The Last of Us Part I review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

A rollercoaster of emotions. PC fans had to wait almost 10 years for this release of The Last of Us. The result is a true rollercoaster - from an emotional as well as a technical standpoint. We put the PC game through our benchmark tests.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Daisy Dickson), Published 04/03/2023 🇩🇪 🇸🇪 ...

Technical aspects

A waiting simulator with absurd VRAM consumption: This is how the PC version of The Last of Us can currently be summed up. No wonder the action-adventure game is being bombarded with negative reviews on Steam. The confusion starts within the first few seconds: It takes at least half an hour for the shaders to be installed - even on top-of-the-range PCs. This is a new record - and not in a good way. But the long loading times feel harmless in comparison.

The exorbitant VRAM consumption turns out to be just as much of a nuisance as the time it takes to install shaders. Specifically graphics cards with 6 GB or less quickly get into a lot of trouble. This led our test device with a GeForce RTX 3060 to consistently crash when trying to run the game at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels with the ultra preset. This isn't helped by the fact that Nvidia have given their graphics cards too little VRAM for many years now - although, it has to be said that The Last of Us is just generally badly programmed in this way.

At first glance, this poorly performing game comes as a surprise, as Sony's previous PC adaptations (e.g. Spider-Man Miles Morales, Days Gone & God of War) all made quite good impressions. The problem here seems to be Iron Galaxy, the developer responsible for the PC port, who haven't always delivered clean work in the past (keyword: Batman Arkham Knight). But regardless of who is responsible for this technical issue, our opinion is that The Last of Us should never have been released on PC in this shape. We just have to hope that future updates will deal with all of these problems.

When it comes down to it, the game definitely has the potential to be enjoyed - as long as you have a strong graphics card with lots of VRAM. The remake's graphics generally appear quite modern and up-to-date. The textures, as well as the effects at higher levels (smoke, fire, reflections, …) and characters, are great. The game scores some real points in its level of detail and great atmosphere. We loved its cinematic production and for the most part dynamic transitions between video sequences and gameplay. Another positive aspect is the game's captivating storytelling.

The producers definitely went overboard with the graphics menu. The Last of Us offers so many options (see screenshots) that you have to scroll for ages and very quickly lose track of what is what. Thankfully, there are some practical presets that take some of the hard work out of it and improve the game's quality in one click. Changes are made instantaneously, so without having to restart the game. As expected from a modern game, it supports various upscaling options, such as FSR and the Nvidia-exclusive DLSS (however, ray tracing is missing).

Compared to the console version, the FPS rate is only limited if you select to do so. Another positive is the detailed descriptions with CPU, GPU and VRAM influence, which sometimes even include handy comparison images. The only thing we missed was a "classic" full-screen mode. The large CPU requirement at moderate resolution is probably to blame for the game barely performing any better despite reducing the settings, which leads to visibly worse graphics.

Benchmark

We used a mix of in-game video sequences as well as "real" gameplay for our benchmark measurements. You can see the exact passage we used, which takes place near the beginning of the game and features lots of passers-by and effects, in the video below. We recorded the frame rate for roughly one minute using the tool CapframeX.

Results

FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

When it comes to using iGPUs, you can pretty much forget The Last of Us. Even the Radeon 680M failed to hit the 30 FPS mark in Full HD using minimal settings (1,280 x 720 pixels were just about playable). You will need at least a mid-range device to play the game at 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. A Radeon RX 6600M manages to reach almost 60 FPS using the presets medium and high.

The Last of Us
1920x1080 Low Preset 1920x1080 Medium Preset 1920x1080 High Preset 1920x1080 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	156.3 (47.2^min, 71.8^P0.1, 93.1^P1) fps ∼59% 147.8 (50.4^min, 68.9^P0.1, 86.7^P1) fps ∼61% 144 (52.2^min, 66^P0.1, 85.9^P1) fps ∼63% 138.6 (50.3^min, 61.1^P0.1, 75.8^P1) fps ∼65%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	155.2 (42.3^min, 72.6^P0.1, 90.2^P1) fps ∼58% 145.5 (56.8^min, 78.5^P0.1, 90^P1) fps ∼60% 142.2 (64.3^min, 77.9^P0.1, 95^P1) fps ∼62% 128.3 (5.05^min, 74.9^P0.1, 87.1^P1) fps ∼60%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	152.9 (8.83^min, 78.7^P0.1, 94.1^P1) fps ∼57% 141 (48.2^min, 76.3^P0.1, 93.7^P1) fps ∼58% 135.8 (24.1^min, 77.6^P0.1, 95.6^P1) fps ∼59% 118.8 (63.6^min, 72.5^P0.1, 83.6^P1) fps ∼56%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	148.6 (31.6^min, 70^P0.1, 93.2^P1) fps ∼56% 128.8 (54.7^min, 69.9^P0.1, 87.9^P1) fps ∼53% 120.2 (57^min, 68.6^P0.1, 88^P1) fps ∼52% 106.3 (52^min, 58.2^P0.1, 75.1^P1) fps ∼50%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900HX MSI Titan GT77 12UHS	107.8 (36.6^min, 46.6^P0.1, 62.8^P1) fps ∼40% 95.4 (37.7^min, 49.2^P0.1, 61.4^P1) fps ∼39% 88.4 (30.4^min, 44.6^P0.1, 58.8^P1) fps ∼39% 81.2 (22.3^min, 43.2^P0.1, 57^P1) fps ∼38%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	126.7 (57.3^min, 70.1^P0.1, 91.6^P1) fps ∼47% 107.2 (58^min, 67.5^P0.1, 84.7^P1) fps ∼44% 97.5 (52.9^min, 71.2^P0.1, 81.7^P1) fps ∼43% 79.1 (8.14^min, 20.6^P0.1, 60.2^P1) fps ∼37%
AMD Radeon RX 6800M, R9 5900HX Asus ROG Strix G15	68.8 (25.7^min, 33^P0.1, 42.4^P1) fps ∼26% 64.5 (25.3^min, 36.8^P0.1, 40.5^P1) fps ∼26% 62.4 (25.2^min, 34.1^P0.1, 39.9^P1) fps ∼27% 56.9 (3.53^min, 25.5^P0.1, 38.6^P1) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-12700H Lenovo Legion 5 Pro	90.8 (30.8^min, 48.2^P0.1, 68^P1) fps ∼34% 65.5 (37.9^min, 40.3^P0.1, 50.7^P1) fps ∼27% 54.8 (1.514^min, 3.89^P0.1, 37.4^P1) fps ∼24%
AMD Radeon RX 6600M, R7 5800H Lenovo Legion 5	69.6 (23.9^min, 31.3^P0.1, 46.4^P1) fps ∼26% 58.8 (27^min, 30.7^P0.1, 44.1^P1) fps ∼24% 53.9 (27^min, 29.7^P0.1, 45.4^P1) fps ∼24% 37.6 (3.44^min, 4.56^P0.1, 29.5^P1) fps ∼18%
AMD Radeon 680M, R9 6900HS Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	26.4 (17.7^min, 18.6^P0.1, 21.7^P1) fps ∼10% 19.5 (14.5^min, 16^P0.1, 16.9^P1) fps ∼8% 16.6 (13.2^min, 14^P0.1, 14.4^P1) fps ∼7% 13.1 (3.17^min, 3.18^P0.1, 11.4^P1) fps ∼6%

QHD (2,560 x 1,440)

A combination of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and the ultra preset already makes the hardware and especially the VRAM break a sweat. A GeForce RTX 3070 was the first to successfully reach over 40 FPS.

The Last of Us
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	106.8 (21.7^min, 61.3^P0.1, 77.6^P1) fps ∼69%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	95.1 (44.1^min, 67^P0.1, 71.9^P1) fps ∼62%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	83.9 (55.6^min, 60^P0.1, 62.8^P1) fps ∼54%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	71.2 (38.4^min, 49.4^P0.1, 56^P1) fps ∼46%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900HX MSI Titan GT77 12UHS	56.8 (21.8^min, 42.9^P0.1, 46.6^P1) fps ∼37%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	48.8 (14.5^min, 18.5^P0.1, 33.1^P1) fps ∼32%
AMD Radeon RX 6800M, R9 5900HX Asus ROG Strix G15	36.2 (19.3^min, 20.9^P0.1, 28.6^P1) fps ∼23%
AMD Radeon RX 6600M, R7 5800H Lenovo Legion 5	24.4 (2.69^min, 4.13^P0.1, 17.9^P1) fps ∼16%

UHD (3,840 x 2,160)

If you are playing the game at 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and maximum settings, even top-of-the-range chips such as the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti really struggle. Here, it makes sense to utilise DLSS for example, as laid out in the table below.

The Last of Us
3840x2160 Ultra Preset + Quality DLSS 3840x2160 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	89.3 (48.1^min, 53.4^P0.1, 66.3^P1) fps ∼70% 56.1 (36.1^min, 40.2^P0.1, 44.8^P1) fps ∼72%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	51.6 (39.9^min, 40.7^P0.1, 42.5^P1) fps ∼66%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	43.9 (34.6^min, 35.2^P0.1, 36.7^P1) fps ∼56%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	59.6 (30.6^min, 35.4^P0.1, 46.4^P1) fps ∼47% 34.9 (7.6^min, 12^P0.1, 20.2^P1) fps ∼45%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900HX MSI Titan GT77 12UHS	45.8 (32.5^min, 34.2^P0.1, 36.1^P1) fps ∼36% 29.4 (17.7^min, 21.7^P0.1, 23.1^P1) fps ∼38%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-12900K Desktop-PC	37.9 (12.2^min, 13.9^P0.1, 25.2^P1) fps ∼30% 21.6 (3.55^min, 3.78^P0.1, 6.25^P1) fps ∼28%
AMD Radeon RX 6800M, R9 5900HX Asus ROG Strix G15	15.2 (0.913^min, 1.047^P0.1, 6.47^P1) fps ∼20%
AMD Radeon RX 6600M, R7 5800H Lenovo Legion 5	9.88 (1.564^min, 1.783^P0.1, 3.86^P1) fps ∼13%

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

We currently use these laptops for our gaming benchmarks. Clicking on the photos will take you to the respective manufacturer's page. All other test systems (tower PCs, mini PCs, ...) can be found in the following list.

Device	Graphics card	Processor	RAM
Laptops
MSI Titan GT77 12UHS	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti @175 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-12900	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 @140 W TGP (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-12700H	2 x 8 GB DDR5
Asus ROG Strix G15	AMD Radeon RX 6800M (12 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 8 GB DDR4
Lenovo Legion 5	AMD Radeon RX 6600M (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 7 5800H	2 x 8 GB DDR4
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	AMD Radeon 680M	AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Tower PCs
Custom I	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (24 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB GDDR6) MSI GeForce RTX 3080 (10 GB GDDR6X) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-12900K	2 x 16 GB DDR4
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) lNvidia 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 6950 XT (16 GB DDR6) 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
Custom III	Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super FE	Intel Core i9-11900K	2 x 8 GB DDR4
Mini PCs
Zotac ZBOX CI665 Nano	Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96 CUs)	Intel Core i7-1165G7	2 x 8 GB DDR4
Morefine S500+	AMD Radeon RX Vega 8	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR4
Minisforum NUCXi7	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 @125 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 8 GB DDR4
Minisforum HX99G	AMD Radeon RX 6600M @100 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5

4K monitors	Operating system	Nvidia driver	AMD driver
Philips Brilliance 329P9H, Gigabyte M32U	Windows 11	ForceWare	Adrenalin

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Editor of the original article: Florian Glaser - Managing Editor Gaming Laptops - 615 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: Daisy Dickson - Translator - 211 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2023

Originally from Scotland, I grew up and lived in Germany until I completed my high school qualifications before moving back to Scotland to complete my university studies. Growing up bilingual led me to form a close relationship with the English and German languages, often working in the fields of teaching and translation. Most of my childhood was shaped by playing around on new consoles, computers and gadgets and getting to grips with the new craze of the internet and smartphones. This interest has stayed with me well into adulthood. Nowadays, I live in Glasgow and work as a freelance translator and digital media coordinator. I have been translating for Notebookcheck since early 2023.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > The Last of Us Part I review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Florian Glaser, 2023-04- 3 (Update: 2023-04- 3)

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.