The Outer Worlds 2 - PC performance graphics benchmarks of Graphics Cards and Processors
We conducted a review and benchmarks The Outer Worlds 2 on video cards of different generations, starting from RTX 3060 to RTX 5090 и RX 6700 to RX 9070 XT and various processors AMD и Intel. Revealed the real system requirements, real SPF, and also during the tests we conducted we assessed graphic display quality the game itself.
| THE GRAFICAL PART |
This subsection of our review highlights the main graphical aspects of this game. Particular attention is paid to the version of the graphics engine used, the version of the API used, graphic settings and the quality of development of the main visual aspects.
| Supported OS and Graphics API |
The Outer Worlds 2 is created on Unreal Engine 5 and works through DirectX 12, using modern lighting and material technologies. The game supports DLSS, FSR, as well as effects ray tracing for reflections and global illumination, but the visual difference between RT on and off is negligible. The main emphasis is on the art style, color palette, and crisp detail of the environment.
System Requirements
Minimal:
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OS: Windows 10/11 with latest updates
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Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 / Intel Core i5-8400
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Memory: 16 GB
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Video card: AMD Radeon RX 5700 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 / Intel Arc A580
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DirectX: 12
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Storage: 110GB (SSD required)
Recommended:
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OS: Windows 10/11 with latest updates
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Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X / Intel Core i7-10700K
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Memory: 16 GB
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Video card: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
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DirectX: 12
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Storage: 110GB (SSD required)
| DEVELOPMENT HISTORY |
The Outer Worlds 2 was the long-awaited sequel to Obsidian Entertainment's popular game. Development began almost immediately after the release of the first game: the team wanted to expand the universe, add more planets, and add more variety and depth to the RPG component. However, over time, the project changed significantly—the initial concept of a "massive open space adventure" evolved into a more focused narrative with several key locations and plot threads. The developers acknowledged that the choice to prioritize depth and quality of content over quantity.
The development process was fraught with controversial decisions: initially, numerous factions, an extensive character customization system, and freedom of action were envisioned, but as release approached, some of these elements were scaled back. Feedback from testers and the community indicated that the project was becoming too diffuse, and the decision was made to tighten the scope to maintain stability and complete the game within an acceptable timeframe. This meant that some of the ambitions were sacrificed for the sake of launch.
The technical transition was also a key factor: the studio worked with modern tools, but at the same time took on the task of ensuring a smooth launch on PC and next-generation consoles. As a result, The Outer Worlds 2 starts immediately on Windows and consoles, with an emphasis on the PC version. Nevertheless, players at launch noted that the game feels polished, has an engaging storyline and mechanics, but it also feels like compromises were made—the balance between ambition and execution has become apparent.
In summary: development history The Outer Worlds 2 is the story of a mature studio that tried to preserve the spirit of the original and adapt to new expectations, but was forced to choose stability and focus over maximum scale and “everything at once.”
| GRAPHICS |
In visual terms The Outer Worlds 2 demonstrates a clear step up from the first game: new planets and diverse locations—from industrial complexes to exotic environments with alien flora and fauna. On PC, the version stands out for its detailed textures of characters, weapons, and materials (metal, fabric, leather), as well as interesting lighting: neon lights, wet surfaces, puddles, reflections, and particles—all of which bring the game closer to a high visual level.
The key innovation was the presence of ray tracing (RT) and support for DLSS 4 technology (on GPU, which support it). RT is included as an option—the game is advertised as "#RTXOn" for the PC version, meaning that reflections, some shadows, and global illumination are generated using ray tracing. This is a plus for players with the right hardware, but the game's implementation of RT isn't perfect: enabling RT is only fully noticeable on high-end hardware, while on mid-range systems, you'll need to manually lower the settings to avoid performance drops.
However, despite RT, there are compromises. In scenes with numerous enemies, vehicles, effects, and active camera movement, simplifications can be noticed: distant backgrounds, objects on the horizon, and textures outside the main focus appear less detailed. It's often clear that the geometry and scenery are designed for performance. NPC animations, especially secondary ones, sometimes appear less smooth than those of the main characters—it's clear that resources are prioritized for key moments.
Overall graphics The Outer Worlds 2 is a quality visual step up with an interesting style and modern capabilities (including RT), but not without compromises: the game is focused on the balance of "picture + performance" rather than on the absolute top of the line technology.
| GAME ENGINE |
In the PC version The Outer Worlds 2 runs on Unreal Engine 5, giving the studio access to modern tools: massive environments, flexible customization, support for ray tracing, and scalable graphics presets. Unlocked frame rates (higher than the usual 60 fps) and support for technologies such as DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, which should help those who have top-end hardware.
However, the engine's implementation shows that optimization requires attention: users note that at high settings and with RT enabled, the game requires a powerful graphics card and a fast SSD. On mid-range systems, FPS drops and microlags are observed when changing locations and loading assets. This means that the engine can perform at a high level, but it won't always provide a smooth experience out of the box without some tweaking.
LOD optimization is another highlight. Objects and environments are greatly simplified, and the transition from high to simplified detail is noticeable with rapid camera movement. This is typical for games with large environments, but if you expect a "uniform ultra" image across all scenes, the difference will be noticeable. In the settings menu, players can: select the quality of textures, shadows, reflections, lighting, and particles; enable/disable RT; select upscaling technology (DLSS/FSR/equivalents); adjust the maximum frame rate; and disable vertical sync. All this demonstrates that the PC version is focused on flexibility.
But there are limitations: despite UE5 and RT support, the engine isn't free of compromises: resources are distributed to ensure reproducibility across different systems, and some technological features (such as depth simulation and complex environmental interactions) are either simplified or cut. This means: if you want the best visuals, be prepared to manually optimize or sacrifice frame rates.
Bottom line: engine The Outer Worlds 2 on PC is a solid foundation for modern gaming, with ray tracing and other technologies, but with a realistic approach to optimization. If you have a powerful PC and are willing to play with the settings, you'll get a very satisfying experience. However, if you have a more modest system or want everything on ultra without any settings, you'll have to make some compromises.
| QUALITY |
Her ray tracing disabled The Outer Worlds 2 maintains a high visual quality thanks to thoughtful stylization and rich lighting. Shadows are soft yet static, reflections are realized through screen space, and global illumination remains stable and natural. Visually, scenes look clean and cinematic, especially in indoor and landscape scenes with contrasting lighting.
С with ray tracing enabled Reflections on metal and glass surfaces are improved, and lighting becomes more realistic when changing light sources. However, the overall difference is minor—RT primarily enhances shadow accuracy and lighting depth without changing the art style. Due to moderate use of the effect, the performance penalty is noticeably greater than the quality gain, especially on CPU.
| TEST PART |
Below you will find a table of equipment that was kindly provided by our sponsors: GIGABYTE, ASUS, Kingston и Deep Cool. It reflects the list of motherboards, video cards, memory modules and cooling systems used in the tests, and also indicates the current configuration of the operating system and drivers.
| Test configuration | |
| GIGABYTE | |
| motherboards | |
| ASUS | |
| motherboards | |
| Video Cards |
Asus GeForce RTX 5070 TUF Gaming OC ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4070 Ti OC |
| KINGSTON | |
| RAM |
16 GB DDR4 4600 CL19 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR4 3600 CL16 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR4 4000 CL18 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR5 5600 CL40 Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB DDR5 6000 CL30 Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB DDR5 7200 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade 48GB DDR5 7200 CL36 Kingston FURY Renegade |
| Storage devices |
Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Deep Cool | |
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Cases and cooling |
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| Software configuration |
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| Operating system | Windows 11 24H2 |
| Graphics driver |
Nvidia GeForce/ION Driver Release 581.57 WHQL AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.10.1 |
| Monitoring programs | MSI Afterburner 4.6.6 Beta 5 Build 16555 |
All video cards were tested at maximum graphics quality using MSI Afterburner. The purpose of the test is to determine how video cards from different manufacturers behave under the same conditions. Below is a video of a test segment from the game:
Our video cards were tested in three separate screens - 1920 × 1080, 2560 × 1440 и 3840 × 2160For each test, the following were used: maximum graphics settings, delivering the ultimate image quality. Testing was conducted in four rendering modes, reflecting all key performance scenarios.
— Native mode without ray tracing Shows the pure power of the video card without upscaling and additional effects.
— Ray tracing mode adds realistic lighting, reflections and shadows, which significantly increases the load on GPU.
— DLLSQ + FG2X combines DLLSQ scaling and technology Frame Generation 2X, increasing performance without noticeable loss of quality. This mode Only supported by RTX 40 and RTX 50 series graphics cards, making it unavailable for older models and AMD cards.
— DLLSQ + MFG4X uses an improved system Multi Frame Generation 4X, which ensures maximum smoothness and stability of frames. However, This mode is supported exclusively by RTX 50 series graphics cards., and its absence in previous generations is critically important limitation for this game.
Thus, the tests demonstrate not only the difference in performance between generations, but also a technological gap: video cards without support for DLLSQ, FG2X, or MFG4X are at a clear disadvantage, especially in this game, where these modes significantly improve the comfort and stability of gameplay.
| TEST GPU |
In the video card test, the default resolution is 1920x1080, other resolutions are added and removed manually. You can also remove and add any video card positions. You can also select any of our test processors from the list in the drop-down menu, comparing its performance with the given video card tests (the most productive solution is selected by default). The test is carried out on the most productive in this game CPU and scales to other processors, taking into account their testing on NVIDIA and AMD video cards.
- Very high
- Very High + RT
- Very High + RT + DLSSQ + FG2X
- Very High + RT + DLSSQ + MFG4X
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 3060.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForceRTX 2080 Ti level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the Radeon RX 7900 XT or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti level.
When resolved 2560x1440:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 9060 XT or GeForce RTX 4060 Ti.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6800 XT or GeForce RTX 5060 Ti level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with GeForce-level video cards RTX 4090.
When resolved 3840x2160:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Achieved on Radeon RX 7900 XT or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti level graphics cards.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by Radeon-level video cards RX 7900 XTX or GeForce RTX 4080.
RT
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Reached on video cards of the level of Radeon RX 6700 XT or GeForce RTX 4060 Ti.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 9060 XT or GeForce RTX 5060 Ti level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with Radeon-level video cards RX 7900 XTX or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti.
When resolved 2560x1440:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Achieved on RadeonRX 9060 XT or GeForce RTX 5060 Ti-level graphics cards.
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the Radeon RX 6900 XT or GeForce RTX 5060 Ti level.
- Comfortable average FPS (60 frames): Possible with video cards of the GeForce RTX 5090 level.
When resolved 3840x2160:
- Average FPS (25 frames): Achieved on Radeon-level graphics cards RX 7900 XTX or GeForce RTX 4080
- Minimum FPS (25 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 5080 level.
RT + DLLSQ + FG2X
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Minimum FPS (60 frames): Reached the level of GeForce RTX 5060 Ti on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (90 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 5070 level.
When resolved 2560x1440:
- Minimum FPS (60 frames): Reached the level of GeForce RTX 5060 Ti on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (90 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 4080 level.
When resolved 3840x2160:
- Minimum FPS (60 frames): Reached GeForce RTX 4080 level on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (90 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 5090 level.
RT + DLLSQ + MFG4X
When resolved 1920x1080:
- Minimum FPS (100 frames): Reached the level of GeForce RTX 5060 Ti on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (120 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti level.
- Minimum FPS (180 frames): Possible with video cards of the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti level.
When resolved 2560x1440:
- Minimum FPS (100 frames): Reached the level of GeForce RTX 5060 Ti on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (120 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 5070 level.
- Minimum FPS (180 frames): Possible with video cards of the GeForce RTX 5080 level.
When resolved 3840x2160:
- Minimum FPS (100 frames): Reached the level of GeForce RTX 5070 Ti on video cards.
- Minimum FPS (120 frames): Provided by video cards of the GeForce RTX 5080 level.
- Minimum FPS (180 frames): Possible with video cards of the GeForce RTX 5090 level.
| VIDEO MEMORY CONSUMPTION |
Testing of the video memory consumed by the game was carried out by the MSI Afterburner program. The results on video cards from AMD and NVIDIA at separate screen resolutions of 1920x1080, 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 with different anti-aliasing settings were taken as an indicator. By default, the most current solutions are displayed in the graph. Other video cards are added and removed from the graph at the reader's request.
- Very high
- Very High + RT
GameGPU
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB
RT
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 7 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 8 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 9 GB
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 10 GB
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 11 GB
| TEST CPU |
Testing was carried out at a resolution of 1920x1080. In the processor test, you can remove or add any processor positions. You can also select any tested video card from the list in the drop-down menu, comparing its performance with the given processor test results (by default, the most productive solution from NVIDIA is selected). Testing takes place on the most powerful NVIDIA and AMD video cards and scales to low-end models.
- Very high
- Very High + RT
- Very High + RT + DLSSQ + FG2X
- Very High + RT + DLSSQ + MFG4X
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- Processors for comfortable FPS (at least 60 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 7 5700
- Intel Core i9-10900
When using AMD video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 3 3100
- Intel Core i3-10100
- Processors for comfortable FPS (at least 60 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600
- Intel Core i3-12100
RT
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600
- Intel Core i5-10600
When using AMD video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 25 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700
- Intel Core i5-10600
RT + DLLSQ + FG2X
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 60 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 9 5900
- Intel Core i3-13100
RT + DLLSQ + MFG4X
When using NVIDIA video cards:
- Processors for acceptable FPS (not lower than 100 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600
- Intel Core i5-10600
- Processors for comfortable FPS (at least 180 frames per second):
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950
- Intel Core i7-13700
- Very high
Loading and using streams:
- Maximum load: The game can load up to 16 streams.
- Optimal loading: Uses up to 12 threads as efficiently as possible.
| RAM TEST |
The indicator was taken as all used RAM. The RAM test on the all system was conducted on various video cards without launching third-party applications (browsers, etc.). In the graphics, you can add and remove any resolutions and video cards as desired.
- Very high
- Very High + RT
GameGPU
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 16 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 16 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 16 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
RT
Resolution 1920x1080:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 18 GB of RAM
Resolution 2560x1440:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 18 GB of RAM
Resolution 3840x2160:
- Video cards with 12 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 16 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 24 GB of video memory: consume 17 GB of RAM
- Video cards with 32 GB of video memory: consume 18 GB of RAM
| SPONSORS TESTS |
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