Call of Duty Vanguard Performance Analysis

Old weaknesses, new strengths. Unlike its predecessors, Call of Duty Vanguard tries to do something new. We conducted our performance analysis to determine the system requirements.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Stanislav Kokhanyuk), Published 11/11/2021 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 ...

Technology

At first glance, Vanguard appears to have all of the problems and issues which we saw in the previous CoD titles – in terms of both gameplay and technology. The textures still take a while to load in after a fresh start (sometimes it takes minutes for all high-resolution assets to load). This is quite annoying. Connecting to the servers still takes a while as well. The single-player mode is replete with AI bugs once again.

The game size has shrunk considerably, which is a major positive. While Black Ops Cold War took up over 200 GB of storage space, Vanguard needs ''only'' 65 GB (with the Warzone mode installed). The graphics menu has been reworked. Now there are dedicated tabs, which means that gamers will not have to do as much scrolling as before.

Finally, after years of criticism, there are graphics presets. This saves time for ordinary gamers and also makes benchmarking easier. Another major positive: A restart is not required for graphics changes to take effect.

There is not much to criticise about the graphics menu. There are images and text descriptions which help elucidate what each setting does. While the gameplay tab is relatively unimpressive, the Display tab contains all the usual settings (resolution, frame rate limiter, HDR, …).

The Quality tab takes the cake, though. It contains over 30 settings. The effect which they have on the visuals varies greatly. Gamers have an opportunity to do a lot of tinkering if they so desire. Call of Duty Vanguard supports DLSS and FidelityFX but no ray tracing.

There is also a VRAM gauge, according to which the game requires at least 2 GB of VRAM at 1080p and low settings, over 3 GB of video memory at medium settings and 5 GB at high/ultra settings – neither too much nor too little when compared to other modern titles.

Visually, Call of Duty Vanguard has made many strides forward. The vegetation density, level of detail, (weather) effects, animations and the character models all impress. Destructibility is another noteworthy element of CoD Vanguard (barricades, walls, etc., can be destroyed). All in all, the visuals can be characterised as good to very good.

Gameplay-wise, Call of Duty Vanguard appears to be a step in the right direction, at least in our opinion. Instead of an endless stream of mindless shootouts, Vanguard offers gripping video sequences, decent narratives and character development, which is unusual for a first-person shooter. Just like Warzone, Vanguard feels great in motion. The gunplay is superb as well.

Benchmark

Because of wide swings in performance (depending on the level, NPC density and amount of effects on screen), Call of Duty Vanguard is not easy to benchmark. We decided to set our benchmark at the beginning of the mission known as ''The Battle of Midway''. Our 50-second benchmark sequence takes place aboard an aircraft carrier (see the video below). We record performance statistics using CapFrameX.

Because Call of Duty Vanguard is a first-person shooter, it requires at least 60 FPS for an enjoyable gaming experience.

Results

The benchmarks were conducted mainly using the laptops which our partners MSI and XMG (Schenker Technologies) lent us.

FHD (1920x1080)

To run CoD Vanguard at 1080p, gamers will need at least a lower mid-range graphics card. The GPUs on the level of the GeForce GTX 1650 (Ti) can handle the title on the low/medium preset. To achieve decent frame rates at high or ultra settings, you will need a graphics card with more than 4 GB of VRAM (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or Radeon RX 5600M).

Call of Duty Vanguard
1920x1080 Low Preset 1920x1080 Medium Preset 1920x1080 High Preset 1920x1080 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X	194 (108^min, 132^P0.1, 149^P1) fps ∼31% 188 (87.1^min, 111^P0.1, 132^P1) fps ∼29% 185 (113^min, 128^P0.1, 144^P1) fps ∼29% 174 (94.9^min, 118^P0.1, 136^P1) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio	189 (98.1^min, 118^P0.1, 139^P1) fps ∼30% 179 (103^min, 117^P0.1, 137^P1) fps ∼27% 176 (89.1^min, 105^P0.1, 124^P1) fps ∼28% 161 (68.8^min, 98.2^P0.1, 115^P1) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X	168 (88.2^min, 116^P0.1, 134^P1) fps ∼27% 157 (100^min, 116^P0.1, 126^P1) fps ∼24% 144 (90.8^min, 103^P0.1, 111^P1) fps ∼23% 131 (68^min, 95.5^P0.1, 104^P1) fps ∼20%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	149 (109^min, 112^P0.1, 122^P1) fps ∼24% 138 (93.5^min, 106^P0.1, 116^P1) fps ∼21% 118 (72.7^min, 86.3^P0.1, 93.7^P1) fps ∼19% 107 (69.1^min, 81^P0.1, 86.1^P1) fps ∼17%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	144 (58.7^min, 100^P0.1, 118^P1) fps ∼23% 136 (78.3^min, 98.9^P0.1, 110^P1) fps ∼21% 125 (70.5^min, 90.9^P0.1, 101^P1) fps ∼20% 114 (44^min, 82.9^P0.1, 93.6^P1) fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	132 (73^min, 80^P0.1, 98.1^P1) fps ∼21% 121 (62.8^min, 73.4^P0.1, 93^P1) fps ∼18% 99.3 (49.6^min, 70.2^P0.1, 77.5^P1) fps ∼16% 89.8 (59.2^min, 65.1^P0.1, 71.2^P1) fps ∼14%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Focus 17 @75 W TGP	98.5 (60.5^min, 74.8^P0.1, 78.6^P1) fps ∼16% 89.4 (65.8^min, 73.6^P0.1, 77.1^P1) fps ∼14% 58.2 (25.3^min, 43.2^P0.1, 45.7^P1) fps ∼9% 53.4 (38.9^min, 40.3^P0.1, 42^P1) fps ∼8%
AMD Radeon RX 5600M, R7 4800H Dell G5 15 SE	88.5 (56.7^min, 65.4^P0.1, 70.2^P1) fps ∼14% 81.8 (29.5^min, 59.1^P0.1, 64.5^P1) fps ∼12% 69.4 (19.8^min, 51.6^P0.1, 56.8^P1) fps ∼11% 64.2 (36^min, 47.5^P0.1, 51.5^P1) fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	76.6 (23.3^min, 24.1^P0.1, 26.3^P1) fps ∼12% 72.9 (24.3^min, 25.1^P0.1, 27.1^P1) fps ∼11% 59.7 (24.3^min, 26^P0.1, 30.1^P1) fps ∼9% 55.8 (23.6^min, 25.1^P0.1, 30^P1) fps ∼9%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GP75	70.6 (56.6^min, 57.3^P0.1, 59.1^P1) fps ∼11% 66.1 (46.4^min, 54.2^P0.1, 55.9^P1) fps ∼10% 44.8 (31.4^min, 34.4^P0.1, 36.2^P1) fps ∼7% 41.9 (30.8^min, 33.4^P0.1, 35.3^P1) fps ∼7%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GL75	64.5 (40^min, 52^P0.1, 55.2^P1) fps ∼10% 59.8 (40.1^min, 46.7^P0.1, 50^P1) fps ∼9% 33.9 (22.9^min, 23.5^P0.1, 24.7^P1) fps ∼5% 33.4 (19^min, 23.1^P0.1, 24.9^P1) fps ∼5%

QHD (2560x1440)

At 1440p and high settings, playable frame rates can be achieved with a high-end GPU such as the GeForce RTX 3060.

Call of Duty Vanguard
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X	138 (86.7^min, 99^P0.1, 110^P1) fps ∼24%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio	126 (84.8^min, 90.5^P0.1, 98.8^P1) fps ∼22%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X	98.1 (68.9^min, 74.6^P0.1, 81^P1) fps ∼17%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	83.5 (61.1^min, 66.4^P0.1, 71^P1) fps ∼14%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	77.7 (56.4^min, 60.7^P0.1, 65.2^P1) fps ∼13%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	63.2 (2.32^min, 50.4^P0.1, 52.7^P1) fps ∼11%
AMD Radeon RX 5600M, R7 4800H Dell G5 15 SE	45.1 (22.8^min, 34.1^P0.1, 36.5^P1) fps ∼8%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	42.2 (24.8^min, 27.4^P0.1, 32.1^P1) fps ∼7%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GP75	28 (23.4^min, 23.7^P0.1, 24^P1) fps ∼5%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GL75	23.3 (16.8^min, 17.2^P0.1, 17.5^P1) fps ∼4%

UHD (3840x2160)

At 4K, the most powerful laptop GPUs reach their limits. Even The GeForce RTX 3080 (Mobile) cannot crack the 60 FPS mark. Desktop graphics cards fare significantly better because they have much higher TGPs.

Call of Duty Vanguard
3840x2160 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X	84.8 (53.3^min, 69^P0.1, 72.9^P1) fps ∼17%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio	77.7 (43.8^min, 60.5^P0.1, 65.7^P1) fps ∼16%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X	56.8 (46.7^min, 48^P0.1, 50.1^P1) fps ∼12%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	48.1 (37.3^min, 41.1^P0.1, 43^P1) fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	43.8 (37.2^min, 37.9^P0.1, 39.2^P1) fps ∼9%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	34.4 (28.3^min, 29.1^P0.1, 30.2^P1) fps ∼7%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	22 (14.6^min, 15.7^P0.1, 17.3^P1) fps ∼4%
AMD Radeon RX 5600M, R7 4800H Dell G5 15 SE	21.8 (9.21^min, 15.1^P0.1, 17.2^P1) fps ∼4%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GP75	14.4 (11.2^min, 11.3^P0.1, 11.7^P1) fps ∼3%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GL75	12.6 (5.13^min, 5.29^P0.1, 9.71^P1) fps ∼3%

Note

Because benchmarking video games is very time consuming and is often constrained by installation/activation limits, at the time of publishing, we were able to provide only a part of our performance analysis of Call of Duty Vanguard. Other graphics cards will be added in the coming days and weeks.

Overview

Test Systems

Device	GPU	CPU	RAM	OS
XMG Neo 15	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 @165 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
XMG Neo 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
XMG Core 15	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 @130 W TGP (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
XMG Focus 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti @75 W TGP (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GP65	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-9750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GP75	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-10750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GL75	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-10750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Dell G5 15 SE	AMD Radeon RX 5600M (6 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 7 4800H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI Prestige 14 Evo	Intel Iris Xe (96 CUs)	Intel Core i7-1185G7	1 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Asus ROG Strix G15	AMD Radeon RX 6800M (12 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Desktop PC I	MSI GeForce RTX 3090 (24 GB GDDR6X) MSI GeForce RTX 3080 (10 GB GDDR6X) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-9900K	4 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Desktop PC II	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 FE (24 GB GDDR6X) Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12 GB GDDR6X) Nvidia Titan RTX (24 GB GDDR6) Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super (8 GB GDDR6) Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super (8 GB GDDR6) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1660 Super (6 GB GDDR6) PNY GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB GDDR5) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1650 Super (4 GB GDDR6) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR5) AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB DDR6) AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 6600 (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (6 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X	2 x 32 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit

4K monitors	Nvidia drivers	AMD drivers
Asus PB287Q, Philips Brilliance 329P9H, Acer Predator XB321HK	ForceWare 496.49	Adrenalin 21.11.1

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Editor of the original article: Sebastian Jentsch - Managing Editor Consumer Laptops - 1833 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2010

Computers always had an important place in my life, starting with an Intel 80286 microprocessor in the early 1990s. I became interested in the productive side of technology, especially in campus radio, while studying at TU Chemnitz and during a trainee program in Belfast. Hardware interests led me to manage Notebookjournal.de, which is now a division of Notebooksbilliger, for a few years. I became self-employed in 2010 and took the next logical step in my career by starting to write for Notebookcheck.

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Translator: Stanislav Kokhanyuk - Translator - 78 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021

I am a big fan of technology, which is why I try to keep up with it. Among my other passions are literature and writing, and so it should not be surprising to anyone at all that I have a four-year bachelor's degree in philology. However, my interests are not limited just to the world of technology, or, for that matter, the world of literature. I am also interested in people and the stories they have to tell. And more recently, I took an interest in artificial intelligence.

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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Reviews > Call of Duty Vanguard Performance Analysis

Florian Glaser, 2021-11-11 (Update: 2021-11-11)

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.