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Star Wars Outlaws review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Graphic cravings from another world?

Outlaws faced some criticism prior to release, but the final version was relatively well received, at least by the press. However, as our benchmark article indicates, Star Wars fans will need fairly powerful hardware to run it smoothly.
Star Wars Outlaws

Test systems

XMG Neo 16 E23 (RTX 4090)
XMG Neo 16 E23 (RTX 4090)
Razer Blade 16 Mid 23 (RTX 4080)
Razer Blade 16 Mid 23 (RTX 4080)
XMG Pro 15 E23 (RTX 4070)
XMG Pro 15 E23 (RTX 4070)
Razer Blade 14 Mid 23 (RTX 4060)
Razer Blade 14 Mid 23 (RTX 4060)
Medion Erazer Scout E20 (RTX 4050)
Medion Erazer Scout E20 (RTX 4050)
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14 (Arc 8)
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14 (Arc 8)
Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme (Radeon 780M)
Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme (Radeon 780M)
Philips Evnia 4K gaming monitor 329M1RV
Philips Evnia 4K gaming monitor 329M1RV
be quiet! Silent Base 802 (RTX 4080 & RX 7900 XT)
be quiet! Silent Base 802 (RTX 4080 & RX 7900 XT)

We ran our gaming benchmarks on these devices. Clicking on the various images will take you to the respective producer's website. Further details on the devices' specifications are listed at the end of the article.

Tech

Outlaws is built on Ubisoft's Snowdrop engine, which produces stunning on-screen graphics. Although it doesn't quite break new ground, the action-adventure game has a lot to offer in terms of audiovisual and detailed content.

Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws

While our test is based on the patch 1.1.1, which attempts to resolve stability and VRAM concerns, there are still a number of technical issues. For instance, startup and loading processes, as well as menu changes, can be slower than average—particularly on less powerful systems and/or when using an external storage device, even if it's a fast NVMe SSD. Consequently, we installed the game on each of the test computers. Running through Ubisoft Connect, the game requires a download of just under 50 GB, which is neither particularly less nor much by today’s standards.

Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws

The extensive graphics options in Outlaws, which Ubisoft has divided into two menus due to their quantity, deserve commendation. The Video tab includes essentials such as resolution and display mode (we use the 21:9 cinematic mode) as well as various upscaling options. Outlaws supports all modern techniques, from FSR to DLSS and XeSS, and offers Frame Generation and Ray Reconstruction for compatible cards.

The Graphics tab, or more specifically the Advanced Graphics submenu, provides even more customization. It features over 20 individual settings, including several for ray tracing. The high system requirements are partly due to ray tracing being automatically enabled at every quality level, with a total of four presets (Low to Ultra).

Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws
Star Wars Outlaws

Changes do not require the game to be restarted, which is a pleasant feature. A VRAM display is also included, though the values shown can vary significantly from system to system. As is common with Ubisoft, the menus include useful explanatory texts and, in some cases, comparison images. In the ongoing rivalry between AMD and Nvidia, our experience indicates that Nvidia often performs significantly better in certain scenarios. Additionally, at moderate resolutions and settings, it becomes apparent that Outlaws can be limited by the CPU.

Benchmark

Our benchmarks are conducted in the ‘Underworld Toshara’, an area that becomes accessible after approximately two hours of gameplay and is quite demanding on performance. We use the CapframeX tool to record a fixed route for about 30 seconds, as demonstrated in the video below. We consider a frame rate of 40 FPS and above to be decent; however, Outlaws still occasionally suffers from low minimum FPS and unusual stuttering, regardless of the hardware.

Results


FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

Unfortunately, the title is virtually unplayable on integrated GPUs. Neither the Radeon 780M nor the Arc 8 could achieve smooth frame rates during testing, even at 1,280 x 720 resolution with the lowest settings. The performance is significantly better with reasonably modern mid-range GPUs. For instance, a GeForce RTX 4050 can handle 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and the High preset reasonably well. For the Ultra preset in Full HD, we recommend using at least an RTX 4060.

Star Wars Outlaws
    1920x1080 cinem. low     1920x1080 cinem. medium     1920x1080 cinem. high     1920x1080 cinem. ultra
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K
Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F
141 (76.7min, 89.2P0.1, 104.3P1) fps ∼100%
137.5 (72.1min, 86.4P0.1, 103.8P1) fps ∼100%
129.2 (61.2min, 80.9P0.1, 95.1P1) fps ∼100%
115.5 (43.5min, 69.5P0.1, 82.1P1) fps ∼100%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX
XMG Neo 16 E23
90.5 (15min, 29.2P0.1, 55.3P1) fps ∼64%
88.7 (25.3min, 31.7P0.1, 54.5P1) fps ∼65%
83 (31min, 33.5P0.1, 56.3P1) fps ∼64%
76.2 (23.9min, 37.1P0.1, 50.5P1) fps ∼66%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K
Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F
85.4 (47.3min, 52.4P0.1, 60.8P1) fps ∼61%
82.9 (3.99min, 30.2P0.1, 57.1P1) fps ∼60%
78.2 (30.9min, 48.8P0.1, 56.9P1) fps ∼61%
70.7 (32.1min, 41.8P0.1, 47.9P1) fps ∼61%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX
Razer Blade 16 Mid 23
70.9 (25.7min, 34.2P0.1, 42.7P1) fps ∼50%
63.4 (24.4min, 27.6P0.1, 44.1P1) fps ∼46%
61 (28min, 32.9P0.1, 42.1P1) fps ∼47%
57.7 (34.3min, 34.9P0.1, 38.8P1) fps ∼50%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX
XMG Pro 15 E23
73.7 (31.1min, 41.4P0.1, 51.8P1) fps ∼52%
69.9 (15.6min, 34.5P0.1, 50.3P1) fps ∼51%
60 (35.1min, 37P0.1, 42.3P1) fps ∼46%
52.8 (19.2min, 31.6P0.1, 37.6P1) fps ∼46%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS
Razer Blade 14 Mid 23
63.2 (19.6min, 33.6P0.1, 41.8P1) fps ∼45%
57.6 (23.5min, 34.9P0.1, 42.7P1) fps ∼42%
50.7 (23.2min, 29.8P0.1, 39P1) fps ∼39%
41.3 (21.6min, 23.1P0.1, 31.7P1) fps ∼36%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H
Medion Erazer Scout E20
52.8 (30.2min, 34.2P0.1, 41.9P1) fps ∼37%
49.5 (32.9min, 33.1P0.1, 39.7P1) fps ∼36%
43.3 (25.3min, 29P0.1, 33.8P1) fps ∼34%
35.1 (19min, 20.5P0.1, 27.5P1) fps ∼30%
Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU, Ultra 7 155H
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14
16.5 (11.4min, 12.7P0.1, 14.2P1) fps ∼12%
15.9 (8.96min, 10.8P0.1, 12.9P1) fps ∼12%
13 (6.32min, 6.68P0.1, 10.4P1) fps ∼10%
10.8 (5.98min, 6.6P0.1, 8.61P1) fps ∼9%
AMD Radeon 780M, Z1 Extreme
Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme
14 (4.79min, 5.96P0.1, 9.33P1) fps ∼10%
12.1 (3.13min, 3.38P0.1, 8.31P1) fps ∼9%
9.09 (0.3888min, 0.509P0.1, 2.32P1) fps ∼7%
7.59 (0.799min, 0.944P0.1, 3.43P1) fps ∼7%

QHD (2,560 x 1,440)

Generally speaking, QHD display users will need a high-end GPU. At a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 with the highest settings, the game achieved 40 FPS or higher only with a GeForce RTX 4080.

Star Wars Outlaws
    2560x1440 cinem. ultra
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K
Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F
84.9 (56.1min, 62.5P0.1, 68.5P1) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K
Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F
66 (37.7min, 43.6P0.1, 49.7P1) fps ∼78%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX
XMG Neo 16 E23
60.6 (25.8min, 29.6P0.1, 46.7P1) fps ∼71%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX
Razer Blade 16 Mid 23
43.3 (22min, 22.7P0.1, 29.5P1) fps ∼51%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX
XMG Pro 15 E23
37.1 (12min, 22.7P0.1, 29.3P1) fps ∼44%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS
Razer Blade 14 Mid 23
28 (21.4min, 21.4P0.1, 22.7P1) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H
Medion Erazer Scout E20
23.4 (12.6min, 14P0.1, 18P1) fps ∼28%

UHD (3,840 x 2,160)

Even the most powerful notebook GPUs, such as Nvidia's top model, the GeForce RTX 4090, are currently overloaded at 3,840 x 2,160 pixels with the Ultra preset. A tower PC with a desktop RTX 4080 or higher would be needed for optimal performance. However, enabling upscaling technologies like DLSS or FSR makes these settings playable with a mobile RTX 4080.

Star Wars Outlaws
    3840x2160 cinem. ultra     3840x2160 cinem. ultra DLSS     3840x2160 cinem. ultra FSR
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K
Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F
49.2 (39.3min, 40P0.1, 43.1P1) fps ∼100%
77.4 (27.5min, 55.5P0.1, 63.4P1) fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K
Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F
37.7 (24.5min, 30.5P0.1, 32.2P1) fps ∼77%
59.2 (21.2min, 38.3P0.1, 47.5P1) fps ∼100%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX
XMG Neo 16 E23
32.6 (26.1min, 26.6P0.1, 27.6P1) fps ∼66%
53.6 (19.3min, 37.8P0.1, 44.8P1) fps ∼69%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13950HX
Razer Blade 16 Mid 23
27.9 (13.7min, 14.4P0.1, 22.8P1) fps ∼57%
40.4 (17.7min, 23.4P0.1, 28.7P1) fps ∼52%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX
XMG Pro 15 E23
18.1 (8.63min, 10.7P0.1, 12.8P1) fps ∼37%
32.6 (12.2min, 19.4P0.1, 26.7P1) fps ∼42%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, R9 7940HS
Razer Blade 14 Mid 23
15.1 (9.63min, 10.1P0.1, 13.1P1) fps ∼31%
25.3 (10.2min, 15.9P0.1, 21.5P1) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i7-13700H
Medion Erazer Scout E20
9 (3min) fps ∼18%
21.4 (8.65min, 11.8P0.1, 18P1) fps ∼28%

Overview

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Outlaws
 Star Wars Outlaws (2024)
low
1920x1080 cinem.
low
med.
1920x1080 cinem.
medium
high
1920x1080 cinem.
high
ultra
1920x1080 cinem.
ultra
QHD
2560x1440 cinem.
ultra
4K
3840x2160 cinem.
ultra
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
105.5n3
101.9n3
78.4n3
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
126.6
110.5
68.6
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080
104.45n4
81.1n4
50.05n4
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
130.7
123.6
109.5
92.15n2
70.05n2
42.75n2
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
119.5
111.8
98.5
84.75n2
64.6n2
38.8n2
AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT
120.2
117.5
105.4
89.6
70.4
43.6
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
141
137.5
129.2
115.5
84.9
49.2
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop
91.1
82.9
71.6
54
AMD Radeon RX 9070
115.7
110.3
95.7
79.7
61
36.9
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
85.4
82.9
78.2
70.7
66
37.7
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop
79.8
72.7
67.8
51.4
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070
109.3
102.4
88
73.45n2
55.2n2
32.6n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU
90.5
88.7
83
76.2
60.6
32.6
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
87.6
80.7
71.5
73.1n2
52.5n2
30.45n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU
77.6n2
72.45n2
67.55n2
61.05n2
45.5n2
24.2n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
105.3
97
82.5
67.8
49.1
28.5
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti
89.7
81.4
69.5
55.15n2
40.2n2
23.85n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
69.4n2
64.65n2
55.15n2
46.2n2
33.6n2
16.65n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8G
50.7
37
21.6
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Outlaws
low med. high ultra QHD 4K
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU
70.4n2
53.45n4
46.65n4
37.95n6
29n5
15.6n3
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
55.3
50.6
42.5
34
23.7
12.9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU
51.4n2
48.45n2
43.55n2
40.85n2
27.15n2
12.6
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
59.1
53.8
45.6
37.6
26.6
Intel Arc B580
57.9
52.9
44.1
36.5
26.5
14.5
Intel Arc A770
48
46.8
43.1
37.6
27
14.5
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060
58.4n2
53.45n2
45.15n2
36.4n2
23.8n2
9.4n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU
63.2
50.1n2
43.15n2
41.3n3
27.45n2
15.1
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
40.5
33.2
22.7
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU
50.2
44.9
38.1
30.9
22.2
AMD Radeon RX 8060S
32.7
23.1
AMD Radeon RX 7600M XT
43.5
38.8
35
28.2
19.5
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
48.7n2
45.45n2
38.7n2
31.5n2
21.55n2
12.5n2
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
29.8
27.8
23.7
19.2
17.8
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Desktop)
37.6
34.4
30.3
24.4
16.6
Intel Arc A770M
42.8
40.9
35.1
29.5
AMD Radeon RX 6600
42.6
35.1
27.1
20.7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super (Desktop)
25.5
22.1
18.5
13.9
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
52.8
49.5
43.3
35.1
23.4
9
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super (Desktop)
20.3
17.5
14.3
10.5
PosModel< PrevNext >Star Wars Outlaws
low med. high ultra QHD 4K
AMD Radeon 890M
16
14.7
12.5
Intel Arc 8-Core iGPU
16.5
15.9
13
10.8
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile
22.9
20.8
16.2
8.74
Intel Arc Graphics 130V
8.56
7.3
AMD Radeon 880M
14.7
13.2
11.5
8.52
AMD Radeon 780M
14
12.1
9.09
7.59
AMD Radeon 760M
7.15
5.71
4.5
AMD Radeon 840M
7.5
6.63
5.29
AMD Radeon 740M
7.04
6.35
4.86
3.92
Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4 48EUs
2.91
AMD Radeon 610M
2.3
(-) * 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.

Test system details

Laptop Graphics card Processor RAM
XMG Neo 16 E23 Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 @175 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6X) Intel Core i9-13900HX 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
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14 Intel Arc 8 Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 2 x 16 GB LPDDR5-7467
Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme AMD Radeon 780M AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme 16 GB LPDDR5-6400
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 329M1RV Windows 11 560.94 24.8.1 101.5972
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Star Wars Outlaws review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks
Florian Glaser, 2024-09- 3 (Update: 2024-09-11)