Best resolution for gaming FPS: how does resolution impact gaming performance?
What is the best resolution for high FPS gaming?
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When gaming, the resolution of your screen matters, that’s because your GPU has a harder time when asked to update more pixels on the screen. If you’re not aware, screens are made of pixels, and the amount of pixels that comprise a length x width space makes up what is called a resolution. Conversely, the lower the resolution, the easier your GPU finds the workload. More on that later.
If you’re looking for some GPUs that are the best in the biz at pushing pixels, then we have a few uncompromising picks for you. Otherwise, if you’re here to learn, we have plenty to tell you about the best resolution for high frame rates.
Best GPU picks for high fps gaming
- Best Pick
ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4090 OC
- Core Clock Speed: 2,640 MHz boost
- CUDA Cores: 16,384
- Memory Size: 24GB GDDR6X
- Dimensions: 357.6 x 149.3 x 70.1mm
- PSU Required: 1000W
- TDP: 450W
- Runner Up
ASUS TUF Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC
- Core Clock Speed: 1,895 MHz base, 2,395 MHz shader & game, 2,565 MHz boost
- Stream processors: 6,144
- Memory Size: 24GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 352.9 x 158.2 x 72.6 mm
- PSU Required: 850W
- TBP: 355W
- Value Pick
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
- Core clock speed: 2,430MHz boost, 2,124MHz game
- Stream processors: 3,840
- Memory: 16GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 267 x 111 x 50mm
- PSU required: 600W
- TBP: 263W
- Budget
ZOTAC RTX 4060 Ti 8GB Twin Edge OC Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
- Core clock speed: 2550MHz boost, 2310MHz base
- CUDA count: 4,352
- Memory: 8GB GDDR6
- Dimensions: 225.5mm x 123.2mm x 40.1mm
- PSU required: 500W
- TBP: 160W
What is resolution? (screen resolution)
Screen resolution plays a huge role in the overall performance and visual quality of your gaming experience. Essentially, resolution refers to the number of pixels that make up the display, defined by the width and height. For instance, a common resolution like 1920×1080 means the screen is 1,920 pixels wide and 1,080 pixels tall. The more pixels, the sharper and more detailed the image looks – but here’s the catch, your GPU has to work harder to handle all those pixels.
Lower resolutions mean your GPU can process frames more easily, which often translates to smoother gameplay. Higher resolutions, like 1440p or 4K, demand more from your graphics card, but the trade-off is a sharper, crisper visual experience. So, if you’re all about getting the best frame rates, lowering your resolution can help, but if you’re chasing visual fidelity, you’ll want a powerful GPU to handle higher resolutions.
Most common resolutions
Here are some of the most common screen resolutions used in gaming and general use:
- 1080p (Full HD) – 1920×1080
- The standard for most gaming and video content today, balancing good visual quality with performance. Often considered the lowest you should go.
- 1440p (Quad HD or 2K) – 2560×1440
- A step up from 1080p, offering sharper images and more detail, popular among gamers looking for a middle ground between performance and visual fidelity.
- 4K (Ultra HD) – 3840×2160
- Ultra-sharp and highly detailed, but requires a powerful GPU or upscaling to maintain high frame rates at this resolution.
- 8K (Full Ultra HD) – 7680×4320
- Cutting-edge resolution with incredibly high pixel density is used mainly in specialized applications due to its extreme demands on hardware, usually only seen in TVs as of right now.
- Ultrawide Resolutions
- 2560×1080 (Ultrawide 1080p)
- 3440×1440 (Ultrawide 1440p)
Ultrawide provides a wider field of view, especially in gaming, but requires more graphical processing power than their standard counterparts because there is more of the screen that needs to be rendered.
What is the best resolution for high FPS gaming?
In the pursuit of a high refresh rate, we tested all of the common resolutions to see what kind of impact increasing the screen resolution would have. We tested the RTX 4090 and we did so In Cyberpunk 2077, here are the results that we got:
We decided to include the RTX 4060, which is on the complete opposite end of the scale when it comes to GPU rendering performance. The 4090 is considered the best of the best, while the 4060 stays firmly cemented into the budget side of the lineup. Cyberpunk 2077 certainly had its difficulties upon launch but it has improved immensely with time after patch 2.0.
While we try to be as accurate as possible, the 4090 numbers are from PRE 2.0, whereas the 4060 is POST 2.0. We realize this handicaps the 4090 a little, but the application still works for these purposes.
1080p
1080p is the standard resolution most competitive gamers use unless you get to the big leagues and play on black bars. As you can see, neither of our GPUs struggles too much with Cyberpunk in 1080p. The RTX 4090 manages to maintain a whopping average of 163 FPS, while the 4060 trails behind at 83 FPS, this is a difference of 65.0407%.
1440p
1440p is where the RTX 4060 starts to board the struggle bus, anything below 60 FPS we consider somewhat unplayable in this day and age, probably because we’ve been spoiled by good hardware over the last few years. The 4090 cruises along at 135 FPS, and the 4060 drops to 51 FPS, a difference of 90.3226%. 1440p is more for story games that might still be fast-paced and full of action.
4K
4K is where it really hits the fan for the RTX 4060, which hobbles along at 22 FPS, as it’s supposed to, it’s a budget GPU we don’t expect the world from it. Conversely the RTX 4090 powers through managing 74 FPS. This is a difference of 108.333%. 4K is reserved for story-rich cinematic games that don’t require a lot of fast-paced action.
It’s interesting to see that the scale of difference isn’t linear, it increases every resolution we increase. From 65% in 1080p, 90% in 1440p, and 108% in 4K. Remember that these numbers will be a little off because of the difference in game and driver versions. If you think that the 4090 numbers look good, we agree but also bear in mind the thing costs about $1,800 right now.
of course, your results may vary depending on your GPU and the game you are playing. However, at the same time, you have to ask yourself, if you can’t buy a 4090 and have it all, what’s more important? High FPS, or better visuals?
Let’s talk about upscaling
AI upscaling has become very popular over the last few years, and with technology progressing further and further in that area, it wouldn’t surprise us if every GPU could handle 4K at some point regardless of power. The main contenders in upscaling right now are DLSS 3.5 from Nvidia and AFMF2 from AMD. This upscaling technology can sometimes net well over a 50% increase in performance if applied in the correct situations. However, there is a catch, adding AI upscaling will reduce the image quality and introduce latency, so it’s not ideal for competitive gameplay.
Both AMD and Nvidia do have technologies to combat this latency, such as Radeon Anti-lag from AMD’s side, but it’s never the same as just running the resolution naturally. So you can use upscaling as an excuse next time you get killed in CS2. It’s worth noting that you need an up-to-date GPU to access the best of these features (Radeon 7000 series for AMD, and 40 series for Nvidia).
Can the RTX 4060 run 4k?
We’ve kind of answered that in a roundabout way, no, at least not very well in Cyberpunk 2077. 4k is a large resolution that holds a great many pixels, it is a lot to handle for an RTX 4060. If the quality was turned down to low, and it was an older, less demanding title, you might get away with 4k 60 FPS.
Are there 8k monitors?
Yes, there is one that we can find commercially available and it is the Dell UltraSharp UP3218K. However, the reviews are not very good on Amazon. We might not yet have the technology to affordably pack 8K into a monitor right now.
Final Word
The best resolution for pure FPS gameplay is 1080p, the performance impact is the most minimal and even the budget side of the current generation can handle it well. If you have a decent GPU with some upscaling turned on, you can likely hit 240 FPS in some titles that aren’t so demanding.
If you want a nice mix between performance and visuals, then 1440p might be the way to go. I have an ultrawide 1440p monitor that has a 165Hz refresh rate and I rarely struggle to hit that with my 7900 XT, even without upscaling. This is the nice middle ground that sort of lets you have it all, but it is only half of the result that 4k is.
If you’re into your visuals, then 4k is the answer. It’s gonna be tough and expensive to run, but there’s just no substitute for the crisp native 4k resolution. If you haven’t tried it, just read a review or two on a decent 4k monitor, it can be an astounding experience.
