Kunos has shifted from Unreal Engine to its in-house graphics engine for AC EVO and there were some question marks over this, however, the game showcases stunning visuals and impressive physics that silence the doubters. The usual caveats of early access still exist though with bugs, crashes and sub-par optimisation that need addressing.
As well as running through the system requirements for the game, we tested the game with various settings and resolutions to explore its capabilities. Here are the PC specs used for performance testing:
- Motherboard: ASUS PRIME H510M-K
- CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz
- GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
- RAM: Crucial DDR4 DIMM 16GB
- Power: Aerocool VX-550 PLUS 550W ATX
- AC EVO was running on SSD
System Requirements
The minimum and recommended specs are modest. The minimum CPU is an Intel i7 8700K or AMD 1500X, while the recommended setup suggests an Intel i5 10500 or AMD 2600X, which are slightly more modern and efficient. Both setups require 16GB of RAM.
For graphics, the minimum GPU is a GTX 1070 or RX 580, whereas the recommended GPU upgrades to an RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5600 for better performance. A 100 GB SSD is necessary in both cases.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10/11 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel i7 8700 k / AMD 1500X | Intel i5 10500 / AMD 2600X |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | GTX 1070 / RX 580 | RTX 2070 / Radeon RX 5600 |
| Storage | 100 GB SSD | 100 GB SSD |
| VR | Steam VR, Oculus VR, OpenXR | Steam VR, Oculus VR, OpenXR |
Graphics Presets
We started with the 911 GT3 Cup at Brands Hatch, running at 1080p solo practice session in clear sunny weather. We used default graphics presets with no upscaling.
Here were the average FPS during a lap:
- Very low: 120 FPS
- Low: 110 FPS
- Medium: 90 FPS
- High: 80 FPS
- Ultra: 65 FPS
Other tracks produce similar FPS numbers, so the RTX 3060 can handle a single screen with a basic 1080p resolution.
Weather and AI
This test was run on a Medium graphics preset with no upscaling. The car and circuit are identical (911 GT3 Cup at Brands Hatch).
- 30 AI cars: 60-65 FPS (30-35% worse than during solo session)
- Heavy rain: 80-85 FPS (5-10% worse)
- Night with headlights on: 85-90 FPS (almost no difference)
- AI + Heavy rain + Night: 40-50 FPS (45-55% worse)
During testing, significant FPS drops were observed at race starts, primarily due to the full grid of AI cars. Once the cars spread out on the track, performance stabilised but remained 30-35% worse than during solo practice sessions.
Resolution Scaling
We tested multiple resolutions to assess how AC EVO scales across setups with Medium graphics preset with no upscaling:
- 1080p (Single Screen): 90 FPS with GPU utilisation at 95%.
- 4K (Single Screen): Performance dropped significantly, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck.
- Triple Screens (1440p): Massive FPS hit because rendering unique views for each screen is extremely taxing.
GPUs with less than 12GB of VRAM will struggle at higher resolutions. To handle AC EVO at 4K or triple screen, Nvidia RTX 40 Series or similar GPU is likely needed as it holds more RAM, but you’ll also need to make sure your motherboard can cope as well.
Final Thoughts
Visually, AC EVO looks good even without maxed graphics. The tracks and curbing have been refreshed and updated, the visuals feel modern and polished. However, visual elements like tyre smoke and dust being kicked up on gravel are missing, and rain effects look worse than in iRacing.
However, further optimisation is needed. FPS on ultra settings is low even on PCs above recommended settings. Performance dips further with more cars on track, night racing and rain enabled. For triple screens or 4K top-end hardware is required unless you want to compromise on graphics quality.
