Following the release of the Fallout TV show, Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic RPG has shot up in popularity. The game remains among the most played titles on Steam, with nearly 90K concurrent players. Our optimization guide for Fallout 4 offers a detailed look at the performance of individual graphics settings, plus Windows-level optimizations such as Resize BAR, XMP, HAGs, etc. Here, we’ll analyze the game’s performance on a low-end PC and laptop to strike a balance between quality and frame rates.
Test Bench
| Motherboard | CPU | GPU | Memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4 ($99) | Intel Core i5-12400F ($127) | AMD RX 6600 ($189) | 8GB x2 D4 ($40) |
Testing and analysis contributions: Dipin.
Fallout 4 Settings for Low-end PC: RTX 3060/RX 6600
Fallout 4 ran well on our $600 PC, averaging 95 FPS at 1080p Ultra with lows of 73.3 FPS. It yielded an average framerate of 60.4 FPS at 1440p Ultra with lows of 45 FPS. The optimized settings push the lows to 66 FPS and the average to 77.7 FPS.
| Graphics Settings | Low End PC |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1440p (all Ultra at 1080p) |
| Texture Quality | Ultra (6GB VRAM, or High) |
| Lighting Quality | Ultra |
| Anti-Aliasing | TAA |
| Volumetric Lighting (Godrays) | Medium |
| Screen Space Reflections | On |
| Decals Quality | Ultra |
| Shadow Distance | Ultra |
| Shadow Quality | Ultra |
| Ambient Occlusion | HBAO+ |
| Object Detail Fade | High |
| Distant Object Detail | High |
| Object/Item/Grass/Actor Fade | 100% |
| Texture Filtering | 8x AF |
Fallout 4 Performance on RTX 4060/3060 Laptop GPU
We tested Fallout 4 on the Alienware x14 featuring the GeForce RTX 4060 laptop GPU and the Intel Core i7-13620H. The x14 offers pre-configured CPU and GPU overclocking profiles (Overdrive) that offer a healthy performance boost over the stock hardware.
The x14 offers pre-configured CPU and GPU overclocking profiles (Overdrive) that offer a healthy performance boost over the stock hardware. You won’t even need a cooling pad, but make sure not to keep the device on your lap.
Fallout 4 is locked at 55 FPS on the Alienware x14, and that’s how much it averages at 1080p and 1440p Ultra. The lows come in at 41 FPS and 38 FPS, respectively. Since unlocking the framerate breaks the game, you’re better off using a higher internal resolution instead. NVIDIA’s DSR downscaler found in the control panel is an easy way to do that:
Using an internal resolution of 2400p produced an average framerate of 53 FPS with lows of 37 FPS. All the graphics settings were maxed out except godrays which were disabled. 2133p proved more stable, hitting the 55 FPS ceiling (38 FPS lows), with godrays set to Medium. We believe this is the sweet spot for RTX 4060 laptop owners.
Fallout 4: Best Settings for RTX 3060/4060 Laptop GPU
| Graphics Settings | RTX 3060 laptop GPU | RTX 4060 laptop GPU |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1440p | 1440p (up to 4K) |
| Texture Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
| Lighting Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
| Anti-Aliasing | TAA | TAA |
| Volumetric Lighting (Godrays) | High | Ultra (Medium at 4K) |
| Screen Space Reflections | On | On |
| Decals Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
| Shadow Distance | Ultra | Ultra |
| Shadow Quality | Ultra | Ultra |
| Ambient Occlusion | SSAO | HBAO+ (SSAO at 4K) |
| Object Detail Fade | High | High |
| Distant Object Detail | High | High |
| Object/Item/Grass/Actor Fade | 100% | High |
| Texture Filtering | 8x AF | 16x AF |
