Graphics Card For Fortnite
Now that you’ve finally decided to get your hands on Fortnite.
You download and install the game on your PC, but for some reason, it’s not running the way you expected.
You notice that your PC is struggling to keep up with the FPS, which makes you wonder, ‘Do I need a good GPU to play Fortnite?’.
Is Fortnite A Graphically Demanding Game?
The simple answer to that question is a YES. Fortnite by Epic relies heavily on your system’s GPU, even more than the CPU.
To put it simply, it’s a GPU-intensive game that runs much better if you have a powerful graphics card installed.
That said, you would still need a decent enough CPU that can sustain your GPU’s capabilities.
Fortnite happens to be a game that relies heavily on the graphics card, but at the same time, also needs a decent CPU.
Hence, if you’re planning to upgrade your system to play Fortnite and getting over whether to upgrade your GPU or CPU, we’d suggest you look into a graphics card. You would see a massive performance improvement as long as your CPU doesn’t restrict your GPU’s horsepower.
In addition, upgrading to a more powerful graphics card would drastically reduce stutters and lags and improve the game’s stability. Besides, a more advanced GPU would also help keep your system’s temperature in check.
Strength Of The Graphics Card Needed For Optimal Play
If you’ve already equipped your PC with a decent graphics card, like a GTX 1650 Super or an RX 5500 XT, but still don’t get the desired performance, then you might want to upgrade your PC.
First, you’ll need a more powerful CPU that can utilize your GPU’s horsepower.
If you have a GTX 1650 Super or its equivalent graphics card, we’d recommend you go for an i3-9100 or AMD’s Ryzen 3 3300X.
Besides, the more advanced Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5 would be what the doctor ordered to get even better performance from your GPU.
To get a better understanding, let’s look at Fortnite’s minimum and recommended system requirements.
Minimum System Requirements:
- Processor: Core i3 2.4 GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD 4000
Recommended System Requirements:
- Processor: Core i5 2.8 GHz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics Card NVIDIA GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7870
As shown above, Epic Games has designed Fortnite to run on a wide range of PC hardware.
These requirements also mean that many gamers can at least give Fortnite a shot, even if they don’t have a high-end GPU. However, it also means you’d need a lot more power if you want to experience the game on the recommended or maximum settings.
Which GPU Should I Buy To Play Fortnite?
Fortnite does rely on the CPU, as the load gets spread across multiple cores. However, the game tends to lean more towards GPU performance for its PVE and PVP modes. The CPU usage mostly comes into play during intense combat.
Therefore, as long as your GPU can handle the game’s requirements, a slightly lower performance shouldn’t be a significant concern to play Fortnite.
As already mentioned, you don’t need a really high-end GPU to play Fortnite as the game runs well even on lower settings.
That said, you’d still want a powerful rig to get the most out of the game’s graphics. Hence, let’s have a look at some recommended GPUs to get an immersive experience out of Fortnite Battle Royale.
Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB
The Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB easily churns out over 150 FPS at 1080p while playing Fortnite.
Besides, it also delivers a reasonable 49 FPS on 4K. All in all, the performance delivered by the Radeon RX 5500 4GB easily surpasses what you may need to play Fortnite.
You can expect a solid frame rate of over 100 FPS at 1080p Ultra. Even if you crank up the resolution to 1440p, this graphics card can easily churn out over 80 FPS and a respectable 49 FPS on 4K Ultra.
Finally, it all comes down to the preferred gameplay settings that you can easily tweak with the Radeon 5500 XT 4GB without having to worry about performance.
Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB
The Radeon RX 5600 XT churns out a strong 200+ FPS at 1080p and on high graphics. Being a relatively powerful GPU, you can easily push the game’s settings to 1440p or 4K without worrying about performance.
Besides, even at Ultra 4K graphics, the Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB can deliver a solid 60+ FPS with no issues whatsoever. Just make sure you have a processor that can handle this GPU’s demand.
In short, the Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB card can easily run Fortnite at Ultra settings almost regardless of the screen resolutions.
At 4K Ultra, you expect over 60 frames per second. Playing at 1440p gets you over 100 FPS, while at 1080p, it churns out a solid 148 frames per second.
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
The RTX 2060 GB can deliver over 200 frames per second when playing Fortnite at 1080p resolution. Even at 4K, you get a solid 70+ frames per second.
That said, you would also need a solid 8GB of RAM paired with a Core i7 9700K 8-Core 3.6GHz or its AMD equivalent to sustain this GPU’s prowess.
Overall, GeForce RTX 2060 6GB graphics cards can smoothly run Fortnite no matter the settings. You can expect over 70 FPS with 4K Ultra, over 124 frames per second in Ultra 1440p, and over 160 FPS with 1080p.
Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB
With a system equipped with Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB and some 8GB RAM, expect a solid 4K Ultra FPS performance in Fortnite.
Just make sure you have an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU or an Intel equivalent to go with this setup, and the RX 5700 XT 8GB won’t disappoint.
In short, you don’t have to worry about frame rates with this graphics card.
At 4K, you easily get around 80 FPS, at 1440p will get you over 130 frame rate, and if you want even more FPS, 1080p gaming can get over 170 frames per second.
Of course, professional and competitive players value frame rates over high resolutions, and that’s where this card does not disappoint.
GeForce RTX 3070
At 1080p, the RTX 3070 consistently delivers over 240 frames per second, barring a few minor drops in frame rates.
Even if you prefer 1440p, this has enough power to churn out a reliable 155 frames per second without any hiccups.
Go for this card if you play Fortnite professionally and value frame rates over eye candy.
Radeon RX 5950
Radeon RX 5950 certainly blows Fornite’s recommended requirements out of the water. At 1080p, the RX 5950 consistently returns over 200 FPS. If you want more eye candy and decide to crank it up to 4K, you still get over 80 FPS.
While playing at 1440p Ultra, you easily get over 140 frames per second. Besides, if you decide to stick to 1080p gaming, expect anything between 180 to 200 frames per second.
GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
Playing Fortnite with the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti gives you a solid 200+ FPS at 1080p resolution. At a higher 1440p resolution, it easily returns over 200 frames per second, while 4K resolution gives you over 90 FPS as well.
In short, if you are looking to play Fortnite at high settings, then this GPU should definitely be on your radar. Paired with 8GB of RAM, this card has no issues churning out a solid performance even while playing the game at 4K.
Conclusion
So does Fortnite rely more on the GPU or CPU? That depends on several factors, but the game utilizes the GPU more than the CPU in most situations.
So if you think you’ve got a decent CPU but aren’t getting the desired FPS, it might be time to upgrade your GPU.
However, if your CPU is underpowered than your graphics card, replacing it with a powerful alternative or overclocking the CPU could significantly improve the overall performance.
A GPU’s primary responsibility is to deliver the game to your display without any lags or stutters, that too at the highest settings possible. Most competitive players value frame rates over the visual appeal because it gives them so many advantages.
To begin with, it allows them to play Fortnite on monitors having a refresh rate, which makes everything a lot smoother, and eventually improves their accuracy and performance. Secondly, suppose your PC can churn out a solid amount of FPS. In that case, it makes the game more responsive and free-flowing as it reduces the overall latency.
Modern-day GPUs pack so much power that even competitively priced graphics cards have no issues racking out 144 frames per second without much hassle. The kind of graphics card you’d go for depends primarily on your budget.
Still, there are a lot of factors to consider before buying a graphics card. If you’re a professional player, you’ll most likely prefer something that delivers a 144Hz refresh rate or even higher.
