Staff’s Choice
Introduction
If you’re looking for a great PC for Fortnite, look no further. Our guide has tons of options that will allow you to run the game at competitive framerates. The advantages of running a game such as Fortnite at higher framerates have been known for a long time, so if you’re even a little bit serious about the game, we absolutely recommend aiming for the highest FPS possible. That doesn’t mean that you need the most expensive equipment out there, however. We list systems (both custom as well as prebuilt) for every budget and framerate tier so you can get something that suits your budget.
Top Tier System – The ultimate build for maximizing framerates
Getting a consistent 240/360 frames per second is no easy feat on any modern 3D game so what we’re looking for here is consistent performance and also a bit of future-proofing. With this build, you’re guaranteed to run the game at 240+ frames per second (provided you drop some of the extremely heavy video settings, otherwise it’s pretty much impossible to reach these frames) and it will also allow you to run pretty much all of the newest games at high settings without any trouble at all, for years to come.
PC specs
If you don’t want any of that you can save a bit of money by dropping the GPU and CPU a tier, and of course, you can also go for non-RGB RAM and a 500GB SSD, so there are savings to be made here. But with this system you will be sure that you’re gaming without any worries for years to come, so if you’ve got the budget it pays off to think about the future a bit.
If you’re not someone who wants to game with your graphics at high and you can stomach lowering a couple of ingame settings here and there you can definitely look towards our second build though, which will also ensure 240+ frames per second if you drop a couple of settings.
Prebuilt Alternative
We love the NZXT Player series of PCs, and the Player Three Prime is their magnum opus right now. It uses quality components and is made by a very reliable manufacturer, so if you want to get a top tier PC without having to build it yourself, this is one that we really recommend.
Performance System – For playing at 240Hz and higher with competitive video settings
If you don’t have a (nearly) unlimited budget or you’re not someone who wants the latest and greatest, it’s perfectly acceptable to go for a lower-tier system. We say ‘lower tier’ but that almost sounds as if this system makes a lot of compromises and that’s really not the case. This PC will run the game at 144+ frames per second with absolute ease and will also reach 240+ frames per second without much trouble if you drop a couple of settings.
PC specs
This is a fantastic PC to build if you’re not interested in running the newest games at the absolute highest settings (though it will run those games without any issues if you don’t go for max settings) and you just want a reliable system that delivers the goods without going for anything too flashy or necessarily going for the latest and greatest in PC components.
This is the PC we would recommend to competitive gamers who don’t want to be hamstrung by their build but don’t have an unlimited budget.
Prebuilt Alternatives
Everything we said about the NZXT Player Three Prime also goes for their other PCs of course, so you’ll find us recommending their prebuilts quite often. The Player Two can be bought in multiple configurations, and it’s a great option for a mid/competitive tier build. If you don’t want to buy NZXT, the Thermaltake LCGS View I4770 is also a great option to consider.
Budget System – For players with a 144Hz target
Fortnite can get pretty hectic during intense fights, and since that’s where you need the frames the most it’s never a good idea to completely cheap out on your build. Still, if you’re a budget-oriented gamer or your target FPS is on the lower side, you can definitely play the game at competitive framerates. This budget-friendly build is very reliable, ensuring that your frames won’t take a nosedive once you get into a battle with one or multiple other players while lots of things are happening on the screen.
PC specs
This system obviously isn’t the most powerful PC you can build but it’s a great system for people who want to play a bunch of (competitive) shooters at higher framerates without sacrificing performance, and you can play newer and more graphically intense releases if you’re willing to drop some ingame settings with this PC.
When it comes to budget-friendly components, AMD is the answer to your prayers. This build will give you plenty of juice to play the game (with competitive video settings) at 144+ frames per second.
Prebuilt Alternatives
The NZXT Player One is a good choice if you want to go for a prebuilt system with similar performances as our custom build. The Skytech Nebula is also a great and reliable alternative for people who do not wish to build their own PC.
Fortnite System Requirements
| Minimum Requirements | Recommended Specs | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10/11 64-bit | Windows 10/11 64-bit or Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6 |
| Processor | Core i3-3225 3.3 GHz | Core i5-7300U 3.5 GHz, AMD Ryzen 3 3300U, or equivalent |
| GPU | Intel HD 4000 on PC; AMD Radeon Vega 8 | Nvidia GTX 960, AMD R9 280, or equivalent DX11 GPU |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM or higher |
| Storage | 30 GB available hard drive space | 30 GB available hard drive space |
If we take a gander at the official system requirements for the game, we can see that Fortnite isn’t an insanely difficult game to run. It’s indeed quite easy to get the game to run at over 60 frames per second, and 144 frames per second isn’t the most difficult either (relative to some of the other games that we analyze) but getting a consistent 240+ frames per second will require a bit of an investment on the hardware front.
It’s important to realize that the recommended specs for most games aren’t exactly made with high framerates in mind. Sure, for single-player AAA games, you’re good with a steady 60 FPS but for a competitive shooter, you really want to be above 144 frames per second at the very least. In fact, over half of our analyzed Fortnite professionals use a 240Hz setup, making that the de facto standard refresh rate for this game in professional circles.
It is important to note that there are diminishing returns with framerates, though. Going from a 60Hz monitor to a 144Hz monitor is an absolutely massive step, but going from a 144 to 240Hz isn’t as huge of a difference, so while we definitely recommend going for 240Hz+ (the difference is still there) if your budget can swing it, there’s nothing wrong with opting for a lower tier.
Best PC for Fortnite – Conclusion
Fortnite is a bit of a weird game in the sense that it’s easy to get high framerates when nothing is going on but once you encounter hostiles things can get hectic extremely fast, and you really don’t want your frames to take a dip when you’re in a frantic building battle with another player. For that reason, we don’t recommend going for the absolute budget tiers of components if you’re competitive-minded.
Luckily, getting to 144 frames per second isn’t that difficult in Fortnite, so getting yourself a system that reaches those competitive minimum framerate standards isn’t all that expensive all things considered. It’s when you want to get a reliable 240+ frames per second experience that the really expensive components start to show up.
Hopefully, this guide helps you decide on what kind of system you want to build, but if you’ve got any questions you can always reach out to us on Twitter or Discord.
