Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Notebook and Desktop Benchmarks
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The IW engine that has underpinned Call of Duty titles since 2005 has often divided opinion. Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games have continued to upgrade the engine over the last 13 years and while some players celebrate Call of Duty games for their good looks, others feel that the IW engine is antiquated. Black Ops 4 looks worse in our opinion than either Battlefield 1 or Battlefield V, but the game has decent graphics overall. Specifically, effects like fire, smoke and sparks help to create a consistent atmosphere while playing games. Characters and levels are mostly richly detailed, but there are some texture sharpness inconsistencies and muddy-looking surfaces.
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One of the biggest changes from Black Ops 3 to Black Ops 4 is its distribution method on PC. Activision switched from Steam to Battle.net in 2017 with the release of Destiny 2, a decision that the company has stuck to with Black Ops 4. Battle.net is necessary for running the game even if you buy a physical copy as the box only contains a download key rather than DVDs. Black Ops 4 is a 63 GB download at the time of writing, which is a considerable size even for a triple-A title released in 2018.
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Black Ops 4 is a customizer’s dream with over 30 graphics options, albeit many only subtly change the look of the game. Unfortunately, there are no practical presets, which many of Black Ops 4’s competitors include. Tweaking the graphics options does not require restarting the game though, which is a plus as the introductory videos can't be skipped. However, the game often loads between menu changes, which is rather frustrating.
The IW engine is not yet optimised perfectly either with short stutters in all game modes including in cutscenes as the game loaded in the background. The game also sometimes takes a while to log in and occasionally disconnects with an error message displayed onscreen. Moreover, performance slumps in certain menus on many computers.
Buyers can expect typical CoD gameplay combined with Fortnite-style high speed and short action-packed battles. Those who prefer calmer and more tactical multiplayer games should look to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Rainbow Six Siege instead.
Benchmarks
The lack of a “real” single-player mode in Black Ops 4 made the search for a suitable benchmark difficult as performance differs among game modes. Conventional multiplayer modes like Team Deathmatch and Zombies have considerably smaller map sizes than Battle Royale, so correspondingly require fewer resources.
GeForce GTX 1080 @FHD/Ultra | Team Deathmatch (several minutes) | Zombies (several minutes) | Blackout (several minutes) | Benchmark-Sequence(~20 seconds) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Average Framerates | 149 FPS | 148 FPS | 125 FPS | 126 FPS |
We chose to benchmark Black Ops 4 in Zombies rather than Blackout as the sequence in the latter mode changed each time, which would have caused inconsistent results. We benchmarked the game at the start of the Zombies campaign in Voyage of Despair because the thunderstorm effects and physics associated with a ship hitting an iceberg are just as taxing on systems as the Battle Royale mode.
As the below video demonstrates, we tested the game by walking along a set route for around 20 seconds and used FRAPS to calculate frame rates. Black Ops 4 is playable at 40 FPS, but the game only feels smooth at 60 FPS and higher. Performance differences between devices depend primarily on GPU power as the game seldom stresses most modern CPUs.
Results
HD – 1280x720
Low-end dedicated GPUs like the Nvidia GeForce 940M can handle Black Ops 4 at 1280x720. However, the game froze at launch on an Intel HD Graphics 630, demonstrating that Black Ops 4 is too resource-hungry for integrated GPUs.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 | |
1280x720 Low / Off | |
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal, TR 1950X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U | |
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce 940M, 5700HQ | |
AMD Radeon R9 M280X, FX-7600P | |
NVIDIA GeForce 920M, 2970M | |
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U |
FHD – 1920x1080
We would recommend using at least a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or a GeForce GTX 970M to play the game at Full HD. While 40 FPS is achievable with those two cards, other less powerful midrange GPUs struggle at anything other than low graphics.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 | |
1920x1080 Medium / On 1920x1080 High / On 1920x1080 Very High / On | |
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal, TR 1950X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK | |
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i5-7300HQ | |
AMD Radeon RX 460 (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U | |
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce 940M, 5700HQ | |
AMD Radeon R9 M280X, FX-7600P |
QHD – 2560x1440 & UHD – 3840x2160
Owners of a QHD monitor will need a high-end GPU to play Black Ops 4 at native resolution. We would recommend using at least a GeForce GTX 1060 or GeForce GTX 980 for playing in UHD at maximum graphics and a GeForce GTX 1080 for gaming in 4K.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 | |
2560x1440 Very High / On 3840x2160 Very High / On | |
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal, TR 1950X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980, 6700K | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK | |
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ | |
AMD Radeon RX 460 (Desktop), i7-7740X | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 6700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, i7-7700HQ |
Overview
Test Systems
Device | Graphics Card | Processor | RAM | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 | 1 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
Acer Triton 700 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q (8 GB GDDR5X) | Intel Core i7-7700HQ | 2x 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 | 2 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 | 1 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 |
ASUS G752VY | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (4 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-6700HQ | 2 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI GS60 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (3 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-6700HQ | 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 GL72 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M (2 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-7700HQ | 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 | 1 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 416.34 | Adrenalin 18.10.1 |