Team Fortress 2 - Notebook and Desktop Benchmarks

For the original German review, see here.

Team Fortress 2 uses the relatively old Source engine. Although the game was launched on the market in 2007, Valve still provides patches and updates for the shooter. It still finds a place among the Top 10 in Steam's most played games in 2017.

Players crave for high frame rates in fast-paced multiplayer 3D shooters. Thus, we recommend at least 50 FPS for Team Fortress 2. An entry-level graphics card in a laptop, such as the GeForce GTX 1050, is already enough for UHD/4K and maximum details.

Slower models can be selected for Full HD. The Radeon M280X or 940MX with a DDR3 video memory is the bottom limit here. It is pleasing that Team Fortress 2 can also be played smoothly on slower graphics cards. However, the processor should not be too weak in order to prevent stutters. The integrated Intel HD Graphics or the Radeon R7 integrated in Kaveri APUs was even enough for high details without antialiasing in the test. However, it was very close to the limits with Intel's passively cooled processors.

The Core Y series was still enough for a smooth gameplay in minimum settings. The GPUs integrated into the Apollo Lake and Cherry Trail/Braswell CPUs did not achieve playable frame rates. However, this could be due to the processors' slower cores. The actually weaker Intel HD Graphics 4000 in a still fast quad-core accomplished a smooth 48 FPS in minimum settings. The HD Graphics 4000 also defeated the actually much faster GeForce GT 640M/720M due to the slower dual-core processor.