Unreal Engine 5 has been a double-edged sword for the gaming industry. While its Lumen global illumination and Nanite virtualized geometry systems have set new standards for visual fidelity, they have also been synonymous with punishing hardware demands and persistent performance issues like stuttering. Epic Games has been steadily refining the engine, and the latest iteration, Unreal Engine 5.7, appears to be a significant leap forward in efficiency and stability, as demonstrated by new comparative benchmarks.
Benchmark Reveals Substantial Performance Uplift
A recent analysis by YouTuber MxBenchmarkPC provides concrete evidence of the improvements in Unreal Engine 5.7. Using the demanding "Photorealistic Venice" tech demo from Scans Factory, the tester ran identical scenes on both Unreal Engine 5.4 and the newer 5.7 version. The test system featured high-end components, including an RTX 5080 GPU and an Intel Core i7-14700F CPU. The results were compelling, showing that UE 5.7 consistently outperformed its predecessor, with an average lead of 15 frames per second at 1440p resolution. This performance boost is attributed to more efficient utilization of hardware resources.
Performance Comparison: Unreal Engine 5.7 vs. 5.4
- Test System: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, Intel Core i7-14700F CPU.
- Test Demo: "Photorealistic Venice" by Scans Factory.
- GPU Performance: Up to 25% improvement in UE 5.7.
- CPU Performance: Up to 35% improvement in UE 5.7 (measured at 720p).
- Frametime Stability: "More stable frametimes with less hitches" in UE 5.7.
- Memory Usage: UE 5.7 consumed ~1 GB more VRAM/system RAM at 1440p, but less RAM in CPU-limited 720p tests.
GPU and CPU Performance See Dramatic Gains
The breakdown of the performance improvements highlights gains across the board. On the GPU side, Unreal Engine 5.7 showed performance improvements of up to 25% depending on the scene. This increased efficiency comes with a higher GPU power draw, indicating that the engine is now better at leveraging the available hardware headroom, particularly on high-end cards like the RTX 5080. The more significant breakthrough, however, is on the CPU front. In CPU-limited scenarios tested at 720p, Unreal Engine 5.7 delivered a substantial performance boost of up to 35%. This enhanced CPU utilization directly translates to more stable frametimes and fewer hitches, addressing one of the most common complaints about UE5 games: a choppy and inconsistent gameplay experience.
Visual Fidelity and Image Quality Enhancements
Beyond raw performance, Unreal Engine 5.7 brings refinements to its visual systems. The benchmark analysis notes that Lumen lighting is now more stable and accurate, contributing to greater immersion. Reflections rendered by Lumen, particularly in water scenes, show marked improvement in quality while paradoxically running more efficiently. However, the engine's native denoising solution for ray-traced effects has seen only slight improvements. This means third-party technologies like NVIDIA's DLSS Ray Reconstruction are still considered superior for cleaning up noisy ray-traced imagery, suggesting an area for future optimization by Epic.
Image Quality Improvements in UE 5.7
- Lumen Lighting: More stable and accurate.
- Lumen Reflections: Higher quality with better performance.
- Denoising: Native Lumen denoising quality improved only slightly. NVIDIA DLSS Ray Reconstruction remains more effective.
A Step Toward Broader Accessibility
The performance enhancements in Unreal Engine 5.7 represent a crucial step in making the engine's advanced features more accessible. Titles built on earlier versions like UE 5.4 have gained notoriety for being exceptionally difficult to run, often requiring top-tier hardware for a smooth experience. By improving CPU efficiency and GPU utilization, Epic is directly tackling the stability and performance barriers that have frustrated PC gamers. While it will take time for new games to be developed using UE 5.7, these foundational improvements bode well for the future, raising hopes that the stunning visuals of Unreal Engine 5 might one day run smoothly on a wider range of mid-range hardware.