Introduction
The Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Open Beta dropped last weekend, and I had the chance to dive in. First impressions? This might be one of the worst betas I've played recently for a Call of Duty game. The game is plagued with server latency issues, poor hit registration, and skill-based matchmaking that cranks up the difficulty to 100%, making the lobbies feel extremely sweaty. Despite all that, today we're going to focus on something else: the performance of the game. I'll be sharing my experience testing it on my system—Ryzen 7 5800X with an RTX 3070 TI—on popular resolutions with different settings. If your system is similar, this analysis will help you understand how the game performs.
1080p Resolution: Extreme Settings Without Upscaling
Let’s start with 1080p resolution on the Extreme preset, with everything maxed out and no upscaling techniques like DLSS or FSR. I was getting around 75 to 90 FPS, which is decent in my opinion. The GPU load was almost at 100%, but the GPU power usage remained low because I’m using an undervolted profile for my 3070 TI. This allowed me to achieve similar performance to the stock 3070 TI while consuming significantly less power and running cooler. If you have an Nvidia 30-series card, undervolting is definitely worth trying out.
DLSS On: A Boost in Frame Rate
Next, I turned on DLSS and set it to "Quality" at the same 1080p resolution with the Extreme preset. With DLSS, my FPS easily went up to 95-120 FPS, which is a solid improvement. Even with the game running at maximum settings, DLSS made a noticeable difference, maintaining image quality while boosting performance. If you’re a competitive player, you likely won’t stick with the Extreme preset, but you can always lower the settings and get even higher frame rates.
Frame Generation: Pros and Cons
The game also supports frame generation, which has become common in modern titles. Unfortunately, RTX 30-series graphics cards don't support Nvidia's frame generation, so I had to rely on AMD’s FSR 3 Frame Gen. On the Extreme preset with 1080p resolution and FSR 3 set to Quality, with frame generation enabled, my frame rate almost doubled, going from 90 FPS to over 150-180 FPS.
However, this came at a cost: the gameplay felt choppy despite the higher frame rate, and there was a noticeable increase in latency. For a fast-paced game like Call of Duty, this latency is a significant disadvantage, making frame generation unsuitable for multiplayer. It's fine for single-player games, but in multiplayer, I wouldn't recommend enabling it.
1440p Resolution: A Demanding Test for the 3070 TI
1440p is arguably one of the most popular resolutions nowadays, so I tested the game at 2560x1440 on the Extreme preset without upscaling. On my 3070 TI, the performance was a bit lacking, with frame rates around 45 to 60 FPS. For fast-paced games like Call of Duty, this is far from acceptable, so I turned on DLSS set to "Quality."
With DLSS enabled, my frame rate jumped to 65-80 FPS, which is much better, but still not ideal for competitive play. The game looks fantastic on the highest preset, so this is great for single-player portions of the game. However, for multiplayer, I generally recommend optimizing the settings to boost performance.
Optimized Settings for Competitive Play
If you're aiming for the best performance in multiplayer, you need to optimize your settings. Here's a breakdown of my most optimized configuration:
- Turn down unnecessary settings to maximize frame rate.
- Use DLSS or FSR for better performance when needed.
- FidelityFX CAS (at 75) adds a nice sharpness to the game while maintaining a balance between visual quality and frame rate.
With these settings on 1440p, I was able to get a stable 100-120 FPS, with good image quality and minimal latency. If you need even more FPS, you can lower the resolution to 1080p or enable DLSS at 1440p for a more consistent 120-150 FPS.
Conclusion
Overall, the performance of Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Open Beta was decent, despite some significant issues with servers, latency, and hit registration. It's clear that the game still needs optimization before launch. The gameplay felt more demanding than Modern Warfare 2 or 3, and with its current state, I’m not too keen on buying it at launch. That said, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Black Ops 6 Open Beta if you’ve had a chance to play it.
Final Thoughts
If you found this performance analysis helpful, feel free to let me know, and stay tuned for more gaming content!