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For God of War Ragnarök on PC, start with the preset closest to your GPU, display resolution, and frame-rate goal, then tune against performance in a demanding area. Sony’s published targets are native-resolution averages—not guarantees—and upscaling changes the rendering workload. Use your own frame pacing and image quality to decide whether to keep a setting, lower it, or enable a supported upscaler.
Match your starting preset to your resolution and frame-rate goal
Santa Monica Studio’s August 2024 requirements list five GPU tiers and their average-performance targets. The figures below assume native resolution with no upscaling; the publisher describes them as averages, not guaranteed minimums or locked frame rates. Santa Monica Studio’s system requirements
| Preset | Target | GPU examples in Sony’s requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 1080p, 30 fps average | GTX 1060 or RX 5500 XT |
| Medium | 1080p, 60 fps average | RTX 2060 Super or RX 5700 |
| High | 1440p, 60 fps average | RTX 3070 or RX 6800 |
| High | 4K, 60 fps average | RTX 3080 Ti or RX 6900 XT |
| Ultra | 4K, 60 fps average | RTX 4070 Ti or RX 7900 XT |
Use the closest row as a starting point, not a pass/fail rule. If you play at 1440p and prefer a steadier 60 fps to maximum detail, start at High and be ready to adjust. If you target 4K Ultra, note that TechSpot’s separate 2024 native 4K Ultra benchmark found the RTX 4070 Ti just short of 60 fps. Different test scenes, game builds, drivers, and systems can produce different results, so neither figure promises what every player will see. TechSpot’s 2024 GPU benchmark
Find a useful balance on your own PC
- Choose your output goal. Decide whether you want 1080p, 1440p, or 4K output and what average frame rate or cap matters to you. For ultrawide play, also account for your display’s aspect ratio.
- Set a starting point. Use the nearest matching Sony tier, then select that preset in the game’s graphics options. The official requirements are reference configurations rather than a bespoke recommendation for each graphics card.
- Check a demanding area. Observe performance in a scene that stresses your system, not just a quiet location. Pay attention to frame pacing and visible image quality as well as an average FPS reading.
- Change one thing at a time. Try a lower preset or a supported upscaling mode, then compare the same scene. That makes it easier to tell whether a change improved performance enough to be worth its visual effect.
- Keep the trade-off you prefer. A higher average frame rate is not automatically a better result if the image becomes distracting, and a high average can conceal uneven frame delivery.
There is no official per-setting “best” configuration for every GPU in the cited material. As one example of how results depend on test conditions, PC Optimized Settings reported that Medium-to-Low raised performance by 23% in its test, with a visible fidelity loss; it also measured roughly 13–14% average-frame-rate costs at each step from High to Ultra. Those results came from that publication’s particular hardware and scenes, not a universal forecast. Its testing used an RTX 4090 and Ryzen 9 7950X for the main setup and included Midgard and Svartalfheim. PC Optimized Settings’ testing and recommendations
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TechSpot likewise reported that dropping from Ultra to High improved performance by 10–15%, depending on the GPU, in its 1080p tests. It also found quality upscaling improved frame rates on the GPUs it tested. Treat both as observations from that benchmark, not a promise for another system. TechSpot said a full game reset was needed for all changed settings to take effect in its test process; that was its testing observation, not a developer instruction.
Use upscaling as a separate option from native rendering
Sony documents NVIDIA DLSS 3.7, AMD FSR 3.1, and Intel XeSS 1.2, alongside unlocked frame rates and true 4K output. Availability of relevant features depends on compatible hardware and display devices. The publisher says its upscaling integrations can help players reach higher graphical settings and output resolutions, but its feature page does not rank the technologies by image quality. Santa Monica Studio’s PC features
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Native rendering means the game renders at the target resolution; upscaling renders at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs an output image. Therefore, do not compare an upscaled result as if it were the same workload as Sony’s native-resolution targets. Choose an option supported by your GPU, compare the image on your own display, and keep it only if the performance gain is worth the visual result. The cited sources do not establish one upscaler as best for every graphics card.
Check the PC requirements before blaming graphics settings
Sony lists Windows 10 64-bit and a 190 GB SSD across its tiers, with 8 GB RAM at minimum and 16 GB for the other listed configurations. Its FAQ says 6 GB VRAM is required. After Patch 2, GPUs with less than 6 GB are no longer blocked from launching, but 4 GB cards are unsupported and may have performance problems or crashes. Being able to start the game is not evidence that a card meets the stated specification. Santa Monica Studio’s PC FAQ
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Try basic fixes before considering an upgrade
If performance is substantially below what you expect, follow the publisher’s troubleshooting sequence before deciding your hardware is the limiting factor. Its performance-help page recommends checking requirements, updating the graphics driver through the GPU vendor, keeping the game up to date, and verifying game files. Santa Monica Studio’s performance help
- Compare your CPU, GPU, memory, operating system, and storage with the relevant requirements tier.
- Install the current driver offered by NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel for your graphics card.
- Update the game, then verify its files using the platform’s available file-checking option.
- Retest the same demanding area after each change so you can identify whether it helped.
Patch information changes over time. The cited Patch 9 note is dated March 20, 2025; it is not evidence that Patch 9 remains the latest version. Check the game’s current update information rather than assuming that dated note describes the build you are playing. Santa Monica Studio’s PC patch notes
Choose your display format based on the experience you want
The PC version supports 21:9 and 32:9 ultrawide formats as well as true 4K output, with compatibility caveats for the PC, GPU, and display. A 4K monitor is relevant if you want 4K output; it is not required to tune settings or play at a lower resolution. Likewise, ultrawide is an optional display choice, not a prerequisite for the game’s graphics options. Santa Monica Studio’s PC features
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