Apex Legends on Radeon R9 280X

Meets minimumEstimate · medium confidence, ±20%

Yes, at lower settings. The Radeon R9 280X meets Apex Legends's minimum spec but not the recommended one. We estimate ~48 fps at 1080p high (range 38–57, medium confidence, ±20%), GPU-limited. For 60 fps at 1080p, use the medium preset. Its 3 GB of video memory covers the 2 GB the game requires at minimum. The cheapest current card for 60 fps at 1080p high is the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB (~73 fps). Model estimate, not measured; data updated 2026-09-24.

Estimated FPS by preset

Preset	1080p	1440p	4K
low	81	57	34
medium	62	43	26
high	48	33	20
ultra	38	27	16

Estimate · medium confidence, ±20%

Estimated FPS from our model (v0), based on the game's published requirements and relative GPU/CPU performance. Not measured. Real results vary with drivers, patches, and scenes. Values above 300 fps show as 300+. Data updated 2026-09-24.

Best settings

60 fps at 1080p: medium preset
60 fps at 1440p: not reachable
144 fps at 1080p: not reachable

AMD card: use FSR in quality mode before dropping the preset (XeSS also works). DLSS is not available on Radeon.

What limits performance

Estimates above: GPU-limited, assuming a processor fast enough not to hold the Radeon R9 280X back.
Processor needed for ~48 fps: Core i3-9100F or faster (slowest current desktop CPU our model expects to keep up).
With the recommended CPU: still GPU-limited at 1080p high, ~48 fps.

Video memory

Radeon R9 280X: 3 GB
Minimum spec: 2 GB (+1 GB headroom)

Cheapest upgrade for each target

1080p, 60 fps, High

GeForce RTX 3050 6GB

~73 fps vs 48 now (est.)

+53% GPU performance

1440p, 60 fps, High

Radeon RX 9050 4GB

~63 fps vs 33 now (est.)

+89% GPU performance

4K, 60 fps, High

Arc A770 16GB

~60 fps vs 20 now (est.)

+200% GPU performance

Slowest current desktop card (2020+) that reaches each target in Apex Legends; usually the cheapest.

Apex Legends on popular graphics cards (high preset)

Graphics card	1080p	1440p	vs Radeon R9 280X
Radeon R9 280X	48	33	—
GeForce GTX 1650	50	35	+5%
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB	70	49	+47%
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB	105	74	+121%
Radeon RX 6600	115	81	+142%
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB	125	88	+163%
GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU	130	91	+174%
Radeon RX 7600	145	102	+205%
GeForce RTX 4060	148	103	+211%
GeForce RTX 3070	173	121	+263%
GeForce RTX 4070	218	152	+358%
Radeon RX 7800 XT	243	170	+411%
GeForce RTX 5070	250	175	+426%
Radeon RX 9070 XT	300+	227	+584%
GeForce RTX 4080	300+	236	+611%
GeForce RTX 5090	300+	300+	+1032%