S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was released to PC in November 2024 and is based on Unreal Engine 5. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl features UE5’s Lumen and Nanite. Lumen is used for direct and indirect global illumination, realistic reflections and a detailed environment. Nanite is used for complex geometry and detailed terrain with high-quality props. High-poly models are also used, along with physically based materials. There are post-processing effects, including volumetric smoke and fog. The game supports NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR 3, and Intel XeSS as well as TAA. We will be using the game’s built-in graphics preset options and adjust Upscaling where needed. We perform a manual run-through in the open world of the Lesser Zone, in an outdoor environment in the daytime in a GPU-oriented run-through.
Native Resolution
The first graph below is at the “Epic” quality preset, the second graph is at the “Medium” quality preset at 1080p.
In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, we have started with the “Epic” preset at 1080p to see if the GeForce RTX 5050 is capable of being playable at all in this game. Apparently, the GeForce RTX 5050 is not playable at “Epic”, producing an average of 50.9FPS with the 1% Lows at 38FPS, so the game is laggy and not smooth. The GeForce RTX 5050 is just under the GeForce RTX 4060 on performance, and 60% faster than the GeForce RTX 3050 and 93% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7600.
Moving down to the “Medium” quality is what is required to make the game feel smooth enough to enjoy at 69FPS average and 54FPS 1% Lows at Native Resolution. This puts the GeForce RTX 5050 on par with the GeForce RTX 4060, and 60% faster than the GeForce RTX 3050 and 13% faster than the Radeon RX 7600.
DLSS Upscaling
When we enable DLSS Upscaling at the Quality Mode at 1080p, the GeForce RTX 5050 is now playable at the “High” graphics preset in the game instead of Medium. You can see that it is averaging 76FPS with 1% Lows right under 60FPS. Performance is similar to the GeForce RTX 4060, and 64% faster than the GeForce RTX 3050 and 7% faster than the Radeon RX 7600.
Moving the game down to “Medium” is what is required to get the 1% Lows above 60FPS consistently on the GeForce RTX 5050 with DLSS Upscaling. Performance is on par with the GeForce RTX 4060, and 64% faster than the GeForce RTX 3050 and 6% faster than the Radeon RX 7600, though the Radeon RX 7600 has higher 1% Lows.
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Discussion (4 replies)
Join Discussion →Buy a used 4060.
Introduction Is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 a game-changer at $249 MSRP? Let’s find out. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 was launched late July of 2025, as the entry-level GPU for the GeForce RTX 50 Series family of graphics cards. Like all cards in the lineup for the RTX 50 Series, the GeForce RTX 5050 […]
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Seems like a particularly hard sell when the 50-series' biggest party trick is at its least useful when the base framerate is a little tenuous.
The 130w/8GB combo is also kind of harsh. That's high enough draw that going for the modern card on an efficiency basis (while it will help a bit) won't be as dramatic an effect as you might like; and if you hit a VRAM wall anywhere it will be in the same place you would on a 3050; and one of the 12GB 3060s will still be chugging along for 40 watts more.
OEMs love these low end SKUs.
"DAPUNISHER, post: 98739, member: 10800" wrote:OEMs love these low end SKUs.
- Yeah, this is basically a repurposed laptop chip that would otherwise be used to bump a $499 office laptop into the $799 "entry gaming laptop" market.
These cards absolutely have their place however, good way to stand up a hella basic gaming PC that will be thesus' shipped into something respectable over time.
If you know what you're doing though, used 3080's and 6800XT's are starting to hit the $299 and lower price point (while 3070 and 6700XT are at $250 and below) and you'd get a helluva lot more bang from your buck there.
Discussion (4 replies)
Join Discussion →Buy a used 4060.
Seems like a particularly hard sell when the 50-series' biggest party trick is at its least useful when the base framerate is a little tenuous.
The 130w/8GB combo is also kind of harsh. That's high enough draw that going for the modern card on an efficiency basis (while it will help a bit) won't be as dramatic an effect as you might like; and if you hit a VRAM wall anywhere it will be in the same place you would on a 3050; and one of the 12GB 3060s will still be chugging along for 40 watts more.
OEMs love these low end SKUs.
- Yeah, this is basically a repurposed laptop chip that would otherwise be used to bump a $499 office laptop into the $799 "entry gaming laptop" market.
These cards absolutely have their place however, good way to stand up a hella basic gaming PC that will be thesus' shipped into something respectable over time.
If you know what you're doing though, used 3080's and 6800XT's are starting to hit the $299 and lower price point (while 3070 and 6700XT are at $250 and below) and you'd get a helluva lot more bang from your buck there.