Valorant laptop and desktop benchmarks

Overwatch meets CS:GO. The multiplayer shooter Valorant combines well-known elements from other genre representatives to a round mix. Matching the relatively weak optics, the hardware requirements are also very low.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser, ✓ Andrea Grüblinger (translated by Christian Hintze), Published 09/14/2020 🇩🇪

Technology

With its colorful comic book look, Valorant is reminiscent of Blizzard's online hit Overwatch at first glance, which also features a variety of characters and special abilities. But the playstyle of the title is more oriented at the classic CS:GO, which is definitely not a bad role model.

To be able to play Valorant, you will first have to create an account with the developer and publisher Riot Games. The US studio is familiar to many gamers through League of Legends. But in contrast to the famous MOBA game, the free-to-play shooter, which measures only around 10 GB, is quite beginner-friendly. Already after a short time you can jump into battles and achieve first successes. We would describe the controls as loosely fuzzy, although it's a bit annoying that your own figure moves more slowly when getting hit. Currently, Valorant contains four maps, which differ from each other both stylistically and in terms of layout, and which accordingly provide for variety.

The underlying technology should not knock anyone off their feet. Graphically, Valorant looks hardly better than the over 10 years old Team Fortress 2, to give an example. However, the convenient look has the advantage that the shooter runs on almost any "potato notebook" or "potato PC", although for a smooth gaming experience it should be at least 60 FPS (or better 100 FPS) - not least because of the first-person perspective.

Riot Games has divided the video options into three submenus. While the General tab takes care of the resolution and the picture mode (optional fps limit), the Graphics Quality tab offers more than 10 adjusting options. With the exception of the anisotropic filtering (1x to 16x) and anti-aliasing (MSAA or FXAA), all settings can be either switched on or off or controlled in the three stages low, medium and high.

Our screenshot below shows how the three stages change the optics. With lowest settings, the graphics quality suffers greatly. There is no restart necessary when changing the settings, which is great. We experienced no technical problems during our tests, except for the resolution (e.g. on 21:9 displays).

Benchmarks

Since the performance without human opponents (tutorial range, closed Custom Game) can be significantly higher (the difference can reach between 100 to 200 fps), we use Deathmatch for benchmarking, despite the poorer comparability and reproducibility. The game chooses a random map and Fraps records the framerate for 30s to 60s (no matter if warm up or actual match).

The graphics cards ranking looks a little messed up, which is due to the fact that Valorant primarily stresses the CPU. Even with mid-range graphics cards, the processor can be the limiting factor. To give an example, the GeForce GTX 1050 (Ti) seemed to be faster than a stronger GeForce GTX 1060 or even GTX 1070 in our FHD tests only because the system's CPU was newer and faster.

Results

FHD (1920 x 1080)

Playing on an FHD display requires only a low-end GPU such as the GeForce MX330. Even with maximum settings and FXAA enabled, 100 fps are possible with this budget GPU.

Valorant
1920x1080 Medium / On AF:8x 1920x1080 High / On AA:FX AF:16x
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop) MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, i9-9900K	285 (222^min) fps ∼53% 267 (222^min) fps ∼29%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG, i9-9900K	276 (227^min) fps ∼52% 266 (209^min) fps ∼29%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop) MSI GeForce RTX 2080, i9-9900K	263 (202^min) fps ∼49% 254 (192^min) fps ∼28%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop) MSI GeForce RTX 2070, i9-9900K	258 (212^min) fps ∼48% 248 (209^min) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop) MSI GeForce RTX 2060, i9-9900K	248 (198^min) fps ∼46% 247 (192^min) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile MSI GP65 Leopard 9SF, i7-9750H	234 (177^min) fps ∼44% 230 (173^min) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile MSI GE65 Raider 9SE, i7-9750H	223 (187^min) fps ∼42% 215 (186^min) fps ∼23%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD, i7-9750H	209 (168^min) fps ∼39% 207 (164^min) fps ∼23%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile MSI GP75 Leopard 9SC, i7-9750H	202 (171^min) fps ∼38% 191 (165^min) fps ∼21%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile Alienware 17 R4, i7-7820HK	188 (151^min) fps ∼35% 186 (151^min) fps ∼20%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile MSI GE72 7RE, i7-7700HQ	172 (131^min) fps ∼32% 167 (128^min) fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile Asus G752VS, 6820HK	166 (127^min) fps ∼31% 156 (117^min) fps ∼17%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile MSI GL62M 7RD, i7-7700HQ	164 (149^min) fps ∼31% 158 (135^min) fps ∼17%
AMD Radeon RX 5500M MSI Alpha 15, R7 3750H	146 (118^min) fps ∼27% 144 (107^min) fps ∼16%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile MSI GT62VR, 6820HK	136 (107^min) fps ∼25% 134 (106^min) fps ∼15%
NVIDIA GeForce MX350 MSI Prestige 14, i7-10710U	129 (104^min) fps ∼24% 116 (96^min) fps ∼13%
NVIDIA GeForce MX330 MSI Prestige 14, i7-10510U	118 (91^min) fps ∼22% 106 (85^min) fps ∼12%
Intel HD Graphics 615 Eve-Tech Eve V i7, i7-7Y75	25.4 (5.8^P1) fps ∼5%

QHD (2560 x 1440)

Using a QHD display, we recommend at least a mid-range GPU such as the GeForce GTX 1050 (Ti) which also reaches 100 fps with maximum settings.

Valorant
2560x1440 High / On AA:FX AF:16x
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti	266 (218^min) fps ∼36%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG	260 (208^min) fps ∼35%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2080	247 (190^min) fps ∼34%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2070	243 (194^min) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2060	241 (189^min) fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SF	229 (168^min) fps ∼31%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GE65 Raider 9SE	212 (181^min) fps ∼29%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	197 (162^min) fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK Alienware 17 R4	183 (146^min) fps ∼25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP75 Leopard 9SC	159 (140^min) fps ∼22%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK Asus G752VS	154 (115^min) fps ∼21%
AMD Radeon RX 5500M, R7 3750H MSI Alpha 15	136 (102^min) fps ∼19%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK MSI GT62VR	133 (102^min) fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ MSI GE72 7RE	129 (112^min) fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ MSI GL62M 7RD	128 (110^min) fps ∼17%

UHD (3840 x 2160)

Actual gaming cards are only necessary when playing in 4K. To reach 100 fps in 4K and maximum details, you will need a Radeon RX 5500M or GeForce GTX 1060.

Valorant
3840x2160 High / On AA:FX AF:16x
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti	259 (205^min) fps ∼58%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Mobile, i9-9900K MSI GT76 Titan DT 9SG	240 (183^min) fps ∼54%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2080	234 (190^min) fps ∼53%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2070	231 (180^min) fps ∼52%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Desktop), i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 2060	208 (189^min) fps ∼47%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SF	202 (165^min) fps ∼45%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i7-7820HK Alienware 17 R4	178 (140^min) fps ∼40%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GE65 Raider 9SE	171 (153^min) fps ∼38%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	152 (132^min) fps ∼34%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Mobile, 6820HK Asus G752VS	148 (114^min) fps ∼33%
AMD Radeon RX 5500M, R7 3750H MSI Alpha 15	129 (98^min) fps ∼29%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, 6820HK MSI GT62VR	117 (97^min) fps ∼26%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP75 Leopard 9SC	90 (83^min) fps ∼20%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ MSI GE72 7RE	79 (62^min) fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i7-7700HQ MSI GL62M 7RD	64 (42^min) fps ∼14%

Note

Because benchmarking games is very time-consuming and often constrained by installation/activation limits, at the time of publishing, we were able to only provide a part of our performance analysis of Valorant. Other graphics cards will be added in the coming days and weeks.

Overview

Testsystems

Device	GPU	CPU	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 RX5500M (4 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 7 3750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit

4K Monitos	Nvidia Driver	AMD Driver
Asus PB287Q, Philips Brilliance 329P9H	ForceWare 451.67	Adrenalin 20.8.1

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Editor of the original article: Sebastian Jentsch - Managing Editor Consumer Laptops - 1753 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2010

Computers always had an important place in my life, starting with an Intel 80286 microprocessor in the early 1990s. I became interested in the productive side of technology, especially in campus radio, while studying at TU Chemnitz and during a trainee program in Belfast. Hardware interests led me to manage Notebookjournal.de, which is now a division of Notebooksbilliger, for a few years. I became self-employed in 2010 and took the next logical step in my career by starting to write for Notebookcheck.

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Translator: Christian Hintze - Managing Editor - 1922 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2016

A C64 marked my entry into the world of PCs. I spent my student internship in the repair department of a computer shop and at the end of the day I was allowed to assemble my own 486 PC from “workshop remnants”. As a result of this, I later studied computer science at the Humboldt University in Berlin, with psychology also being added to my studies. After my first job as a research assistant at the university, I went to London for a year and worked for Sega in computer game translation quality assurance. This included working on games such as Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Company of Heroes. I have been writing for Notebookcheck since 2017.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Valorant laptop and desktop benchmarks

Florian Glaser, 2020-09-14 (Update: 2022-01-21)

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.