,the game content,gameplay and quality are made by developers,not generate by itself according to hardware and platform capabilities

    atleast this game way better than cod franchise..usually people who dont know how to play this game are the one saying the game suck,because they themself are suck players

  13. if this was testing ground for upcoming pc version phantom pain,then kojima already pass the bars
    well done kojima production…surely lot of pc user gonna relieved with this

  14. I am getting the feeling that this isn’t a straight port but they developed PC version along with console versions separately. Remember early demos on Windows 7 PC?

    1. I was actually under the impression that it was releasing on PC from the start due to that demo. Then they said it wasn’t and then that it was. I stupidly bought a new PC because of that demo so you can imagine my disappointment when they said PS3/4/460/1 and my insane happy rage when PC was officially announced.

      But yeah I think you’re right, have you seen Unity the SDK? I think they’ve made Fox engine to be like that, so it can compile for every system individually, that way they aren’t copy pasting and hacking it into submission.

  15. I actually think it is worth £20, only if you are really going to explore every nook and cranny. ^_^

    Otherwise, if you know that you are only going to play like the main mission, then yeah… probably not worth it depending on your speed of play!

    1. I think people will buy it sending a messing saying to Kojima that we’re ready for the other games. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.

  16. Its naturally great that it runs great on PC but 20 bucks for a game that only lasts 2-3 hours is way too much. I wish them better luck with The Phantom Pain.

    1. Ugh, it doesn’t last for 2-3 hours. That’s one mission. All the other missions extend the time by quite a bit. I’ve spent around 30 hours playing it all together getting all the trophies.

  17. This is one of the most optimized games I’ve ever played. I can get 60 fps with DSR at 4K if I turn SSAO, shadows and lighting from very high to high. I have a couple of complaints about the graphics like low res textures and crappy looking explosions, but overall the game looks very nice.

    1. You need to wake up already and stop being a sheeps and brainwashed PC patients.

      PC gaming is a fraud and manipulation many years. Massive performance diffference in latest games and engines on my same GPU. Forcing people to upgrade never ending GREED. Business.

      Far Cry 4 and DA inquisition in purposely blocking of dual core CPU-s and hackers had unlocked it via extreme dual core injector and voila it worls flawlesssly.

      COD Ghost 6 GB RAM fraud and forcing to upgrade after that hackers has found a way to trick game via Ram Fix and voila works on 4GB ram and only using 2GB ram at MAX 1080p settings. Same manipulations in GPU industry forcing people to upgrade by releasing poor drivers and fovorise latest ones, also massive DOF inplementation and many more. Thats why smart people and experts like my will buy 160 eur gpu at max.,,,

      1. Thats optimization manipulations and huge mafia huge fraud greed to sell hardware. Watch my gameplay Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes almost everything MAX OUT 1920X1080p on 5 years old PC with single Ge Force GTS 450 GPU,45 FPS most of the time. Wake up dont be brainwashed pc patients and cows for milking everything is in software and programming manipulations NVIDIA shady business

        If you want to see my amazing gameplay just open your browser and copy this word—> Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes GTS 450 1080p

        adn you will see video on Dailymotion DZONI90 channel amazing videos still very good worthless GPU wake up people

      2. Well I did not upgrade my rig to play this game, nor any other game. For me it is more like, “If the game can run on my rig, great! If not, I’m not buying. Why spend $60 on a game and another $100 plus on computer parts”. Praising a game because it is optimized isn’t being a sheep it is showing what consumers want. Some people don’t even have MINIMUM system requirements and they can still run this game at a playable framerate. I did not Assassins Creed 4, Assassin’s Creed Unity, or Far Cry 4 because those games only work on high gaming rigs. I have a mid range gaming rig.
        I do agree on the system requirements for some games being pretty ridiculous lately. Most applications don’t even use more that 2GB of RAM. The only reason I’d like to upgrade my computer is to have faster rendering when editing video, which these applications scale well with upgrades unlike games.

        1. Most games with ridiculous requoirements are sponsored by NVIDIA and their Gameworks crap crippleware to sell high end hardware right now to convinse us to buy GTX 970 and 980-s

          shame on you criminals start optimizing properly!!!!

          1. Well let’s be fair, the 970 is a great card regardless and more efficient than the previous ones and it’s cheaper.

  18. if finished it i found all xof patches and unlock 2 secret mission a cant belive my weak leptop core i5 and GT540M game was on high setings an didnt seen single lag FOX angine i think will be best engine and it have it is bes optimized engine in pc yeas yeas yoy read corectly i was playn on leptop GT540 m 2GB can wait for phantom pain i love kojima and i love japan

    1. Thats optimization manipulations and huge mafia huge fraud greed to sell hardware. Watch my gameplay Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes almost everything MAX OUT 1920X1080p on 5 years old PC with single Ge Force GTS 450 GPU,45 FPS most of the time. Wake up dont be brainwashed pc patients and cows for milking everything is in software and programming manipulations NVIDIA shady business

      If you want to see my amazing gameplay just open your browser and copy this word—> Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes GTS 450 1080p

      adn you will see video on Dailymotion DZONI90 channel amazing videos still very good worthless GPU wake up people dont be sheeps they are milking you like cows live from patients who got sick in brain and fall on marketing.

      1. Oh no it’s that “OptimizastionKing” douche that got kicked off Youtube for Slandering Nvidia. Ban this guy now ADMIN please I beg you.

        He offered to sell his”computer” with GTS 450 to any Game journalist that would listen to him for $10,000 plus. I laughed so hard. If he was the real deal he would have offered his rig up for free.

        You are delusional. Get help. Your other name isn’t Derp is it?

          1. I do. I followed you and your story. Your story is always the same.

            It goes like this. You have a GTS 450 card. You claim you have found how to modify it to run games that normally would take a much stronger GPU. You even had a fake letter from Nvidia CEO wanting your card so they could examine “it” I am 100 percent sure you are who i say you are. I followed you for laughs on you tube. I was one of the people who contacted a friend of mine who is an NVidia Employee. You were kicked off you tube for slandering Nvidia. I also saw you post that exact user nameDZONI90 on your you tube account “optimizationking90” as you said some BS about not liking Youtube. I followed you there. Also, your voice in those videos made me laugh so hard.

            https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHWA_enUS616US616&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=optimizationking90&newwindow=1&safe=off&filter=0

            there are trails out there. People remember things. You are who I say you are. Tell you what. Lets have the Admin look at your IP if it is Russian or in that area I will know 100 percent it is you. In any event stop spewing lies and hate. Nobody will buy your BS here. We are educated men. You clearly are not.

          2. I know who you are. I followed you from youtube to your current channel. You voice was hilarious on the youtube channels.
            You keep pushing the same story. Nvidia is evil and you have some how got an 450gts card to play like a titan would. You also claimed to have a letter from Nvidia Ceo asking for you to show them how you did it etc….lol. it was so funny. So, no I am not a moron. Detective maybe? Moron…certainly not….but you might want to take a look in the mirror.

            Maybe get a new angle or I will find you every time.

    2. You need to wake up already and stop being a sheeps and brainwashed PC patients.

      PC gaming is a fraud and manipulation many years. Massive performance diffference in latest games and engines on my same GPU. Forcing people to upgrade never ending GREED. Business.

      Far Cry 4 and DA inquisition in purposely blocking of dual core CPU-s and hackers had unlocked it via extreme dual core injector and voila it worls flawlesssly.

      COD Ghost 6 GB RAM fraud and forcing to upgrade after that hackers has found a way to trick game via Ram Fix and voila works on 4GB ram and only using 2GB ram at MAX 1080p settings. Same manipulations in GPU industry forcing people to upgrade by releasing poor drivers and fovorise latest ones, also massive DOF inplementation and many more. Thats why smart people and experts like my will buy 160 eur gpu at max. Dont buy unoptimized garbage games dont buy expensive hardware Ngreedia count on that

  19. You need to wake up already and stop being a sheeps and brainwashed PC patients.

    PC gaming is a fraud and manipulation many years. Massive performance diffference in latest games and engines on my same GPU. Forcing people to upgrade never ending GREED. Business.

    Far Cry 4 and DA inquisition in purposely blocking of dual core CPU-s and hackers had unlocked it via extreme dual core injector and voila it worls flawlesssly.

    COD Ghost 6 GB RAM fraud and forcing to upgrade after that hackers has found a way to trick game via Ram Fix and voila works on 4GB ram and only using 2GB ram at MAX 1080p settings. Same manipulations in GPU industry forcing people to upgrade by releasing poor drivers and fovorise latest ones, also massive DOF inplementation and many more. Thats why smart people and experts like my will buy 160 eur gpu at max.

    1. Not sure why you’re making such assumptions about me, I don’t even have high end hardware, just mid-range. I get better performance from Mantle as well.

  20. Thats optimization manipulations and huge mafia huge fraud greed to sell hardware. Watch my gameplay Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes almost everything MAX OUT 1920X1080p on 5 years old PC with single Ge Force GTS 450 GPU,45 FPS most of the time. Wake up dont be brainwashed pc patients and cows for milking everything is in software and programming manipulations NVIDIA shady business

    If you want to see my amazing gameplay just open your browser and copy this word—> Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeroes GTS 450 1080p

    adn you will see video on Dailymotion DZONI90 channel amazing videos still very good worthless GPU wake up people dont be sheeps they are milking you like cows live from patients who got sick in brain and fall on marketing

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2cwexr_metal-gear-solid-v-ground-zeroes-gts-450-1080p_videogames

  21. Only issue is the lack of proper AA like Multi-Sampling or an in-game Super Sampling option.
    Game only has post AA, either SMAA or FXAA, on a native 1440p monitor it’s still quite visible and distant objects look really ugly and jagged.
    Whatever post AA they have also seems to be slightly blurry, so i guess it’s FXAA…
    I wouldn’t really care if Nvidia DSR worked on my setup but it doesn’t since i have a SLI+G-Sync rig, they still haven’t made DSR compatible with it.
    My monitor also can’t do regular downsampling, i’m guessing it’s either due to DP1.2 or the G-Sync module in it.

  22. Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you do a proper PC port with a next-gen engine.
    Definitely the best PC Port of the year.

    1. Mouse doesn’t work in the menus, joypad right stick doesn’t work, post processing options are all combined, locked to 60fps, no it’s hardly great but not bad.

  23. hi i wonder, why when im trying to play this game, it can open but after a few minutes of playing, it will be lagging and then my computer will shut down automatically???can anyone gve me solution to this problem i have, mine is i5, nvidia geforce 710m, and 12 gb of ram…tq, ill appreciate ur help

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