Demanding ray tracing. Formula 1 fans are once again getting a new game to relish this year. In this review, we’ll be taking a closer look at the tech behind F1 23, especially its highly demanding graphics.
Right now, our gaming benchmarks are performed using these laptops. Click on the images to visit the respective product page. All other test systems (tower PCs, mini-PCs, etc.) are listed at the end of this article.
F1 23 bears a lot of resemblance to its predecessor visually. The new entry in the F1 racing sim continues to boast highly detailed vehicles, snazzy environments and excellent effects (e.g. reflections) without pushing graphics to the next level.
The developers especially deserve kudos for the (almost too) extensive graphics menu. You’ll find all sorts of modern features, with ray tracing alone taking up six individual options. TAA, DLSS (Nvidia), FSR (AMD) and XeSS (Intel) are available for upscaling and antialiasing. On paper, F1 23 offers Frame Generation on GPUs that support the feature. However, this option was always greyed out during our testing despite us having met the requirements (RTX 40 Series card, HDR off).
One particularly convenient thing is that the game offers several presets for general graphics quality. You can also make changes to any of the settings without having to restart the game. Speaking of start: F1 23 can be launched in VR mode as well – those who own compatible headsets will certainly be happy to hear this.
The game is very well suited for performance testing because the developers have once again included a benchmark tool in the graphics menu. Besides selecting the track, you can specify the weather conditions and camera position. For our testing, we opted to use the Australia circuit with clear skies and variable camera angles. There is also an optional fps counter and a loop feature. However, you won’t find any detailed stats similar to those in Returnal.
We consider F1 23 to be fairly playable if the average frame rate is above 40 fps. But the game really only feels smooth at 60 fps and above.
The game isn’t very taxing on a graphics card as long as ray tracing is disabled. A Radeon 680M is powerful enough to run the game at 1080p and high settings. But for the Ultra preset (which automatically enables ray tracing), you’ll need at least a mid-range GPU such as a GeForce RTX 4050 or similar.
1920×1080 Low Preset AA:T AF:16x 1920×1080 Medium Preset AA:T AF:16x 1920×1080 High Preset AA:T AF:16x 1920×1080 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x | |
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, i9-12900K Desktop-PC |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Neo 17 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX Schenker Key 17 Pro E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-12700H Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-55 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Focus 15 E23 |
|
AMD Radeon RX 6800S, R9 6900HS Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Laptop GPU, i5-1240P MSI Prestige 15 A12UC |
|
AMD Radeon 680M, R9 6900HS Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 |
|
The game definitely calls for a true high-end GPU (e.g. GeForce RTX 3070 Ti) when you pair 1440p with the Ultra preset.
2560×1440 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Neo 17 E23 |
|
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, i9-12900K Desktop-PC |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX Schenker Key 17 Pro E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-12700H Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-55 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Focus 15 E23 |
|
Once we get to 4K, almost all mobile GPUs seem to have difficulty handling F1 23 at max settings. Only the RTX 4090, the most powerful Nvidia GPU right now, managed to deliver acceptable frame rates here. We recommend using DLSS or the likes if you have a less powerful GPU. In Quality mode, an RTX 4070 is enough to get the game running close the 40 fps mark.
3840×2160 Ultra High Preset AA:T AF:16x 3840×2160 Ultra High Preset + DLSS Quality (+ FG) AF:16x | |
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, i9-12900K Desktop-PC |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Neo 17 E23 |
|
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, i9-12900K Desktop-PC |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX Schenker Key 17 Pro E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733ZX |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-12700H Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-55 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Pro 15 E23 |
|
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, i9-13900HX XMG Focus 15 E23 |
|
Because gaming tests are very time-consuming and are often constrained by installation or activation limits, we are only able to provide you with part of the benchmark results at the time of publishing this article. We will be adding more graphics cards over the coming days and weeks.
Cns
4K monitors | Operating system | Nvidia driver | AMD driver |
---|---|---|---|
Philips Brilliance 329P9H, Gigabyte M32U | Windows 11 | ForceWare 535.98 | Adrenalin 23.5.2 |
Editor of the original article: Florian Glaser – Managing Editor Gaming Laptops – 571 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: Zhiwei Zhuang – Translator – 95 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering, I moved from Singapore to
Cologne in 2014 and began pursuing a career as a freelance translator. Much of my translation work
focuses on science, engineering and technology. My fascination with computers and mobile
electronics began when I was young. And I have fond memories reading countless tech and gaming
magazines. Working with Notebookcheck gives me the opportunity to incorporate my personal
interests into my professional work.
Florian Glaser, 2023-06-27 (Update: 2023-06-27)