Need for Speed Unbound review: notebook and desktop benchmarks

Interesting visual style.

Need for Speed Unbound offers a very exciting visual style that combines cel-shaded characters and effects with realistic cars and environment. Read our benchmark review to find out what this means for its hardware requirements.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Zhiwei (Peter) Zhuang), Published 12/13/2022 🇩🇪 🇸🇪 ...

Technical aspects

NFS Unbound is developed by Criterion Games, a British game studio that already made three previous entries in the series: Hot Pursuit (2010), Most Wanted (2012) and Rivals (2013). Unlike most of the recent NFS games, Unbound is finally bringing a breath of fresh air to the series thanks to its comic-inspired aesthetic. The Frostbite Engine made by Battlefield developer DICE also ensures the game looks great.

Besides having high draw distance, the game also features impressive car models and many environmental textures. But Criterion can often go overboard with visual effects. Unbound's gameplay is likewise solid and reminds us of the good old Underground era with night races, car tuning and wild police chase sequences. Sure, you'll need a while to get used to how cars handle in the game (particularly drifting), but otherwise it is relatively easy to get the hang of Unbound if you can ignore the sometimes odd physics.

The presentation of the story (at least at the beginning) is surprisingly intense and doesn't appear to be as tacky, clichéd and awkward as some of the previous entries in the series. Furthermore, the inclusion of pedestrians makes the game world feel more realistic and atmospheric.

Other than the fairly limited options, there is hardly anything else to complain about the graphics menu. At the top, there are options for adjusting motion blur, gamma, screen mode and resolution. Further down, you'll find settings such as V-Sync, dynamic resolution scaling, upsampling (DLSS or FSR) and resolution scaling – all of which were disabled for the benchmarks. The menu also gives you four handy presets, but switching between them requires the game to be restarted. Too bad the game doesn't tell you this using a pop-up message but instead only mentions it in passing in the description.

Nevertheless, not everything that glitters is gold when it comes to Unbound's technical performance. Whilst testing the game on some systems, we encountered problems with the fullscreen mode (especially when changing resolution) as well as when launching the game (the required EA app sometimes refused to work properly). Another annoying issue is that many of our Nvidia-based laptops experienced abnormally poor performance when connected to an external monitor, despite having the latest driver (ForceWare 527.37). For this review, we tested out the Steam version of Unbound, which takes up roughly 30 GB of drive space – a fairly average file size for a modern game.

Benchmark

Because NFS Unbound doesn't come with a built-in benchmark tool, our measurements are based on a sequence created by us. After the player leaves the garage for the first time and reloads the game, it will the place the player at the fuel station shown in the video below. From the station, we then drove along a predetermined path for around 30 seconds and captured the performance using the tool CapFrameX. Due to the fast-paced nature of the game, we recommend hitting at least 40 fps or, even better, above 50-60 fps.

▶ load Youtube video

Results

We mainly used devices on loan from XMG (Schenker Technologies) for the benchmarks.

FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

Whilst Intel iGPUs failed to run the game properly even at 720p, some of the low-end chips from AMD and Nvidia were at least able to achieve reasonably smooth frame rates at 1080p. By contrast, those who have a mid-range GPU or above can expect a pretty good gaming experience at this resolution. For instance, the game will run fairly well on a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti even at high to max settings.

Need for Speed Unbound
1920x1080 Low Preset 1920x1080 Medium Preset 1920x1080 High Preset 1920x1080 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	178.5 (85.8^min, 113.2^P0.1, 138^P1) fps ∼21% 161 (43^min, 97.3^P0.1, 120^P1) fps ∼22% 141.5 (16.4^min, 71.3^P0.1, 101.2^P1) fps ∼23%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	178.7 (93.8^min, 103.9^P0.1, 134.2^P1) fps ∼21% 154.6 (34.2^min, 56.6^P0.1, 110.1^P1) fps ∼21% 133 (22.6^min, 57.3^P0.1, 94.8^P1) fps ∼21%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900HX MSI Titan GT77 12UHS	133 (18.7^min, 77.7^P0.1, 98.6^P1) fps ∼16% 125.2 (33.1^min, 76^P0.1, 92.7^P1) fps ∼15% 106.8 (32.8^min, 64.9^P0.1, 78.3^P1) fps ∼15% 94.7 (28^min, 37^P0.1, 69.5^P1) fps ∼15%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	117.5 (17.2^min, 30.1^P0.1, 57.3^P1) fps ∼14% 112.5 (8.57^min, 34.5^P0.1, 63.9^P1) fps ∼13% 100.4 (6.78^min, 30.5^P0.1, 55.9^P1) fps ∼14% 93.1 (18.2^min, 22.5^P0.1, 43.7^P1) fps ∼15%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	100.6 (26.3^min, 34.7^P0.1, 59.4^P1) fps ∼12% 95 (25.5^min, 37^P0.1, 53.7^P1) fps ∼11% 90.2 (35.6^min, 40.3^P0.1, 54.9^P1) fps ∼13% 83.5 (16^min, 21.7^P0.1, 48.1^P1) fps ∼13%
AMD Radeon RX 6800M, R9 5900HX Asus ROG Strix G15	85.5 (50^min, 54.6^P0.1, 64.7^P1) fps ∼10% 72 (46.2^min, 48.5^P0.1, 54^P1) fps ∼10% 63.3 (26.8^min, 34^P0.1, 39.1^P1) fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	100.5 (29^min, 47.4^P0.1, 60^P1) fps ∼12% 86.4 (48.9^min, 55.6^P0.1, 62.6^P1) fps ∼10% 73.3 (27.8^min, 43^P0.1, 52.2^P1) fps ∼10% 61.4 (9.28^min, 28.9^P0.1, 48.1^P1) fps ∼10%
AMD Radeon RX 6600M, R7 5800H Lenovo Legion 5	87.9 (19.7^min, 52^P0.1, 68.5^P1) fps ∼10% 72.3 (13^min, 47.7^P0.1, 53.6^P1) fps ∼10% 58.2 (4.46^min, 20.8^P0.1, 42.6^P1) fps ∼9%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Focus 17 @75 W TGP	95.6 (24.4^min, 48.6^P0.1, 67.6^P1) fps ∼11% 84.4 (23.6^min, 34.9^P0.1, 54^P1) fps ∼10% 63.4 (19.3^min, 29.2^P0.1, 38.9^P1) fps ∼9% 47.3 (5.88^min, 16.8^P0.1, 30.6^P1) fps ∼8%
AMD Radeon 680M, R9 6900HS Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	49.4 (26.5^min, 32.8^P0.1, 34.9^P1) fps ∼6% 41 (13.4^min, 26.9^P0.1, 32.5^P1) fps ∼5% 31.7 (18.8^min, 21.3^P0.1, 24.1^P1) fps ∼4% 27.5 (16^min, 19^P0.1, 20.8^P1) fps ∼4%
Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7 Zotac ZBOX CI665 Nano	19.9 (4.65^min, 6.69^P0.1, 14.3^P1) fps ∼2% 17.5 (4.59^min, 11.2^P0.1, 13.5^P1) fps ∼2% 13.8 (3.24^min, 4.61^P0.1, 6.44^P1) fps ∼2% 3.95 (2.11^min, 2.13^P0.1, 2.27^P1) fps ∼1%

QHD (2,560 x 1,440)

To play the game at 1440p and Ultra preset, you should already be looking at a high-end graphics card, such as the Radeon RX 6800M.

Need for Speed Unbound
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	131.1 (38.9^min, 79.9^P0.1, 97.5^P1) fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	101 (12.2^min, 35.6^P0.1, 78.6^P1) fps ∼14%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	79.9 (18.3^min, 26.9^P0.1, 48.9^P1) fps ∼11%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	77.8 (5.84^min, 20.8^P0.1, 38.4^P1) fps ∼11%
AMD Radeon RX 6800M, R9 5900HX Asus ROG Strix G15	52.1 (19.1^min, 33.9^P0.1, 38.8^P1) fps ∼7%
AMD Radeon RX 6600M, R7 5800H Lenovo Legion 5	37.2 (4.63^min, 4.91^P0.1, 22.6^P1) fps ∼5%

UHD (3,840 x 2,160)

At 4K resolution, there is really no way around a very high-end GPU if you want to max out the settings. NFS Unbound is pretty smooth and playable at 4K on a GeForce RTX 3070 or higher.

Need for Speed Unbound
3840x2160 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	77.6 (26.5^min, 53.6^P0.1, 61.8^P1) fps ∼20%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	50.3 (13.3^min, 30^P0.1, 39.4^P1) fps ∼13%
AMD Radeon RX 6800M, R9 5900HX Asus ROG Strix G15	33.9 (20.8^min, 21^P0.1, 25.2^P1) fps ∼9%
AMD Radeon RX 6600M, R7 5800H Lenovo Legion 5	26.2 (10.1^min, 17.5^P0.1, 21.8^P1) fps ∼7%

Note

Because gaming tests are very time-consuming and are often constrained by installation or activation limits, we are only able to provide you with part of the benchmark results at the time of publishing this article. We will be adding more graphics cards over the coming days and weeks.

Overview

Test systems

XMG Neo 15 (RTX 3080) - Click on the image to open the configurator (bestware.com)

XMG Neo 17 (RTX 3070) - Click on the image to open the configurator (bestware.com)

XMG Core 15 (RTX 3060) - Click on the image to open the configurator (bestware.com)

XMG Focus 17 (RTX 3050 Ti) - Click on the image to open the configurator (bestware.com)

Device	Graphics card	Processor	RAM	Operating system
Notebooks
MSI Titan GT77 12UHS	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti @175 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-12900	2 x 16 GB DDR5	Windows 11
XMG Neo 15	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 @165 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11
XMG Neo 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11
XMG Core 15	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 @130 W TGP (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11
XMG Focus 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti @75 W TGP (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Asus ROG Strix G15	AMD Radeon RX 6800M (12 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Lenovo Legion 5	AMD Radeon RX 6600M (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 7 5800H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	AMD Radeon 680M	AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS	2 x 16 GB DDR5	Windows 11
Zotac ZBOX CI665 Nano	Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96 EUs)	Intel Core i7-1165G7	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Tower PCs
Custom I	MSI GeForce RTX 3080 (10 GB GDDR6X) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-12900K	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Custom II	Palit GeForce RTX 4090 GameRock OC (24 GB GDDR6X) Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 FE (24 GB GDDR6X) Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (8 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) AMD Radeon RX 6800 (16 GB DDR6) AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB DDR6) AMD Radeon RX 6650 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 7950X	2 x 16 GB DDR5	Windows 11
Custom III	Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super FE	Intel Core i9-11900K	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Mini-PCs
Morefine S500+	AMD Radeon RX Vega 8	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Minisforum NUCXi7+	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 @125 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 11
Minisforum HX90G+	AMD Radeon RX 6600M @100 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 11

4K Monitors	Nvidia driver	AMD driver
Asus PB287Q, Philips Brilliance 329P9H, Acer Predator XB321HK	ForceWare 527.37	Adrenalin 22.12.2

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Editor of the original article: Florian Glaser - Managing Editor Gaming Laptops - 640 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: Zhiwei Zhuang - Translator - 252 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, I moved from Singapore to Cologne in 2014 and began pursuing a career as a freelance translator. Much of my translation work focuses on science, engineering and technology. My fascination with computers and mobile electronics began when I was young. And I have fond memories reading countless tech and gaming magazines. Working with Notebookcheck gives me the opportunity to incorporate my personal interests into my professional work.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Need for Speed Unbound review: notebook and desktop benchmarks

Florian Glaser, 2022-12-13 (Update: 2024-08-15)

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.