Avatar Frontiers of Pandora review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

A feast for the eyes. Released in December, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora has turned out to be one of the nicest-looking games to have come out this year. In our benchmark check, we have analyzed whether the game's system requirements are correspondingly high.

Florian Glaser (translated by Daisy Dickson), Published 12/12/2023 🇩🇪 🇸🇪 ...

Test systems

Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16 (RX 7600S & 780M)

be quiet! Silent Base 802 (RTX 4080 & RX 7900 XT)

Philips Evnia 8000 Series 41,5" UHD OLED gaming monitor

We currently carry out our gaming benchmarks with these devices. Clicking on the photos will take you to the respective manufacturer's website. More details on their specifications are listed at the end of the article.

Tech

Ubisoft uses its in-house Snowdrop Engine for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, which results in sounding visuals. Aside from the textures, the effects and general level of detail (characters etc) are all amazing — and from medium settings, too. One of its biggest highlights lies in its dreamy landscape depiction which boasts high vegetation density as well as an enormous depth of field. It's just a shame that certain objects have a tendency to just pop up when you get closer to them.

As is expected from Ubisoft, the game's settings options are great, too — beginning with the fact they are separated into two different menus. While the video menu handles classics such as resolution, image mode and frequency — even having access to modern features such as upscaling (FSR and DLSS are supported) — the graphics menu features close to 20 quality and detail sliders. These can be adapted in one fell swoop with the help of presets and the settings are sometimes even assisted by explanations and images.

Adding to this is a handy VRAM display. According to this feature, Frontiers of Pandora actually requires quite a bit of RAM: A combination of 4K and Ultra uses about 10 GB. Although the graphics menu takes a few seconds to load after changing a preset, you don't need to restart the game — the same can't be said for all too many other games.

Benchmark

The game also warrants some praise for its integrated benchmark. The speed measurement, lasting around 1.5 minutes, is made up of three different sequences. As you can see in our video, this included a combat sequence, a camera pan from a bit of a height, and a detailed view of the jungle landscape. At the same time, you can choose to show the CPU/GPU load, the FPS and/or the FrameTimes. At the end of the test, you are greeted by a slightly more extensive analysis including clear graphs.

Results

FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora really is quite power-hungry. iGPUs are sometimes overwhelmed by the game, for example. Even a Radeon 780M couldn't manage anything over 30 FPS at 1,280 x 720 and with minimum details. Using a semi-decent and up-to-date GPU, on the other hand, you will be quite well equipped — at least for Full HD. If you want to use the high preset, then we would recommend at least a Radeon RX 7600S or a GeForce RTX 4050 and for the ultra preset, you'll need at least a GeForce RTX 4060.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
1920x1080 Low Preset AA:T 1920x1080 Medium Preset AA:T 1920x1080 High Preset AA:T 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	193 (153^min) fps ∼100% 169 (130^min) fps ∼100% 133 (103^min) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	148 (105^min) fps ∼77% 127 (89^min) fps ∼75% 102 (75^min) fps ∼77%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900H Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	129 (103^min) fps ∼67% 114 (85^min) fps ∼67% 89 (64^min) fps ∼67%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	126 (94^min) fps ∼65% 111 (86^min) fps ∼66% 87 (67^min) fps ∼65%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX	85 (66^min) fps ∼44% 73 (55^min) fps ∼43% 56 (42^min) fps ∼42%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	90 (70^min) fps ∼47% 78 (60^min) fps ∼46% 58 (43^min) fps ∼44%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	74 (57^min) fps ∼38% 63 (45^min) fps ∼37% 46 (34^min) fps ∼35%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H Medion Erazer Scout E20	53 (40^min) fps ∼27% 46 (33^min) fps ∼27% 35 (26^min) fps ∼26%
AMD Radeon RX 7600S, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	52 (37^min) fps ∼27% 45 (34^min) fps ∼27% 34 (26^min) fps ∼26%
AMD Radeon 780M, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	15 (10^min) fps ∼100% 13 (6^min) fps ∼7% 11 (5^min) fps ∼7% 8 (4^min) fps ∼6%

QHD (2,560 x 1,440)

You'll likely need a true high-end component to run the game in a combination of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and maximum settings. A mobile GeForce RTX 4080 is just about able to touch the 60-FPS mark.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
2560x1440 Ultra Preset AA:T
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	92 (72^min) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	71 (54^min) fps ∼77%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900H Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	61 (46^min) fps ∼66%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	59 (44^min) fps ∼64%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	38 (29^min) fps ∼41%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX	38 (30^min) fps ∼41%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	30 (13^min) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H Medion Erazer Scout E20	23 (18^min) fps ∼25%
AMD Radeon RX 7600S, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	22 (17^min) fps ∼24%

UHD (3,840 x 2,160)

At 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, all current laptop chips are overwhelmed — at least when it comes to the ultra preset and if you don't rely on upscaling. To achieve this, you will require a desktop component such as the Radeon RX 7900 XT or better. With upscaling selected, the situation is a bit more relaxed. During our DLSS test (quality setting), we managed to achieve smooth frame rates using a GeForce RTX 4080.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
3840x2160 Ultra Preset AA:T 3840x2160 Ultra Preset + Quality DLSS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	47 (40^min) fps ∼100% 81 (65^min) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	39 (33^min) fps ∼83%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900H Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	32 (25^min) fps ∼68% 55 (42^min) fps ∼68%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	30 (24^min) fps ∼64% 53 (40^min) fps ∼65%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX	20 (16^min) fps ∼43% 34 (27^min) fps ∼42%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	19 (16^min) fps ∼40% 33 (26^min) fps ∼41%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	15 (13^min) fps ∼32% 27 (22^min) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H Medion Erazer Scout E20	11 (6^min) fps ∼23% 21 (17^min) fps ∼26%
AMD Radeon RX 7600S, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	10 (6^min) fps ∼21%

Overview

Test system details

Laptop	Graphics card	Processor	RAM
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 @150 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6X)	Intel Core i9-13900H	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 @175 W TGP (12 GB GDDR6X)	Intel Core i9-13950HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
XMG Pro 15 E23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-13900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS	2 x 8 GB DDR5
Medion Erazer Scout E20	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 @100 W TGP (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-13700H	2 x 8 GB DDR5
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti @150 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-12900H	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	AMD Radeon RX 7600S (8 GB GDDR6) & AMD Radeon 780M	AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS	2 x 8 GB DDR5

Tower PC	Graphics card	Processor	RAM
Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (16 GB GDDR6X) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-13900K	2 x 24 GB DDR5 G.Skill

4K monitor	Operating system	Nvidia driver	AMD driver
Philips Evnia 42M2N8900	Windows 11	ForceWare 546.29	Adrenalin 23.12.1

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Editor of the original article: Florian Glaser - Managing Editor Gaming Laptops - 615 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2009

I discovered my interest in computers in my childhood, growing up with MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 in the early 1990s. I was especially fascinated with computer games, even from an early age. From Monkey Island through Lands of Lore to Doom, I tried every game I could get my hands on. I have been working for Notebookcheck since 2009 with my focus mostly being on high-performance gaming laptops.

Translator: Daisy Dickson - Translator - 217 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2023

Originally from Scotland, I grew up and lived in Germany until I completed my high school qualifications before moving back to Scotland to complete my university studies. Growing up bilingual led me to form a close relationship with the English and German languages, often working in the fields of teaching and translation. Most of my childhood was shaped by playing around on new consoles, computers and gadgets and getting to grips with the new craze of the internet and smartphones. This interest has stayed with me well into adulthood. Nowadays, I live in Glasgow and work as a freelance translator and digital media coordinator. I have been translating for Notebookcheck since early 2023.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Avatar Frontiers of Pandora review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Florian Glaser, 2023-12-12 (Update: 2023-12-12)

Legend
5	Stutters – 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.
30	Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 25fps
40	Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 35fps
60	Fluent – 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.

Pos	Model	< Prev Next > Avatar Frontiers of Pandora (2023)
Pos	Model	low 1920x1080 Low Preset TAA	med. 1920x1080 Medium Preset TAA	high 1920x1080 High Preset TAA	ultra 1920x1080 Ultra Preset TAA	QHD 2560x1440 Ultra Preset TAA	4K 3840x2160 Ultra Preset TAA	3840x2160 Ultra Preset + Quality DLSS
2	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090	243.5ⁿ²	229ⁿ²	205ⁿ²	169.5ⁿ²	125ⁿ²	68.5ⁿ²	113ⁿ²
3	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX	193	176	152	120	86	46
4	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Super	213ⁿ²	195.5ⁿ²	171ⁿ³	136ⁿ³	93ⁿ³	49ⁿ³	83ⁿ³
5	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080		193	169	133	92	47	81
7	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER		163	141.8	113.2	76.6	39.8	68.9
8	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT		148	127	102	71	39
11	AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT	152	138	117	91	62	31
12	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU	162	139.5ⁿ²	125ⁿ³	99ⁿ⁶	68ⁿ⁶	34.5ⁿ⁴	59ⁿ²
14	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090	139ⁿ²	129ⁿ²	114.5ⁿ²	90ⁿ²	63ⁿ²	34ⁿ²	57ⁿ²
17	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER		137.4	126ⁿ²	98.7ⁿ²	64.55ⁿ²	34.25ⁿ²	58.55ⁿ²
22	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU	141.2ⁿ²	130ⁿ³	114ⁿ³	88.3ⁿ³	59ⁿ³	30	53
24	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB		124	107	83	57	30
30	AMD Radeon RX 6800	115	104	87	67	45	22
31	AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT	114	103	87	68	46	23
32	NVIDIA Titan RTX	97	91	80	64	44	23	39
33	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti	113	104	90	69	47	24	39
36	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU		85	73	56	38	20	34
37	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU	81ⁿ³	82.5ⁿ⁴	72ⁿ⁴	54ⁿ⁵	38ⁿ⁵	19.5ⁿ²	33
40	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070		96	83	64	43	23
Pos	Model	< Prev Next >Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
Pos	Model	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
41	AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT	127	113	98	77	60	50
43	AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT	122	108	93	73	57	47
44	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU	75	70	60	46	30	15	26
45	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	92	84	65	56	37	18	31
46	Intel Arc A770	65	61	52	42	30	16
48	AMD Radeon RX 7600	72	65	57	42	28	14
53	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU	61.65ⁿ²	71.1ⁿ³	60.8ⁿ³	45.2ⁿ³	29.8ⁿ³	15	27
58	AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT	105	94	80	63	48	39
62	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU	76	72	61	46	31	16	28
65*	AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT	49	45	38	31	22	6.5
66	Intel Arc A750	59	55	47	38	27	12
76	NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	60	54	44	32	21	9.9
80	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super (Desktop)	68	62	54	41	26	14	23
84	AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (Desktop)	78	71	60	47	36	31
91	AMD Radeon RX 7600S		52	45	34	22	10
97	Intel Arc A580	49	47	40	32	24	12
98	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop)	53	49	43	33	22	11	20
100	AMD Radeon RX 6600	85	76	66	48	37	31
104	AMD Radeon RX 5700 (Desktop)	70	63	53	40	31	26
134	AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (Desktop)	66	60	51	40	31	25
Pos	Model	< Prev Next >Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
Pos	Model	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
142	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super (Desktop)	53	47	38	28	21	17
143	AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT	34	30	22	17	12	9.6
144	AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop)	46	42	34	26	20	17
145	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU		54ⁿ²	46.5ⁿ²	35ⁿ²	23	11	21
148*	Intel Arc A730M	45	40	33	24	15	5.7
152	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile	40	36	28	20
154	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB Laptop GPU	39.5	36.3	31.5	23.4	15.1
158	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (Desktop)	50	44	36	27	21	16
161	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super (Desktop)	40	36	29	21	16	5
167	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU	34	31	27	19
187	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile	25	22	16	11
198	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile	20	17	12	10
202	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile	22	19	13
203	Intel Arc A380	23	20	17	12
222*	Intel Arc A310	16	14	11	8.1
223*	Intel Arc 8-Cores iGPU	18	16	14	11
225*	Intel Arc 7-Cores iGPU	15	14	12	9
241*	AMD Radeon 780M	19ⁿ³	17ⁿ³	14ⁿ³	11ⁿ³
317	NVIDIA GeForce MX350	3.5
334	NVIDIA GeForce MX250	3.1
Pos	Model	< Prev Next >Avatar Frontiers of Pandora
Pos	Model	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
511*	AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000/5000)	5.7