Benchmarking is a great way to see how your PC performs under certain scenarios, but benchmarking tools often give abstract scores and numbers that aren’t easy to figure out if you don’t have access to rankings.
That’s why when I’m benchmarking my own Windows 11 PC or a review laptop, I use these games to test it.
1 Fortnite
Using Fortnite to benchmark a PC has a few benefits: it’s free, it shows you how well your PC performs with a mainstream title that is well-optimized, and it can also highlight issues like latency and ping due to being an online game.
Chances are, if it can run Fortnite at a decent FPS and resolution, your PC can run other well-optimized online games. I use this as a starter test when I’m not sure how powerful a PC’s components are.
Unfortunately there is no built-in benchmarking tool available, but you can turn on the FPS counter to see your average framerate during a match.
2 Red Dead Redemption 2
When I’m ready to up the challenge for the PC’s CPU and GPU, I run a benchmark using Red Dead Redemption 2. Unfortunately, the benchmarking tool built into the game isn’t available if you only have access to Red Dead Online.
To access the benchmarking tool, you’ll need to switch to Story mode, select Settings, and then head to Graphics. You’ll then see the option to use the benchmarking tool.
This tool renders a series of scenes without any NPCs, but also measures performance in more active scenes such as a robbery and shootout. At the end of the benchmark, you’ll get a summary of your peak framerate, average framerate, and lowest framerate.
3 Shadow of the Tomb Raider
If you want to see how your PC performs with an older AAA title, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a great option for a variety of reasons. It includes a benchmarking tool and this tool doesn’t require you to buy the full game—you can access it by downloading the free demo on Steam.
The game was released back in 2018, so you don’t want to use it to benchmark potential performance in brand-new games. But if you’re mostly playing older AAA games, it will give you a good idea of how your PC will perform. It also provides detailed information such as GPU and CPU rendering performance, along with information about your average FPS.
To access the benchmarking tool, open the demo, go to Options, and then select Display and Graphics. You’ll then find the option to run the benchmark. The demo is 15GB in size so it will take up considerably less storage and have a shorter download time when compared to a full game with a built-in benchmark.
4 Call of Duty: Warzone
Call of Duty: Warzone has a few benefits for benchmarking: it is free, it has realistic graphics, and it has a variety of game modes you can test out your hardware in. Since it’s online, you can also use it to check the latency you get when using a gaming laptop on Wi-Fi.
Like with Fortnite, I track performance by measuring the average FPS of a gaming session and looking out for issues like screen tearing or slow rendering. I use Windows Game Bar to get an idea of the game’s performance during a match.
So what if you want to benchmark your PC using one of the latest games with realistic graphics? Then luckily for you, the developers of Black Myth: Wukong have released a free, standalone benchmarking tool on Steam.
The Black Myth: Wukong benchmarking tool measures your FPS and VRAM usage as it renders a variety of environmental scenes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include scenes with a significant number of NPCs, but it can help identify issues and help you decide the best settings for the game.
You also don’t need to own the main game to use the benchmarking tool, which means it’s a good way to measure your PC’s performance with a 2024 title. Another benefit is that it’s only about 10GB in size, meaning you don’t have to take up a game’s worth of space on your drive just to run a benchmarking tool.
With these games, you can get a good idea of how well your Windows 11 PC performs. While built-in benchmarks give the most reliable stats, seeing how your PC performs in online competitive titles can give you a well-rounded idea of which games your setup can handle.
If you don’t want to only see how your PC performs in gaming scenarios, you can try out some of the best free benchmark programs for Windows to see how your setup performs.
