Can a AMD Radeon R9 280X run Surviving Mars?
The AMD Radeon R9 280X clears the minimum bar for Surviving Mars but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 359 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 280X measures up
| Requirement | AMD Radeon R9 280X | Minimum | Recommended | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU performance score | 11 | 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 223 FPS on high.
At 4K
Around 129 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 280X | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Radeon 890M | D | 428 | ▲ 69 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT | D | 394 | ▲ 35 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 | D | 359 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon R9 380X | D | 359 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| AMD Radeon 780M | D | 359 | ▼ 0 FPS | Compare |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 | D | 325 | ▼ 34 FPS | Compare |
Frequently asked questions
Can the AMD Radeon R9 280X run Surviving Mars?
The AMD Radeon R9 280X clears the minimum bar for Surviving Mars but sits under the recommended spec. It is playable at around 359 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 359 FPS at 1080p, 223 FPS at 1440p and 129 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.