Dragon's Dogma 2 review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Mixed performance. Dragon's Dogma 2 may be good in terms of gameplay but from a technical standpoint, it still appears to be half-baked in its current state. Nevertheless, we battled our way through the role-playing game with the help of several graphics cards.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Daisy Dickson), Published 03/27/2024 🇩🇪 🇸🇪 ...

Test systems

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

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

While Dragon's Dogma 2 has largely received high to very high ratings from the press, the verdict from gamers is rather inconsistent, resulting in Steam currently only giving it an average rating of "Mixed". We can understand the criticism, as there are still a few problems with the game—especially technical ones. One of the most frequently criticized points is its performance (especially in cities).

But before we take a look at the game's hardware requirements, here are a few words about its tech. Dragon's Dogma 2 is based on Capcom's own RE Engine, which was also used for the Resident Evil 4 remake that also ran sub-optimally at launch. The similarities can be seen in its graphics menu in particular, which strongly resembles Resi 4—with all its strengths and weaknesses. The controls only appear to be designed for PCs/mouse and keyboard operation to a limited extent.

A positive aspect is how many settings options you get to play about with. Although there are only two presets (High and Low), the graphics menu gives you dozens of detail settings that aren't only explained via text descriptions—they also feature comparison images at times. Adding to this are modern features such as upscaling (DLSS & FSR) and ray tracing. The package is completed by a handy VRAM display. According to this, Dragon's Dogma 2 consumes or requires around 6.6 GB in Full HD/High, around 6.8 GB in QHD/High and almost 7.4 GB in UHD/High, which is quite steep—but no longer a rarity these days. All changes are applied without needing to restart the game.

Visually, we would describe Dragon's Dogma 2 as looking solid to good. In relation to how hardware-hungry it is, however, you would come to expect better visuals by now—or rather better performance. The relatively chic and atmospheric panoramas are offset by rather clumsy animations and regular pathfinding problems or errors in collision detection. Nevertheless, the game's combat system is fun. The developers could do with working on its loading times a little. Compiling shaders when first launching the game can take quite a long time, especially on weaker systems. The game also isn't terribly stable as of yet. We were faced with several crashes during our test.

Benchmark

The settlement, which is reached shortly after the start of the game or tutorial, serves as our benchmark location. We used the CapFrameX tool to record a 20-second run along a fixed route. In contrast to cities, where there were strange drops in performance at times, our sequence remained relatively constant and didn't produce any major anomalies. However, it is also evident that Dragon's Dogma 2 can be quite CPU-heavy (at least with very powerful GPUs), meaning that the processor is limited in places.

Results

FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

Users of iGPUs will not be happy with Dragon's Dogma 2. While the Radeon 780M crashed reproducibly despite having the latest driver installed, the Intel Arc 8 was not even fast enough for 1,280 x 720 pixels and minimum settings (just under 20fps). For Full HD displays, you should pick a dedicated mid-range graphics card. Then even maximum settings run smoothly in some cases (e.g. with the GeForce RTX 4050).

Dragon's Dogma 2
1920x1080 Low Preset 1920x1080 High Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	114.9 (44.5^min, 58.5^P0.1, 82.9^P1) fps ∼100% 111.9 (59.3^min, 73.4^P0.1, 86.1^P1) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	85.5 (36^min, 52^P0.1, 58.3^P1) fps ∼74% 82.9 (30.7^min, 45^P0.1, 53.6^P1) fps ∼74%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900H Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	76.8 (39^min, 43.6^P0.1, 54.8^P1) fps ∼67% 70.7 (37.9^min, 39.8^P0.1, 44.7^P1) fps ∼63%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	70.5 (25.4^min, 34.1^P0.1, 52^P1) fps ∼61% 68.5 (29.6^min, 35.2^P0.1, 45.3^P1) fps ∼61%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	68.8 (33.5^min, 35.1^P0.1, 49.4^P1) fps ∼60% 65.7 (33.2^min, 35.7^P0.1, 49.7^P1) fps ∼59%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	62.3 (32.4^min, 36.7^P0.1, 44.8^P1) fps ∼54% 57.2 (28^min, 31.4^P0.1, 38.3^P1) fps ∼51%
AMD Radeon RX 7600S, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	56.7 (21^min, 22.6^P0.1, 31.7^P1) fps ∼49% 54.7 (27.4^min, 28.5^P0.1, 39^P1) fps ∼49%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H Medion Erazer Scout E20	62.2 (38.7^min, 39.2^P0.1, 48.3^P1) fps ∼54% 52.9 (35.8^min, 36.3^P0.1, 41.9^P1) fps ∼47%
Intel Arc 8-Cores iGPU, Ultra 7 155H Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14	18 (13.1^min, 13.6^P0.1, 14.8^P1) fps ∼16% 14.5 (2.52^min, 2.78^P0.1, 10.3^P1) fps ∼13%
AMD Radeon 780M, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16

QHD (2,560 x 1,440)

On QHD monitors, you don't need a high-end model either—as long as you're not in cities. Mid-range models such as a Radeon RX 7600S or a GeForce RTX 4060 are well equipped for a combination of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and the High preset.

Dragon's Dogma 2
2560x1440 High Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	111.1 (53.6^min, 60.2^P0.1, 80.2^P1) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	82.4 (34.5^min, 53.9^P0.1, 57.3^P1) fps ∼74%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900H Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	70.4 (36.7^min, 37.4^P0.1, 39.8^P1) fps ∼63%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	67.7 (29.4^min, 31.9^P0.1, 45.7^P1) fps ∼61%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	57.4 (31.8^min, 36.9^P0.1, 44^P1) fps ∼52%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	45.8 (12.3^min, 15.5^P0.1, 37^P1) fps ∼41%
AMD Radeon RX 7600S, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	41.7 (33.7^min, 34.3^P0.1, 35.9^P1) fps ∼38%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H Medion Erazer Scout E20	36 (23^min) fps ∼32%

UHD (3,840 x 2,160)

It only gets really demanding in the 4K range. A combination of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and the High preset requires a GeForce RTX 4080 or faster. Including upscaling, the requirements are not quite as high. With DLSS or FSR Quality activated, you can get started with a GeForce RTX 4070 with the aforementioned settings (while also using ray tracing).

Dragon's Dogma 2
3840x2160 High Preset 3840x2160 High Preset + Quality DLSS + RT 3840x2160 High Preset + Quality FSR + RT
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	91 (59.5^min, 61.4^P0.1, 71.7^P1) fps ∼100% 91.7 (18.7^min, 57.4^P0.1, 63.7^P1) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	67.4 (35.5^min, 36.4^P0.1, 44.1^P1) fps ∼74% 68.6 (31.6^min, 33.2^P0.1, 37.1^P1) fps ∼100%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900H Asus ROG Zephyrus M16	51 (30.4^min, 33.3^P0.1, 38.1^P1) fps ∼56% 58.1 (6.49^min, 23.5^P0.1, 38.8^P1) fps ∼63%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX Razer Blade 16 Mid 23	49.1 (24.3^min, 28.2^P0.1, 34.8^P1) fps ∼54% 56.7 (24.3^min, 25.7^P0.1, 35.6^P1) fps ∼62%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	32.9 (24.2^min, 24.6^P0.1, 25.9^P1) fps ∼36% 39.8 (27.9^min, 28.3^P0.1, 31.8^P1) fps ∼43%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS Razer Blade 14 Mid 23	27.6 (14.8^min, 15.5^P0.1, 21.2^P1) fps ∼30% 34.3 (23.4^min, 24^P0.1, 27.3^P1) fps ∼37%
AMD Radeon RX 7600S, R9 7940HS Asus TUF Gaming Advantage A16	24.2 (15^min, 17.4^P0.1, 21.9^P1) fps ∼27% 26.3 (19.8^min, 21.7^P0.1, 24.2^P1) fps ∼38%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H Medion Erazer Scout E20	18.4 (4.25^min, 4.33^P0.1, 16.6^P1) fps ∼20% 19.5 (11.4^min, 12.9^P0.1, 16.5^P1) 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 TUF Gaming Advantage A16	AMD Radeon RX 7600S (8 GB GDDR6) & AMD Radeon 780M	AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS	2 x 8 GB DDR5
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14	Intel Arc 8	Intel Core Ultra 7 155H	2 x 16 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	Intel driver
Philips Evnia 42M2N8900	Windows 11	551.86	24.3.1	101.5379

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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 - 215 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 > Dragon's Dogma 2 review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Florian Glaser, 2024-03-27 (Update: 2024-03-27)

Pos	Model	< Prev Next > Dragon's Dogma 2 (2024)
Pos	Model	low 1920x1080 Low Preset	high 1920x1080 High Preset	QHD 2560x1440 High Preset	4K 3840x2160 High Preset	3840x2160 High Preset + Quality DLSS + RT	3840x2160 High Preset + Quality FSR + RT
2	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090	101	101.4	99.1	98.4	95.2	97
3	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX	100.4	101.9	101	89.9		93.5
5	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080	114.9	111.9	111.1	91	91.7
8	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT	85.5	82.9	82.4	67.4		68.6
11	AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT	102.8	101.8	98.3	65.8		70.6
12	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU	76.8	70.7	70.4	51	58.1
14	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090	100.8	100.8	98.3	65.5	65.4	61.4
22	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU	70.5	68.5	67.7	49.1	56.7
30	AMD Radeon RX 6800	98.1	89.7	72.2	44.4		48.2
32	NVIDIA Titan RTX	89.2	72.3	59.3	41.3	45.8	44.6
36	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU		69.8	65.5	42.4
37	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU	68.8	65.7	57.4	32.9	39.8
41	AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT	79.6	70.8	57.7	33.9		38.1
43	AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT	80	71.8	57	34.3		37.6
44	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU	61.5	60.8	53.6	32.1	40.7	36.7
45	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti	76.4	60.8	51	31.8	35.1	33.1
46	Intel Arc A770	52.1	47.8	39	24.7
48	AMD Radeon RX 7600	84.2	77.5	58.9	30.3		35.7
53	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU	62.3	57.2	45.8	27.6	34.3
Pos	Model	< Prev Next >Dragon's Dogma 2
Pos	Model	low	high	QHD	4K
58	AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT	74.8	65.3	46.2	25.1		29.4
62	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU	54.2	52.7	49.3	33.9	38.7	37.5
66	Intel Arc A750	48.2	41.3	33.6	20.7
76	NVIDIA Titan X Pascal	51.3	48.5	34.6	20.5
80	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super (Desktop)	65.8	59.2	44.9	28.4	33.6	31.3
84	AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (Desktop)	76.6	70.8	53.9	30.4
91	AMD Radeon RX 7600S	56.7	54.7	41.7	24.2		26.3
97	Intel Arc A580	47.1	43.2	34.4	21.8
98	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop)	61.5	55.8	42	25.8	30.2	27.7
100	AMD Radeon RX 6600	58.4	53.1	38.4	21		25
104	AMD Radeon RX 5700 (Desktop)	67.1	62.3	46.6	27.2
134	AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (Desktop)	61.7	57	42.1	22.7
142	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super (Desktop)	42.9ⁿ²	38.25ⁿ²	28.3ⁿ²	15.25ⁿ²
143	AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT	19.8	19.3	11.8
144	AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (Desktop)	36	31.2	23.5	14.1
145	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU	62.2	52.9	36	18.4	19.5
161	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super (Desktop)	31	26.3	18.4
198	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile	15.8	14.5
203	Intel Arc A380	22	18.9
223*	Intel Arc 8-Cores iGPU	18	14.5

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.