Hearts of Iron IV on Radeon R9 280

Well above recommendedEstimate · medium confidence, ±20%

Yes. The Radeon R9 280 is well above Hearts of Iron IV's recommended spec. We estimate ~102 fps at 1080p high (range 82–122, medium confidence, ±20%), GPU-limited. For 60 fps at 1440p, use the high preset (~71 fps on high). Its 3 GB of video memory is below the 28 GB the game recommends. Model estimate, not measured; data updated 2026-09-24.

Estimated FPS by preset

Preset	1080p	1440p	4K
low	173	121	73
medium	133	93	56
high	102	71	43
ultra	82	57	34

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: ultra preset
60 fps at 1440p: high preset
144 fps at 1080p: low preset

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 280 back.
Processor needed for ~102 fps: Core i3-9100F or faster (slowest current desktop CPU our model expects to keep up).
With the recommended CPU (Core i5-2500K): CPU-limited at 1080p high: about 90 fps instead of 102.

Video memory

Radeon R9 280: 3 GB
Minimum spec: 28 GB (25 GB short)
Recommended spec: 28 GB (25 GB short)

Cheapest upgrade for each target

4K, 60 fps, High

GeForce RTX 3050 6GB

~73 fps vs 43 now (est.)

+71% GPU performance

Slowest current desktop card (2020+) that reaches each target in Hearts of Iron IV; usually the cheapest.

Hearts of Iron IV on popular graphics cards (high preset)

Graphics card	1080p	1440p	vs Radeon R9 280
Radeon R9 280	102	71	—
GeForce GTX 1650	120	84	+18%
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB	168	118	+65%
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB	252	176	+147%
Radeon RX 6600	276	193	+171%
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB	300	210	+194%
GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU	300+	218	+206%
Radeon RX 7600	300+	244	+241%
GeForce RTX 4060	300+	248	+247%
GeForce RTX 3070	300+	290	+306%
GeForce RTX 4070	300+	300+	+412%
Radeon RX 7800 XT	300+	300+	+471%
GeForce RTX 5070	300+	300+	+488%
Radeon RX 9070 XT	300+	300+	+665%
GeForce RTX 4080	300+	300+	+694%
GeForce RTX 5090	300+	300+	+1165%