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ELEX Laptop and Desktop Benchmarks

Diamond in the rough. Although at first glance ELEX appears unpolished, beneath the tough exterior there is a suspenseful and multi-faceted role-playing game that skillfully weaves sci-fi and fantasy elements together. But how well does the mixed-genre game run on various laptop and desktop GPUs? Read on to find out.
ELEX

Graphics

For the original German review, see here.

The fact that ELEX is a game designed by the German developer Piranha Bytes is clear after just a few minutes. ELEX has inherited almost all the same strengths and weaknesses as prior Piranha Bytes productions – both the Gothic and the Risen series.

Let us start with our criticisms. The choppy controls are definitely one of the open-world RPG's greatest shortcomings. The battles are often chaotic, and the climbing passages feel unpolished. The character tends to get caught on small protrusions, forcing the player to use the jump key. On the whole, the animations are no longer in step with the times – to the point that the player often feels somewhat embarrassed on behalf of the developers.

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Along the same lines, the texture quality does not measure up to some other RPG games, such as The Witcher 3. The level of detail on ground and object surfaces is generally mediocre. In addition to all this, the game is plagued by a variety of clipping and gameplay bugs. In one case, ELEX completely ceased to show in-game text, though restarting the game rectified this problem. The sometimes-exaggerated depth-of-field also irritated us.

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Nevertheless, turning our attention to the title's positive characteristics: The game world is elaborately crafted – teeming with thick vegetation, diverse and realistic landscape architecture, and a wide range of vision that encompasses gorgeous panoramas. Many RPG competitors' worlds feel very generic by comparison. Alongside the great level design, the game also offers fluid changeovers from day to night and vice versa, a weather system, and lovely light-and-shadow play. The overall package is rounded off by the game's exceptionally original style that – as previously mentioned – brings sci-fi elements into a post-apocalyptic fantasy world.

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In the realm of graphics options, Piranha Bytes pulls out all the stops. The menu includes over 10 settings, most of which can be regulated across a gradation of levels. The settings range from anisotropic filtering to render distance. The fact that the image freezes for a few seconds after a change in shader quality is normal. In the realm of anti-aliasing, ELEX utilizes the post-process FXAA and SMAA techniques. As usual, these do a mediocre job (grasses still flicker, for example) and make the image faintly blurry.

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Because all settings changes are immediately adopted, the game does not need to be restarted – very commendable. Load times – at least on an SSD – are completely reasonable. The same goes for the game size, which comes to around 27 GB. Meanwhile, the lack of explanatory notes regarding the various settings proved quite frustrating. The dearth of presets was also somewhat irritating, given that all the options need to be hand-tuned.

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As the screenshots further down reveal, there are massive differences between the individual quality settings. While ELEX looks quite ugly at minimum settings (extremely muddy textures, hardly any shadows), starting at medium details the world begins to come into its own. At the high and maximum settings, the textures and shadows sharpen once again, but the intensified sharpness is not substantially more pleasing to the eye. The built-in fps limit means that the game maxes out at 122 fps – regardless of chosen settings. VSync was always deactivated in our tests, and the scaling option (also located in the video menu) was always set to 100%.

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Benchmark

Because most of ELEX takes place outdoors, we used an outside sequence for our benchmarks. After the player has explored a limited area on a plateau and left a satellite station via elevator, thereby completing the tutorial, ELEX throws the player out into the world. After just a few meters, we meet the first NPC. Starting at that point, we sprint with the main character along a fixed route for around 30 seconds – a path that Fraps records.

Thanks to the representativeness of the character, with the help of the benchmark we can get a good idea of the game's expected average performance. In order to play ELEX properly, you will need an average of at least 35-40 fps – though hardcore gamers will of course only be satisfied at a higher frame rate.

Results

As long as you do not try to run the game on a low-end chip or a GPU integrated into the processor (the Intel HD Graphics 630, for instance, is much too weak), ELEX's hardware demands are reasonable. 1280x720 pixels and minimum settings run very smoothly on a low mid-range graphics card. At these settings, we got over 50 fps out of the GeForce MX150.

Low / Off
Low / Off
Medium / Off, 4x AF
Medium / Off, 4x AF
High / On, FXAA, 8x AF
High / On, FXAA, 8x AF
Ultra / On, SMAA, 16x AF
Ultra / On, SMAA, 16x AF

For 1920x1080 pixels, an upper mid-range model is far better. While it is possible to play the game at normal details starting with a GeForce GTX 1050, a combination of Full HD resolution and high details requires a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. A genuine gaming laptop is only necessary for maximum settings. Depending on the resolution, we recommend either a GeForce GTX 1060 (1920x1080), a GeForce GTX 1070 (2560x1440), or a GeForce GTX 1080 (3840x2160). The processor did not limit the frame rate on any of the devices we used in our tests.

ELEX
    3840x2160 Ultra / On AA:SM AF:16x     2560x1440 Ultra / On AA:SM AF:16x     1920x1080 Ultra / On AA:SM AF:16x     1920x1080 High / On AA:FX AF:8x     1920x1080 Medium / Off AF:4x     1280x720 Low / Off
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop), 4790K
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Founders Edition
44.4 (42min) fps ∼71%
120 (110min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 6700K
Desktop PC
32.7 (30min) fps ∼52%
64.2 (60min) fps ∼55%
97 (89min) fps ∼79%
122 (117min) fps ∼86%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK
Alienware 17 R4
32.1 (30min) fps ∼52%
61.4 (57min) fps ∼53%
98.1 (90min) fps ∼80%
119 (102min) fps ∼84%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 6700K
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070
28 (25min) fps ∼45%
54.1 (50min) fps ∼47%
82.6 (76min) fps ∼67%
106 (100min) fps ∼75%
122 (119min) fps ∼98%
122 (121min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK
Asus G752VS
25.8 (24min) fps ∼41%
49.6 (45min) fps ∼43%
78.8 (73min) fps ∼64%
98.3 (90min) fps ∼69%
118 (111min) fps ∼95%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 6700K
Desktop PC
19.6 (18min) fps ∼31%
38.7 (35min) fps ∼33%
58.3 (54min) fps ∼47%
76.6 (71min) fps ∼54%
94.8 (88min) fps ∼76%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K
Desktop PC
18.5 (17min) fps ∼30%
35.8 (33min) fps ∼31%
55.5 (51min) fps ∼45%
72.6 (68min) fps ∼51%
88.2 (83min) fps ∼71%
122 (120min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK
MSI GT62VR
17.1 (15min) fps ∼27%
33.4 (30min) fps ∼29%
54.2 (49min) fps ∼44%
69.1 (64min) fps ∼49%
84.5 (78min) fps ∼68%
120 (117min) fps ∼97%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
MSI GE72 7RE-046
6.6 (5min) fps ∼11%
19.6 (17min) fps ∼17%
31 (25min) fps ∼25%
41.9 (38min) fps ∼30%
52.2 (48min) fps ∼42%
102 (92min) fps ∼82%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ
Asus GL753VD
8.7 (8min) fps ∼14%
16.7 (15min) fps ∼14%
25.3 (23min) fps ∼21%
34.2 (31min) fps ∼24%
41.9 (39min) fps ∼34%
83.1 (76min) fps ∼67%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M, 6700HQ
MSI GE72 965M Ti
6.6 (5min) fps ∼11%
16.5 (15min) fps ∼14%
26 (23min) fps ∼21%
34.5 (32min) fps ∼24%
43.3 (39min) fps ∼35%
93 (84min) fps ∼75%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ
MSI PE60 2QD
15.1 (14min) fps ∼12%
21.1 (19min) fps ∼15%
25.6 (24min) fps ∼21%
49.5 (46min) fps ∼40%
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ
MSI PL62
15.2 (13min) fps ∼12%
20.4 (18min) fps ∼14%
25.2 (23min) fps ∼20%
52.2 (47min) fps ∼42%
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ
MSI CX72 6QD
14.2 (12min) fps ∼11%
31 (28min) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce 940M, 5700HQ
MSI GP62 2QD
8.1 (6min) fps ∼7%
11 (10min) fps ∼8%
14.2 (12min) fps ∼11%
31.6 (27min) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce 920M, 2970M
MSI CX61 2QC 2970M MS-16GD
19.3 (17min) fps ∼16%
Intel HD Graphics 630, i7-7700HQ
MSI PL62
7 (6min) fps ∼6%
14 (11min) fps ∼11%

Overview

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >ELEX
 ELEX (2017)
low
1280x720
Low / Off
med.
1920x1080
Medium / Off
4xAF
high
1920x1080
High / On
8xAF FXAA
ultra
1920x1080
Ultra / On
16xAF SMAA
QHD
2560x1440
Ultra / On
16xAF SMAA
4K
3840x2160
Ultra / On
16xAF SMAA
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop)
121
121
121
116
62.3
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile
120
119
118
79.5
41.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop)
120
44.4
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal
121.7
119.3
114.9
44.2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop)
122
122
122
97
64.2
32.7
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile
121
119
94.1
62.7
33.1
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q
118.5n2
113.5n2
95.85n2
65.65n2
34.35n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile
120.6n2
119.8n2
119n4
98.65n4
61.4
32.1
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q
117
97.6
77.2
51
26
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile
119
95.9
74
49.5
26
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
122
122
106
82.6
54.1
28
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q
109
110
112
87
54.6
28.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile
122
118
104n5
79.3n5
49.6
26.25n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile
113
90
70.4
45.7
23.8
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q
121.5n2
97.5n2
86.7n3
66.6n3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
122
94.8
76.6
58.3
38.7
19.6
AMD Radeon RX 580 (Desktop)
118.6
96.7
75.6
58.3
20.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
122
88.2
72.6
55.5
35.8
18.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
120
84.5
68.6n4
53n4
33.4
17.1
PosModel< PrevNext >ELEX
low med. high ultra QHD 4K
AMD Radeon RX 580 (Laptop)
117.1
80
63.5
48.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile
75.6
58.8
45.2
28.8
14.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
108.1
83.5
69.6
57.2
17
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q
61.1
48.6
37.3
24.5
12.2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M
121
68.6
56.4
41.7
14.1
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
102
52.2
43.4n3
32.7n3
20.7n2
6.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
105
53.1
43.8
33.7
21.4
10.3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
84.85n2
43.9n2
35.15n2
26.4n2
16.7
8.85n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M
93
43.3
34.5
26
16.5
6.6
AMD Radeon RX 560X (Laptop)
49.4
41.9
34.2
25.7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
63.1
32.1
25.4
18.8
11.5
NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 (Desktop)
55.7
28.6
22
15.1
2.5
NVIDIA GeForce MX250
53.9
25.4
20.6
15.6
NVIDIA GeForce MX150
44.7n2
23.7n2
18.8n2
13.7n2
AMD Radeon RX 540
30.3
15.3
10.9
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
49.5
25.6
21.1
15.1
Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU)
23.7
14.4
10.9
AMD Radeon RX Vega 10
16
13.3
9.8
NVIDIA GeForce MX130
35.7
17.9
14.3
9.8
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
28.5n3
14.2n3
11.85n2
8.55n2
PosModel< PrevNext >ELEX
low med. high ultra QHD 4K
AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000)
32.45n2
15.5n2
12.3n2
8.7n2
NVIDIA GeForce 940M
31.6
14.2
11
8.1
NVIDIA GeForce 930MX
27.1
12.8
10.2
7.4
NVIDIA GeForce 930M
25.2
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX
25.1
11.9
9.3
6.4
NVIDIA GeForce 920M
19.3
AMD Radeon 520
17.3
8.1
6.6
Intel UHD Graphics 630
14.5
6.8
Intel HD Graphics 630
14
7
AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge)
10.7
5.8
Intel UHD Graphics 620
10.6
5.2
Intel HD Graphics 620
11
5.3
AMD Radeon R5 M255
20
Intel HD Graphics 520
10.1
5.2
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M
13
6.1
AMD Radeon R5 (Stoney Ridge)
6
Intel HD Graphics 4600
10.4
Intel HD Graphics 5500
11.2
Intel UHD Graphics 615
9.2
Intel HD Graphics 615
8.8
PosModel< PrevNext >ELEX
low med. high ultra QHD 4K
Intel HD Graphics 610
8.8
Intel HD Graphics 4400
8
Intel UHD Graphics 605
5.2
Intel HD Graphics 505
4.6
AMD Radeon R4 (Stoney Ridge)
8.9
AMD Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L)
9.5
(-) * Smaller values are better. / n123 Number of benchmarks for this median value / * Approximate position

 

Legend
5Stutters – This game is very likely to stutter and have poor frame rates. Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, average frame rates are expected to fall below 25fps
May Stutter – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, stutters and poor frame rates are expected.
30Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 25fps
40Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 35fps
60Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 58fps
May Run Fluently – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, fluent frame rates are expected.
?Uncertain – This graphics card experienced unexpected performance issues during testing for this game. A slower card may be able to achieve better and more consistent frame rates than this particular GPU running the same benchmark scene.
Uncertain – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game and no reliable interpolation can be made based on the performances of surrounding cards of the same class or family.
The value in the fields displays the average frame rate of all values in the database. Move your cursor over the value to see individual results.

Test Systems

Device Graphics Card Processor RAM Operating System
Desktop-PC I MSI GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB GDDR5X)
MSI GeForce GTX 1070 (8 GB GDDR5)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB GDDR5)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 (4 GB GDDR5)
Intel Core i7-6700K 2 x 8 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
Desktop-PC II Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (11 GB GDDR5X)
Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti (6 GB GDDR5)
XFX Radeon R9 Fury (4 GB HBM)
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X (4 GB GDDR5)
Sapphire Radeon R9 280X (3 GB GDDR5)
MSI Radeon R7 370 (2 GB GDDR5)
Intel Core i7-4790K 2 x 4 GB DDR3 Windows 10 64 Bit
Alienware 17 R4 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB GDDR5X) Intel Core i7-7820HK 2 x 16 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
Asus G752VS Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 (8 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-6820HK 2 x 16 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GT62VR Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-6820HK 4 x 8 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GE72 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2 x 4 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
Asus GL753VD Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (4 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2 x 8 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GL62 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (2 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2 x 4 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GE72 Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M (2 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-6700HQ 1 x 8 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI PE60 Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M (2 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2 x 4 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI PL62 Nvidia GeForce MX150 (2 GB GDDR5) Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2 x 8 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI CX72 Nvidia GeForce 940MX (2 GB DDR3) Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2 x 8 GB DDR4 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GP62 Nvidia GeForce 940M (2 GB DDR3) Intel Core i7-5700HQ 1 x 8 GB DDR3 Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI CX61 Nvidia GeForce 920M (2 GB DDR3) Intel Celeron 2970M 1 x 8 GB DDR3 Windows 10 64 Bit
Asus N551ZU AMD Radeon R9 M280X (4 GB GDDR5) AMD FX-7600P 2 x 4 GB DDR3 Windows 10 64 Bit
4K Monitor Nvidia driver AMD driver
2 x Asus PB287Q, Philips 328P6VJEB ForceWare 388.00 Crimson 17.10.1
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Florian Glaser, 2017-10-28 (Update: 2022-01-21)