Completing the quintet, Kojima Productions ensures a feature-rich PC version of Metal Gear Solid 5 launches on cue - taking pride of place next to well-optimised PlayStation 4 and Xbox One editions. The Fox Engine is let loose here, with PC opening the gates to a very high preset in the graphics menu, while adding 'support' for 4K gameplay. But what tangible benefit do these enhancements bring over console, and what hardware do you need to get the best out of them?

Of course, the game is already optimised well for 60fps on current-gen specs - both PS4 and Xbox One comfortably handing in a gorgeous open-world setting with only a few rough edges. Texture filtering quality falls short, and shadows can appear coarse, but it's a superb showing for Fox Engine in every other sense. Consoles hit a sweet spot in performance and visuals in this regard, and on PC, this close optimisation effort means we can strike a satisfying level of performance even on budget setups.

Much of this hangs on The Phantom Pain's default graphics setting. Running at 1920x1080 with this mode selected, visuals are near identical to playing the game on PS4, and most enthusiast-level GPUs get solid frame-rates straight out of the box. This mode consists of high settings for textures, lighting, ambient occlusion and post-processing - while texture filtering and shadows are left at just medium (perhaps telling of PS4 and Xbox One's shortfalls here). All this combines to give a great-looking game, though there a couple of further tweaks needed to perfectly match the console look.

Therein lie some surprises. Model detail on PS4 and Xbox One runs at a lower quality than PC's low setting. Contrary to its labeling, this affects the draw distance for geometry and foliage across open areas - and surprisingly, the current-gen standard can't be matched on any of the PC's four preset levels here. Up close, all details draw in at the same level of density, but on console they simply fade in at a closer range. On the plus side, current-gen platforms have volumetric clouds effect enabled (which isn't enabled on default mode) - meaning clouds move dynamically across the sky on each, casting shadows across the ground below. For Xbox One, this marks an upgrade over its Ground Zeroes incarnation, where this effect was absent.

Meanwhile, comparing PS4 and Xbox One to the PC's maximum settings reveals several interesting visual boosts. In summary, we get high quality anisotropic filtering across the ground, clearing up textures at oblique angles where the consoles' mapping is left blurred. Shadow lines are also smoothed over at PC's very high setting, cutting out all aliasing on long shadows across our test area in Mother Base - while screen space ambient occlusion (SSAO) draws in at a greater range on PC. At very high, ambient occlusion uses the exact same dithered method as PS4 and Xbox One's high setting - the only difference being its rendering distance.

Console-equivalent settings and why they are important PS4 and Xbox One fall very close to the PC's default settings, placing individual presets at either high or medium quality, making this setup perfect for more budget-orientated gaming rigs. The only change from the default mode is in two areas. Model detail on console is slightly worse than the PC's low setting, causing more pop-in across foliage and rocks. However, both PS4 and Xbox One appear to get volumetric clouds this time, allowing for rolling cloud shadows around the Kabul wasteland. Resolution: 1920x1080 (or 1600x900 for Xbox One)

1920x1080 (or 1600x900 for Xbox One) Vertical Sync: On

On Frame-Rate: Auto (60)

Auto (60) Motion Blur: High

High Depth of Field: Enabled

Enabled Model Detail: Low

Low Textures: High

High Texture Filtering: Medium

Medium Shadows: Medium

Medium Lighting: High

High Post-Processing: High

High Effects: High

High Ambient Occlusion: High

High Volumetric Clouds: On So why is it important for us to get a lock on these settings? In matching the PC version's presets to PS4 and Xbox One, we can transfer across the developer's chosen balance in terms of image quality and performance on an entry-level gaming platform. It's an excellent place to start for budget PCs, and a great base on which to scale for those with more capable rigs.

This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings An analysis of the PC edition of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, with commentary. Compared with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, there are quite a few improvements - but how attainable are they?

As with Ground Zeroes, PC at max settings gives us a more refined, bokeh depth of field in cut-scenes - as altered through its post-processing setting, where console rests at the high preset. Lighting also benefits from PC's top-grade treatment with the introduction of screen-space reflections, a subtle effect that has Big Boss cast reflections on wet surfaces. It's hard to catch in daylight, but the spotlights around Mother Base at night bring it out well, with high contrast points mirrored on nearby walls - while consoles go without.

These are all great extras that build on the console versions' solid core, though PS4 and Xbox One still do themselves proud in comparison. But what kind of PC does it take to actually hit this high bar of quality? Fortunately, The Phantom Pain is relatively light on CPU use, and even our Haswell Core i3 processor doesn't get close to hitting full capacity in its most intensive scenes. Memory wise, as always we recommend 8GB of RAM in your PC, while your graphics card should have a minimum of 2GB of GDDR5 for 1080p gameplay. In terms of scaling through Metal Gear Solid 5's higher-end quality presets, virtually all of the focus is on the GPU side, and in testing a gamut of cards, this puts into focus how scalable the Fox Engine is.

To work from the ground upwards, Nvidia's GTX 750 Ti is still a front-runner for the budget-orientated PC gamer, with prices recently cut to £90. However, at default settings, it's clear that stock clocks don't quite cut it, with the card hitting 32fps on alpha-heavy explosions in battle, and 50fps for regular shoot-outs. The fix is simple however: raising the memory clock by 400MHz (in our case via MSI's Afterburner utility) we clear the bottleneck entirely, and can hit a perfect 60fps - without even touching the core clock. There's headroom to switch volumetric clouds and superior texture filtering on too, and the default preset also qualifies it for broader draw distances than on console. So with minimal tweaking, our budget gaming PC is actually capable of handing in a more refined version of the game at 1080p, inching ahead of the PlayStation 4 version.

But what does it take to hit maximum settings at 1080p? Inevitably the 750 Ti doesn't make the grade here, forcing us to bump the budget to around £120-140. Based on our testing in this category, AMD's R7 370 and Nvidia's GTX 950 (25-45 per cent more powerful than the 750 Ti depending on the model) each still struggle to tackle the game at very high. Even by raising the memory clock on the Nvidia card by 400MHz, plus 160MHz on its core clock, the 60fps target is still out of reach. In fact, an overclocked GTX 950 gets us to around 50fps when approaching busy enemy encampments, and only by dropping ambient occlusion and post effects by a notch do we reach a consistent 60Hz refresh.

The PC version of The Phantom Pain adds a few neat touches. Its very high setting for lighting includes screen space reflections - as with Ground Zeroes - allowing a light bounce effect on certain surfaces. Here we see Snake casting an extra reflection spot on the right wall of Mother Base, while PS4 and Xbox One go without. Note: PS4 features a different tone here due to a slight shift in the time of day. In terms of draw distances for foliage and geometry, PC really pushes the boat out. PS4 and Xbox One run at below PC's low model detail setting - whereas its very high setting fills the valley below with grass tufts. Post-processing also sharpens the look of this scene on PC, where console runs a notch lower at 'high'. Texture filtering is set to PC's medium setting here (as used in the default preset). PS4 and Xbox One both show heavy blurring across the path ahead, but this is sharpened up massively at PC's top setting. Ambient occlusion accuracy is identical between PC, PS4 and Xbox One. However, the AO draw distance is superior on PC at maximum, and here we see the very high preset rendering shade beneath the stairway at range - while consoles (equivalent to high) leave it bare until you walk close. Character model detail is identical between all platforms. However, Xbox One sticks out for its lack of subsurface scattering, as used by default on PC.

Of course, both the R7 370 and GTX 950 handle default settings easily, but in the pursuit of maxed-out settings at 1080p, we have to go one better. Sadly, the slightly pricier GTX 960 shows similar drops to 55fps when maxed, meaning our only option is to jump all the way to the GTX 970. This raises the budget significantly to £220-250, but ultimately, 1080p at maximum settings is very doable on this card's stock clocks, with no compromises needed. However, it must be said that for the sake of keeping ambient occlusion and post effects at top quality, the budget gap between the GTX 960 and 970 is huge, and the visual gains are relatively small.

But what of The Phantom Pain's support for resolutions such as 1440p? The GTX 970 is an easy lock for 1440p at default settings, but it shows its limits when maxed out on this resolution - a likewise scenario for the AMD equivalent, the R9 390. For reaching the target 60fps, a costly GTX 980 Ti is required, and even then dropping post-processing to 'high' is needed to smooth off the edges around a 60fps target. The hit to visuals isn't too great, and those with 2560x1440 displays have plenty of flexibility in the options to adjust.

As far as 4K (or 3840x2160) gaming is concerned, the GTX 980 Ti is once again the best bet. Running everything at maximum settings puts the performance of general open-world gameplay at around 40-45fps, which makes the game's 30fps cap a temptation. However, by dropping effects, post-processing and ambient occlusion options down a notch to the high preset, you regain a smooth 60fps at 4K without any issue. It's a seamless ultra HD experience during missions this way, and only brief drops in the prologue's alpha-heavy cut-scenes interrupt it.

Shadow quality is also refined on PC's top preset - running at a higher resolution than either current-gen console (both of which are equivalent to medium quality). Per-object motion blur is matched between PC's best setting and PS4. Sadly, Xbox One shows aliased edges on the object in motion - a glitch in the way its contours blend with its surroundings. PC and PS4 are equals in full-screen motion blur quality. Meanwhile Xbox One shows slightly more banding, though the end result is very similar between all three in play. Alpha effects quality is largely unchanged between the main PC presets, and we see PS4 and Xbox One matching PC's best setting while up close. Though texture filtering is hugely improved, the actual resolution of textures across the world is largely unchanged between all three platforms. Even at PC's default, the difference from maximum settings is rarely in evidence.