Our 8K check system
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i RGB ELITE Liquid CPU Cooler
Case followers: Noctua NF-A14 PWM Chromax 140mm
Processor: Intel Core i9-12900K, 16 Cores / 24 Threads
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti
Storage: 500GB Samsung 970 EVO Plus M.2 PCIe
Secondary Storage: 2TB Samsung 860 QVO
Energy: Corsair HX1500i 80 PLUS Platinum 1500W PSU
Case: Fractal Design Vector RS Tempered Glass
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB DDR5 5200MHz
Display: LG 55NANO966PA
Spider-Man Remastered has swung onto PC after a number of years as a PlayStation unique, and it is top-of-the-line PC ports we have performed.
Not solely does Spider-Man Remastered work nice on the Steam Deck handheld console, however it comes with an enormous quantity of graphical settings and options, resembling ray tracing, DLSS upscaling, uncapped body charges and ultrawide monitor assist.
That is one other PlayStation PC port from Sony that places different ports, resembling Elden Ring, to disgrace.
So, naturally, I used to be excited to see how Spider-Man Remastered runs at 8K on our beastly check PC, particularly as I had lastly received my arms on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card, at the moment probably the most highly effective gaming GPU on the planet.
Nevertheless, earlier than I used to be capable of play the sport, catastrophe struck: I broke the PC.
A particular form of damaged
I have been tinkering with PCs for the reason that early Nineteen Nineties, and in that point, I’ve seemingly perfected the artwork of breaking PCs. Amongst family and friends (and now on the web), I am the primary individual individuals go to once they have an issue with their PC or laptop computer.
These newbie PC destroyers often have issues I can determine and repair fairly rapidly. At worst, they want a brand new arduous drive or a Home windows reinstall to make things better. Pathetic.
When I have an issue with my PC, I actually have an issue. And so, that got here to go as I changed the RTX 3090 with the RTX 3090 Ti. Every thing appeared high-quality… besides the PC would not boot, USB ports weren’t working, and the RAM’s RGB lights did not fireplace up.
After making certain every part was correctly seated I attempted once more – nonetheless no luck. Nevertheless, a white mild on the motherboard subsequent to the letters VGA gave me a clue – it was to do with the video card. Is sensible, I assumed, as I’d simply put in a brand new one. So I took it out, put it again in, and… had the identical concern.
So, I put the older GPU again in, apprehensive that it could be the RTX 3090 Ti’s fault. Nevertheless it wasn’t. The PC nonetheless would not boot, and the sunshine subsequent to VGA stayed on. Taking out the GPU and utilizing it in one other slot did not assist, and worryingly, having no GPU in there in any respect and utilizing the onboard graphics additionally did not assist.
I used to be caught. I attempted swapping out the RAM (fortunately I’ve loads mendacity about, being an enormous ol’ PC geek), which was difficult because of the big CPU cooler within the case. I additionally tried to reflash the BIOS, the final refuge of a scoundrel, however no luck. The PC was lifeless, Jim.
Scouring the web, it appeared like different individuals had comparable points with the identical motherboard I used to be utilizing, however any fixes they provided did not assist.
It regarded like I must do some main surgical procedure on the PC.
Time for a mind transplant
It regarded like the difficulty was both to do with the motherboard or the CPU (seeing as utilizing built-in graphics of the processor did not make things better). This meant I would have to exchange these. Whereas I may have accomplished some extra troubleshooting to find out which one was inflicting the difficulty, time was of the essence, as I actually needed to check out Spider-Man Remastered at 8K as near its launch as potential.
Whereas having to exchange the motherboard and CPU was definitely irritating – and is without doubt one of the extra time-consuming upgrades you may make – I made a decision to place a optimistic spin on it. I used it as an opportunity to make some massive upgrades to the 8K rig and future-proof it for upcoming video games.
So, I swapped out the 8-core Intel Core i9-9900K for a 16-core Intel Core i9-12900K chip to make the PC extra trendy.
A brand new CPU means a brand new motherboard, which is simply as nicely, because the mobo was one of many elements I suspected of being defective. So, out went the Asus ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING, and instead (actually) went the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi.
One of many most important promoting factors of this motherboard is that it comes with a big choice of M.2 SSD ports, so it was simple to maneuver all the present storage from the outdated motherboard into the brand new one. I additionally added one other 1TB WD_Black SN770 SSD for good measure.
I wasn’t accomplished upgrading, nonetheless. The Twelfth-gen Intel processor helps the brand new, sooner DDR5 RAM. So I took the chance to modify to 32GB of Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 5200MHz RAM, changing the 32GB of G.Ability Trident Z RGB DDR4 3200MHz reminiscence.
Oh, I additionally wanted a brand new CPU cooler, and whereas the big air cooler I did have was impressively quiet, it was so massive that it made tinkering tough. So, I used the Corsair iCUE H150i RGB ELITE Liquid CPU Cooler as an alternative.
As with many all-in-one liquid coolers, the cooling plate that rests on the CPU is related by way of tubes to followers and a radiator in one other a part of the chassis (I put in it on the entrance because of the case structure, with the followers pulling in cool air from outdoors). This provides you much more area on the motherboard itself.
Lastly, as this ended up being a serious improve operation, I took the chance to exchange the Corsair RM850x 80 PLUS Gold 850W PSU with the Corsair HX1500i 80 PLUS Platinum 1500W.
Whereas this made the improve extra advanced (regardless of each PSUs being modular and by Corsair, you must at all times change the cables when switching energy provide models), it is a forward-thinking improve. The RTX 3090 Ti is a demanding sufficient beast that the 850W PSU could have struggled however, if rumors in regards to the upcoming RTX 4090 are true, the following era of graphics playing cards might be extremely demanding in terms of energy, particularly on the high-end. So, whereas I used to be elbow-deep in elements and cables, I assumed it sensible to improve to a hefty 1500W mannequin.
As a result of I used to be preserving every part else, together with the case, the improve course of was faster than constructing a PC from scratch.
As soon as accomplished, I pressed the ability button with bated breath and… success! The PC booted.
Even higher, Home windows 11 booted right away, and after a bit of little bit of computerized configuring, I used to be again on my desktop, with every part the place I left it. I did not even have to reactivate Home windows 11. It was impressively clean, and I’ve to present Microsoft and Home windows 11 credit score right here. Beforehand, swapping out the CPU and motherboard may trigger all types of nonsense with the working system and would typically make the OS take into account the upgraded PC an entire new system, requiring you to buy one other activation key.
Not this time, although. So, with a sigh of aid, I fired up Spider-Man Remastered and received began.
Spectacular efficiency
Often, once I attempt 8K video games I set the graphics ranges to their highest setting, see how poorly the sport performs, then start tweaking settings, resembling decreasing graphics high quality or including upscaling tech like Nvidia DLSS to get a playable body charge.
That is what I got down to do with Spider-Man Remastered, with graphics set to ‘Very Excessive’ and ray tracing results enabled. Leaping into the sport and swinging round New York, I used to be blown away by how good it felt, regardless of the intensive settings and determination of seven,680 × 4,320.
At this degree, common body charges had been a formidable 32fps, simply above the 30fps minimal I take into account playable – and which the unique Spider-Man sport ran at on the PlayStation 4.
Whereas framerates did dip to a minimal of 26.4fps, it additionally hit highs of 39.3fps. For a sport as visually gorgeous as Spider-Man Remastered, with a big and busy open world, that is outstanding. It is a testomony to the ability of the Nvidia RTX 3090 Ti, in addition to the arduous work of developer Insomniac, plus Nixxes Software program, which dealt with the PC port.
And whereas the unique sport is 4 years outdated – and made for {hardware} that launched in 2013 (discovering out the PS4 is sort of a decade outdated has made me really feel outdated, thanks time!) – the remaster seems to be unbelievable. The elevated particulars and lifelike ray-traced reflections actually make the sport’s recreation of New York really feel alive.
Switching off ray tracing gave the sport a little bit of a bump to 36fps on common and a minimal of 30fps. This was shocking as ray tracing often makes a huge impact on body charges – typically as a lot as halving them when turned on.
The slight enhance in efficiency wasn’t price shedding the ray tracing results, so I turned them again on, however this time, I additionally turned on DLSS utilizing its ‘Balanced’ setting.
DLSS is a intelligent technique of utilizing AI and machine studying to upscale video games operating at a decrease decision in order that they seem to run at the next decision.
It could possibly assist you use intensive graphical settings whereas getting a efficiency enhance. When accomplished nicely, it means picture high quality is not a lot completely different from operating the sport on the larger decision.
Prior to now, this has made beforehand unplayable video games playable at 8K. The balanced setting, because the title suggests, affords a mixture of graphical constancy and efficiency, and I noticed an prompt enchancment. Common body charges had been now at 51.4fps and hitting a most of 60fps, which is the best body charge for 8K.
The sport felt smoother to play and nonetheless regarded excellent, with little noticeable graphical distinction whereas swinging by way of New York.
Switching to DLSS Efficiency mode, the place efficiency takes priority over picture high quality, there was one other respectable enhance to 57.5fps on common. Whereas some textures had been a bit softer, the sport nonetheless regarded nice, and people additional frames made it really feel chic. In any case, it is a sport that focuses on quick and fluid motion and motion.
Switching to DLSS Extremely Efficiency received the sport as much as 59.7fps, principally on the golden 60fps mark. Graphical constancy did take one other knock. This time there was a perceptible haze round Spider-Man when he moved, however nothing too distracting, and it was undeniably spectacular that I used to be enjoying the sport at basically 60fps.
After swinging round New York for a bit, I took on some muggers throughout a randomly generated crime, and body charges through the battle remained at a stable 59.9fps. As a result of the combating on this sport depends on fast combos and strict timing, a reliable body charge is crucial, and that is precisely what I received.
Is 8K gaming extra lifelike?
Once I began out with 8K gaming, again with an Nvidia RTX Titan, the thought of enjoying video games at 7,680 × 4,320 decision was, frankly, far-fetched. Not solely had been 8K shows arduous to come back by, however the efficiency influence of enjoying video games at 8K, even on what was then probably the most highly effective – and costly – graphics card on the planet, simply wasn’t price it.
Since then, we have seen extra 8K TVs come out, extra highly effective GPUs with the RTX 3090 and RTX 3090 Ti, and video games which might be higher optimized for ultra-high resolutions. Expertise like DLSS and FidelityFX Tremendous Decision – each of which Spider-Man Remastered helps – have made gaming at 8K much more achievable, so long as you’ve got the costly {hardware} that may deal with it.
The truth that Spider-Man Remastered runs at 30fps at 8K with graphics settings at their most degree and ray tracing on, is unimaginable. Whereas 4K stays the candy spot between seems to be and efficiency (the very same settings at 4K received us 70fps on common), it exhibits that gaming at 8K is now not a distant dream. Because of DLSS pushing the common body charge as much as 60fps, the longer term seems to be brilliant for 8K gaming.
I ought to as soon as once more give a shout-out to Sony, Insomniac, and Nixxes Software program (particularly the final one) for an excellent PC port that features a big vary of settings. Due to the superb efficiency straight out the field, I did not want to have a look at different upscaling choices, resembling AMD’s FidelityFX Tremendous Decision, or use the Dynamic Scaling possibility, which helps you to set a most well-liked body charge, and the sport will scale the decision accordingly to verify it hits that body charge.
Whereas I did not make use of it, this might be one other useful instrument for individuals with lower-powered {hardware} who need extra constant efficiency.
That is nice to see. Whereas 8K gaming is nice for testing the bounds of {hardware} and software program, utilizing the know-how to make trendy video games extra accessible to individuals who cannot afford highly effective {hardware} is the place this actually counts.
