Monster Hunter: World PC load times blow PS4 version away

Over half a year after launching on PS4 and Xbox One, Monster Hunter: World is coming to PC. It’s been a long wait, but early reports indicate that the PC version of Monster Hunter: World is well worth the extra time in development. Gaming rigs tend to be considerably more powerful than home consoles, and a recent comparison of Monster Hunter: World PC and PS4 load times point to much snappier experience.

YouTuber FluffyQuack uploaded a video comparing Monster Hunter: World‘s PC and PS4 versions yesterday. While there are a few graphical differences, the real star of the video is the PC’s performance during loading screens. On consoles, it’s not uncommon to spend around forty-five to sixty seconds waiting for the game to load. On PC, however, it’s a much briefer affair.

To test the difference between versions, FluffyQuack timed Monster Hunter: World‘s loads on a base model PS4, PC with an SSD, and finally a standard HDD at 5400 RPM. The disparity between PC and PS4 performance is astounding.

Monster Hunter: World PC load times are blazing fast

On the PC with an SSD, it takes 6 seconds to go from World’s title screen to central hub. The HDD version is double that, clocking in at 12.5 seconds. The jump from SSD to HDD is notable, but it’s nothing compared to the PS4 version, which takes a full minute to load.

From the central hub to Ancient Forest location, the PC/SSD combo clocked in at 7 seconds. Again, the PC/HDD test took twice as long at 15.5 seconds. And in keeping with the minute-long loads, it took the PS4 61 seconds to load from one area to the next.

The final test measure load times from the Ancient Forest to the hub. The PS4 fared much better here, with a 35-second load. But compared to the PC versions — which both took 2 seconds — it’s clear that gaming PCs have a significant edge.

Monster Hunter: World PC specs:

Of course, it’s impossible to take advantage of fast load times if your system can’t run Monster Hunter: World. Capcom’s minimum and recommended computer specs are as follows:

Minimum Specs

• OS – Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (64-bit required)
• Processor – Intel Core i5-4460, 3.20GHz or AMD FX-6300
• Memory – 8 GB RAM
• Graphics – Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R7 260x (2 GB VRAM and above)
• DirectX – Version 11
• Storage – 20 GB available space
• Sound Card – DirectSound Compatible (DirectX 9.0C or higher)

Recommended Specs

• OS – Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (64-bit required)
• Processor – Intel Core i7-3770, 3.40GHz or Intel Core i3-8350 4GHz, AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
• Memory – 8 GB RAM
• Graphics – Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (3 GB VRAM or above) or AMD Radeon RX570X (4 GB VRAM)
• DirectX – Version 11
• Storage – 20 GB available space
• Sound Card – DirectSound Compatible (DirectX 9.0C or higher)

Monster Hunter: World lands on PC August 9.

[Via]