Crysis

Publisher: Electronic Arts

We patch Crysis to v1.21 and run it in DirectX 10 mode with High detail settings at the native resolution of the laptop's screen with 2x AA and no AF to give a reasonably real-world test.

We load a save game in the Relic level and play the game for roughly three minutes, following a strictly defined sequence of actions and movements. We repeat this test three times, or until a reliable set of results is achieved. The consistent results are then averaged to give the figures below.

This is the best way to test how the CPU and GPU affects game performance, as the game will be generating AI and physics and game rules for the CPU to perform. A timedemo addresses a CPU in a noticeably different way.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Publisher: Ubisoft

We installed Call of Duty 42 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for the review as it's more popular than Crysis and will give an idea of how the Rock deals with games that havnt been forged for the sole purpose of making GPUs wet their pants.

Battery Life

We test each laptop for how long it can last when gaming, as gaming laptops are frequently pitched along the lines of 'gaming on the go' and 'fragging on the train'. Before testing, we turn off the low battery warnings and ensure that the laptop is set to use its whole battery life before dying. We run an applet that updates a text file with the time every minute, and then load our Crysis save game and let ourselves die and respawn. Once the battery dies, the applet won't be able to write any more, so we have our start and finish time.


See the Results Analysis page for our take on what these numbers add up to.