Whether you prefer gaming laptops or desktop PCs, it’s always fun to push your rig to the very limit with some of the latest games. Older and indie titles have their own charm, but if you want to really see the best graphics that game studios currently have to offer, you’ll need to check out some games from the last couple of years.
These games take advantage of the latest technologies, including Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and ray tracing. To run them on max settings, you’ll need an outstanding graphics card. If you’re in the market for a new PC that comes with one of the latest GPUs, check out our guide to the best gaming desktops and laptops. Once you’re all set with a shiny new monster PC, here are some games that will help you make the most of it.
Hogwarts Legacy
Like most modern AAA titles, Hogwarts Legacy comes with four sets of recommendations for specs. To be able to run it at minimum specs, you’ll need at least an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 4GB or an AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB. This should be paired with an Intel Core i5-6600 or an AMD Ryzen 5 1400. Even though these components aren’t new at all, you’ll still need at least 16GB of RAM, and that amount only goes up as we move up the ladder.
The recommended setup for Hogwarts Legacy includes Intel’s Core i7-8700 or AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600 and a GTX 1080 Ti or an RX 5700 XT. Intel’s flagship Arc A770 also makes an appearance here, but is no longer recommended if you want to play at max settings. For that, you’ll need an Nvidia RTX 3090 Ti or an AMD RX 7900 XT, 32GB RAM, and a Core i7-10700K or a Ryzen 7 5800X.
If your PC is all set to run Hogwarts Legacy, make sure to check out our guide to optimizing the settings to help you squeeze out every bit of performance.
If you’re OK with gaming at very low settings and at a mere 30 frames per second (fps), all you need is an Nvidia GTX 950 or AMD equivalent alongside an Intel Core i3-4160. Let’s be real, though — this is not how such games were meant to be played, and while you can still enjoy the gameplay, you won’t enjoy the graphics at those settings.
The devs recommend that you run at least an Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB or an AMD RX 580 with an Intel Core i5-4670 or an AMD Ryzen 5 1600 to play comfortably at 1080p. For anything better than that, you’ll have to get a solid GPU, meaning either the RTX 3070 or the RTX 3080, or the AMD equivalent, such as an RX 6950 XT. The CPUs range from an Intel Core i5-11400/AMD Ryzen 5 3600 to the last-gen Core i7-12700K or Ryzen 9 5900X. The latter are recommended for the ultimate performance tier that prioritizes ray tracing, though.
The bare minimum, meaning 720p gaming at 30 fps, equals an Nvidia GTX 960 and an Intel Core i5-2500K, along with 8GB RAM. But the game runs at 30 fps on the PS4 and at 60 fps on the PS5, so gaming on a PC gives you the unique possibility of pushing those frame rates higher still.
For 60 fps at 1080p, you’ll need at least an Nvidia GTX 1070 in combination with a less-than-average CPU (Core i7-4770K or Ryzen 7 2700). Bringing that up to 1440p will force you to upgrade your GPU to at least an RTX 2070 and the CPU to a Core i7-7700K or the Ryzen 7 3700X. The highest tier, which calls for a 4K monitor, also requires an RTX 3080 and an Intel Core i9-9900K, as well as 16GB RAM.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a very low barrier of entry compared to most of the titles on this list. It may not run smoothly, though. The better your hardware, the higher the frame rates, the better the visuals, and the higher the resolution.
At the minimum, you’ll need an Nvidia GTX 770 or an AMD Radeon R9 280, an Intel Core i5-2500K or an AMD FX-6300, and 8GB RAM. The recommended specifications are higher, but you can easily run it on a 5-year-old PC as long as you have a GTX 1060 6GB or an RX 480 4GB, as well as an Intel Core i7-4770K or an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X.
Those components may not let you play on max settings at a resolution higher than 1080p, though. Seeing as this game can still push even some of the latest components to the limit, the real answer here is the higher the specs, the better.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human
As long as you’re satisfied with 1080p gaming at 30 fps, you can make do with an Intel Core i3-9100 or an AMD Ryzen 3 2300X. Add to that at least 8GB RAM and an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti or an AMD Radeon RX 560, and you can start the game. Achieving optimal frame rates will bump up the requirements considerably — you’ll need at least a Core i5-8600K or Ryzen 5 3600X in combination with an RTX 2060 6GB or an RX Vega 56 8GB. You’ll also need at least 16GB of RAM.
Ray tracing will cost you a lot in this particular title — so much so that you’ll need an RTX 3080 10GB to run the game at a smooth 60 fps. If you’re not sure what graphics settings to use, check out our handy guide.
Like many other games on our list, Uncharted starts out with a modest set of system requirements. As long as you have a GTX 960 or an AMD Radeon R9 290X paired with a Core i5-4430 or a Ryzen 3 1200, you’re good to go. However, that means gaming at the lowest possible settings.
For 30 fps at 1080p, the developer asks that you get at least a GTX 1060 (or RX 570) and upgrade the CPU to your Intel or AMD chip of choice — either the Core i7-4770 or the Ryzen 5 1500X. A smooth 60 fps at 1440p will cost you much more, including an RTX 2070 or an RX 5700 XT, as well as a Core i7-7700K or a Ryzen 7 3700X. Moving on to 4K requires a beefy GPU (RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT) and a decent CPU (Core i9-9900K or Ryzen 9 3950X).
Forspoken
Forspoken was among the first games of this generation to call for a whopping 32GB of RAM at the highest performance tier. Even the minimum tier requires 16GB, which could cost you a pretty penny if you’re using some of the best DDR5 RAM.
The minimum spec requires at least an Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB or an AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB, as well as an Intel Core i7-3770. The “recommended” tier scales things up a whole lot, now calling for an RTX 3070 or an RX 6700 XT, as well as a Core i7-8700K or a Ryzen 5 3600. This tier also bumps up the RAM requirement to 24GB.
To run the game at max settings and in 4K, you’ll need either an AMD Ryzen 5 5800X or an Intel Core i7-12700. The GPU choices are pretty weird: you’ll need either an RTX 4080 or an RX 6800 XT. Seeing as the RTX 4080 is miles above the AMD card, it’s a weird choice, but Forspoken may be more optimized for Team Red with its AMD FSR 2.0 support.
If you already have a PS5 and don’t want to spend much more on a PC, you’ll enjoy playing Forspoken better on the console. The PC port really needs a high-end PC to run smoothly at high settings.
Cyberpunk 2077
Over two years later, things are much better in the PC version, but it’s still an extremely demanding title. Forget ray tracing if your PC isn’t a complete beast, and even if it is, you’ll need an RTX 4090 to play at a smooth 60 fps with ray tracing enabled.
The game comes with a wide range of system requirements. It’s very conservative in its lowest tier, with a GTX 780/RX 470 and a Core i5-3570K or an FX-8310, but I’m not sure I’d like to see the game run on such a setup. Gaming on high settings at 1440p will set you back considerably more, with GPU choices including RTX 2060 and RX 5700 XT. The RAM requirement also goes up to 12GB, and each tier after this one calls for 16GB.
Cyberpunk 2077 claims that you can run it at 4K, on ultra settings, with ray tracing enabled, if you have at least an RTX 3080 and a Core i7-6700 or Ryzen 5 3600. While that might be true, you won’t get great frame rates with this setup, and the first generation of cards that can really support this kind of spec is the Nvidia RTX 40-series. It’s an expensive game to run, but the visuals are out of this world.
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