Total War Pharaoh review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Off to Egypt. The established Total War series has received a new spin-off: Pharao. Thanks to its integrated benchmark, the game is well-suited for our performance test. We have tested multiple laptop and desktop GPUs to see how well they can run the game.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Daisy Dickson), Published 10/19/2023 🇩🇪 🇸🇪 ...

Test laptops

We currently run our gaming benchmarks with these laptops. Clicking on the photos will take you to the respective manufacturer's website. All other test systems (tower PCs, mini PCs, ...) are listed at the end of the article.

Tech

While Total War Pharaoh has been quite well received by the press so far, it has received rather mixed feedback from the community. Our benchmark article primarily focuses on the tech and speed of the new Total War off-shoot.

As a result of the desert landscape, Pharaoh's graphics look a bit dull and dreary in places, but the visuals look quite good in close-ups (especially in combat situations). Besides the textures and the vegetation, the units and effects (water simulation, etc.) also look modern, but they don't blow you away.

The graphics menu is also quite impressive. Starting with the main tab, which is still quite clear in view of there currently being seven options. Here, you can adjust the resolution (scaling), overall quality (there are four presets), picture mode, brightness, and gamma value. The developers have almost gone overboard with the Advanced tab. Close to 30 detail sliders are an extreme amount for a PC game — especially a strategy one — and require a lot of scrolling if you are not satisfied with the presets.

A positive: Changes are applied without having to restart the game, which is very practical. The explanations and, in some cases, comparison pictures for the individual settings also prove to come in quite handy. Players just have to do without some modern features like FSR and DLSS. The game takes up a moderate 41 GB of storage.

Benchmark

Particularly worthy of praise is the fact that the game features an integrated benchmark. To be more precise, there are three benchmarks because you can choose between a battle, siege and campaign sequence. While the latter runs significantly faster, the first two hardly have anything in common in terms of performance. Our measurements were performed with the siege benchmark, which is the most visually appealing (see video). The approximately 1.5-minute sequence shows a tracking shot with various close-ups and distant shots of a settlement or city and the corresponding surrounding area in front of a fancy pyramid backdrop.

The frame rate is very dependent on the camera distance and the amount of units or unit activity shown. In order to be properly prepared for all situations, we recommend at least 40 FPS as an average graphics card benchmark value.

Results

FHD (1,920 x 1,080)

Similar to most strategy games, Total War Pharaoh is quite frugal in terms of graphics power. Even with an iGPU on the level of the Radeon 680M, the game can be run in 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and using full detail settings.

Total War Pharaoh
1920x1080 Low Preset 1920x1080 Medium Preset 1920x1080 High Preset 1920x1080 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	396 fps ∼100% 280 fps ∼100% 229 fps ∼100%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Neo 17 E23	317 (194^min) fps ∼80% 220 (131^min) fps ∼79% 177 (95^min) fps ∼77%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	278 (155^min) fps ∼70% 187 (108^min) fps ∼67% 154 (85^min) fps ∼67%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX Schenker Key 17 Pro E23	281 (54^min) fps ∼71% 192 (112^min) fps ∼69% 154 (81^min) fps ∼67%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	263 (161^min) fps ∼66% 166 (97^min) fps ∼59% 129 (76^min) fps ∼56%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX	256 (146^min) fps ∼65% 157 (90^min) fps ∼56% 123 (73^min) fps ∼54%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	239 (158^min) fps ∼60% 149 (103^min) fps ∼53% 116 (75^min) fps ∼51%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Focus 15 E23	212 (164^min) fps ∼54% 128 (99^min) fps ∼46% 101 (78^min) fps ∼44%
AMD Radeon RX 6800S, R9 6900HS Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	236 (134^min) fps ∼100% 164 (100^min) fps ∼41% 111 (69^min) fps ∼40% 91.5 (55^min) fps ∼40%
AMD Radeon 680M, R9 6900HS Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	72.4 (61^min) fps ∼31% 65.1 (54^min) fps ∼16% 52.6 (38^min) fps ∼19% 46.3 (31^min) fps ∼20%

QHD (2,560 x 1,440)

It doesn't have to be a high-end device for a mix of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and the Ultra preset, either. A GeForce RTX 4050 already cracks the 60 FPS mark.

Total War Pharaoh
2560x1440 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	205 fps ∼100%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Neo 17 E23	169 (94^min) fps ∼82%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	151 (91^min) fps ∼74%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX Schenker Key 17 Pro E23	136 (83^min) fps ∼66%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX	98.4 (69^min) fps ∼48%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	95.4 (74^min) fps ∼47%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	81.6 (63^min) fps ∼40%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Focus 15 E23	66.6 (52^min) fps ∼32%

UHD (3,840 x 2,160)

Even 3,840 x 2,160 and maximum settings are super easily managed by certain mid-range chips. However, a GeForce RTX 4060 would be on the safe side.

Total War Pharaoh
3840x2160 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	117 fps ∼100%
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, i9-13900K Desktop-PC Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	98.4 (79^min) fps ∼84%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Neo 17 E23	96.1 (77^min) fps ∼82%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX Schenker Key 17 Pro E23	74.5 (60^min) fps ∼64%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX	53.5 (37^min) fps ∼46%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	47.1 (38^min) fps ∼40%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23	40.2 (32^min) fps ∼34%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Focus 15 E23	32.3 (26^min) fps ∼28%

Please note

Since gaming tests are very time-consuming and often restricted by installation or activation limits, we can only provide you with a part of the benchmarks upon publication of this article. Further graphics cards will be added later.

Overview

All test systems

Laptop	Graphics card	Processor	RAM
XMG Neo 17 E23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 @175 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6X)	Intel Core i9-13900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Schenker Key 17 Pro E23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 @175 W TGP (12 GB GDDR6X)	Intel Core i9-13900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
XMG Pro 15 E23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-13900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
XMG Pro 15 E23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-13900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
XMG Focus 15 E23	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 @140 W TGP (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-13900HX	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti @150 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-12900H	2 x 16 GB DDR5
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14	AMD Radeon RX 6800S (8 GB GDDR6) & AMD Radeon 680M	AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS	2 x 16 GB DDR5

Tower PC	Graphics card	Processor	RAM
Asus ROG Strix Z790-F	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (16 GB GDDR6X) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-13900K	2 x 24 GB DDR5 G.Skill

Mini PC	Graphics card	Processor	RAM
Minisforum UM790 Pro	AMD Radeon 780M	AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS	2 x 32 GB DDR5

Operating system	Nvidia driver	AMD driver
Windows 11	ForceWare 537.58	Adrenalin 23.10.1

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Editor of the original article: Florian Glaser - Managing Editor Gaming Laptops - 590 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 - 123 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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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Reviews > Total War Pharaoh review: Laptop and desktop benchmarks

Florian Glaser, 2023-10-19 (Update: 2023-10-19)

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.

Pos	Model	< Prev Next > Total War Pharaoh (2023)
Pos	Model	low 1920x1080 Low Preset	med. 1920x1080 Medium Preset	high 1920x1080 High Preset	ultra 1920x1080 Ultra Preset	QHD 2560x1440 Ultra Preset	4K 3840x2160 Ultra Preset
1	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090	652.1ⁿ²	401.35ⁿ²	263.8ⁿ²	210.5ⁿ²	207.65ⁿ²	162.15ⁿ²
3	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080		396	280	229	205	117
5	AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT		278	187	154	151	98.4
9	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU		317	220	177	169	96.1
11	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090	558.3	343.4	225.2	182.6	156	86.8
18	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU		281	192	154	136	74.5
26	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU	385.9	251.25ⁿ²	156.1ⁿ²	121.15ⁿ²	91.3ⁿ²	47.1
30	NVIDIA Titan RTX	493	319.6	200.9	159.9	116	60.8
34	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU		256	157	123	98.4	53.5
42	Intel Arc A770	386	244	151	119	86	46
49	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU		239	149	116	81.6	40.2
60	AMD Radeon RX 6800S	236	164	111	91.5
135	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU		212	128	101	66.6	32.3
137*	Intel Arc A730M	207.4	121.7	74.9	60.9
232	AMD Radeon 680M	72.4	65.1	52.6	46.3