You do not automatically need the biggest GPU available to play Alan Wake II. A 2023 benchmark found that its heaviest ray-tracing settings challenged even the high-end cards tested, but lowering ray tracing and using upscaling made the game playable across a broader range of hardware. Since then, Remedy has added major PC graphics features, so those old results are useful as a snapshot—not a current GPU ranking.
Can your PC run Alan Wake II?
Remedy’s official PC FAQ says the game requires an SSD. Its minimum GPU requirements were lowered in a March 6, 2024 update to GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 5600 XT. Those are minimum requirements, not a promise that those cards can deliver high frame rates or demanding ray-tracing effects. The FAQ, last updated October 22, 2024, recommended GeForce RTX 40 Series with NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 for full ray tracing; that is a dated recommendation, not a revised 2026 requirement. See Remedy’s official Alan Wake 2 FAQ and PC update notes.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For a practical assessment, distinguish the game’s basic ability to run from the visual settings you want. Output resolution, ray-tracing preset, upscaling mode, frame generation and texture quality can all change the GPU workload. The 2023 results below show why a single “required GPU” answer is misleading.
What the 2023 GPU benchmark found
Zak Killian’s HotHardware comparison, published October 27, 2023, tested a Windows 10 Pro 22H2 PC with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, 32 GB of DDR4-3600 memory, an ASRock X570 Taichi motherboard and PCIe 4 NVMe storage. The tested GPUs were GeForce RTX 4080, RTX 4060 Ti 8GB and RTX 3080; Radeon RX 7700 XT and RX 6800 XT; and Intel Arc A770 16GB. The review used then-current drivers, including NVIDIA 545.92, AMD Adrenalin 23.10.2 and Intel Arc driver 4900. It tested four locations at the High quality preset, which did not set every graphics option to maximum. Read HotHardware’s benchmark and methodology.
#1 Best Overall
- Powered by Radeon RX 9070 XT
- WINDFORCE Cooling System
- Hawk Fan
- Server-grade Thermal Conductive Gel
- RGB Lighting
The review did not use an integrated benchmark because the game had none. Instead, it gathered data manually in repeatable locations; HotHardware also noted that its usual test workbenches were not set up for Epic Games Store titles. These constraints matter when interpreting the results: they describe particular scenes and settings, not every part of the game or a standardized run across current hardware.
4K output with High ray tracing
For its 4K-output test, HotHardware selected High ray tracing and DLSS Performance, which it described as a 1920×1080 input resolution. The RTX 3080 struggled at that setting. The RTX 4080 could not maintain a 60 FPS average without DLSS 3.5 frame generation. That is evidence of how demanding this specific 2023 configuration was—not a measurement of today’s cards, later game versions or newer upscaling features.
Rank #2
- Powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and DLSS 4
- Powered by GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
- Integrated with 16GB GDDR7 256bit memory interface
- PCIe 5.0
- WINDFORCE cooling system
1080p output with Medium ray tracing
At 1080p output with Medium ray tracing and Quality upscaling, the review compared GeForce DLSS with Radeon FSR2. The RTX 3080 outperformed the tested Radeon cards in that ray-tracing comparison, and the RTX 4060 Ti also performed better than those two Radeon cards. Frame generation materially changed the RTX 4060 Ti’s relative showing, so comparisons with it enabled should not be read as like-for-like native rendering results.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Low ray tracing and lower hardware tiers
HotHardware said the Low ray-tracing preset disabled path-traced indirect lighting. Under that setting, the reviewer described both tested Radeon cards, the RTX 3060 12GB and Intel Arc A770 as playable. The review also found that the RTX 4080 struggled above 1080p render resolutions in its tests. “Playable” is the reviewer’s judgment for the tested locations and setup; it is not a universal performance guarantee for those cards.
Rank #3
- AI Performance: 767 AI TOPS
- OC mode: 2632 MHz (OC mode)/ 2602 MHz (Default mode)
- Powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and DLSS 4
- Axial-tech fan design features a smaller fan hub that facilitates longer blades and a barrier ring that increases downward air pressure
- A 2.5-slot design maximizes compatibility and cooling efficiency for superior performance in small chassis
Why the RTX 4060 Ti’s 8GB mattered
The RTX 4060 Ti’s 8 GB of VRAM caused severe stuttering in two of the four tested locations at Ultra textures, so HotHardware lowered that card to High texture quality. This is a concrete warning against treating GPU model names alone as a reliable guide: memory capacity and texture settings can affect smoothness, even when average frame-rate figures look acceptable.
What changed in the PC graphics features
Remedy’s update notes list PC version 1.2.10, dated August 18, 2026, as the latest listed PC version. It adds FSR 4, automatically enabled on supported GPUs when FSR Super Resolution is selected, and FSR Frame Generation on supported GPUs. These options postdate HotHardware’s 2023 tests and were not measured in that comparison. Remedy’s update notes also record major changes introduced in PC version 1.2.8 in January 2025:
Rank #4
- Powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and DLSS 4. System Requirements: Minimum 850W PSU with 16-pin 12V-2x6 (12VHPWR) connector required. Verify before purchasing.
- Military-grade components deliver rock-solid power and longer lifespan for ultimate durability. Compatibility: 348mm (13.7") length, 3.6 slots, 4.3 lbs. Confirm case clearance and slot spacing. GPU bracket included.
- Protective PCB coating helps protect against short circuits caused by moisture, dust, or debris
- 3.6-slot design with massive fin array optimized for airflow from three Axial-tech fans
- Phase-change GPU thermal pad helps ensure optimal thermal performance and longevity, outlasting traditional thermal paste for graphics cards under heavy loads
- DLSS 4, including transformer AI models for DLSS Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction on all RTX GPUs.
- DLSS Frame Generation on RTX 40 and 50 Series, and Multi Frame Generation on RTX 50 Series.
- RTX Mega Geometry and an Ultra ray-tracing quality setting.
In its January 30, 2025 announcement, Remedy said the Ultra ray-tracing preset includes fully ray-traced reflections and transparent reflections, as well as higher-quality fully ray-traced indirect lighting. After updating the PC game, players can select the new preset in the graphics settings. Those features represent a later, more demanding configuration than the High and Medium ray-tracing tests HotHardware published in 2023. See Remedy’s announcement of RTX Mega Geometry and Ultra ray tracing.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →How to choose settings for your GPU
Start with the balance you want between image quality, responsiveness and performance, rather than assuming the maximum preset is the only way to play. Upscaling and frame generation can improve displayed frame rates, but the results should not be confused with native rendering; frame generation also changes the nature of the displayed frames. The benchmark offers examples from 2023, not a current 2026 settings guide for every GPU.
Best Value
- Next-Gen Intel Arc Graphics: Powered by Intel Arc A580 GPU with Intel Xe HPG microarchitecture, featuring 384 XMX engines for enhanced AI acceleration and content creation.
- High-Performance Memory: 8GB GDDR6 on a 256-bit interface running at 16 Gbps, delivering excellent bandwidth for 1440p gaming and creative workloads.
- Factory Overclocked: Engine clock set at 2000 MHz out of the box, providing optimized performance for smooth gameplay and multimedia tasks.
- Advanced Dual-Fan Cooling: Features a dual-fan design with striped axial fans and an ultra-fit heatpipe for efficient thermal management. 0dB Silent Cooling stops fans completely at low temperatures for silent operation.
- Durable Construction: Includes a stylish metal backplate for enhanced PCB rigidity and a premium aesthetic, backed by ASRock's Super Alloy components for long-term reliability.
- If performance is the priority: lower the ray-tracing preset first. In HotHardware’s tests, Low ray tracing disabled path-traced indirect lighting and widened the set of cards the reviewer judged playable.
- If you want ray tracing at higher output resolutions: use an upscaling mode and recognize that its input resolution may be lower than the displayed output. In the 2023 4K-output test, DLSS Performance used a 1920×1080 input.
- If a card stutters despite reasonable average frame rates: reduce texture quality and watch VRAM use. HotHardware had to drop the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB from Ultra to High textures because of severe stuttering in two locations.
- If you enable frame generation: compare settings with it on and off separately. HotHardware found that it materially changed the RTX 4060 Ti’s relative performance; generated-frame rates are not equivalent to native-rendered frame rates.
How to read the RTX 50 Series frame-rate claims
NVIDIA said RTX 50 Series owners using DLSS Multi Frame Generation alongside other DLSS technologies could see performance multiplied by an average of 8.7X compared with brute-force rendering. That is NVIDIA’s vendor claim, not an independent benchmark result. Remedy separately described Alan Wake 2 running at over 230 FPS at 4K with full ray tracing and maximum settings on new GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, with DLSS Multi Frame Generation in use. That figure is Remedy’s announcement, not a native-rendered frame-rate measurement from HotHardware. The two claims come from different publishers and should not be combined. Sources: NVIDIA’s DLSS 4 announcement and Remedy’s RTX Mega Geometry and Ultra ray-tracing announcement.
What these benchmarks can—and cannot—tell you
The HotHardware results establish that demanding ray tracing was costly on the cards and game build tested in October 2023, while reduced ray tracing and upscaling broadened the range of usable hardware. They do not establish a current 2026 GPU leaderboard: the test predates DLSS 4, FSR 4, the Ultra ray-tracing preset, RTX Mega Geometry, RTX 50 Series and the August 2026 PC update. Remedy’s later feature descriptions and frame-rate claims add current context, but they are not independent replacements for an apples-to-apples benchmark across current GPUs.
The useful takeaway for a player assessing an existing PC is to check the SSD requirement, then tune ray tracing, upscaling and texture quality to the card’s capabilities. The “biggest GPU” is relevant only if the goal is to pursue the most demanding ray-traced settings—not as a prerequisite for playing the game.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
