Top PC Games With The Highest Graphics Requirements

Video games that make use of the full capabilities of the latest and greatest computer hardware are made available to the public at the same time. It’s no surprise that gaming technology has been on the rise recently, with top hardware makers racing to release the most powerful parts at the lowest possible prices practically every year.

These games are developed not just to provide players with a fun time, but also to showcase cutting-edge visual design techniques. If you’re wanting to improve your computer, you might want to consider the 15 games with the highest GPU needs.

Originally published on November 2, 2022, and updated by Charles Burgar on November 2, 2022: Except for RTX 4090 customers whose adapters melted under prolonged use, the last several months have been fantastic for PC gamers. PC gamers now have access to cutting-edge hardware and graphically taxing games, some of which are Sony-exclusive.

We’ve added some new entries and revised our previous ones to account for the release of Nvidia’s RTX 4090 GPU and the latest generations of AMD and Intel processors.

Top PC Games

Video Game Title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

There are two games with the same name in the Call of Duty series: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022). It’s also the most graphically intensive game in the series thus far, requiring a GTX 1060 and Ryzen 5 1400 to run at 1080p 60 frames per second.

Although this may not be particularly shocking by today’s standards, the game offers a wide variety of scaling options. The most demanding settings can put a strain on your graphics card due to upscaling, 4K resolution, and a large number of intricate components.

Despite the strange omission of ray tracing, Nvidia’s Reflex and DLSS technologies, as well as a variety of sharpening and upscaling options for all PCs, are included in this game.

With its extensive Career Mode and high-quality visuals, F1 2022 is the best Formula 1 racing simulator to date. Although our in-depth F1 2022 review noted that it isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing racing game available, the game’s lifelike renderings of legendary Formula 1 vehicles and great VR compatibility more than makeup for this.

To get this game up and running, all you need is a GTX 1660 and an Intel i5-9600, and that’s more than enough to get a playable frame rate. Playing F1 22 with Ray tracing, a VR headset, or at 4K resolution is where you’ll notice the game’s full performance cost. Due to the high demands placed on a PC by F1 22, many reviewers use it as a standard benchmark.

Forever Infinite Halo

Even down to its stunning visuals, the latest Halo game is a faithful recreation of the series. Both the RTX 2070 graphics card and the Intel i7-9700k processor are relatively powerful requirements for the PC version of Halo Infinite, especially when compared to the requirements of other PC games.

If you want to play the single-player or high-budget Forge maps at higher resolutions or frame rates, you’ll need a particularly powerful PC or an Xbox Series X, although most PCs should be able to handle the multiplayer component at 1080p 60 FPS with these specs.

The New Dawn, Horizon Zero

Back in 2010, only PlayStation owners could play, but in 2020, that changed. At launch, Horizon: Zero Dawn stunned PlayStation players with its dazzling visuals, but its buggy PC distribution turned off many potential buyers. After some time has gone by, how do you feel about Zero Dawn now?

The current state is much improved over the previous one. Horizon Zero Dawn’s recent shader compilation, DLSS support, and massive performance improvements have made the PC port a solid contender that tests the limits of today’s hardware.

At 1080p, a GTX 1060 is suggested, but a more powerful GPU is required for 1440p and 4K. The dynamic resolution scaling option makes the game playable on mid-range PCs and even the Steam Deck, with playable frame rates.

Lightning-Fast Recall: Infinity

It’s not easy to find a first-person shooter that looks better than Bright Memory: Infinite. This action-packed first-person shooter game has some of the best lighting and particle effects of any recent game. If you have a suitable graphics card, you can even use it for ray tracing.

Even while Bright Memory: Infinite has relatively modest system requirements compared to the other games on this list, it doesn’t mean it’s not a demanding visual experience. You’ll need a powerful CPU and graphics card to play this at higher settings and maintain a smooth frame rate. You’ll need an RTX 3080 or above to play this game at its highest settings with RTX enabled.

Spider-Man: The Movie, Remastered By Marvel

Spider-Man: Remastered for PC features reworked graphics and new environments. This is the definitive version of Insomniac Games’ superhero masterwork, boasting a slew of enhancements such as DLSS, upscaling options, ray tracing, and ultrawide support.

This Spider-Man port is, without a doubt, Sony’s finest effort to date in bringing a PlayStation game to other platforms. It’s to be expected that swinging all over New York will put a strain on your PC if you play it at maximum settings.

Playing at 1080p requires a GTX 1060 and Intel i5-4670, while 4K play necessitates an Nvidia 30 or 40-series GPU. As one of the few PC games that utilize Nvidia’s latest DLSS 3.0 frame-generating technology, this one is worth checking out if you’re concerned about frame dips.

The graphics in RIDE 4 are state-of-the-art, as is typical of racing games. RIDE 4 is one of the most visually stunning games available because of its combination of a thrilling sensation of speed and cutting-edge graphics. Before playing RIDE 4, most PS5 owners mistook it for GoPro footage.

A strong computer is required to play this game due to its demanding visuals. If you want to play it at 1080p, you’ll need a GTX 1060 or RX 580, but 4K is where the game really shows off its graphic prowess. An RTX 30-series graphics card is recommended for the best RIDE 4 experience.

Gradual Climbing To The Top

The Ascent is one of the best examples of a video game that uses the cyberpunk aesthetic, as it is a co-op top-down shooter with stunning particle effects and lighting. You’ll need a powerful computer to really enjoy this game, despite its stunning visuals.

For a 1080p, 60 FPS experience, the recommended hardware is a GTX 1070 and a Ryzen 5 2600. Expect some frame drops during hectic fights, but the stuttering problems that plagued the game at launch appear to have been resolved.

The Ascent’s stunning ray tracing implementation requires an RTX 20 or 30 series card or an AMD equivalent for higher resolutions and frame rates. As an added bonus, the Cyber Heist downloadable content for The Ascent provides a compelling cause to revisit the game’s intricate cyberpunk worlds.

Village Of Resident Evil

One of the most graphically taxing Resident Evil games is Resident Evil Village. Even though the minimum requirements call for a 1080p resolution at 60 frames per second, you’ll need a GTX 1050 Ti just to play the game. You can play this game on a weaker GPU if you don’t mind the frame rate dropping, but if you want to get the most out of RE8, you’ll need a powerful GPU.

A GTX 1070 or better is recommended, however, an RTX card is required for the ray tracing option and higher resolutions in this game. The game’s eye-popping visuals make the purchase worthwhile.

In terms of graphic processing unit (GPU) requirements, Control Control is among the highest of all PC games. The use of ray tracing in this game is its greatest technical accomplishment. While RTX is enabled, environments and particle effects are jaw-droppingly beautiful, but this comes at a high cost.

To make use of ray tracing, you’ll need a graphics processing unit (GPU) that is at least as powerful as the RTX 2060. As a result of how successfully RTX is implemented in this case, the necessary GPU investment is more than justified. DLSS is included on the RTX series of cards, allowing for significant performance gains with just minor visual sacrifices.

Control may be played without an RTX card, but even so, it’s a demanding game that requires at least a GTX 1660 to run at a playable framerate. Control, in any form, necessitates a reasonably powerful personal computer if you want to play it, and a top-tier system if you want to see its full potential.

The latest Hitman game, Hitman 3, has become a showcase for Intel’s Alder Lake processors, and it’s also a great testbed for today’s graphics processing units. Hitman 3’s minimum system requirements are a GTX 660, while a GTX 1070 or more is recommended for optimal performance.

Hitman 3 offers a virtual reality (VR) mode that, interestingly enough, can provide a more immersive experience at the expense of performance. You’ll need at least an RTX 2060 Super to run the VR version, and that’s also the bare minimum GPU for ray tracing in the non-VR version. In conjunction with Hitman 3’s graphical customization choices, this makes for an excellent benchmarking tool for PC gamers.

Tomb Raider: Under The Covers

The newest Lara Croft adventure features more visual variety and eye-popping visuals than ever before. Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s technical requirements is on par with those of the previous game.

You need at least a GTX 1060 graphics card and a powerful processor, like an i7 4770K, to appreciate this game, even at low refresh rates. Its performance does scale well up to higher resolutions, but if you want to raid tombs at 1440p or 4K, you’ll need an Nvidia RTX card from the 20 or 30 series. There is a good reason why Shadow of the Tomb Raider is often used as a standard.

A New Chapter In The Forza Series

In terms of visuals, Forza Horizon 5 is a top contender for the best game of 2021. Every racing lover will be engrossed by the stunning visuals, detailed models, and outstanding weather effects. Also, it’s a challenging PC game to develop.

The GTX 1070 is a significant upgrade from the GTX 970, which was the recommended GPU for Horizon 4. Moreover, that’s just for 1080p with a frame rate of 60 frames per second. According to Digital Foundry, an RTX 2080ti or RTX 3070 is required to push Horizon 5 into 4K. A powerful CPU, such as the R5 3600, is also recommended in order to keep a smooth 60 FPS during the most demanding races in this game.

Video Game: “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla”

It should come as no surprise that Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the most recent installment in Ubisoft’s popular series, is also the most difficult. For 1080p at 30 FPS on low settings, a GPU at least as powerful as a GeForce GTX 960 is necessary.

You’ll want a GTX 1080 or greater to play at 60 frames per second (FPS) in the highest quality settings. This is to be expected, given that Valhalla is an open world, but the requirements become extremely stringent when the resolution is turned up.

According to Digital Foundry’s benchmarks, an RTX 2080ti or a GPU from the 30 series is required to play a game at 1440p at 60 FPS with no noticeable frame rate drops. Combining an RTX 3080 or 3090 with a high-end CPU from AMD or Intel is necessary to get a stable 60 FPS at 4K resolution, similar to what the PlayStation 5 outputs. Expect some framerate drops even then in performance-intensive sequences.

The Second Part Of “Red Dead”

Red Dead Redemption 2’s PC port is quite demanding, even when compared to more recent open-world games. Stuttering and frame rate drops are normal on recommended hardware but can be alleviated by lowering your settings.

Even the suggested minimums aren’t trivial matters. If you’re using Nvidia, you won’t be able to have a good time until you have a GTX 1060 or better. To achieve these outcomes, AMD consumers will need to purchase a Ryzen 5 1500X or higher. Red Dead Redemption 2’s recommended settings recommend 12 GB of RAM, making it a demanding game like Grand Theft Auto V.

You’ll be able to enjoy the most visually spectacular Rockstar game to date with minimal glitches if you meet the aforementioned prerequisites. Try this game at 1440p if you have an RTX 30 series card, as it will put your GPU through its paces.

Final Fantasy XV

When 2018 rolled around, fans could at long last view Final Fantasy XV on their computer screens. However, there is a catch to this port: Final Fantasy XV is one of, if not the most, graphically demanding RPGs available when all settings are turned up to maximum. Modern GPUs can easily be overwhelmed by the demands of advanced physics and rich textures.

That’s right, you’ll need 155 GB of storage space to play this game at its top settings in 4K, which is a number that has us scratching our heads to this day. Even with an RTX GPU and 16 GB of RAM, we can’t promise 60 FPS. This game requires a GTX 1060 (6GB) to run at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second.

In the eyes of the vast majority of PC gamers, that is simply not acceptable. This game requires a strong GPU if you want to play at 60 frames per second. You’ll need an RTX card from the 30-series, or even a 4090, to play Final Fantasy XIV at 4K or 1440p.

Mass Departure From The Metro

In order to make use of everything that Nvidia’s RTX graphics card family has to offer, Metro Exodus includes support for the technology’s renowned real-time ray tracing mode. Players who intend to run the game on lower settings may encounter difficulties, as there are very few options for optimizing performance on lower-end systems.

PC Gamer’s benchmarks on the lowest settings show an average of under 60 FPS on hardware inferior to a GTX 1070. To crank the volume all the way up, you’ll need an RTX card of the 2060 series or above. While it’s not the most demanding first-person shooter out there, powerful PCs will be rewarded with stunning visual quality and an excellent story in Metro.

The Second Season Of Dying Light

It has never been more fashionable to leap between roofs and drop-kick zombies. One of the more recent entries on our list, Dying Light 2, has extremely demanding system requirements. Playing at 1080p at 60 FPS with an RTX 2060 is suggested, but don’t expect to use high or ultra settings.

Dying Light 2 is one of the most resource-intensive PC games despite its stunning visuals. According to Digital Foundry’s analysis of Dying Light 2’s PC performance, the game is playable in 2060, but only if you switch between medium and high settings. Playing this game in 1440p with ultra settings requires high-end hardware.

RPG Series: Far Cry 6

When running at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second, Far Cry 6 requires a GTX 1080 and Ryzen 5 3600X. Since 16 GB of VRAM is required to run the game at 4K, an RTX 3090 or higher is required to play the game at that resolution. If you want to play this game at a high frame rate (120 FPS or more), you’ll need a strong processor.

The Year 2077: A Cyberpunk Fable

You’ll need a reasonably robust computer to go through Cyberpunk’s Night City. This game is memory intensive and requires a GTX 780 and 8 GB of RAM to run smoothly, even at the lowest settings. At a minimum, a GTX 1060 (6GB version) and 12 GB of RAM are required to fully appreciate Cyberpunk’s dystopian atmosphere.

Cyberpunk 2077 may experience framerate drops even at their highest settings. Also, the RTX 4090 is required, along with a top-tier CPU, to reliably run Cyberpunk at maximum settings in 4K at 60 frames per second. Fortunately, Cyberpunk offers a wide range of configuration options for fine-tuning performance. To improve this game’s performance with minimal visual impact, check out Digital Foundry’s great guide.

Final Words

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