Advanced Warfare delivers more consistent 60FPS on Xbox One than PS4 - report

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a solid technical achievement on both of the new consoles. However, when it comes to frame-rate, the game does a better job on the less powerful console, surprisingly.

Advanced Warfare is the subject of the latest Digital Foundry analysis. The guys did an early analysis of both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 versions. They had a detailed look into the first three campaign levels on both consoles. The results were a bit surprising.

As you already know, the Xbox One version runs at 1360×1080. This resolution dynamically scales up to 1080p when the screen is not busy with effects and NPCs, and scales back down when things get frenetic.

"In the main, asset quality is identical between the two platforms. From the handling of shadow rendering to texture detail, there's little to distinguish the Xbox One release from the PS4. But based on the first three campaign levels we've analysed in-depth, the larger disparity is in performance rather than in-game visuals," the report reads.

"With patch version 1.04 installed, the PS4 version's constant 1080p output comes at a price. We catch dips between the 50-60fps lines during battles through Seoul's streets - with drops to the high 40s caught when throwing the 'threat' grenades to scan the area for enemies. Even in perfectly matched scenes, the Xbox One's performance tends to hold at a perfect 60fps by comparison.

"The only concession on Microsoft's platform, besides its variable resolution, is the use of adaptive v-sync. In practice, this causes frames to tear during spikes in concurrent alpha effects, or scenes involving multiple allies on-screen. While very rare, this helps the platform avoid any delay in getting the next frame on screen, in cases where the hardware's resources are unexpectedly pressed. By comparison, the PS4's approach is to engage v-sync permanently, waiting until the next frame is rendered in its entirety, causing a touch more stutter."

There is also a video below highlighting said frame-rate drops. Make sure you set it to 720p or higher if you're watching using Chrome, for the full 60fps playback.