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Star Wars Battlefront Notebook Benchmarks

Eye candy. Casualization or not: “Star Wars Battlefront” is a real highlight in terms of graphics, which makes most competitors look rather outdated. Find out if you can also enjoy the game on notebooks.
Star Wars Battlefront Logo

For the original German article, see here.

Graphics

Similar to the shooter siblings “Battlefield 4” and “Battlefield Hardline”, developer DICE once again uses the Frostbite 3 engine, which has been constantly optimized and improved with new features over the last few years. It does not matter if you look at textures, lighting or effects (water, particles,...): “Star Wars Battlefront” leaves a great impression in almost every aspect. Other strengths of the Frostbite 3 engine are the huge level architectures; hardly any other game offers such large areas. This will often result in annoying walking distances, but the visibility is still more than impressive from a technical point of view.

Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront

Now one might think that the quantity affects the quality, but it is actually quite the reverse: There are an extreme number of objects, especially on the forest planet Endor with its bushes, branches and small plants. The other planets look very atmospheric as well - despite desert, mountain and ice environments.

Great: Thanks to the proven technology, “Battlefront” is surprisingly free of bugs. Except for some textures and objects that pop up and the mediocre AI, which can sometimes be annoying, we did not encounter any serious issues during our tests. DICE has created a good overall package, which assists the player with clever tutorials, simple menus and intuitive controls.

Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront

The developers also deserve credit for the comprehensive graphics settings. Even though the handling of the corresponding menu is not as comfortable as the “Battlefield” counterpart (much more scrolling), most users will be satisfied. As well as various individual settings, you will find four handy presets under the item "Graphics Quality", which can adjust the graphics in multiple steps. There are also toggles for the depth of view, the intensity of the motion blur and the resolution scale (we always leave the latter at standard).

You can also change the general resolution, the picture mode as well as the refresh rate. If you hate line adjustments, you should definitely activate V-Sync. Without V-Sync, the performance will be capped at 200 fps. The anti-aliasing of ‘Battlefront” deserves some criticism. Unlike “Battlefield 4” and “Hardline”, the game does not support high-quality MSAA, but only the post processing versions FXAA and TAA; at least they do not affect the performance as much.

Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront

Nevertheless, “Battlefront” looks pretty good with the medium settings. We could not determine many differences between the High and Ultra preset, which is confirmed by the similar performance. “Battlefront” accepts all changes without a restart, so users of older notebooks can comfortably play with all the settings and enjoy the great soundtrack in the process. Because of the reasonable loading times (at least with SSDs) and skippable videos, the waiting times are pretty short. Around 27 GB is also acceptable for a game from 2015.

Benchmark

As far as we can tell, the forest planet is the most challenging for the hardware. As you can see in the video below, our benchmark takes place in the single-player mission "Hero Battle on Endor", which can also be played with another player (optional). Playing as Darth Vader, you can run, jump and use your “lightsaber” for around 40 seconds on a pre-defined path. Thanks to the mixture of indoor and outdoor environments, we can ensure some fps variations.

Based on our experiences, the benchmark sequence roughly represents the performance of a typical multi-player battle, although there can be differences depending on the level, the GPU and the settings. In any case, an average of 35 fps should be an indicator of a decent gameplay experience.

Results

If your notebook uses an Intel HD Graphics GPU, then “Battlefront” will not run completely smooth in any setting. The HD 4600, for example, manages only 30 fps at 1024x768 and the "Low" preset. It requires at least a GeForce GT 740M or Intel Iris Graphics, respectively, for a smooth run of the benchmark sequence. 1366x768 pixels and medium details requires at least a GeForce GT 750M, while 1920x1080 pixels and the "High" preset are reserved for powerful gaming chips like the GeForce GTX 960M. Maximum graphic details are possible with a GeForce GTX 870M or faster.

Low Settings
Low Settings
Medium Settings
Medium Settings
High Settings
High Settings
Ultra Settings
Ultra Settings
4K Settings
4K Settings
Low Settings
Low Settings
Medium Settings
Medium Settings
High Settings
High Settings
Ultra Settings
Ultra Settings
4K Settings
4K Settings
We noticed incorrect light reflections with the Intel Iris Graphics 6100 with medium settings and higher.
We noticed incorrect light reflections with the Intel Iris Graphics 6100 with medium settings and higher.

Notebook users have to be careful with resolutions higher than 1920x1080. Even the old top model GeForce GTX 980M is not powerful enough for the combination of the "High" preset and 4K (3840x2160). This would require a GTX 980 (we checked the desktop-counterpart) or an SLI combination consisting of two GTX 980M cards. However, the hardware requirements are justified when you consider the great graphics quality.

Like many other games, the processor does not play an important role. As long as the CPU is not very old or from the low-end segment, higher settings will always be limited by the GPU. By the way, graphics cards from AMD perform better than expected against their Nvidia counterparts (see R9 290X vs. GTX 980 @4K).

Star Wars Battlefront
    3840x2160 High Preset AA:FX     1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:FX     1920x1080 High Preset AA:FX     1366x768 Medium Preset AA:FX     1024x768 Low Preset
AMD Radeon R9 Fury, 4790K
XFX Radeon R9 Fury Pro
50 (43min) fps ∼38%
119 (100min) fps ∼60%
129 (85min) fps ∼65%
150 (91min) fps ∼75%
166 (103min) fps ∼81%
AMD Radeon R9 290X, 4790K
Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X OC
43.4 (36min) fps ∼33%
104 (92min) fps ∼53%
118 (94min) fps ∼59%
159 (112min) fps ∼79%
186 (160min) fps ∼91%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 6700K
Desktop PC
40.4 (35min) fps ∼31%
104.1 (89min) fps ∼53%
119.2 (104min) fps ∼60%
199.9 (197min) fps ∼99%
200 (199min) fps ∼98%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
27.9 (23min) fps ∼21%
73.1 (61min) fps ∼37%
88.3 (71min) fps ∼44%
145.2 (123min) fps ∼72%
169.7 (140min) fps ∼83%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
21.9 (18min) fps ∼17%
59 (50min) fps ∼30%
70.8 (61min) fps ∼35%
136.8 (116min) fps ∼68%
168.1 (136min) fps ∼82%
AMD Radeon R7 370, 4790K
MSI Gaming R7 370 2GB
19.4 (16min) fps ∼15%
52 (43min) fps ∼26%
61 (54min) fps ∼31%
125 (98min) fps ∼62%
172 (124min) fps ∼84%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950, 6700K
Desktop PC
17.7 (14min) fps ∼13%
52 (46min) fps ∼26%
60.8 (52min) fps ∼30%
127.4 (104min) fps ∼63%
197.8 (169min) fps ∼97%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
17.5 (14min) fps ∼13%
48.7 (38min) fps ∼25%
55.9 (45min) fps ∼28%
111.5 (90min) fps ∼55%
161 (116min) fps ∼79%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
14.2 (12min) fps ∼11%
40.8 (33min) fps ∼21%
45.9 (36min) fps ∼23%
95.4 (76min) fps ∼47%
149 (108min) fps ∼73%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, 4720HQ
Schenker XMG A505
11.6 (9min) fps ∼9%
34.4 (28min) fps ∼17%
40.9 (33min) fps ∼20%
90.2 (76min) fps ∼45%
151.3 (113min) fps ∼74%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
8.4 (6min) fps ∼6%
29.8 (26min) fps ∼15%
31.4 (26min) fps ∼16%
67.8 (53min) fps ∼34%
115.7 (84min) fps ∼57%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M, 4340M
Schenker M504
8.3 (6min) fps ∼6%
24.6 (21min) fps ∼12%
28.7 (24min) fps ∼14%
63.8 (49min) fps ∼32%
103.4 (65min) fps ∼51%
AMD Radeon R9 M280X, FX-7600P
Asus N551ZU-CN007H
19.7 (8min) fps ∼10%
22 (10min) fps ∼11%
30 (16min) fps ∼15%
54.4 (30min) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M, 4702MQ
Schenker M503
13.3 (11min) fps ∼7%
15.5 (12min) fps ∼8%
33.6 (27min) fps ∼17%
55.7 (42min) fps ∼27%
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200, 4750HQ
SCHENKER S413
13.2 (11min) fps ∼7%
28.4 (23min) fps ∼14%
51 (41min) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M, 4200M
HP Envy 15-j011sg
9.4 (8min) fps ∼5%
11 (9min) fps ∼6%
23.8 (19min) fps ∼12%
40.1 (30min) fps ∼20%
AMD Radeon R7 (Kaveri), FX-7600P
Asus N551ZU-CN007H
18 (5min) fps ∼9%
29.5 (5min) fps ∼14%
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M, 4200M
MSI CX61-i572M
7.2 (0min) fps ∼4%
15.2 (0min) fps ∼8%
25.1 (0min) fps ∼12%
Intel HD Graphics 4600, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
7.9 (6min) fps ∼4%
16.8 (14min) fps ∼8%
30.8 (24min) fps ∼15%

Test Systems

Four of our test models are provided by Schenker Technologies (mysn.de):

  • W504 (Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 860M, GTX 870M, GTX 880M, GTX 970M, GTX 980M)
  • A505 (Core i7-4720HQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 960M)
  • M504 (Core i5-4340M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 850M)
  • M503 (Core i7-4702MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 750M)

Three notebooks are provided by Nvidia:

In addition, Intel provided one notebook:

  • Schenker S413 (Core i7-4750HQ, 8 GB DDR3, Iris Pro Graphics 5200)

The desktop PCs are equipped with CPUs/APUs from Intel and AMD, SSDs from Micron, OCZ, Intel and Samsung, motherboards from Intel and Asus as well as graphics cards from Nvidia, PNY and AMD. We use the monitor Asus PB287Q for our 4K tests.

We used the following GPU drivers: Nvidia 359.00, AMD 15.11.1 Beta, Intel 20.19.15.4300 (Win 10) and Intel 10.18.14.4294 (Win 7), respectively.

Overview

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Battlefront
 Star Wars Battlefront (2015)
low
1024x768
Low Preset
med.
1366x768
Medium Preset
FXAA
high
1920x1080
High Preset
FXAA
ultra
1920x1080
Ultra Preset
FXAA
4K
3840x2160
High Preset
FXAA
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal
169.6
165.4
162.9
158.6
88.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop)
200
200
192
171
67
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile
183
164
66.2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
143n2
54.85n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q
164
144
55.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile
140n3
123.8n3
48.75n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti
134
53
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q
136
121
44.7
AMD Radeon R9 Fury
166
150
129
119
50
AMD Radeon R9 Nano
117
48.8
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
200
199.9
119.2
104.1
40.4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
200n2
199.3n2
121.1n2
103n2
40.15n2
AMD Radeon R9 390X
161.2
140.8
117.3
104
42.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
200
200
120
102
37.9
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
100
38.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile
102
82.45n2
33.4
AMD Radeon RX 580 (Laptop)
191
183
112
93.1
35.4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
188.9
111.45n2
95.85n2
34.7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q
188
93
80.9
29.3
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Battlefront
low med. high ultra 4K
AMD Radeon R9 290X
186
159
118
104
43.4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M
182.4n2
159.5n3
88.3n3
75.2n3
28.05n2
AMD Radeon R9 280X
195
168
92
76
32.4
AMD Radeon R9 380
130.6
124.6
68.5
61.3
24.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
196.9
144.9
70.1
60.8
21.2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile
72.4
62.7
22.4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
61
21.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M
168.1n3
139.35n4
70.45n4
59.6n4
20.45n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
164
143.9
71.3
61.4
21.9
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
138
124.1
60.2
52.7
AMD Radeon R7 370
172
125
61
52
19.4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M
161
111.5
55.9
48.7
17.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
197.8
127.4
60.8
52
17.7
AMD Radeon RX 460 (Desktop)
57.8
48.6
17.8
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M
170.2n3
116.8n3
55.9n3
47.3n3
15.95n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M
149
95.4
45.9
40.8
14.2
AMD Radeon HD 8970M
87.2
71
55.8
48.2
AMD Radeon R9 M390
161
107
54
45.4
14.9
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M
104.8n3
79.05n4
37.9n5
33.35n4
11.7n2
NVIDIA GeForce MX150
86.4n2
58n2
26.9n2
23.45n2
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Battlefront
low med. high ultra 4K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M
115.7
67.8
31.4
29.8
8.4
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
101.2n3
59.8n3
26.8n3
23.3n3
AMD Radeon R9 M385X
34.6
31.4
20.9
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 850M
103.4
63.8
28.7
24.6
8.3
AMD Radeon R9 M280X
54.4
30
22
19.7
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M
55.7
33.6
15.5
13.3
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
54.1n5
32.4n5
16n4
13.2n3
NVIDIA GeForce 940M
49.7n2
30.1n2
13.4
11.7
NVIDIA GeForce 930MX
54
32.5
14.8
12.5
AMD Radeon R7 M370
52.1
32.8
16
13.5
Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200
51
28.4
13.2
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M
40.1
23.8
11
9.4
NVIDIA GeForce 930M
46.2
28.5
12.8
11.2
Intel Iris Graphics 550
52.6
29.9
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
44.7
26.2
12.9
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX
42.6
25.5
11.3
Intel Iris Graphics 540
40.2
22.9
AMD Radeon R7 (Bristol Ridge)
22.9
21.2
10.5
AMD Radeon R7 (Carrizo)
21.3
16.3
8.8
8
AMD Radeon R7 (Kaveri)
29.5
18
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Battlefront
low med. high ultra 4K
AMD Radeon R7 M460
35.85n2
23.7n2
11n2
9.1
AMD Radeon R7 M360
23.5n3
21.8n3
9.9n3
8.65n2
NVIDIA GeForce 920M
34.7
21
9.6
8.6
AMD Radeon R7 M440
25.6
18.6
9.1
AMD Radeon R7 M340
23.7
16.1
8.7
5.3
Intel HD Graphics 630
34.3
19.5
AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge)
22.9
12.7
7.8
Intel HD Graphics 620
40.3
22.7
10.2
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
21.05n2
14.8n2
8.6
7.5
AMD Radeon HD 8650G
21.4
AMD Radeon R5 M335
33.7
20.6
9.3
6.1
AMD Radeon R5 M330
35.55n2
21.75n2
9.8
6.9
AMD Radeon R5 M430
36.3
22.2
10.1
AMD Radeon R5 M255
32.7
21.9
10.1
NVIDIA GeForce 910M
23.2
16.2
7.7
4.3
Intel HD Graphics 520
27.95n4
15.55n4
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
34.6
20.7
9.8
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M
25.1
15.2
7.2
Intel HD Graphics 4600
26.15n2
14.7n2
7n2
Intel HD Graphics 615
19.8
11.5
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Battlefront
low med. high ultra 4K
Intel HD Graphics 515
18.7
10.4
Intel HD Graphics 4400
24.9
14.3
Intel HD Graphics 505
10.9
6.3
Intel HD Graphics 5300
13.8
7.4
AMD Radeon R5 (Beema/Carrizo-L)
18.2
11
Intel HD Graphics (Broadwell)
15.3
8.5
Intel HD Graphics 4200
19.2
11.5
Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail)
8.8
4.8
(-) * 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.
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Florian Glaser, 2015-11-24 (Update: 2018-05-15)