Best GPU for Fortnite

The most used graphics cards by Fortnite players

The most popular graphics cards are calculated based on 172 professional players.

Introduction


Despite looking cartoony and ‘simple’, Fortnite can be deceptively hard to run at higher framerates, even if you’re playing with your graphics turned down a little bit. You can have all of the sickest peripherals in the world, but if your PC is only churning out 25 frames per second you will quite simply never live up to your full potential, so if you want to be competitive at this game you will definitely need a good computer that can deliver enough frames to your (high refresh rate) monitor. One of the most important aspects when it comes to getting enough frames is your GPU.

In this list we’ll go over our picks out of the available GPUs and give you a brief rundown on what you can expect from these cards so that you can make an informed decision on your next purchase.

Disclaimer

The Pro Usage Top 5 gets updated daily so that you can get an up-to-date overview of what the pros are using at any given time, which includes discontinued cards. In the body of the article we will focus on cards that are currently available for purchase.

What makes a GPU good for Fortnite?


A GPU basically has to do one thing: deliver your game to your monitor without any hiccups, preferably doing so at the highest FPS possible. Unlike mice, for example, there’s no shape or feel to account for, since the only time you’ll be touching your GPU is when you’re installing it in your system. Professional gamers value framerates over visual fidelity because it gives them a number of advantages: first off it allows them to play on a high refresh rate monitor, which makes everything look a lot smoother, which in turn increases their consistency as players. Secondly, playing on a rig that’s outputting a lot of frames per second reduces overall latency, which makes the game more responsive.

Finding a fitting GPU is a rather straightforward task: aside from choosing between different third party manufacturers (there can be subtle differences between how a GPU looks and performs, which is important to some people) there’s only performance to consider. In an ideal world everyone would just go for the best (and most expensive) card out there, but of course there’s such a thing as a budget.

As we said earlier, Fortnite isn’t super easy to run. If you’re planning on playing at 240Hz you’ll definitely want to set aside a decent-sized budget for your graphics card. With that said: the current generation of graphics cards is powerful enough to let you play the game at 144 frames per second (which we consider to be the absolute minimum for competitive gamers) even on the budget end, so that’s good news for gamers who don’t have an unlimited budget.

The vast majority of professional and competitive players are using a resolution of 1920x1080p for the simple reason that going (much) higher means more work for the GPU and, as a result, less frames. With GPUs (and PCs in general) becoming more and more powerful, we could be seeing a shift towards 1440p resolution in the future. The higher visual fidelity and increased pixel density can help with spotting targets in the distance, which is especially relevant in a game like Fortnite. Given the fact that playing at 1440p is an expensive affair (you need a high refresh rate 1440p monitor, along with a PC that can output enough frames) it’s not something that we recommend for more casual gamers, but if you’ve got the budget for it you might want to consider it.

NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency Technology


Fortnite is NVIDIA Reflex compatible, and given the fact that this is a relatively new technology we thought we’d add a brief explanation on what it does in this guide. It works in two ways. First there is the Reflex Low Latency Mode, which allows developers to reduce the overall system latency between the user and their game to under 25ms (if your gear is up to scratch) by, among other things, reducing the render queue (done by keeping the CPU in sync with the GPU; a longer explanation can be found here). This feature is available starting from the GeForce 900 cards (older cards won’t have this feature) and in compatible games

The Reflex Latency Analyzer allows users to measure their system’s overall latency, if you’re using it in combination with a compatible monitor. This can be handy for identifying possible bottlenecks in your setup.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti


If you’re building a new system for Fortnite and/or you want to get yourself a graphical upgrade, we recommend the 4070 Ti. It will deliver well over 240 frames per second even with the graphics set to high at 1080p, and for 1440p gaming this is also a fantastic card to consider thanks to the fact that it has plenty of power under the hood to run the game at those resolutions without going very far under the 240 fps mark.

We also recommend this for people who are building an all-round gaming PC with a strong focus towards Fortnite. It will allow you to play all of the latest and greatest games at close to max settings without any issues whatsoever, and it has plenty of power to be your card for the next couple of years.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070


If you’re someone who is hard into Fortnite at a competitive level you’re probably going to be playing at 1080p and that’s where this card absolutely shines. It’s got enough juice to deliver a smooth performance for 144 and 240 frames per second setups, with the framerate basically never dropping below the 240 mark at 1920×1080.

It’s also a good shout for people who use a 1440p 144Hz setup: the framerate won’t drop below 155 frames per second, meaning that you can enjoy ‘the best of both worlds’ in a smooth fashion without any hiccups.

Aside from all this, the RTX 3070 is just one of our favorite cards of the past couple of years. The value/performance ratio is really agreeable, and its performance is powerful enough to allow you to play the latest single player games, even though you might want to turn some settings down here and there on the most demanding ones.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090


If you want to get the absolute best graphics card out there right now, you should get the GeForce RTX 4090. This one will handle Fortnite with absolute ease, and deliver well above 300 frames per second at 1080p. If you have a 360Hz 1080p monitor and you want to feed it the highest amount of frames possible right now, the 4090 is your best bet.

It’s also a card that we recommend for people who want to game at 1440p without making many compromises. It’s going to comfortably stay above 240 frames per second at those resolutions, and even 4K 144Hz gaming is an option here: this card won’t dip below 144 frames per second very often.

All in all, this is a fantastic graphics card, but it is reserved for enthusiasts or gamers with a top tier rig only.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti


If you’ve got a ‘budget’ (it of course depends on your definition, but most 240 frames per second setups will already cost a pretty penny) 240Hz setup running this card could be your perfect graphics card. At 1920×1080, the 3060 Ti reliably stays above 240 frames per second. There is the occasional dip here and there, but given the fact that those dips don’t go below 230 frames per second you can count on a smooth overall experience without any jarring framerate fluctuations.

For 1440p 144Hz gaming this is also a good budget option, though your framerate headroom won’t be as big as with the 3070, which is what we’d recommend for that resolution and refresh rate.

The Best GPU for Fortnite – Conclusion


Recent GPUs have become so powerful that even the budget cards can run Fortnite at 144 frames per second without many issues. Which card you get will of course mostly depend on your budget, but there are a lot of options here to consider.

It’s important to note that esports-ready 1440p monitor are on the rise, so if you’re still putting together your setup (and you’ve got the budget for it) you can always look towards those monitors as a way to futureproof your build. The technology is still very new though so you will pay an early adopter fee, and it goes without saying that you will need a more powerful GPU if you want to be playing at 1440p resolutions. We would recommend the 40 series if that’s what you’re after.

No matter what resolution you choose though, if you’re even a little bit competitive you will definitely want to aim at that 144Hz refresh rate (ideally even higher) but luckily that doesn’t necessarily mean making a massive investment these days. With a budget high refresh rate monitor and budget GPU (remember to make a balanced build though: don’t bottleneck your PC by going for a subpar CPU for example) you can reliably land yourself in the land of high refresh rate gaming, which is nice to see.

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