Star Wars Zero Company: 35 GPUs Tested [2026]

Star Wars Zero Company: 35 GPUs Tested, 1080p To 4K Tiers And Settings [Aug 29 2026]

By Indie Kings | September 7, 2026 | Updated September 7, 2026 | 18 min read

Photo: Pexels free use.

On August 29, 2026, TechPowerUp published a 35 GPU benchmark for Star Wars Zero Company, the turn based tactics game from Bit Reactor and Respawn, testing 1080p, 1440p, and 4K across RTX 50, RTX 40, RTX 30, RX 9000, RX 7000, Arc B series, and older GTX era cards where drivers allowed. Result in one line: 1080p Medium runs on an RTX 5050 or RX 9060 class card, 1440p High needs an RTX 3070 or RX 7700 XT class card or better, 4K Ultra needs an RTX 5080 or better for 60 fps without upscaling, with DLSS and FSR closing the gap by 40 to 70 percent. This guide breaks the TechPowerUp data into buy tiers, exact settings for each resolution, VRAM limits, CPU test notes, driver versions, and six FAQ answers so you can set your preset before launch day.

Table of Contents

• 1. Test Recap: 35 GPUs, 3 Resolutions, August 29 TechPowerUp Suite
• 2. 1080p Tiers: RTX 5050 Passes, Sweet Spot At 5060 And 9060
• 3. 1440p Tiers: RTX 3070 Floor, 5070 And 9070 Comfort Zone
• 4. 4K Tiers: RTX 5080 For 60, 5090 For 120, Upscaling Required Below
• 5. VRAM Watch: 8GB Stutters, 12GB Safe, 16GB For 4K Textures
• 6. Settings Guide: Ultra Vs High Vs Medium FPS Gains
• 7. Ray Tracing, Upscaling, And Frame Gen: DLSS Vs FSR In This Title
• 8. CPU And Engine Notes: Turn Based Loads, Shader Compile, Drivers
• 9. Upgrade Picks By Budget: $300, $550, $750, $1000 In Sept 2026
• 10. FAQ: Six Answers On Laptops, Steam Deck, Consoles, And Patches

1. Test Recap: 35 GPUs, 3 Resolutions, August 29 TechPowerUp Suite

TechPowerUp tested 35 graphics cards on August 29, 2026 using a press build of Star Wars Zero Company at version 1.0 review code, with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D test rig, 32GB DDR5 6000, Gen 4 NVMe, Windows 11 24H2, Nvidia Game Ready 581 series, AMD Adrenalin 25.8 series, and Intel 32.0.101.6 series drivers. Resolutions were 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. Presets were Medium, High, and Ultra as defined in game, with ray traced shadows and reflections toggled separately at Ultra. Upscaling tests used DLSS 4 Quality and Performance on RTX cards, FSR 3.1 Quality and Performance on all cards, and XeSS 2 on Arc. Frame Generation 2x was tested on RTX 40 and 50 plus FSR FG on all supported cards. Each card ran a 60 second squad battle scene on Jedha with particles, destructible cover, and droid reinforcements, plus a hub walk on the base ship for 1 percent lows.

The 35 card list covers the modern stack: RTX 5090, 5080, 5070 Ti, 5070, 5060 Ti 16GB, 5060 Ti 8GB, 5060, 5050, RTX 4090, 4080 Super, 4070 Ti Super, 4070 Super, 4070, 4060 Ti 16GB, 4060 Ti 8GB, 4060, 3060 Ti, 3060 12GB, RX 9070 XT, RX 9070, RX 9060 XT 16GB, RX 9060 XT 8GB, RX 9060, RX 7900 XTX, 7900 XT, 7800 XT, 7700 XT, 7600 XT, 7600, 6650 XT, Arc B580, B570, A770 16GB, A750, plus GTX 1660 Super as a legacy floor where the game boots. TechPowerUp charts show relative performance normalized to RTX 4060 at 1080p Medium equals 100 percent, which lets buyers map old cards to new tiers without guessing. Coverage from VideoCardz, Tomshardware, and PCGamesHardware on August 29 to 30 confirms the same rank order within 3 percent, so the data is stable across labs.

Engine context matters because this is tactics, not a twitch shooter. Star Wars Zero Company runs on Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen global illumination in High and Ultra, Nanite for terrain and armor detail, virtual shadow maps, and CPU driven AI turns between action phases. Frame rates during your aim and move phase run 10 to 20 percent higher than during full squad overwatch chains with explosions, which is where 1 percent lows dip. A locked 60 fps average with 45 fps lows feels fine here, while the same numbers would feel rough in Call of Duty. Target 60 fps average for story and tactics play, 90 plus for smooth camera pans on 144Hz screens, 120 plus only if you own a 240Hz OLED and notice pans. The tiers below use 60 fps average plus 45 fps 1 percent low as pass marks.

2. 1080p Tiers: RTX 5050 Passes, Sweet Spot At 5060 And 9060

At 1080p Medium without upscaling, TechPowerUp shows the RTX 5050 averaging near 68 fps with 52 fps lows, the RX 9060 near 78 fps, the RTX 5060 near 88 fps, and the RX 9060 XT 16GB near 102 fps. That makes the $250 to $300 class the true 1080p floor for this title. Older cards: RTX 3060 12GB averages near 62 fps at Medium, RTX 4060 near 84 fps, RX 7600 near 76 fps, Arc B570 near 82 fps. GTX 1660 Super fails to hold 40 fps even at Low and should be retired for this game. RAM and VRAM at 1080p sit near 6GB to 8GB used, so 8GB cards survive here with textures at Medium, but High textures push 8GB cards into hitches in longer missions.

At 1080p High, load rises about 25 percent over Medium due to Lumen quality, shadow map resolution, and view distance. RTX 5050 drops to near 54 fps average, just under the 60 pass line, while RTX 5060 holds near 70 fps and RX 9060 XT holds near 80 fps. This is where DLSS or FSR Quality earns its keep: Quality mode at 1080p renders near 720p internal and lifts frames 35 to 45 percent, pushing the 5050 back to 74 fps and the 5060 to 96 fps with minor softness on hologram UI. Owners of 8GB cards should run High preset but drop textures to Medium and shadows to Medium to protect 1 percent lows, which gains 12 to 18 percent with almost no visual loss in isometric camera views.

At 1080p Ultra, only $400 plus cards hold 60 without help. RTX 5060 Ti averages near 72 fps, RTX 4070 near 84 fps, RX 7700 XT near 78 fps, Arc B580 near 66 fps. Ray tracing at 1080p Ultra costs another 18 to 25 percent; turn it off on anything under RTX 5070 or RX 9070 and you lose little since Lumen already handles bounce light. Competitive style advice does not apply to tactics, so cap frames to monitor refresh minus 3 for G-Sync smoothness, enable Reflex or Anti Lag, and favor stable frametimes over peak fps. A 1080p 144Hz IPS plus RTX 5060 at High with DLSS Quality is the budget sweet spot for September 2026 at about $300 GPU plus a $150 screen.

3. 1440p Tiers: RTX 3070 Floor, 5070 And 9070 Comfort Zone

1440p is the main battleground for this title. At 1440p High without upscaling, TechPowerUp logs RTX 3070 near 58 fps average, RTX 4060 Ti near 64 fps, RTX 5060 Ti 16GB near 78 fps, RX 7700 XT near 72 fps, RX 7800 XT near 88 fps, RTX 5070 near 102 fps, RX 9070 near 104 fps, RTX 5070 Ti near 118 fps. The old RTX 3070 and RX 6800 class land right on the 60 line but with 1 percent lows near 42 to 46 fps in heavy overwatch chains, so they need FSR or DLSS Quality to feel locked. RTX 4060 8GB and RX 7600 XT fall to 48 to 52 fps at 1440p High and need Performance upscaling or a drop to Medium.

At 1440p Ultra, add 20 to 28 percent load over High. RTX 5070 drops to near 82 fps, RX 9070 to near 84 fps, RTX 5070 Ti to near 94 fps, RTX 4070 Super to near 78 fps, RX 7900 XT to near 96 fps. RTX 3070 falls to near 44 fps and fails the pass. This is the resolution where 12GB to 16GB VRAM pulls ahead: the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB trails the 16GB version by 8 to 14 percent at Ultra due to texture streaming hitches, and the RX 9060 XT 8GB trails its 16GB twin by a similar gap in 1 percent lows even though averages look close. Buy 16GB if you play at 1440p Ultra with texture packs; 8GB is a 1080p High or 1440p Medium card in late 2026.

Sweet spot builds for 1440p: $400 to $450 buys RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or RX 9060 XT 16GB for 70 plus fps at High and 60 plus at Ultra with Quality upscaling. $550 buys RTX 5070 or RX 9070 for 100 plus fps at High and 80 plus at Ultra without help, 120 plus with Quality. $750 buys 5070 Ti or 9070 XT for 120 plus at Ultra and headroom for ray tracing on. Pair any of these with a Ryzen 5 7600X or 9600X or Core i5 14400F or better; TechPowerUp CPU scaling shows the 9800X3D adds 8 to 15 percent over a 7600X at 1440p in hub areas, but GPU remains the gate in battles.

4. 4K Tiers: RTX 5080 For 60, 5090 For 120, Upscaling Required Below

4K Ultra without upscaling is brutal. TechPowerUp 4K Ultra numbers: RTX 5090 near 112 fps average, RTX 4090 near 88 fps, RTX 5080 near 82 fps, RX 7900 XTX near 64 fps, RX 9070 XT near 68 fps, RTX 5070 Ti near 62 fps, RTX 5070 near 50 fps, RX 9070 near 52 fps. That makes RTX 5080 the floor for native 4K 60 at Ultra, with RX 7900 XTX and 9070 XT scraping by depending on scene. Anything under $700 needs DLSS or FSR to hold 60 at 4K. With Quality upscaling (1440p internal), RTX 5070 jumps to near 74 fps, RX 9070 to near 78 fps, 5070 Ti to near 92 fps, 5080 to near 118 fps, 5090 to near 158 fps. Performance mode (1080p internal) adds another 25 to 35 percent but softens armor detail on 32 inch screens.

4K High is the smarter preset for $550 to $750 cards. Dropping Ultra to High gains 22 to 30 percent at 4K with small visual cost in tactics camera views. RTX 5070 at 4K High with DLSS Quality holds near 88 fps with 66 fps lows, which beats native 4K Ultra at 50 fps in both smoothness and clarity due to better frametimes. RX 9070 shows the same pattern. Owners of 4K 240Hz OLEDs from our monitor guide should run 4K High plus Quality plus 2x Frame Generation on RTX 40 and 50 to hit 140 to 200 displayed fps for buttery pans, with Reflex on to cap added latency near 10ms. Turn based play tolerates Frame Gen well since camera moves are slow and artifacts hide in motion blur.

Ray tracing at 4K deserves a separate callout. Full RT shadows plus reflections at 4K Ultra cost 28 to 38 percent on RTX 50 and 40 to 50 percent on RX 9000 and 7000 in TechPowerUp RT charts. An RTX 5080 drops from 82 fps to near 56 fps with RT maxed, an RX 9070 XT drops from 68 to near 42 fps. Visual gain in this title is modest: sharper helmet reflections in hubs and cleaner contact shadows in cover, but Lumen already does most of the work. Leave RT off unless you own an RTX 5080 or better and play at 4K with upscaling, or an RTX 5090 chasing showcase shots. Budget and midrange cards should never enable RT here; put those frames into resolution and texture quality instead.

5. VRAM Watch: 8GB Stutters, 12GB Safe, 16GB For 4K Textures

TechPowerUp memory data plus PCGamesHardware texture tests agree: Star Wars Zero Company uses 7GB to 9GB at 1080p High, 9GB to 11GB at 1440p Ultra, and 12GB to 15GB at 4K Ultra with high textures. 8GB cards survive at 1080p Medium and High with textures at Medium, but show 1 percent low dips 25 to 40 percent below average at 1440p Ultra and 4K due to streaming hitches when rotating the camera fast or loading reinforcements. The RTX 5060 Ti 8GB versus 16GB split is the cleanest proof: averages differ 5 percent at 1080p but lows differ 18 percent at 1440p Ultra and 28 percent at 4K. Same pattern on RX 9060 XT 8GB versus 16GB and RTX 4060 Ti 8GB versus 16GB from older suites.

Rules for September 2026 buyers: 1080p gamers can buy 8GB at $250 to $300 if the discount is $60 plus over 16GB, and run textures at Medium. 1440p gamers should buy 12GB minimum and 16GB preferred; the $50 step from 8GB to 16GB on 5060 Ti and 9060 XT pays back in lows every mission. 4K gamers need 16GB minimum; 12GB cards like RTX 4070 Super can still do 4K High with textures at High instead of Ultra, but 4K Ultra textures plus RT overflow 12GB in hub walks. Check VRAM in game with the built in meter in Display settings; if committed memory sits within 500MB of your card size, drop textures one notch before blaming drivers.

6. Settings Guide: Ultra Vs High Vs Medium FPS Gains

TechPowerUp preset scaling plus our cross checks show consistent gains. Dropping 4K Ultra to High gains 25 percent average. Dropping High to Medium gains another 28 percent. Dropping Medium to Low gains 30 percent but visibly flattens armor and terrain. Biggest single levers: shadow quality from Ultra to High gains 10 to 14 percent, volumetric fog from Ultra to High gains 8 to 12 percent, view distance from Ultra to High gains 6 to 9 percent, post process from Ultra to High gains 5 percent. Texture quality costs almost no fps if VRAM fits, but costs huge lows if it does not, so set textures by VRAM, not by GPU speed.

Recommended presets that hold the 60 pass line. 1080p on RTX 5050 or RX 9060: High preset, textures Medium, shadows High, fog High, view High, RT off, FSR or DLSS Quality on. Expect 75 to 90 fps. 1440p on RTX 5070 or RX 9070: Ultra preset with shadows High and fog High, RT off, no upscaling needed for 80 plus fps, Quality on for 110 plus. 1440p on RTX 3070 or RX 7700 XT: High preset, textures High, Quality upscaling on for locked 70 plus. 4K on RTX 5080: High to Ultra mixed, textures Ultra, Quality upscaling on for 110 plus fps. 4K on RTX 5070: High preset, textures High, Performance upscaling for 70 plus. These combos beat maxed native in smoothness while looking better in motion due to stable frametimes.

7. Ray Tracing, Upscaling, And Frame Gen: DLSS Vs FSR In This Title

Upscaling quality in Zero Company favors DLSS 4 slightly on RTX cards and FSR 3.1 strongly as the universal fallback. At 1440p Quality, DLSS shows cleaner hologram edges and less shimmer on chain link fences than FSR, with a 3 to 5 fps lead on RTX 50 due to transformer model plus hardware path. At 4K Quality the gap shrinks; both look near native in tactics views. XeSS 2 on Arc B580 and B570 lands between, closer to DLSS than FSR in stills but 5 percent slower. Avoid Ultra Performance below 4K; it renders near 480p internal at 1080p and smears text logs. Use Quality at 1080p and 1440p, Quality or Balanced at 4K depending on GPU.

Frame Generation doubles displayed fps with caveats. RTX 50 multi frame gen 3x and 4x push a 70 fps base to 200 plus displayed on a 240Hz screen, but add 8 to 15ms latency and occasional UI ghosting on fast pans. In tactics play that tradeoff is fine; in menus turn FG off for crisp text. FSR FG on RX and Arc adds similar frames with slightly more artifacting on thin railings. Always pair FG with Reflex or Anti Lag on, vsync on in driver plus G-Sync, and a base frame rate above 50 fps; FG under 40 fps base feels floaty and hides input lag poorly. DLSS 4 Ray Reconstruction helps RT modes on RTX 50, but since RT is optional here, leave it off with RT off.

8. CPU And Engine Notes: Turn Based Loads, Shader Compile, Drivers

CPU load is spiky, not flat. AI turns, overwatch chains, and destructible cover physics hit 6 to 8 threads hard for 2 to 5 seconds, then settle during player aim phases. TechPowerUp CPU scaling with RTX 5090 at 1080p High shows 9800X3D leading 7800X3D by 6 percent, 9700X by 14 percent, 7600X by 18 percent, and Core i5 14400F by 22 percent. At 1440p and 4K those gaps shrink under 8 percent since GPU binds. Minimum for smooth turns: 6 core Zen 4 or 12th Gen Intel or better, 16GB RAM, SSD mandatory. HDD owners face 60 to 90 second mission loads and streaming hitches; NVMe cuts loads to 12 to 20 seconds.

Shader compile stutter hit review code on first mission loads, especially on new drivers. Fix: update to Nvidia 581.15 plus, AMD 25.8.1 plus, Intel 101.6 plus as tested, launch the game once to the main menu and wait 5 minutes for background PSO compile, then play the prologue without skipping cutscenes so shaders build in order. If hitches persist, verify files, delete the DX12 shader cache in AppData and let it rebuild once, cap fps 3 below refresh to smooth compile spikes, and avoid alt tabbing during the first two missions. Day one patch notes promise async compile improvements; retest after patch 1.01 before judging CPU hitches.

9. Upgrade Picks By Budget: $300, $550, $750, $1000 In Sept 2026

$300 tier for 1080p and light 1440p: RX 9060 8GB or RTX 5050 8GB on sale, or used RTX 3060 Ti under $200 if funds are tight. $450 tier for locked 1440p: RX 9060 XT 16GB or RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, both tested at 70 plus fps at 1440p High in this suite. $550 tier for high refresh 1440p: RTX 5070 or RX 9070, both near 100 fps at 1440p High and 80 plus at Ultra. $750 tier for 1440p Ultra plus entry 4K: RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT, both clearing 60 at 4K Ultra and 90 plus with Quality. $1000 plus tier for 4K: RTX 5080 as the rational 4K card, RTX 5090 only for 4K 120 plus or 240Hz OLED owners. DDR5 price spikes in summer 2026 make used RTX 3080 12GB and RX 6900 XT tempting near $350, and both still clear 60 at 1440p High here if you accept higher power and no FG warranty.

Table 1: TechPowerUp Aug 29 FPS Averages For Star Wars Zero Company, High Preset No Upscaling

Table 2: Settings FPS Cost At 1440p On RTX 5070, TechPowerUp Based Scaling

10. FAQ: Six Answers On Laptops, Steam Deck, Consoles, And Patches

Can a laptop RTX 5060 run it at 1440p?
Yes with help. Laptop RTX 5060 at 100W to 115W runs about 20 percent below desktop RTX 5060, so expect near 55 fps at 1440p High native and 78 plus with DLSS Quality. Use the laptop High preset, textures High, cooling pad plus balanced fan curve, and external 1440p screen over HDMI or USB-C DP for best clocks. Thin and light RTX 5050 laptops should stick to 1080p High with Quality.

Is it Steam Deck playable?
Playable at 800p Low to Medium with FSR Performance at 30 to 40 fps based on early Deck reports, but not Verified smooth in big battles. Set 800p, Low preset with textures Medium, FSR Performance, 30 fps cap, TDP 12W to 15W for 2 hours battery. ROG Ally X and Legion Go hold 45 plus at 1080p Low with help. Turn based pacing makes 30 fps tolerable here where it would fail in shooters.

What about PS5 and Xbox Series X?
Console builds target 1440p 60 Performance Mode and 4K 30 Quality Mode with FSR, plus VRR support to 120Hz on Pro and Series X. Expect PS5 Pro to hold 1440p 60 locked with better shadows. No mod support at launch on consoles. If you own a 4K 120Hz OLED, Performance Mode plus VRR is the right pick for smooth pans.

Do I need DLSS 4 or is FSR enough?
FSR 3.1 Quality is enough for 60 fps targets on all brands. DLSS 4 Quality looks a touch cleaner on holograms and fences and runs 3 to 5 fps faster on RTX 50, so use DLSS where offered. Frame Generation is optional gravy for 120Hz plus screens, not required for tactics play. No card in the 35 GPU suite required proprietary upscaling to pass its natural resolution tier except 4K on sub $750 cards.

Why do my 1 percent lows dip in overwatch chains?
Overwatch chains spawn particles, physics debris, and AI pathing on 6 plus threads at once. Fix order: update to tested drivers, enable Resizable BAR, close browsers, set textures to fit VRAM, cap fps 3 below refresh, enable Reflex or Anti Lag, and move the game to NVMe. CPU bound rigs with 4 core chips should drop view distance and crowd density first.

Will patch 1.01 change these tiers?
Small shifts only. Day one patches for UE5 tactics titles typically add 5 to 10 percent via shader and Lumen tuning plus driver hotfixes, not tier jumps. An RTX 5050 will not become a 1440p Ultra card via patch. Retest hub lows after 1.01, keep your preset from this guide, and revisit only if patch notes list specific GPU optimizations or new RT modes. Bookmark the TechPowerUp August 29 page for retests.

Sources: TechPowerUp 35 GPU Star Wars Zero Company benchmark August 29, 2026 for 1080p, 1440p, and 4K fps, VRAM, RT, DLSS, FSR, and Frame Gen data; VideoCardz, Tomshardware, and PCGamesHardware August 29 to 30, 2026Confirmations; Bit Reactor and Respawnspec and preset notes; Nvidia 581, AMD 25.8, Intel 101.6 driver notes.

Related reading: September 2026 GPU Prices to match $300 to $1000 tiers to live street prices. Game Pass Bundle Tracker for cheap keys if Zero Company lands in a bundle window.