Can Your PC Run Uncharted Legacy of Thieves? The Real FPS Test

Yes, your PC can run Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection if it roughly matches a GTX 960 or Radeon R9 290X, but that only gets you around 30 fps at 720p on Low. For the experience most PC players actually want—1080p,...

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Nathan Drake climbing a dramatic jungle cliff in Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Collection on PC
Uncharted's spectacular landscapes are demanding, but the right settings make them surprisingly scalable.

Yes, your PC can run Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection if it roughly matches a GTX 960 or Radeon R9 290X, but that only gets you around 30 fps at 720p on Low. For the experience most PC players actually want—1080p, stable 60 fps, and decent image quality—you should be looking closer to a GTX 1660 Super, RTX 2060, RX 5600 XT, or better, paired with a modern six-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. The official minimum is a launch point, not a comfortable target.

That distinction matters because this collection contains two visually heavy games: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Both are built around large cinematic set pieces, dense vegetation, streaming-heavy levels, volumetric effects, and long sightlines. The PC version from Naughty Dog and Nixxes is far more flexible than the minimum specification suggests, but it also punishes weak CPUs, slow hard drives, and GPUs with only 4GB of VRAM.

Before buying, compare your machine against the official Steam system requirements, then use the benchmark reality below rather than trusting a single “Can I Run It?” result.

The official PC requirements tell only half the story

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection has unusually specific official performance targets. The minimum tier is designed around 720p at 30 fps on Low, while the recommended tier aims for 1080p at 30 fps on Medium. That recommended result is playable and cinematic, but it isn't the same thing as a locked 60 fps experience.

ComponentMinimum requirementRecommended requirementPractical 60 fps target
CPUIntel Core i5-4430 or AMD FX-8350Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500XCore i5-10400, Ryzen 5 3600, or newer
GPUGeForce GTX 960 4GB or Radeon R9 290X 4GBGeForce GTX 1060 6GB or Radeon RX 570 4GBGTX 1660 Super, RTX 2060, RX 5600 XT, or faster
Memory8GB RAM16GB RAM16GB dual-channel RAM
Storage126GB available space126GB available spaceSSD strongly recommended
Operating systemWindows 10 64-bitWindows 10 64-bitWindows 10 or Windows 11 64-bit

The biggest trap is the GTX 1060 recommendation. A 6GB GTX 1060 can handle 1080p Medium, but its age shows when you raise textures, shadows, or resolution. The 4GB GTX 960 and RX 570 variants also have to stream a massive amount of data, so stutter can appear before average FPS looks disastrous.

The 126GB installation is another non-negotiable consideration. Keep additional free space beyond that figure for shader caches, Windows updates, and normal drive overhead. An HDD may launch the game, but an SSD dramatically improves level streaming and reduces the ugly pauses that can happen when Drake moves rapidly through a scripted scene. If storage problems are a recurring issue in your library, our PC crash and performance fixes are also worth keeping bookmarked.

Real benchmark expectations at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K

There isn't one universal benchmark number for this collection because the two games load the hardware differently. Uncharted 4's Madagascar convoy and the later Liberty Island sequences can stress CPU scheduling and asset streaming, while The Lost Legacy's jungle chapters lean harder on vegetation, shadows, and GPU memory.

The figures below are realistic gameplay ranges for a properly updated Windows installation, dual-channel memory, and an SSD. They aren't a promise for every driver revision or every CPU background task, but they are much closer to what you should expect than the official minimum label.

Hardware class1080p profile1440p profileRealistic result
GTX 960 4GB / RX 570 4GB with an older quad-coreLow, 720p to 900p upscalingNot recommended30-40 fps, with traversal dips and occasional stutter
GTX 1060 6GB / RX 580 8GB, i7-4770 or Ryzen 5 1500XMedium, native 1080pLow to Medium with upscaling35-50 fps; 30 fps is realistic, 60 fps is inconsistent
GTX 1660 Super / RX 5600 XT, Ryzen 5 3600High, native 1080pMedium to High55-75 fps at 1080p; roughly 45-60 fps at 1440p
RTX 3060 / RX 6700 XT, Core i5-10400 or Ryzen 5 5600Very High, native 1080pHigh to Very High70-100 fps at 1080p; around 55-80 fps at 1440p
RTX 4070 / RX 7800 XT and modern eight-core CPUVery HighVery High90-120 fps at 1440p, depending on the scene and upscaling

At 4K, the situation changes quickly. An RTX 3060 can technically produce a playable image with aggressive upscaling and reduced settings, but native 4K at a stable 60 fps belongs to substantially faster cards such as an RTX 4070 Super, RX 7800 XT, or above. The game does not use ray tracing, so raw rasterization performance and VRAM capacity matter more than RT features.

Frame pacing is just as important as the headline average. A machine that reports 70 fps but drops into the mid-40s during traversal won't feel as smooth as a locked 60 fps cap. Use the in-game benchmark as a starting point, then replay a demanding chapter. The Madagascar jeep sequence, the open coastal paths in The Lost Legacy, and combat scenes with explosions are better stress tests than a quiet interior.

The settings that actually move your frame rate

Uncharted's PC menu gives you a lot of control, but not every setting deserves equal attention. Texture quality is primarily a VRAM decision, while shadows, reflections, ambient occlusion, and volumetric effects do most of the heavy lifting on the GPU. Turning everything from Very High to Low can make the image look flat without solving a CPU bottleneck.

SettingRecommended valueFPS impactVisual trade-off
Texture QualityHigh on 6GB-plus GPUs; Medium on 4GBLow average impact, high VRAM impactControls surface detail; too high can worsen stutter
Shadow QualityMedium or HighMedium to highLower settings soften character and foliage shadows
Ambient OcclusionSSAO or MediumMediumPreserves depth around rocks, walls, and character contact
ReflectionsMediumMedium to highWater and glossy surfaces lose clarity on Low
Volumetric EffectsMediumMediumLower values reduce fog and light-ray richness
Model QualityHighLow to mediumChanges geometry detail at distance
Motion BlurPersonal preference; Off for clarityNegligibleOff makes camera movement sharper, not faster
UpscalingDLSS Quality or FSR 2 QualityHigh performance gainQuality modes retain detail; avoid overly aggressive sharpening

For a GTX 1060 or RX 570, start with 1080p Medium, cap the game at 30 fps, and use an SSD. A 30 fps lock is far better than swinging between 35 and 55 fps during cinematic movement. On a GTX 1660 Super or RTX 2060, try High settings with textures matched to your VRAM, then reduce shadows and volumetrics before touching model quality.

DLSS is the cleanest option on RTX cards, especially at 1440p. DLSS Quality usually preserves the fine detail in foliage and masonry better than dropping the internal resolution manually. FSR 2 is useful on Radeon and older Nvidia hardware, though its reconstruction can shimmer around thin branches and wires. If the image looks soft, lower sharpening rather than immediately jumping to a heavier preset.

Don't confuse shader compilation stutter with a permanently weak GPU. The first pass through a new area can be rough while caches build. Let the game sit at the main menu after a driver update, avoid running browsers and overlays in the background, and install current GPU drivers. For broader low-FPS troubleshooting, our guides covering crashes and low FPS and performance-focused settings cover the same Windows-side problems that can affect this collection.

Can your specific PC deliver a good experience?

Nathan Drake sneaking through an urban market in Uncharted 4 A Thief's End on PC
Indoor and urban scenes expose CPU limitations more clearly than the wide-open vistas.

If your system has 8GB of RAM, a quad-core processor from the Haswell era, and a 4GB graphics card, it technically qualifies but sits on the uncomfortable edge of the specification sheet. You can play, especially at 720p or 900p, but expect streaming hitches and a 30 fps target rather than a smooth high-refresh experience. Upgrading to 16GB in dual channel can help frame-time consistency, although it won't turn a GTX 960 into a modern 1080p card.

A GTX 1060 6GB, RX 580 8GB, or GTX 1650 Super paired with a Ryzen 5 2600 or Core i5-8400 is a sensible entry point. Use Medium settings, keep textures within the card's VRAM limit, and accept that some busy scenes may land in the 40s. The collection remains perfectly enjoyable here because its pacing is cinematic, but a 60 Hz cap is more realistic than chasing 60 fps at all times.

For 1080p 60 fps, the sweet spot starts around a GTX 1660 Super or RX 5600 XT with a Ryzen 5 3600, Core i5-10400, or newer processor. That combination gives enough headroom to run High settings while keeping traversal dips under control. An RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT makes 1440p much more practical, particularly when DLSS or FSR 2 is set to Quality.

Your hardware situationBest targetSuggested profileVerdict
Integrated graphics or GTX 750 Ti-class GPU720p Low onlyNot supported comfortablyUpgrade before buying
GTX 960 / R9 290X with 8GB RAM720p 30 fpsLow, reduced resolutionTechnically playable
GTX 1060 6GB / RX 580 with 16GB RAM1080p 30-45 fpsMedium, SSD requiredGood budget experience
GTX 1660 Super / RX 5600 XT1080p 60 fpsHigh, selective reductionsRecommended mainstream tier
RTX 3060 / RX 6700 XT1440p 60 fpsHigh or Very High with upscalingExcellent target

Steam Deck owners should keep expectations grounded. The collection is demanding for the handheld's 15-watt APU, and a locked 30 fps profile is the realistic goal. Set the display to 1280x720 or use an appropriate upscaling mode, keep textures and shadows low, cap the frame rate, and expect dips in foliage-heavy chapters. It can be played, but this isn't one of the Deck's effortless 60 fps showcases.

Also check your CPU, not just your graphics card. An older four-core chip can cause hitching during rapid traversal even when the GPU has room left. A modern six-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, and an SSD form the real baseline for consistency. If you regularly tune demanding PC ports, our PC specification breakdown offers a useful comparison for how official requirements can differ from comfortable performance.

The final verdict on Uncharted PC performance

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is not impossibly demanding, but its official minimum specification is easy to misread. A GTX 960 or R9 290X can run it, yet that means 720p Low at roughly 30 fps—not a polished 1080p adventure. The genuine sweet spot is a GTX 1660 Super, RX 5600 XT, or equivalent with 16GB RAM, a modern six-core CPU, and an SSD.

With that hardware, use High settings at 1080p and tune shadows, reflections, and volumetrics first. For 1440p, an RTX 3060, RX 6700 XT, or faster card gives you the headroom to keep image quality high while using DLSS or FSR 2 Quality when needed. Native 4K at 60 fps is a premium-GPU job, not something the recommended GTX 1060 tier was designed to deliver.

So, can your PC run Uncharted Legacy of Thieves? If it meets the minimum, yes—but check your expectations. If it has 16GB of RAM, an SSD, and a GPU around the GTX 1660 Super level, you're in the zone where Naughty Dog's set pieces finally look as spectacular on PC as they deserve to be. For official patch notes and support information, check PlayStation's Legacy of Thieves page and the Nixxes support hub.