Serious Sam 4 Laptop and Desktop Benchmarks
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Technology
Serious Sam 4 feels purely playful, like a mixture of Doom (disgusting monsters) and Borderlands (funny sayings). As with both of those games, Serious Sam 4 plays at a frenetic pace, with the main character moving through the different levels at insane speeds. The extremely fast movement combined with great weapon feedback of various shots and sounds is a lot of fun, too.
On the other hand, the basic technical framework underpinning Serious Sam 4 performs less well. Despite the rather expedient look, which in part hardly deviates from its almost 10-year-old predecessor, Serious Sam 4 turns out to be quite hardware-hungry.
The many technical problems that we encountered during our tests are just as serious as Sam himself. Here is a list of the problems we came across when playing Serious Sam 4:
- Altering settings often lead to a crash.
- Sometimes the game does not close correctly, or the synchronisation with Steam servers takes forever.
- Annoying intermediate stutters can occur irrespective of hardware and settings.
- The loading times are extremely long even with an SSD
- Every now and then, a restart results in some settings being changed.
- The maximum resolution often cannot be selected on external monitors, like 4K.
- After levels have been loaded, the game often has to warm up for a while or hangs completely for several seconds.
- The game is often CPU-limited even at higher graphics levels and resolutions, which is very unusual for a first-person shooter.
- The integrated benchmark likes to mess around.
- The VRAM requirement is extremely steep. If you have a card with less than 4 GB of VRAM, then you can save yourself from purchase the game unless you are willing to accept awful visual. The game also requires 6-8 GB of VRAM for higher graphics levels and resolutions, which is borderline absurd considering the graphics on offer here.
Top 10 Laptops
Multimedia, Budget Multimedia, Gaming, Budget Gaming, Lightweight Gaming, Business, Budget Office, Workstation, Subnotebooks, Ultrabooks, Chromebooks
under 300 USD/Euros, under 500 USD/Euros, 1,000 USD/Euros, for University Students, Best Displays
Top 10 Smartphones
Smartphones, Phablets, ≤6-inch, Camera Smartphones
In general, the graphics did not blow us away, even at the highest possible graphics settings. Yes, some elements are quite attractive, such as the splatter effects, but the texture sharpness and the number of polygons are way down on what other modern games currently offer. Additionally, the surroundings sometimes look quite sterile, despite the inclusion of vegetation and other details. The sheer mass of enemies only makes up for that to a limited extent, in our opinion.
To be clear, a good shooter can do without the graphical superiority that some games offer. However, if a game is as hardware hungry as Serious Sam 4 is, then one should expect decent graphics in return.
Serious gamers, meanwhile, will be happy that Serious Sam 4 includes a huge amount of graphics options with which to tinker. What is offered is rather too much of a good thing for the average gamer as you have to work your way through various submenus - as can be seen in the screenshots above - which is quite uncomfortable. However, there are presets based around CPU speed, GPU speed and VRAM volume.
In terms of APIs, Serious Sam 4 supports not only DirectX 11, but also DirectX 12 and Vulkan. In our experience, Vulkan provides the best frame rate but also increases the chance of problems presenting themselves. Hence, we used DX12 for our benchmark results for greater stability.
Benchmark
We are fans of the built-in benchmark function, which can be found under Extras. The benchmark comprises several levels, but we limited our tests to the mission Four Horsemen of the Apocalpyse. We let the benchmark run for 60 seconds each time, as the video below demonstrates. Since the benchmark sequence is never 100% identical, there are certain fluctuations in the results.
In our opinion, Serious Sam 4 is playable at 50 FPS and upwards, primarily because of its first-person perspective and its fast-paced gameplay. With that said, Serious Sam 4 never feels completely smooth.
Results
FHD (1,920 x 1,080)
We would recommend using a recent upper mid-range graphics card to play Serious Sam 4 at Full HD. Specifically, a GeForce GTX 1650 or Radeon RX 5500M should do when playing the game at medium details, while we would recommend a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or higher for gaming at maximum settings.
Serious Sam 4 | |
1920x1080 Medium (DX12) 1920x1080 High (DX12) 1920x1080 Ultra (DX12) AA:2xMS | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop) | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop) | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop) | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop) | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile | |
AMD Radeon RX 5500M | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile | |
NVIDIA GeForce MX330 | |
NVIDIA GeForce MX350 | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop) |
QHD (2,560 x 1,440)
If you want to play with full details at QHD (2,560 x 1,440), then you cannot get away with anything less than a high-end and expensive card at the level of the GeForce RTX 2070.
Serious Sam 4 | |
2560x1440 Ultra (DX12) AA:2xMS | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop), i7-8086K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-9750H | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-9750H | |
AMD Radeon RX 5500M, R7 3750H | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ | |
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ |
UHD (3,840 x 2,160)
Serious Sam 4 is beyond the capabilities of all laptop GPUs bar the GeForce RTX 2080 when running at a mixture of UHD (3,840 x 2,160) and ultra settings. You can opt for a lesser graphics card, but you can only expect smooth all-round performance with the GeForce RTX 2080. The situation may improve with future patches, though.
Serious Sam 4 | |
3840x2160 Ultra (DX12) AA:2xMS | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop), i7-8086K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop), i9-9900K | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop), i9-9900K |
Please note
Since gaming tests are very time-consuming and are often hindered by installation or activation limits, we can only provide you with some of the benchmarks, initially. Results for more graphics cards will be added in the coming days and weeks.
Übersicht
Frame times of the benchmark run
The below chart shows the frame times in milliseconds that the GeForce RTX 2070 and Radeon RX 5500M took to calculate each frame at FHD and ultra graphics settings. Smaller and consistent values provide a better gaming experience, in this regard.
Testsysteme
Device | Graphics Card | Processor | RAM | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Desktop PC I | MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (11 GB GDDR6) MSI GeForce RTX 2080 (8 GB GDDR6) MSI GeForce RTX 2070 (8 GB GDDR6) MSI GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB GDDR6) |
Intel Core i9-9900K | 4 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 i7-8086K, Aorus Z370 Ultra Gaming | 2 x 8 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
Desktop PC III | NVIDIA Titan RTX (24 GB GDDR6) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super (8 GB GDDR6) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super (8 GB GDDR6)NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (8 GB GDDR6)KFA2 GeForce RTX 2060 Super (8 GB GDDR6)NVIDIA Titan X (Pascal) (12 GB GDDR5X) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1660 Super (6 GB GDDR6) PNY GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB GDDR5) Gainward GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR5) Zotac GeForce GT 1030 (2 GB GDDR5) AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (8 GB GDDR6)) AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (8 GB HBM2) XFX AMD Radeon RX 590 (8 GB GDDR5) |
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | 2 x 8 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI GT76 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (8 GB GDDR6) | Intel Core i9-9900K | 2 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI GP65 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (8 GB GDDR6) | Intel Core i7-9750H | 2 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI GE65 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB GDDR6) | Intel Core i7-9750H | 2 x 8 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI GP65 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6 GB GDDR6) | Intel Core i7-9750H | 2 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI GP75 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-9750H | 2 x 8 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
Alienware 17 R4 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB GDDR5X) | Intel Core i7-7820HK | 2 x 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 (2 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-7700HQ | 2 x 4 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 |
MSI Prestige 14 | NVIDIA GeForce MX350 (2 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-10710U | 1 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI Prestige 14 | NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (2 GB GDDR5) | Intel Core i7-10510U | 1 x 16 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
MSI Alpha 15 | AMD Radeon RX 5500M (4 GB GDDR6) | AMD Ryzen 7 3750H | 2 x 8 GB DDR4 | Windows 10 64-bit |
4K Monitors | NVIDIA drivers | AMD drivers |
---|---|---|
Asus PB287Q, Philips Brilliance 329P9H | ForceWare 456.38 | Adrenalin 20.9.1 |