The former PlayStation exclusive makes the transition to PC, just under two years after it first made its debut on the PS4 – then later the PS5. With a wave of new players, it makes sense to track down the best GPU for Ghost of Tsushima, especially if the time to upgrade your system has finally come. We’ve looked through the current market and hand-picked some of the best out there, taking into consideration a range of budgets and manufacturers.
With system requirements for the game readily available on the Steam page, we have a good understanding of what is required of your gaming PC. Additionally, the PC port brings with it a good range of support for the latest GPU technology, making full use of what the latest generations from Nvidia, AMD, and even Intel have to offer. Let’s jump straight into our top picks.
- Best GPU for Ghost of Tsushima
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 Ghost of Tsushima
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
- Best GPU for Ghost of Tsushima at 4K
Gigabyte RTX 4080 Super Windforce V2
- GPU: AD103
- CUDA Cores: 10,240
- VRAM: 16GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 736.3 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 256-bit
- Base clock speed: 2295 MHz
- Best budget GPU for Ghost of Tsushima
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4060 OC
- GPU: AD107 die
- CUDA cores: 3,072
- VRAM: 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Bandwidth: 272 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 128-bit memory bus
- Base clock speed: 1830 MHz
What GPU do I need for Ghost of Tsushima?
As we said above, the Steam page does reveal the Ghost of Tsushima system requirements, but with further digging we found a full list on the PlayStation blog which gives us a clearer picture of performance targets from 720p up to 4K. So, sticking with 1080p to represent most users, we can see that game recommends either a GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 5600 XT, this jumps up to the RTX 3070 and RX 6800 when playing at 1440p.
So, the game isn’t exactly the easiest to run smoothly (60 FPS being the benchmark) once going above 1080p, but that’s to be expected. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not too bad – you can run Ghost of Tsushima with a wide variety of hardware and that’s reflected in our selection today.
- GPU: AD104
- CUDA cores: 7,168
- VRAM: 12GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 504 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 192-bit
- Boost clock speed: 2595 MHz
The RTX 4070 Super gets featured here a lot – for good reason. It is a fantastic refresh of the original, offering great performance that does well even up to 4K. We like to call it one of the best all-rounders from the 40 series and it does so without the premium price tag of the true high-end.
- Strong value for money from the 40 series
- Great performance up to 4K
- Access to full DLSS 3 feature-set
- Excellent for productivity as well
- You may prefer to avoid the 16-pin power connector
- Not a budget option
First up is the RTX 4070 Super, a graphics card that is a winner for pretty much any game you throw at it. Designed for 1440p, it breeze through modern titles at this resolution and even showed playable framerates at 4K. This is based on in-house benchmarking you’ll find in our RTX 4070 Super review. As such, Ghost of Tsushima should cause no problems. Given the fact that the game supports DLSS 3 and Reflex technologies, you can achieve high framerates from the 40 series-exclusive tech.
“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. If you’re after a leading 1440p GPU but also want to check out 4K without an eyewatering MSRP, then it’s a card you should consider in 2024”
RTX 4070 Super review, PCGuide
More reasons to consider the 4070 Super include the excellent encoding performance as well as ray tracing, an effect of the increase CUDA cores in this model. Though, worth noting that Ghost of Tsushima does not feature ray tracing support at the time of writing. Regardless, the 4070 Super is also an efficient card with a 220W TDP – that’s the same as the 3070, but with much better performance to boot. If you want a card that will impress in any game for years to come, this is the one.
What users say
It’s no surprise to see that this Nvidia GPU is a fan favorite, as we can see from its Amazon reviews. Customers are impressed with what the card has to offer, though make sure your PC case is spacious enough to fit this in if you’re upgrading. One thing to remember is that the 4070 Super uses a 16-pin connector, so you may be better off with the original 4070 if you wish to avoid it.
- 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
- Boost clock speed: 2,430 MHz
We’ve picked the 7800 XT is a great example of a Radeon card for Ghost of Tsushima. It’s best used for 1440p and offers superb value for money despite belonging to AMD’s latest 7000 series. For users focused on gaming, we think this is some of the best price to performance you’ll find.
- Excellent choice for smooth 1440p gameplay
- Aggressive price tag places it below Nvidia’s 4070 range
- Good for high-very high presets on Ghost of Tsushima
- Less attractive for productivity such as encoding & rendering
- Not as good for 4K
For fans of Team Red, we’ve selected the impressive RX 7800 XT. We did consider the cheaper 7700 XT as an alternative – and if you want to save some cash, it’s a solid pick. But as we discovered in our RX 7800 XT review, this card is a monster in terms of bang for your buck and it lives up to its “ultimate 1440p upgrade” billing. Considering the ‘high’ system requirements for Ghost of Tsushima recommends an RX 6800, this is one generation newer and provides a sufficient uplift.
“No matter how you slice it, maxed-out 1440p for under $500 is impressive, even if the RTX 4070 Super pulls ahead as a whole, not entirely unexpected from a GPU costing at least $100 more”
RX 7800 XT review, PCGuide
The 7800 XT proves its worth for QHD gaming as we witnessed in our benchmarks, though it did fall a little short in 4K when you compare it to Nvidia’s equivalents. Regardless, the 16GB VRAM is more than enough and the high amount of memory will keep it relevant for many years. One downside of going with this AMD option is the worse encoding and ray tracing performance, though the latter is not relevant for Ghost of Tsushima.
What users say
Again, looking at what customers have to say is a good way of gauging quality and user reviews are the best way of doing this. Many are very happy with their upgrade to the 7800 XT, whether that be from an older AMD GPU or even an Nvidia card. The price to performance is a big selling point and for those focused on 1440p gaming in the latest games, this is a fantastic choice.
You may be tempted to go for the flagship RTX 4090 for 4K gaming, but you can achieve this on the cheaper RTX 4080 Super. The regular 4080 is recommended for 4K at 60FPS gameplay, so the Super edition is a great refresh and will be plenty enough for the game.
- High level of performance for 4K gaming
- Will remain relevant for many years
- Also great for productivity
- Super refresh made it cheaper than the original
- Still an expensive option
- High-end power draw
Despite not much changing between the original 4080 and 4080 Super, the availability of the latter and new price drop makes it the obvious choice between the two. If you want to focus on 4K gaming, we fully recommend this GPU as the best choice. For Ghost of Tsushima, the recommended specs reveal that it should achieve a steady 60 FPS at 4K as part of the ‘very high’ preset. If you want to learn more about this video card, see our RTX 4080 Super review.
“The RTX 4080 Super effectively erases any reason to go out and buy the original RTX 4080 with slightly increased performance and a much more palatable price point. It delivers across the board in terms of high-end gaming performance in 1440p and 4K while being just as powerful for content creators, too”
RTX 4080 Super review, PCGuide
If you don’t have the funds to go all out on the RTX 4090 or care for the added productivity performance it brings, your next best choice is the 4080 Super and it is a sweet-spot for gamers for 4K across all titles. Other benefits of this GPU is of course the high amount of memory, allowing for top performance at high resolutions. On the flipside, this is also a great pick high refresh rate 1440p gaming if that’s more your kind of thing.
What users say
Despite reviewing the Gigabyte model, we can look at the more popular variant from PNY and the user reviews reinforce why this graphics card deserves a spot on this list. Others agree that it is a basically a sweet-spot for 4K. Furthermore, the price is praised as a much-needed drop from the original version, though it is still a pricey affair.
- GPU: AD107 die
- CUDA cores: 3,072
- VRAM: 8GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Bandwidth: 272 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 128-bit memory bus
- Base clock speed: 1830 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 2670 MHz
As the entry-level model to the 40 series, we’d recommend the RTX 4060 as the cheapest way to unlock the potential of DLSS 3 in Ghost of Tsushima. Outside of that, it is a solid option for 1080p or 1440p gaming at a low price point. Pricing varies quite a lot per model, so pay attention to this.
- Access to DLSS 3 frame generation to improve FPS
- Very power efficient – fits well in most existing builds
- Solid performance in 1080p with power to reach for 1440p
- May be limited by 8GB VRAM in future
- Avoid overpriced models if you want a good deal
Since Ghost of Tsushima makes the most of Nvidia’s DLSS 3 technology (available on the 40 series), including frame generation, we think that the RTX 4060 makes a fine pick. It is the cheapest option in the 40 series and is increasingly popular, particularly in prebuilt gaming PCs. If you’re looking to pick one of these up and keep costs low, do note that you’ll want to seek out a cheaper SKU. For instance, the ASUS ROG Strix we featured in our RTX 4060 review is one of the more expensive variants.
“Considering the humble hardware here, the Nvidia RTX 4060 is far from power-hungry with a tame 115W TDP and a recommended PSU of just 300W. That positions this video card as an ideal choice for a small form factor build or a budget machine”
RTX 4060 review, PCGuide
The RTX 4060 offers great performance in 1080p, with enough power to reach for 1440p too – especially when utilizing DLSS where supported. One of the biggest benefits of the 4060 to us is its incredible efficiency, boasting a low 115W TDP. That makes it fit right in a wide range of systems without needing to upgrade your power supply. There is a drawback in the fairly lackluster memory, just 8GB compared to the 3060’s 12GB, but this shouldn’t be a drawback in the majority of games. The real pull for Ghost of Tsushima is DLSS 3.
What users say
The user reviews on the ROG Strix model show us that this RTX card is fantastic for both gaming and productivity, as has come to be expected from Nvidia. Many users are also impressed with just how lightweight the card is, not running into the recent problem of GPU sagging. Finally, the price is also “wallet friendly” according to one user, but do shop around and you can get the 4060 much closer to its $299 MSRP.
Things to consider with the best GPU for Ghost of Tsushima
Before you buy a GPU, you should always consider a few key details – especially if it’s a major upgrade.
Price
The pricing of graphics cards can vary quite a lot depending on the manufacturer and model. For instance, whether you want a dual fan or triple fan design will affect the price. In this guide, we’ve featured a varied range to choose from to cater to different budgets.
Both Nvidia and AMD have cards ranging from the entry-level to the high end, so be sure to set a budget and search within that tier. Our budget picks tend to sit around the $300-$350 mark, with a niche example being the Intel Arc A770 if you wanted to give Team Blue a chance.
Memory
There are multiple factors to think about when it comes to memory including the bus width, memory clock, and bandwidth, but one specification is generally easiest measurement: VRAM. For gaming these days, we’d recommend at least 8GB for 1080p, and 1440p at a stretch. A high amount of memory will always be more future proof as games use up more memory, especially at higher resolutions, where you’ll want 12GB or 16GB.
Power requirement
It’s safe to say that your new GPU will be better than the last one. That translates to more power, which can translate to a higher power draw. On a positive note, the likes of Nvidia’s 40 series is impressively efficiently, meaning your current PSU may still be good enough despite upgrading. Before you buy any GPU, make sure your power supply has the recommended or higher wattage to support it.
Final word
Now that we’ve come to the end of this guide, hopefully we’ve found the right GPU for you. If not, then at least you’re on the right track – whatever kind of performance you wish to target in Ghost of Tsushima. We’ve stuck to Nvidia and AMD for now, but Intel is definitely emerging as a contender as well.
If you want to read more about how our team determines the best GPUs for the job, see our how we test GPUs guide or check out our testing lab for a closer look. Additionally, if you’re putting together a full build, you might want to stop by our best CPU for Ghost of Tsushima guide.
