Can a AMD Radeon R9 280 run Surviving Mars?
The AMD Radeon R9 280 clears the minimum bar for Surviving Mars but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 291 FPS at 1080p on high, and you will get a smoother result on the ultra preset.
High preset, upscaling off, paired with a AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D-class processor.
How the AMD Radeon R9 280 measures up
| Requirement | AMD Radeon R9 280 | Minimum | Recommended | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU performance score | 9 | 2 | 2 | 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 ultra preset. You already clear 60 FPS on high, so this leaves headroom for dips in busy scenes.
At 1440p
Comfortable — around 180 FPS on high.
At 4K
Around 105 FPS on high — genuinely viable.
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 Surviving Mars
| Graphics card | Tier | 1080p FPS | vs AMD Radeon R9 280 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Arc A380 | D | 325 | ▲ 34 FPS | Compare |
| Intel Arc Graphics 140V | D | 325 | ▲ 34 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 | D | 291 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 | D | 291 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti | D | 291 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 | D | 291 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
Frequently asked questions
Can the AMD Radeon R9 280 run Surviving Mars?
The AMD Radeon R9 280 clears the minimum bar for Surviving Mars but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 291 FPS at 1080p on high, and you will get a smoother result on the ultra preset.
What FPS will I get?
On high settings with upscaling off: roughly 291 FPS at 1080p, 180 FPS at 1440p and 105 FPS at 4K. These are modelled estimates — see our methodology.
What settings should I use?
Start at the ultra 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.