Can a AMD Radeon HD 7970 run Path of Exile 2?
The AMD Radeon HD 7970 clears the minimum bar for Path of Exile 2 but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 25 FPS at 1080p on high, and you will get a smoother result on the low preset or by enabling upscaling.
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 | 9 | 23 | Minimum |
| Video memory | 3 GB | 3 GB | 6 GB | Minimum |
| Ray tracing | — Not supported | Game has no RT | N/A | |
| Upscaling | FSR | DLSS, FSR | Available | |
Recommended settings
For 60 FPS at 1080p
Use the low preset. High settings fall short here, so drop the preset before touching resolution.
At 1440p
Around 16 FPS on high — this card is happier at 1080p for this title.
At 4K
Around 9 FPS — not a realistic target for this pairing.
Upscaling
Path of Exile 2 supports DLSS and FSR. Your card supports FSR — Quality mode is worth 25–40% more frames. Compare upscalers.
VRAM headroom
At 3GB you are under the 6GB this game recommends. Lower the texture setting one notch first — it costs the least visual quality per gigabyte saved.
How other cards handle Path of Exile 2
| Graphics card | Tier | 1080p FPS | vs AMD Radeon HD 7970 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | D | 28 | ▲ 3 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon 780M | D | 28 | ▲ 3 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 | D | 25 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon R9 380 | D | 25 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| Intel Arc A380 | D | 25 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| Intel Arc Graphics 140V | D | 25 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
Frequently asked questions
Can the AMD Radeon HD 7970 run Path of Exile 2?
The AMD Radeon HD 7970 clears the minimum bar for Path of Exile 2 but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 25 FPS at 1080p on high, and you will get a smoother result on the low preset or by enabling upscaling.
What FPS will I get?
On high settings with upscaling off: roughly 25 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p and 9 FPS at 4K. These are modelled estimates — see our methodology.
What settings should I use?
Start at the low preset at 1080p. Then enable upscaling on Quality mode before lowering anything further.
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 is unusually CPU-heavy, so it matters more than usual here.