Can a AMD Radeon HD 7970 run Factorio?
The AMD Radeon HD 7970 clears the minimum bar for Factorio but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 67 FPS at 1080p on high, and you will get a smoother result on the high preset.
High preset, upscaling off, paired with a AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D-class processor.
How the AMD Radeon HD 7970 measures up
| Requirement | AMD Radeon HD 7970 | Minimum | Recommended | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU performance score | 10 | 5 | 9 | Recommended |
| Video memory | 3 GB | 1 GB | 4 GB | Minimum |
| Ray tracing | — Not supported | Game has no RT | N/A | |
| Upscaling | FSR | Not supported | N/A | |
Recommended settings
For 60 FPS at 1080p
Use the high preset. You already clear 60 FPS on high, so this leaves headroom for dips in busy scenes.
At 1440p
Around 42 FPS on high. Playable, but drop to medium or enable upscaling for a stable 60.
At 4K
Around 24 FPS — not a realistic target for this pairing.
VRAM headroom
At 3GB you are under the 4GB this game recommends. Lower the texture setting one notch first — it costs the least visual quality per gigabyte saved.
How other cards handle Factorio
| Graphics card | Tier | 1080p FPS | vs AMD Radeon HD 7970 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | D | 74 | ▲ 7 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon 780M | D | 74 | ▲ 7 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 | D | 67 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon R9 380 | D | 67 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| Intel Arc A380 | D | 67 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| Intel Arc Graphics 140V | D | 67 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
Frequently asked questions
Can the AMD Radeon HD 7970 run Factorio?
The AMD Radeon HD 7970 clears the minimum bar for Factorio but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 67 FPS at 1080p on high, and you will get a smoother result on the high preset.
What FPS will I get?
On high settings with upscaling off: roughly 67 FPS at 1080p, 42 FPS at 1440p and 24 FPS at 4K. These are modelled estimates — see our methodology.
What settings should I use?
Start at the high preset at 1080p.
Will my processor hold this back?
These figures assume a processor fast enough not to limit the card. If yours is older, run the bottleneck calculator — this title leans on the GPU, so a modest CPU deficit costs less.