Desktop

Tightrope walking. It took 7.5 years for EA and DICE to announce the successor to the Parkour-title Mirror's Edge. While the technology has improved drastically, content-wise, Catalyst hasn't made any progress. We vaulted around roof tops with the main character Faith to get an idea how the title performs on notebooks. Update: we've now tested more than 24 GPUs.

Gaming on integrated graphics. Can the powerful Intel Iris Graphics 580 replace a mainstream Nvidia GPU for gaming? We pit the NUC against systems with integrated and dedicated graphics solutions to find out.

Topsy-turvy house. Overwatch might look like a chaotic action spectacle on speed at first, but Blizzard's multiplayer shooter turns out to be very beginner-friendly in practice. Is this also the case for the system requirements? We tested it with our notebook benchmarks.

Streaming box. Nvidia's Shield Android TV console is a comprehensive solution for movie streaming and gaming. We'll take a closer look at the powerful set-top box with the updated Android 6.0 OS and its mature content offering.

Devil Worship. Even though - or maybe precisely because - Doom has an old-school vibe, fans of Shooter-games get downright spoiled with an onslaught of action effects. Does the title only push gamers to their limits - or notebooks as well? Our benchmark check has the answer.

Highly polished. With "Need for Speed", publisher EA relaunches their successful racing series. The arcade-style racing game might lack substance, but the technology behind it is top notch. Our review takes a look at how different noteboook GPUs cope with the title. Update: we've added additional notebook and desktop benchmarks for the 940MX, Fury Pro, R7 370, ...

Debut of DirectX 12. Windows 10 launched with full DX12 support and Hitman - as one of the first titles released for the PC platform - supports it. Instead of improving the gaming experience, the new interface seems to be the source of frustration on quite a few systems. Here's our report, complete with the benchmark results.

Trendsetter? "The Division" combines both action and role-playing elements into a thrilling online / multiplayer experience. Does the game's technology make the competition look old as well?

Stone Age with modern technology. While the fourth iteration was placed in an imaginary region somewhere close to the Himalayas, “Far Cry Primal” jumps back more than 10000 years. We checked the hardware requirements for surviving in the wilderness.

Just one more round, honey. While XCOM 2's gameplay has been received with great enthusiasm, XCOM 2's graphics currently leave something to be desired. Read on to find out which laptop GPUs will enable players to effectively wipe the aliens off the face of the Earth.

Precision landing. After several rather poor PC ports (Batman Arkham Knight, Just Cause 3, Call of Duty Black Ops 3, etc.), the latest iteration of Tomb Raider finally leaves a better impression on the PC. We tested the action title on multiple notebook GPUs and checked the performance. Update: GT630M, HD 4000, M385X, Iris Pro 5200, 920M, M280X, Kaveri R7 added.

35-watt Skylake. The office notebook Nexoc B519 uses an i5 desktop processor from Intel's current Skylake generation. How does it perform compared to the modern mobile chips?

Compact workplace. HP has had an all-in-one workstation in its portfolio for quite some time. Despite the compact build, the Z1 is intended to be a match for conventional desktop stations in performance, maintainability and flexibility. We tested just what can be expected of HP's Z1 G2.

Adrenaline junkie. Just Cause returns to the PC after five years. The third part follows the tradition of the series and offers an extremely crazy and casual gameplay. However, it looks like the developers forgot the technical optimization with all this fun. Here are our first impressions of the retail version.

Rough diamond. Ubisoft does not follow the casual trend of its own franchise over the last couple of years with Rainbow Six Siege. Instead of stupid non-stop action, the title turns out to be a clever tactical sandbox. We have a closer look at the technology.

Professional chips for beginners. AMD's professional portfolio of the FirePro series covers a wide performance and price range. Already the entry-level solution FirePro W2100 promises solid performance for tight budgets. We have thoroughly tested how it and the next best FirePro W4100 actually perform and in which scenarios they can be considered an alternative to mobile workstations.

5K in the second generation. Apple uses new Skylake processors in the current iMac Retina 5K version, but also a new graphics card from AMD as well as new input devices. The sophisticated build quality and powerful hardware create an impressive package, but it is not perfect.

Full speed ahead. We have built a completely new desktop PC to be up to date for our gaming articles. It competes with high-end notebooks and we are going to use it for comparisons. Who wins the duel?

Improved. After the very buggy Assassin’s Creed Unity, the gaming world is now looking very closely at the successor. Does Syndicate inherit the same performance issues or did Ubisoft put more effort into it this time? We tested it with dozens of laptops.

Eye candy. Casualization or not: “Star Wars Battlefront” is a real highlight in terms of graphics, which makes most competitors look rather outdated. Find out if you can also enjoy the game on notebooks.

Old-school technology, but fascinating. About four years after Skyrim, Bethesda Softworks releases their next role-play highlight called Fallout 4. Visually, the title might not impress much, but it offers a huge gaming world full of possibilities. Our benchmark article takes a look at how the game performs on various notebooks.

Incomplete. While the console version received international acclaim, the PC version is causing all sorts of trouble. Performance drops here, crashes and graphics errors there: The fact is Black Ops 3 doesn't currently appear to be very well developed. Does the game degenerate into incessant stuttering on notebooks too?

Moon landing. There is currently much heated debate as to whether Anno 2205 can live up to its predecessor in the realm of game mechanics. Here at Notebookcheck, we're primarily concerned with the city-builder game's graphics. Do the visuals do justice to the future world scenario? We tested a number of notebook GPUs at various settings.

Do you have enough force? The new Battlefront game uses your computer screen to encompass you in epic battles between the Empire and the Rebels -- that is, provided your computer is up to the task. What kind of hardware will enable your machine to render the game fluidly? Read our article to find out.

Routine Kick. Few games have the mass appeal of the FIFA football series. We took a look at its various aspects and our benchmark results will tell you what hardware you need to run FIFA 16 well. Is an entry-level system powerful enough to run the game fluidly?