Every laptop we have figures for

Frame rates measured by Notebookcheck.

What it asks of a laptop

At 1920x1080 on the High preset with upscaling off, Watch Dogs Legion is broadly manageable on gaming laptops, but it is not effortless at the lower end. Notebookcheck’s measured figures span from 42fps on the Asus ROG Strix G17 with an RTX 3050 Ti to 131fps on the MSI Titan GT77 HX with an RTX 4090 at 150W. That is a wide 89fps gap between the slowest and fastest machines.

The median result is 96fps, and 12 of the 13 measured laptops reached at least 60fps. This makes 60fps a realistic target for a substantial range of discrete-GPU gaming laptops in this particular test, rather than something reserved for the most expensive models. However, the one exception is important: the RTX 3050 Ti machine managed 42fps, showing that entry-level dedicated graphics can still fall well short of a consistent 60fps result at these settings.

The figures also suggest that the game benefits clearly from more GPU performance, although the relationship is not perfectly tidy. The RTX 4090, RTX 4080 and RTX 3080 Ti systems sit at 131fps, 121fps and 113fps respectively, while the tested RTX 4050 laptop reached 107fps. That RTX 4050 result comes from one 140W machine, so it should be treated as a result for that specific Schenker XMG Apex 15 rather than proof that every RTX 4050 laptop will perform similarly.

Lower down the list, laptop configuration matters as well as the GPU name. The two RTX 3070 laptops recorded 81fps and 68fps, while the RTX 3070 Ti pair scored 97fps and 96fps. The RTX 3080 results were also split, at 103fps and 82fps. These are not large samples, but they are a useful reminder that a GPU label alone is not enough to predict performance precisely. The measured machines differ materially even where their graphics tier is nominally similar.

For a 60fps target, the game is therefore fairly forgiving on the measured hardware. For 100fps, it becomes more selective: only five of the 13 laptops reached that mark. For 144fps, it is demanding: none of the measured laptops hit 144fps at 1080p High without upscaling, including the RTX 4090 system.

What runs it

For 60fps: 12 of the 13 measured laptops cleared 60fps. The lowest result above that line was 66fps from the HP Omen 15-en0375ng with an RTX 2060. The Schenker XMG Core 17 with an RTX 3060 at 130W reached 71fps, while the two RTX 3070 machines managed 81fps and 68fps. The latter result came from an Acer Predator Helios 300 with an RTX 3070 at 100W.

The tested RTX 3070 Ti machines were comfortably above 60fps, at 97fps for the MSI Stealth GS66 and 96fps for the Aorus 17 XE4 with an RTX 3070 Ti at 130W. The two RTX 3080 laptops recorded 103fps and 82fps. Above them, the MSI GE76 Raider with an RTX 3080 Ti at 175W reached 113fps, the Razer Blade 16 Early with an RTX 4080 at 175W reached 121fps, and the MSI Titan GT77 HX with an RTX 4090 at 150W reached 131fps.

The sole machine below 60fps was the Asus ROG Strix G17, fitted with an RTX 3050 Ti at 95W. Its 42fps result is substantially behind the RTX 2060 laptop’s 66fps and means this particular RTX 3050 Ti configuration is not a safe choice for 1080p High if 60fps is the aim.

For 100fps: five of 13 measured laptops made it. These were the MSI Titan GT77 HX RTX 4090 at 131fps, Razer Blade 16 Early RTX 4080 at 121fps, MSI GE76 Raider RTX 3080 Ti at 113fps, Schenker XMG Apex 15 RTX 4050 at 107fps, and Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR YC RTX 3080 at 103fps.

That list needs careful reading. There is only one measured RTX 4090, RTX 4080, RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 4050 laptop, and two RTX 3080 laptops. In particular, the other RTX 3080 result was 82fps, so 100fps is not guaranteed simply by buying a laptop with that GPU designation.

For 144fps: no measured laptop reached it. The fastest result, 131fps from the RTX 4090 Titan GT77 HX, remained 13fps short. Based on these figures, buyers targeting a 144fps result at the stated settings should not assume even a top-end laptop will deliver it.

The cheapest laptop that handles it

The fact sheet provides prices for only two laptops, so it cannot identify the absolute cheapest machine among all 13. Of those priced systems, the Asus ROG Strix G17 with an RTX 3050 Ti at 95W is listed at £1,256, but its measured 42fps result does not meet a 60fps target at 1080p High with upscaling off.

The other priced laptop is the MSI Stealth GS66 with an RTX 3070 Ti, listed at £2,688. It achieved 97fps, putting it well above 60fps and close to 100fps. It is the cheapest priced laptop in the supplied figures that clearly handles the game at 60fps, but it would be wrong to present it as the cheapest available 60fps option overall because prices are not supplied for the other 11 systems.

What this means if you’re buying

If your priority is simply a 60fps-class experience at 1920x1080 High without upscaling, the measured figures suggest that an RTX 2060 laptop can do it, with the HP Omen 15-en0375ng reaching 66fps. The RTX 3060 and the tested RTX 3070 systems also cleared that threshold, at 71fps, 81fps and 68fps. That said, the gap between the two RTX 3070 results shows why buyers should look for measured results for the exact laptop, not just its GPU tier.

For more headroom, the RTX 3070 Ti results of 96fps and 97fps are a stronger indication of where performance becomes consistently high in this sample. The upper tiers can exceed 100fps, but the evidence is thin for several of them: one laptop each represents the RTX 4050, RTX 3080 Ti, RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 categories.

The clearest buying warning is at the entry level. The tested RTX 3050 Ti laptop was the only system under 60fps and recorded 42fps. For this game at these settings, that specific configuration is a poor fit for a buyer who expects 60fps without changing the stated test conditions.