For Gears of War: E-Day, the right GPU depends on your resolution, graphics preset, and whether you use upscaling. In TechSpot’s 44-GPU test, an RX 9060 XT or RTX 5060 Ti averaged about 58–59 fps at native 1080p Ultra, while native 1440p Ultra at around 60 fps called for a much faster card such as the RX 9070 or RTX 4080. At native 4K Ultra, even the RTX 5090 averaged 70 fps. Those are benchmark results, not official system requirements or guarantees for every PC.
How to read the 44-GPU benchmark
TechSpot published its comparison on October 6, 2026, using the game’s built-in benchmark on a Ryzen 7 9800X3D system with Windows 11 25H2 and 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory. It tested Medium and Ultra presets, using AMD Adrenalin 26.8.1, NVIDIA Game Ready 617.14, and Intel Arc 32.0.101.9034 drivers. These controlled results help compare cards, but they are not a promise of identical performance on a different CPU, driver, game build, or scene. TechSpot’s benchmark also measured 1% lows with separate monitoring software because the game does not report them.
The benchmark is useful for repeatable GPU comparisons, but it is not a perfect stand-in for every moment of play. Tom’s Hardware found its in-game scene ran somewhat faster than the sweeping built-in test, which may render more than a typical view; it nevertheless described the test as a good approximation. Tom’s Hardware’s analysis is a reason to treat the results as a consistent comparison rather than an exact forecast for your gameplay.
What GPU do you need for 1080p, 1440p, or 4K?
The table shows selected TechSpot averages. Native means the game rendered at the output resolution without upscaling. The upscaled 1440p results use Ultra with Balanced upscaling; the 4K upscaled results use Ultra with Performance upscaling. Upscaled output is not equivalent to native rendering quality or responsiveness.
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| Output and rendering condition | GPU examples | Average frame rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p, native Ultra | RX 9060 XT 16GB or 8GB; RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or 8GB | 58 fps for either RX 9060 XT; 59 fps for either RTX 5060 Ti |
| 1440p, native Ultra | RX 9070 XT; RTX 5070 Ti | 69 fps; 68 fps |
| 1440p, native Ultra | RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or 8GB; RX 9060 XT variants | 40 fps for either RTX 5060 Ti; 39 fps for the RX 9060 XT variants |
| 1440p output, Ultra with Balanced upscaling | RTX 5070 Ti; RX 9070 XT | 112 fps; 109 fps |
| 1440p output, Ultra with Balanced upscaling | RTX 5060 Ti variants; RX 9060 XT variants | 73 fps for either RTX 5060 Ti; 69 fps for the RX 9060 XT variants |
| 4K, native Ultra | RTX 5090; RTX 4090; RTX 5080 | 70 fps; 50 fps; 42 fps |
| 4K, native Ultra | RTX 5070 Ti; RX 9070 XT | 37 fps; 36 fps |
| 4K output, Ultra with Performance upscaling | RTX 5090; RTX 4090; RTX 5080 | 125 fps; 99 fps; 86 fps |
| 4K output, Ultra with Performance upscaling | RX 9070 XT; RTX 5070 Ti | 82 fps; 78 fps |
These are average frame rates from TechSpot’s test, not minimums or guaranteed results. In particular, an average near 60 fps does not establish that every scene will stay above 60 fps; consult the test’s 1% low measurements if frame-time consistency is important.
Is 8GB of VRAM enough?
In TechSpot’s tested 1080p and 1440p comparisons, paired 8GB and 16GB versions of several cards were close or identical. That does not mean 8GB performs the same at every setting. At native 4K Ultra, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB averaged 21 fps against 13 fps for its 8GB counterpart; the RX 9060 XT 16GB averaged 20 fps against 16 fps for its 8GB version. Both pairs remain well below a 60-fps average at that demanding condition, so the capacity difference does not make either a native 4K Ultra 60-fps choice.
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For a card you already own, judge its performance at your actual output resolution and preset rather than treating VRAM capacity alone as a pass-or-fail rule. If you are choosing a GPU specifically for native 4K Ultra, these results show that the tested 8GB midrange cards struggle, and the 16GB versions do not reach a 60-fps average either.
Should you lower the preset or use upscaling?
Try a lower preset before replacing a card
TechSpot measured the RTX 5090 at 173 fps at 1080p Medium and 143 fps at 1440p Medium. At native 4K Medium, it averaged 93 fps, but the midrange cards cited in the article all remained below 30 fps. At native 1080p Medium, older cards such as the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6750 XT can provide around 60 fps in TechSpot’s test. The review says Medium still looks good, making it a useful option when Ultra performance is short of your target.
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Upscaling can lift frame rates, but label the mode
TechSpot tested Ultra with Quality upscaling at 1080p, Balanced at 1440p, and Performance at 4K. These modes render internally below the output resolution, then reconstruct the displayed image. For example, its RTX 5090 result rose from 70 fps at native 4K Ultra to 125 fps at 4K output with Ultra and Performance upscaling. Treat those as different rendering conditions, not interchangeable native-resolution results. TechSpot’s October 6, 2026 review does not give a comparative image-quality or responsiveness measurement for these modes, so choose by trying the supported setting on your own display.
The official PC feature announcement lists AMD FSR, Unreal Engine TSR, Intel XeSS, and hardware ray tracing support. NVIDIA separately announced DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution, Frame Generation, and Dynamic Multi Frame Generation. Which options you can use depends on hardware and current game and driver support; feature availability is not a guarantee of a particular frame rate. Xbox Wire’s PC technology announcement and NVIDIA’s launch graphics article describe the announced features.
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Is Ultra worth it, and what about Ludicrous?
In TechSpot’s 1440p comparison, moving from Ludicrous to Ultra raised average frame rate by 97% on the RX 9070 XT and 74% on the RTX 5070 Ti. Moving from Ultra to High added another 22% on each of those GPUs. TechSpot judged Ludicrous to offer little visual improvement for its large performance cost. Those percentages apply to the named cards and tested settings, not to every GPU; for those two models, High is a further performance option if Ultra does not meet your target.
Do the benchmark results define official PC requirements?
No. Xbox Wire announced the final PC specifications on September 17, 2026, and updated the specification image on September 28, but the announcement’s text does not transcribe the requirements table. The TechSpot figures in this article are review measurements, not official minimum or recommended hardware requirements. Xbox Wire says the game launched October 6, 2026, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Steam, with PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate availability. Xbox Wire’s launch and PC specifications announcement is the official reference.
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What to do with your current GPU
- Keep it for 1080p: If your card is near the tested RX 9060 XT or RTX 5060 Ti results, TechSpot measured roughly 58–59 fps average at native Ultra. For a higher average or more headroom, try High or Medium, or use supported upscaling.
- For 1440p native Ultra near 60 fps: The tested RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 Ti averaged 69 and 68 fps, respectively. The RTX 5060 Ti and RX 9060 XT class averaged around 39–40 fps in this condition. Balanced upscaling raised the cited midrange results to 69–73 fps, but at a different rendering condition.
- For 4K: Native Ultra averaged 70 fps only on the RTX 5090 among the cited results; the RTX 4090 averaged 50 fps. If you use Ultra with Performance upscaling, TechSpot measured 125 fps on the RTX 5090 and 99 fps on the RTX 4090 at 4K output. Decide whether native rendering or higher upscaled output performance matters more to you.
- Before upgrading: Try a lower preset, then a supported upscaler and mode, and compare results in the same repeatable scene. Check average FPS and 1% lows rather than judging from one peak number.
The game is built on Unreal Engine 5 and DirectX 12, and the official PC feature announcement lists hardware ray tracing and the upscaling options above. NVIDIA says RTX Mega Geometry requires a GeForce RTX GPU with at least 12GB VRAM; this is a requirement for that feature, not a general requirement to run the game. NVIDIA also reports a 7.5× average performance over native at 4K with DLSS 4.5 activated under its stated 6X Frame Generation, Ultra ray tracing, and RTX Mega Geometry conditions. That is a vendor claim with frame generation and specific settings, not an independent comparison to TechSpot’s rendered frame-rate results.
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