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With the best GPU for Cities Skylines 2, you’ll be able to play to look at your city with excellent detail and realistic graphics.
From support for significantly bigger cities to dynamic weather and climates, Cities Skylines 2 is a complete revamp of its predecessor. It even uses AI to mimic how every decision you make ripples through the city’s economy and has an impact on its overall well-being. Given the attention to detail and use of AI in the game, it is no surprise that Cities Skylines 2 system requirements recommend at least a GTX 970 to play at minimum graphics.
If your current GPU is not up to mark, then you should definitely upgrade it to play Skylines 2 without any performance issues, and this is where we come in. We have poured hours and hours into research for the best GPU for Cities Skylines 2. We even talked to our in-house GPU expert, Sebastian Kozlowski, who loves to take apart the latest GPUs and test them in different games. With Sebastian’s help, we were able to round up a variety of GPUs perfect for every resolution.
Best GPU for Cities Skylines at a glance
 ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition
Base clock
2310MHz
Boost clock
2760MHz
VRAM
12GB GDDR6X
Dimensions
305 x 138 x 65 mm
Recommended PSU
750W
 ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition
Base clock
2310MHz
Boost clock
2760MHz
VRAM
12GB GDDR6X
Dimensions
305 x 138 x 65 mm
Recommended PSU
750W
XFX Speedster MERC310 AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Base Clock (MHz)
1,855MHz
Boost Clock (MHz)
2,615MHz
VRAM
24GB GDDR6
Dimensions
344 x 128 x 57mm
Recommended PSU
850W
Finding the right graphics card can be a bit of a mission sometimes. What we’ve done to make things easier is separate the graphics cards into different resolutions. For those who are on a budget, we would recommend checking out the best budget GPU and the best GPU under $200.
For our fellow Cities Skylines fans, we’re here to make sure you’re as prepared for the game as you can be. Whether it’s finding the best laptop for Cities Skylines 2 or finding the best gaming PC for Cities Skylines 2, we’ve got you covered.
Best graphics card to play Cities Skylines 2 in 1440p
 ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition
Base clock
2310MHz
Boost clock
2760MHz
VRAM
12GB GDDR6X
Dimensions
305 x 138 x 65 mm
Recommended PSU
750W
- A beast in 1440p gaming
- Excellent cooling
- Overclocked edition
- ATX 3.0 PSU is recommended
The best graphics card to play Cities Skylines 2 in 1440p is the ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition. Being an OC Edition card, this RTX 4070 Ti comes with much higher boost clock speeds than other variants, 2760MHz to be specific. Paired with its 12GB VRAM, 7680 shading units, and 60 RT cores, you’ve got yourself the king of 1440p gaming with Ray Racing.
To keep up with such exceptional performance, TUF Gaming has used a high-end cooling solution for this card. We are talking about a massive heatsink, plenty of heatpipes, a vapor chamber, and 3x axial-tech fans for improved airflow.
This means even after long gaming hours at intense GPU usage, this beast will not thermal throttle at all, and that’s what makes the RTX 4070 ti good for gaming. With that said, if you’ve been meaning to upgrade your GPU and you want to play the latest Cities Skylines 2 at 1440p with high preset without any FPS hiccups, the ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti OC Edition is your best option.
Best graphics card to play Cities Skylines 2 in 1080p
XFX Speedster MERC319 RX 6950XT
Base clock
1860MHz
Boost clock
2368MHz
VRAM
16GB GGDR6
Dimensions
340 x 139 x 57 mm
Recommended PSU
850W
- Perfect for 1080p gaming
- Good overclocking potential
- Efficient cooling solution
- High power requirements
Want the best graphics card to play Cities Skylines 2 in 1080p? The XFX Speedster MERC319 RX 6950XT Black has got you covered. Apart from its rock-solid 1080p performance, another impressive thing about this card, and one of the main reasons why we have picked it over its competitors, is its price-to-performance ratio.
Sure, the low pricing is because of its older architecture, but that doesn’t matter a lot if you’re still getting high FPS in your favorite games out of it. After all, the card can boost at up to 2368MHz, has 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM, and packs 5,120 shading units. Plus, being an AMD card, you also get to enjoy the full-fledged benefits of FSR, which are not restricted to just the latest GPUs. It’s no surprise that WePC have listed the XFX Speedster MERC319 RX 6950XT as their first choice in their list of the best RX 6950XT graphics cards.
While the card lacks RGB, it has a sleek black design, perfect for those who prefer minimalism over flashy lighting. It also has three massive fans, 7x 6mm copper heat pipes, and a ventilated shroud for the best airflow. If you’re into overclocking, then you’ll be pleased to know that its 14+2 VRM design can take some pressure, and that’s why the GPU even has a backup BIOS. Overall, if you want to play Cities Skylines 2 at 1080p with no compromises on framerate or graphics quality, the XFX Speedster MERC319 RX 6950XT Black is for you.
Best graphics card to play Cities Skylines 2 in 4K
XFX Speedster MERC310 AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
Base Clock (MHz)
1,855MHz
Boost Clock (MHz)
2,615MHz
VRAM
24GB GDDR6
Dimensions
344 x 128 x 57mm
Recommended PSU
850W
- Flagship-level 4K performance
- Plenty of VRAM
- No thermal throttling
- Big size
When it comes to the best graphics card to play Cities Skylines 2 in 4K, the XFX SPEEDSTER MERC 310 AMD RX 7900 XTX Black Edition is the winner. Being the flagship GPU of AMD’s current RX 70-series line-up, the RX 7900 XTX packs jaw-droppingly good performance. Why not take a look at the comparison between the RX 7800 XT vs RX 7900 XT and XTX to see why the RX 7900 XTX comes out on top?
From 24GB VRAM to 2615MHz boost speed, the card has all the flagship specs you would expect it to have, and that’s why it nails 4K gaming better than any other competitor. Of course, you will have to spend a few big bucks to get this beast, but for the performance, it is totally worth it.
XFX has used an elaborate cooling solution with a massive heatsink and 3x fans to prevent this card from thermal throttling, and their magic has worked, as the card does not overheat or anything. But it also means it is a massive card that can raise a few compatibility issues in small cases. Nevertheless, if you want a top-tier GPU to run Cities Skylines 2 at 4K, there is no better option for the money than the XFX SPEEDSTER MERC 310 AMD RX 7900 XTX Black Edition.
What graphics card do you need to play Cities Skylines 2?
To play Cities Skylines 2, you need at least a GTX 970 with 4GB VRAM. However, for the optimal experience, it is recommended to at least have an RTX 3080 with 10GB VRAM.
Does Cities Skylines 2 have ray tracing and DLSS?
While Cities Skylines 2 has ray tracing, it has yet to be confirmed whether the game supports DLSS or not.
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