Notebookcheck Logo

World of Tanks v8.0 Benchmarked

Tanks a lot. Over 40 million registered users and a bigger E3 stand compared to many (former) top publishers: Wargaming.net shakes up the Free2Play sector with World of Tanks. In order to investigate the ongoing trend we tested version 8.0 with a variety of notebook GPUs.
World of Tanks Logo (Wargaming.net)

Developer Wargaming.net, founded in 1998 and based in Belarus, achieved its biggest hit in 2011: World of Tanks, a free to play online game which evolved into a very popular and successful Free2Play hit due to its absorbing and tactical PvP battles.

The developers mainly make money by selling in game gold, a premium currency. The users can use this gold to buy specific tanks and upgrades. Experience and earning bonuses can also be bought with real money. Unfair advantages do not exist in World of Tanks - the Free2Play game offers enough gaming pleasure for users who do not want to pay any money.

Description

As the name implies, World of Tanks is about battles between tanks. In the standard mode two teams, each with 15 players, compete on more or less open terrain in the competitive PvP mode. The goal is simple and exciting: destroy all enemy tanks or capture the flag zone of the enemy. In order to get acquainted with the game controls and to get along during the thrilling battles you will need some time to accustom yourself to the gameplay.

The main menu confuses newbies completely: dozens of icons and menu items can be selected. Next to the InGame-Store, the depot and the barracks; the research menu is especially interesting. Here it is possible to buy new tank models and to upgrade the tanks you already purchased. Should it either be a better barrel or a stronger engine? In order to unlock all the items, an average gamer will need weeks, months or even years.

Every nation offers dozens of tanks.
Every nation offers dozens of tanks.
All the vehicles can be extensively upgraded.
All the vehicles can be extensively upgraded.
You have to get acquainted with the different menus.
You have to get acquainted with the different menus.

The battles themselves are played at a fast pace - depending on the tank you choose - without neglecting a certain tactic. Am I going to confront the enemy in a direct battle or am I going to flank the enemy in a smart way? Thanks to the relatively short time a round takes (after 15 minutes the map usually ends) the game can be played anytime of the day.

Distinctive buildings serve as orientation.
Distinctive buildings serve as orientation.
The game concentrates on team battles full of action.
The game concentrates on team battles full of action.
Some maps are quite idyllic.
Some maps are quite idyllic.

Benchmark

Having activated the item "battle recording" in the settings menu, World of Tanks saves all the completed battles. The recordings are located in a map of the same name in the game directory and can be replayed with a simple click. In order to guarantee comparability, we used a self-made replay during the benchmarks (see the video).

Since every round starts with a 30-second countdown we skipped the initial phase using the key-combination Ctrl + right arrow. During the sequence of almost 1.5 minutes the tool Fraps will be used to record the average refresh rate. The played map "Mines" is, in our experience a bit more demanding than other maps such as "Himmelsdorf" (which in English means "Sky Village"), which is more compact and has a considerably smaller area of grass. Depending on the environment you are in and how many tanks have to be displayed the frame rates fluctuate strongly. 30 fps will be used as guiding value during our benchmarks in order to play the game properly.

Settings

Let's discuss the change log of the eagerly awaited update. According to Wargaming.net, they did not only implement more tanks, design options and personalization options but they also improved the appearance. Especially the rendering as well as the lighting systems have been significantly revised. The same applies to the physics and some effects (i.e. water waves).

Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset

Exemplary: the improvements of version 8 can easily be activated or deactivated in the settings (Standard vs. Improved). Overall we have to compliment the developer for the abundant graphics menu. Using the five different presets (Graphics Quality) the graphics can quickly be adapted to the capabilities of the your own hardware. Contrary to Medium, High and Maximum, the minimum preset offers the old graphics level.

Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset

The differences between the various graphic levels are considerable. The minimum preset especially distinguishes itself from the other presets: weak textures, poor shadows as well as dull and barely existing lighting effects influence the atmosphere of the game. The quality of the appearance changes considerably starting from the medium preset, while the texture sharpness does not improve until the high or maximum preset. The higher the graphics setting the more grass is displayed.

Next to the global presets and the 17 detailed options the graphics menu offers a variety of other options. Among these options are the resolution, gamma value, display mode, vertical synchronization and anti-aliasing.

Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
Minimum Preset (1,024 x 768)
Minimum Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset
High Preset (1,366 x 768, LQ FXAA)
High Preset
Medium Preset (1,366 x 768)
Medium Preset
Maximum Preset (1,920 x 1,080, HQ FXAA)
Maximum Preset

Results

Those of you who do not demand high graphics settings can play World of Tanks even with a low-end graphics card without any problems. The minimum preset should not even be a problem for the HD Graphics 3000 or 4000. However, for the considerably nicer medium preset a better GPU is required. Our replay was displayed fluently using one of the upper mid-range GPUs. All graphics cards below the GeForce GT 650M did not achieve more than 30 fps with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. High details demand a high-end GPU such as the GeForce GTX 660M. A resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and the maximum details setting was only displayed fluently by the top models GeForce GTX 680M and Radeon HD 7970M .

Considering Radeon: as can be seen in the benchmark table, World of Tanks belongs to one of the few games that can get along with the AMD-GPUs.  As a result the apparently weaker or older graphics cards such as the Radeon HD 7660G or the HD 5650M got higher fps rates than its Nvidia competitors (in this case the GeForce GT 630M). The difference between the HD 7970M and the GTX 680M are 20 fps with the maximum settings.

Update 13.10.2012: Some GTX 680M users report a significant higher performance. Since we tested three different drivers und installed W.o.T. on another HDD, the problem should be up to Optimus or our GPU-example. We will adjust the article, if changes appear.

Verdict: in order to enjoy all of the graphical and technical improvements you will need to have a good multimedia notebook or a gaming notebook.

Benchmark table World of Tanks v8.0

Test Systems

Many thanks to Schenker notebooks, who kindly provided us with the following laptop (mysn.de):

  • XMG P502 (Core i7-3610QM, GeForce GTX 660M, GTX 670M, GTX 675M, GTX 680M & Radeon HD 7970M, 8 GB RAM)
  • XMG A502 (Core i5-3360M, GeForce GT 650M & HD Graphics 4000, 8 GB RAM)
  • Xesia M501 (Core i7-2630QM, GeForce GT 630M & HD Graphics 3000, 8 GB RAM) 

GPU driver of the three platforms: 306.23 (Nvidia), 12.9 Beta (AMD) respective 8.15.10.2761 (Intel).

from left to right: Schenker XMG A502, Xesia M501 & XMG P502
from left to right: Schenker XMG A502, Xesia M501 & XMG P502

Overview

Show Restrictions
PosModel< PrevNext >World of Tanks v8
 World of Tanks v8 (2012)
low
1024x768
Minimum Preset
med.
1366x768
Medium Preset
high
1366x768
High Preset
LQ FXAA
ultra
1920x1080
Maximum Preset
HQ FXAA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
116
80
78
65
AMD Radeon HD 7970
116.6
74.8
68.6
57.8
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti
113.8
73.1
66.7
60.5
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680M
64.6
44
39.7
29.5
AMD Radeon HD 7970M
111.3
67.5
47.35n2
39.55n2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX
44.2
38.8
26.7
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
118
80
72
52
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M
89.5
46.3
39.4
23.2
AMD Radeon HD 7770
115.9
73.5
65.7
38.2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670MX
115.4
74.2
65.8
38.2
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M
86.1
42.3
36.3
20.6
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M
57.6
40.3
33.4
19.5
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
49.7
31.1
26.5
15.3
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
58.2
28.4
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M
88
37
32
15
NVIDIA GeForce GT 645M
51.7
40.15n2
33.15n2
15
NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M
48.3n2
28.4n2
23.6n2
13n2
AMD Radeon HD 8670M
67
26
21
11
NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M
47.6
22.7
17.9
9.7
PosModel< PrevNext >World of Tanks v8
low med. high ultra
AMD Radeon HD 7660G
59.4
29.2
24.8
13.5
AMD Radeon HD 7650M
79.3
34.7
24.9
14.8
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650
52.9
28.3
23
13.4
NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M
36
18
16
Intel HD Graphics 4000
48n4
21.95n4
18.9n3
8.4
NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX
42.6
15.1
13
Intel HD Graphics 3000
57.65n2
19.3n2
14.6
7.6
NVIDIA GeForce G210M
23
Intel HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
44.4
11.8
9.1
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD
10.9
(-) * 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.
Read all 13 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
Florian Glaser, 2012-10-12 (Update: 2021-05-18)