Finding the best GPU for Fallout 76 may be a little bit tricky given the wide range of options to choose from these days. However, the game is pretty old at this point and the system requirements are no longer demanding to anyone with a relatively modern gaming PC. If you are in need of an upgrade or are building a new PC, then we’ve put together some of the best graphics cards for the job so you can get to enjoying this online multiplayer Fallout experience.
We’ve seen a renewed interest in the franchise thanks to the Fallout TV series, and while 76 may have had a rocky launch originally, the game has since improved with an abundance of new content; the player count has exploded as of late. Here we’re going to feature a range of up-to-date graphics cards depending on what kind of performance you’re after – including Nvidia and AMD options.
- Best GPU for Fallout 76
Zotac Gaming RTX 4060 Ti OC Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Best GPU for Fallout 76 in 4K
ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 4070 Super OC Edition
- GPU: AD104
- CUDA cores: 7,168
- VRAM: 12GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 504 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 192-bit
- Boost clock speed: 2595 MHz
- Best AMD GPU for Fallout 76
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
- GPU: Navi 32
- Stream Processors: 3,840
- VRAM: 16 GDDR6
- Memory bus width: 256-bit
- Bandwidth: 624.1 GB/sec
- Base clock speed: 1,295 MHz
- Best budget GPU for Fallout 76
Gigabyte Radeon RX 7600 XT Gaming OC
- GPU: Navi 33
- Stream Processors: 2,048
- VRAM: 16GB GDDR6
- Bandwidth: 288.0 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 128-bit
- Base clock speed: 2029 MHz
What GPU do you need for Fallout 76?
Looking at the system requirements of Fallout 76 for PC, we can see that the game isn’t exactly the most demanding out there. It did originally release back in 2018, so even the best GPU for Fallout 4 is similarly-matched when we look at the modern market. The recommended specs suggest a Nvidia GTX 970 4GB or AMD R9 290X 4GB graphics card, which are several generations old now.
We’d skip on trying to source one of these older GPUs these days, so we’re going to focus on much newer hardware which is more than enough for Fallout 76 while being suitable for any other games you play. You’re obviously not going to need something like the flagship RTX 4090, but having a future-proof GPU is of course recommended.
- GPU: AD106
- CUDA cores: 4,352
- VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
- Bandwidth: 288.0 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 128-bit
- Base clock speed: 2310 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 2550 MHz
Plenty of GPUs will work well with Fallout 76 given its age, but for something relevant to 2024, we’d recommend the RTX 4060 Ti. This is a relatively budget-friendly graphics card that’s a great all-rounder for any game – old or new.
- Good value for money from the RTX 40 series
- Available in 8GB or 16GB variants
- Runs efficiently and easy to cool
- 8GB variant limited at high resolutions in more demanding games
As a great all-rounder choice, we’ve gone with the RTX 4060 Ti. Yes, this GPU is more than you realistically need to run Fallout 76 alone, but it is one of the best options currently available to you from Nvidia’s latest 40-series. It is a flexible choice too thanks to coming in 8GB or 16GB variants. Our RTX 4060 Ti review highlights it as an affordable option for 1080p or 1440p, but even 4K will be achievable in older games such as Fallout 76.
“The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is an excellent graphics card for 1080p and 1440p with some good entry-level performance in 4K”
RTX 4060 Ti review, PCGuide
Fallout 76 does miss out on support for the 40-series’ latest DLSS implementation without mods, but this always runs a risk in online games since you are modifying files. Regardless, its pure rasterization performance is plenty enough for this game and the full feature list of the 4060 Ti will help carry its performance in even the latest titles as well.
What users say
We’ve had a quick look at the Amazon user reviews for this RTX 4060 Ti and found plenty of praise for the Zotac SKU. That being said, you don’t have to go for exact same model, and you may even want to consider the 16GB variant, although it is around $50 more expensive at the time of writing. See our comparison of RTX 4060 Ti 16GB vs 8GB for further details.
- GPU: AD104
- CUDA cores: 7,168
- VRAM: 12GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 504 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 192-bit
- Boost clock speed: 2595 MHz
Stepping up to great 4K performance doesn’t require a flagship, especially in a game like Fallout 76. The refreshed RTX 4070 Super runs efficiently and is a great choice if you want to stretch your budget further with a large performance uplift.
- Great 4K performance in older games which holds up modern titles too
- Runs very efficiently
- Good value for money for 4K gaming
- Cheaper options are available if you just want to run Fallout 76
If you have the cash to spare and fancy picking up a more powerful graphics card, then the Super-refreshed 4070 would be our go-to at the moment. In our RTX 4070 Super review, we explain that this GPU is a powerhouse for 1440p gaming that offers ‘respectable and playable framerates in 4K’ with its 12GB VRAM. This is in the context of the latest and most demanding titles, so for something less graphically-intensive such as Fallout 76, the 4070 Super is perfect for 4K.
“The RTX 4070 Super is a powerful mid-range graphics card that packs in more under the hood than the original without raising the price”
RTX 4070 Super review, PCGuide
You won’t be able to make the use of the excellent ray tracing performance due to a lack of support in Fallout 76, but the 4070 Super will do a great job in games that do support it. Nvidia does of course have more powerful cards aimed at 4K, but these are simply overkill for older games.
What users say
The ASUS TUF model we reviewed is highly regarded according to the Amazon customer reviews currently holding a 4.7 out of 5 stars rating. Users praise the efficiency, noting that it runs cools and quiet.
Now for the first AMD GPU on this list, the RX 7800 XT, which is one of our favorites from Team Red at the moment. It is a very a capable graphics card at a fair price and a real winner for 1440p in modern games; it will even push 4K in Fallout 76.
- Excellent value for money compared to Nvidia
- Large amount of memory – 16GB VRAM
- Will work well for Fallout 76 at any resolution
- 4K performance not the best in much more demanding games
- More power consumption than 4070 Super
We had a lot of positive things to say in our RX 7800 XT review, becoming our go-to AMD graphics card in many situations. It is more than you really need for a game like Fallout 76, but we like to class it as a fantastic all-rounder that offers great value for money, though you can always consider the cheaper RX 7700 XT if you find a great deal on it.
“It’s clear that this GPU leads in terms of QHD holding its own against the more expensive RTX 4070 family”
RX 7800 XT review, PCGuide
This Radeon graphics card was one of the later ones to arrive in the RDNA 3 generation, aimed at 1440p for the latest games on the market. It won’t offer the same level of ray tracing or upscaling as Nvidia’s alternatives, but this is not relevant to Fallout 76 due to its lack of support. So, for pure rasterization, not much comes close to the 7800 XT in terms of value as it drops under $500 when on sale. To top it off, the 16GB VRAM provides a cushion for high resolutions.
What users say
The XFX Speedster is one highly-rated model on Amazon and you’ll find that many users compliment the price to performance, especially at 1440p or even ultrawide aspect ratios. If you’re upgrading from a much older GPU, be sure you meet the recommended 700W PSU for this card.
- GPU: Navi 33
- Stream Processors: 2,048
- VRAM: 16GB GDDR6
- Bandwidth: 288.0 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 128-bit
- Base clock speed: 2029 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 2539 MHz
Anyone with a limited budget will be happy to know that you don’t need a monster GPU to run Fallout 76 smoothly. Our graphics card of choice is the RX 7600 XT, which offers solid performance without costing you a fortune.
- 16GB of VRAM at a budget price
- More than enough power for Fallout 76
- Strong 1080p performance; stretches to 1440p
- Not designed for 4K
- Sub-par encoding performance for content creation
Even though it didn’t score top marks in our RX 7600 XT review, we think that this AMD GPU remains a strong budget option, especially since you won’t benefit from the comparable RTX 4060’s DLSS 3 upscaling tech in a game such as Fallout 76. The 16GB of VRAM offers some more headroom which may be utilized in future games as AAA titles get more demanding each year.
“The main selling point of the AMD RX 7600 XT is the bump up in VRAM, which doubles the original model’s 8GB GDDR6 all the way to 16GB GDDR6 instead”
RX 7600 XT review, PCGuide
As a budget-friendly pick, the RX 7600 XT makes our best GPU under $400 list and is regarded as a fantastic choice for 1080p gaming in any title, with a little big of wiggle room for 1440p too. In the case of Fallout 76, you will net great performance in a range of resolutions as this modern GPU can easily handle the 2018 title, as will any other suggestion on this list.
What users say
The Gigabyte model we reviewed doesn’t have a massive amount for customer reviews on Amazon (at the time of writing), but plenty of positives regardless. Many people are commenting on the great value for money and call it a solid upgrade if you seek a budget card.
Things to consider with the best GPU for Fallout 76
There’s more to GPU shopping than simply picking out a card. There are quite a few things to consider, as we explain below.
Price
First up is price – pretty much everyone has a budget, and you’re likely going to stick to it. We’ve featured graphics cards spanning different prices, so there should be something here for everyone. Consider what resolution you’re targeting too, as you don’t need to blow your budget on a high-spec card to simply play at 1080p.
Memory
We’d recommend at least 8GB of VRAM for gaming these days, even if Fallout 76 is not that intensive due to being an older title. Luckily, the most modern options on the market provide you this, but there are some great 12GB and 16GB cards (even in the mid-range) if you want the headroom in future.
Power draw
A graphic card’s TDP (thermal design power) measures how much power it can consume while operating. You need to think about whether your PSU provides enough power to cater for it and your other components, so be sure to check the recommended PSU wattage on any GPU you buy.
In-game performance
Which resolution do you want to play at? How many frames per second are you happy with? Benchmark videos are always a good way of seeing how your prospective GPU will perform in-game at different resolutions. It’s also worth mentioning here that a 60 FPS cap is in place by default in Fallout 76. It can be modified for smoother gameplay, but this Reddit comment does report on gameplay bugs if exceeding around 130 FPS, so be sure to apply a limit yourself.
Final word
Hopefully you can walk away from this guide with exactly the right GPU for you. All of our suggestions have been hand-picked and thoroughly tested by our expert team. You can read our page on how we select and review products as well as how we test GPUs to get a full understanding of the process.
Fallout 76 is Bethesda Game Studios’ first online multiplayer game and a fun extension of the Fallout universe. It has seen something of a resurgence as of late, and since it isn’t too difficult to run, a large amount of GPUs are up to the task.
