Path of Exile 2 on Radeon HD 7970

Meets minimumEstimate · medium confidence, ±20%

Yes, at lower settings. The Radeon HD 7970 meets Path of Exile 2's minimum spec but not the recommended one. We estimate ~35 fps at 1080p medium (range 28–42, medium confidence, ±20%), GPU-limited. 60 fps at 1080p is out of reach. Its 3 GB of video memory covers the 3 GB the game requires at minimum. The cheapest current card for 60 fps at 1080p high is the Radeon RX 5600 XT (~61 fps). Model estimate, not measured; data updated 2026-09-24.

Estimated FPS by preset

Preset	1080p	1440p	4K
low	46	32	19
medium	35	25	15
high	27	19	11
ultra	22	15	9

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: not reachable
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 HD 7970 back.
Processor needed for ~35 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, ~27 fps.

Video memory

Radeon HD 7970: 3 GB
Minimum spec: 3 GB (+0 GB headroom)

Cheapest upgrade for each target

1080p, 60 fps, High

Radeon RX 5600 XT

~61 fps vs 27 now (est.)

+126% GPU performance

1440p, 60 fps, High

Radeon RX 6700

~60 fps vs 19 now (est.)

+216% GPU performance

4K, 60 fps, High

GeForce RTX 5070

~60 fps vs 11 now (est.)

+426% GPU performance

Slowest current desktop card (2020+) that reaches each target in Path of Exile 2; usually the cheapest.

Path of Exile 2 on popular graphics cards (high preset)

Graphics card	1080p	1440p	vs Radeon HD 7970
Radeon HD 7970	27	19	—
GeForce GTX 1650	29	20	+5%
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB	40	28	+47%
GeForce RTX 2060 6GB	60	42	+121%
Radeon RX 6600	66	46	+142%
GeForce RTX 3060 12GB	71	50	+163%
GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU	74	52	+174%
Radeon RX 7600	83	58	+205%
GeForce RTX 4060	84	59	+211%
GeForce RTX 3070	99	69	+263%
GeForce RTX 4070	124	87	+358%
Radeon RX 7800 XT	139	97	+411%
GeForce RTX 5070	143	100	+426%
Radeon RX 9070 XT	186	130	+584%
GeForce RTX 4080	193	135	+611%
GeForce RTX 5090	300+	215	+1032%