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GRID Autosport Benchmarked

Pedal to the metal. In line with the current trend, racing-game expert Codemasters follows up successful games with sequels and releases at least one flagship product every year. The latest addition to the simulator series, GRID Autosport, is intended to be a very comprehensive package which offers a lot of variety. Our review is predominantly aimed at notebook users who would like to know how much horsepower is actually needed to guarantee a smooth gaming experience.

Technology

For the original German article, see here.

GRID Autosport is based on Codemasters' own EGO engine (now in version 3), which has seen many improvements and optimizations over the years.  Although there aren't really any obvious differences between the new game and the previous generation at first glance (GRID 2 had very similar hardware requirements as well), the overall visual appearance doesn't have to hide from the competition.

In addition to various textures as well as light and shadow effects, most of the different race cars compare well to those offered by the competing racing game Need for Speed Rivals from 2013. There's no question that there is still room for improvement in some areas, however.

The standout feature and a major plus of GRID Autosport is the highly adjustable graphics menu. While Need for Speed Rivals only offers a handful of options, Codemasters' product has more than 20 of them, which allow the user to tailor the game to his or her liking. In addition, there are 5 presets (Ultra Low to Ultra) and several anti-aliasing options. Aside from CMAA and MSAA, GRID Autosport also supports (Q)CSAA and EQAA, although the latter two options are reserved for  Nvidia and AMD, respectively.

Great: since all graphics options can be adjusted on the fly, the user doesn't have to stop and restart the game after each and every adjustment. We don't really like the fact that the menus are nested within each other, however. Although we've seen this practice in the past, it makes operation a bit convoluted and not as smooth as it could be.

Aside from a few software crashes and freezes in some scenes, which we weren't able to reproduce, the technology seems up to par. AMD notebooks therefore shouldn't have start-up issues like we experienced with F1 2013.

Considering the game was released this year, the hardware requirements are actually pretty modest. Although the visual appearance of the game has undergone subtle improvements, Autosport runs smoother than GRID 2 with the settings on low. High settings do require a certain amount of power, but overall the graphics engine certainly isn't a resource hog.

A dual-core CPU and a middle-class GPU are enough for a decent race track experience. On the Intel side, a quad-core CPU only has advantages as long as the settings are on low (see the results for the GT 750M and the GTX 850M). Only with very potent GPUs the CPU performance can become a limiting factor.

Low Settings
Low Settings
Medium Settings
Medium Settings
High Settings
High Settings
Ultra Settings
Ultra Settings
Low Settings
Low Settings
Medium Settings
Medium Settings
High Settings
High Settings
Ultra Settings
Ultra Settings

Benchmark

Just like previous Codemasters products, GRID Autosports contains an integrated benchmark, which is accessible directly via the graphics menu. The AI then completes a lap at the Grand Prix in San Francisco in about 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Since the benchmark sequence is not always identical, but varies during each run (placement, duration, etc.), the results are also not consistent. Multiple repeats of the benchmark test resulted in variations of up to 15 %. In some cases, a weaker GPU might thus place ahead of a more powerful one.

Results

Thanks to support from both AMD and Nvidia we were able to extend our inventory of graphics cards with a few current desktop models. The GeForce GTX 780 Ti managed a frame rate of 123 fps and easily outperforms all single-GPU notebooks with the settings on ultra. The most powerful mobile GPU provides similar performance to a middle-class desktop card: the GeForce GTX 880M, for example, reaches 77 fps on ultra and is thus quite comparable to the GeForce GTX 760 (73 fps), which sells for 200-300 Euro ($275-$410). All things considered, even a GeForce GTX 860M (doesn't matter if Kepler or Maxwell) can guarantee a smooth gaming experience.

A typical allrounder-notebook is powerful enough to support a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, provided that 4x MSAA is not checked. Even with the DDR3 version of the GeForce GT 750M, we still measured frame rates of just above 40 fps. With the normal preset and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, low-end GPUs from the Intel HD Graphics 4600 on up are sufficient. Only users stuck with very old or weak GPUs might have to resort to the lowest settings.

Please note: at this time, the integrated benchmark is not able to record frame rates below 12.5 fps.

GRID: Autosport
    1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS     1920x1080 High Preset     1366x768 Medium Preset     1024x768 Ultra Low Preset
GeForce GTX 780 Ti, 3770K
Desktop-PC
122.6 (89min) fps ∼82%
139.4 (104min) fps ∼69%
159.9 (119min) fps ∼69%
284.3 (213min) fps ∼66%
Radeon R9 290X, 2600K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
Sapphire Tri-X R9 290X Desktop
92 (66min) fps ∼61%
118 (88min) fps ∼59%
129 (101min) fps ∼56%
253 (196min) fps ∼59%
Radeon R9 280X, 3770K
Desktop-PC
90.8 (73min) fps ∼61%
117.5 (92min) fps ∼59%
143.6 (109min) fps ∼62%
288.4 (212min) fps ∼67%
GeForce GTX 880M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
76.8 (64min) fps ∼51%
114.9 (90min) fps ∼57%
139.6 (109min) fps ∼61%
226 (190min) fps ∼53%
GeForce GTX 760, 3770K
Desktop-PC
73.2 (60min) fps ∼49%
128.7 (107min) fps ∼64%
154.8 (124min) fps ∼67%
290.2 (222min) fps ∼68%
GeForce GTX 780M, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
70.9 (60min) fps ∼47%
108.1 (86min) fps ∼54%
127 (102min) fps ∼55%
197.1 (162min) fps ∼46%
GeForce GTX 870M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
62.3 (53min) fps ∼42%
120 (91min) fps ∼60%
129.1 (103min) fps ∼56%
227.3 (189min) fps ∼53%
Radeon R9 M290X, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
62 (51min) fps ∼41%
95.7 (70min) fps ∼48%
112.6 (87min) fps ∼49%
211.5 (168min) fps ∼49%
GeForce GTX 750 Ti, 3770K
Desktop-PC
52.6 (42min) fps ∼35%
100.1 (78min) fps ∼50%
153.6 (117min) fps ∼67%
262.4 (200min) fps ∼61%
GeForce GTX 770M, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
46.5 (37min) fps ∼31%
92.6 (77min) fps ∼46%
130.3 (104min) fps ∼56%
199.6 (166min) fps ∼46%
GeForce GTX 860M, 4700MQ
Schenker W504
42.6 (35min) fps ∼28%
95.6 (77min) fps ∼48%
123.1 (98min) fps ∼53%
232.4 (183min) fps ∼54%
GeForce GTX 850M, 4340M
Schenker M504
36.1 (27min) fps ∼24%
73.4 (51min) fps ∼37%
109.8 (88min) fps ∼48%
175.5 (144min) fps ∼41%
GeForce GTX 765M, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
34.8 (29min) fps ∼23%
74.1 (59min) fps ∼37%
130.7 (99min) fps ∼57%
191.9 (156min) fps ∼45%
GeForce GT 750M, 4702MQ
Schenker M503
20.1 (16min) fps ∼13%
43 (31min) fps ∼21%
88 (73min) fps ∼38%
186.2 (149min) fps ∼43%
Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop), A10-7850K, Samsung SSD 470 Series MZ-5PA256/EU
A10-7850K Asus A88-XM-PLUS
17.5 (13min) fps ∼12%
37 (30min) fps ∼18%
71 (60min) fps ∼31%
151 (116min) fps ∼35%
GeForce GT 640M, 2637M, Lite-On LMT-256M3M
Acer Aspire M3-581TG
16.2 (13min) fps ∼11%
32.8 (25min) fps ∼16%
68 (51min) fps ∼29%
120 (93min) fps ∼28%
GeForce GT 740M, 4200M
HP Envy 15-j011sg
14.4 (13min) fps ∼10%
30.7 (22min) fps ∼15%
64.4 (52min) fps ∼28%
141.4 (120min) fps ∼33%
Iris Pro Graphics 5200, 4750HQ, Intel SSD 525 Series SSDMCEAC180B3
SCHENKER S413
14.3 (13min) fps ∼10%
33.4 (27min) fps ∼17%
60 (49min) fps ∼26%
140 (112min) fps ∼33%
GeForce GT 720M, 4200M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
MSI CX61-i572M
12.5 (0min) fps ∼8%
15.6 (0min) fps ∼8%
32.5 (0min) fps ∼14%
82.9 (0min) fps ∼19%
HD Graphics 4600, 4700MQ
Schenker W503
12.5 (12.5min) fps ∼8%
19.7 (16min) fps ∼10%
45.8 (36min) fps ∼20%
119.5 (97min) fps ∼28%

Review Systems

Four of our review notebooks are from Schenker Technologies:

  • W504 (Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 860M, GTX 870M, GTX 880M, Radeon R9 M290X)
  • W503 (Core i7-4700MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 765M, GTX 770M, GTX 780M)
  • M504 (Core i5-4340M, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GTX 850M)
  • M503 (Core i7-4702MQ, 8 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 750M)

All these systems run 64-bit Windows 7. A special thanks goes out to Micron for sending us a 480 GByte Crucial M500 SSD.

An additional review notebook was provided by Nvidia:

  • HP Envy 15-j011sg (Core i5-4200M, 12 GB DDR3, GeForce GT 740M)

We used the following GPU drivers: Nvidia 340.43 Beta, AMD 14.6 RC2 Beta, Intel 10.18.10.3652 Beta.

We've also included benchmarks from other notebooks, which might make use of different drivers.

Results

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
 GRID: Autosport (2014)
low
1024x768
Ultra Low Preset
med.
1366x768
Medium Preset
high
1920x1080
High Preset
ultra
1920x1080
Ultra Preset
4x MSAA
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
Qualcomm Adreno 304
AMD Radeon Pro 560
Qualcomm Adreno 302
AMD Radeon HD 6850M
AMD Radeon HD 6830M
AMD Radeon HD 6310
AMD Radeon HD 6320
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon 760M
AMD Radeon 680M
AMD Radeon HD 6775G2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M
279.4
166.9n2
142n5
103n5
NVIDIA RTX A5500 Laptop GPU
AMD Radeon Pro 455
AMD Radeon Pro 555X
AMD Radeon HD 6650M
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M
AMD Radeon HD 6680G2
AMD Radeon HD 6690G2
AMD Radeon HD 6480G + HD 7450M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 6250
AMD FirePro W5130M
AMD Radeon HD 7430M
AMD Radeon HD 7350M
AMD Radeon HD 7370M
AMD Radeon HD 7340
AMD Radeon HD 7290
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs
NVIDIA GeForce Go 6200
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 SLI (Laptop)
Intel UHD Graphics 64EUs (Alder Lake 12th Gen)
NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS
Nvidia RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
Intel UHD Graphics 630
NVIDIA GeForce 920M
122.55n4
53.9n4
25.96n4
12.5n3
Intel HD Graphics 2500
NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX
NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT SLI
NVIDIA GeForce Go 6250
NVIDIA RTX 3500 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
NVIDIA RTX 3000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q
NVIDIA Quadro T1000 (Laptop)
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PowerVR SGX543MP3
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M SLI
PowerVR SGX535
NVIDIA RTX 4000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU
NVIDIA Titan RTX
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6730M
Qualcomm Adreno 225
AMD Radeon HD 6450 GDDR5
AMD Radeon HD 6480G
AMD Radeon Graphics (Ryzen 7000)
AMD Radeon 780M
AMD Radeon 630
AMD Radeon 625
AMD FirePro M8900
AMD FirePro W5170M
AMD Radeon 520
AMD Radeon HD 6630M
AMD Radeon HD 7500G
AMD Radeon HD 6450M
AMD Radeon HD 6290
AMD Radeon 740M
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD FirePro W4190M
AMD Radeon 540X
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950M
165.55n6
104.7n7
68.1n7
34n7
NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M
AMD Radeon Pro 460
AMD Radeon HD 6540G2
AMD Radeon HD 6545G2
AMD Radeon HD 6870M
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6530M
AMD Radeon HD 7640G
AMD Radeon HD 6950M
AMD Radeon HD 7640G + HD 7610M Dual Graphics
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6550M
NVIDIA T600 Laptop GPU
NVIDIA GeForce 920MX
176.6
68.4
30.7
14.9
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q
NVIDIA Quadro P4200
AMD Radeon HD 6620G + HD 7670M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 6520G + HD 7450M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon HD 6550D
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon Pro 555
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 GT
AMD Radeon Pro 5600M
AMD Radeon Pro 560X
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20
AMD Radeon Pro WX 2100
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100
NVIDIA GeForce GT 445M
AMD Radeon HD 6990M Crossfire
AMD Radeon HD 6990M
AMD Radeon HD 6970M
AMD Radeon HD 6970
AMD Radeon HD 6970M Crossfire
ATI Radeon HD 5570
AMD Radeon HD 7660G + HD 7670M Dual Graphics
ATI Mobility Radeon X800
ATI Radeon IGP 340M
ATI Mobility Radeon X700
ATI Radeon IGP 320M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 435M
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA GeForce GT 430
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G
NVIDIA GeForce 830M
122.15n2
60.35n2
28.9n2
14.75n2
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 320M
NVIDIA GeForce MX450
NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M
NVIDIA RTX 6000 Ada Generation
NVIDIA GeForce 825M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 415M
NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
327.5
173.4
149.1
85.5
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA GeForce GT 625M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 745M
NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M
141.4
64.4
30.7
14.4
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M
155.1
53.8
25.2
13
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 SLI (Laptop)
342
191.3
155.2
142.9
NVIDIA GeForce GT 735M
NVIDIA Quadro P5000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 720M
82.9
32.5
15.6
12.5
NVIDIA Quadro P3200
AMD Radeon HD 6720G2
AMD Radeon HD 6515G2
AMD Radeon HD 6510G2
PowerVR GE8300
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 (Laptop)
Qualcomm Adreno 205
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 Max-Q
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA Titan X Pascal
NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 Max-Q
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PowerVR GXA6850
PowerVR GX6450
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PowerVR GM9446
PowerVR GE8322 / IMG8322
PowerVR SGX544
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon R5 M420
AMD Radeon HD 6520G
AMD Radeon HD 6470M
AMD Radeon HD 6750M
AMD Radeon HD 6490M
AMD Radeon 660M
AMD FirePro W4170M
AMD FirePro W2100
187
62
23
14
AMD Radeon HD 6370M
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6350M
AMD Radeon HD 6330M
AMD Radeon 620
AMD Radeon 610
AMD Radeon 610M
AMD FirePro W4100
261
71
34
19
AMD FirePro M5950
AMD FirePro M4000
AMD FirePro M6100
283
135
94
48
AMD FirePro M3900
AMD FirePro M4100
AMD Radeon 530
175.4
62.2
AMD FirePro M2000
AMD Radeon HD 6770M
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6790
AMD FirePro M6000
AMD Radeon Pro W6800
NVIDIA RTX A4500 Laptop GPU
AMD FirePro M5100
213
101
44
26
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M SLI
374.1
207.4
165.7
118.8
AMD Radeon HD 6645G2
AMD Radeon HD 6760G2
NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
ATI Radeon HD 5850
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 (Laptop)
315.9n2
178.9n2
156n2
129.4n2
NVIDIA Quadro P3000 Max-Q
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980
297.4
154.3
100.3n4
80.1n4
AMD Radeon HD 6870
AMD FirePro W7170M
232
116
99
67
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 6430M
AMD Radeon HD 6380G
AMD Radeon R6 (Kaveri)
70.1
30.66
16.99
AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo)
81
32.2
17
12.5
AMD Radeon HD 7310
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M SLI
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M
202.7n3
120.4n3
99.9n3
59.2n3
AMD Radeon HD 6620G + HD 7450M Dual Graphics
AMD Radeon R5 M335
132
46.1
21.6
12.6
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon PRO W6600M
AMD Radeon R5 M430
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 150M
AMD Radeon HD 8970M Crossfire
PosModel< PrevNext >GRID: Autosport
low med. high ultra
PowerVR SGX545
AMD Radeon HD 8970M
AMD Radeon HD 6640G2
AMD Radeon Pro 450
AMD Radeon HD 6620G
Intel Iris Pro Graphics P580
(-) * 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, 2014-07- 6 (Update: 2021-05-18)