It's another year and another FIFA game is out now, EA previously said that this year's FIFA 21 won't be the next-gen version of the title, but how does it perform? Are we looking at the same performance as last year and the years before that? Can low-end PC hardware run it? We take a look at the PC performance benchmarks for FIFA 21...

First of all, in this PC performance benchmark article for FIFA 21, we benchmark a range of graphics cards going from the higher-end RTX 2080, the mid-range GTX 1060, as well as the lower-end R9 380 which is also the closest to the recommended GPU for 60fps High graphics settings in FIFA 21. Then we go through the FPS test results of each graphics card running at 1080p, 1440p and 4K screen resolutions. From there we can see the performance of the recommended system requirement graphics cards and consider how well optimized FIFA 21 really is.

Unfortunately FIFA 21 does not include an official benchmarking tool in-game, so for the results recorded below we started a new quick play match and kicked the ball around for a bit, making sure not to try and score a goal as this will start a cinematic and affect our overall performance results. All in all, we felt this was pretty representative of your typical experience in FIFA 21.

Speaking of those in-game cinematics, the reason we didn't want to start any of them is that FIFA 21's cutscenes are all locked to 30fps, and performance can drop considerably depending on the background of the scene (down to 20fps in some cases). We also kept the camera angle at the default setting as most players will most likely keep this option as is.

FIFA 21 also seems to have a frame rate limit at around 250fps, as even the RTX 2080 struggled to push past the 260fps average  mark.

With that in mind, let's jump into the performance benchmarks for FIFA 21...

FIFA 21 PC Graphics Settings

Check your PC can run FIFA 21 system requirements

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FIFA 21 minimum system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 or AMD Phenom II X4 965
• RAM: 8GB
• GPU RAM: 2GB
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7850
• HDD: 50GB

FIFA 21 recommended system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 or AMD FX-8150
• RAM: 8GB
• GPU RAM: 2GB
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 or AMD Radeon R9 270X
• HDD: 50GB

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FIFA 21 RTX 2080 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 | Intel i9-9900K | 16GB

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 in FIFA 21 @ 1080p

The FPS performance for the RTX 2080 at 1080p resolution in FIFA 21 is unsurprisingly really good, during a typical match the FPS failed to go below 220fps on average, which makes it perfect for high refresh rate monitors if you have one.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 in FIFA 21 @ 1440p

At 1440p, the FPS performance for the RTX 2080 in FIFA 21 is still really good, and still fails to drop below 220fps on average even at the highest graphics settings. the 0.1% low frame rate does show that there was the occasional stutter, but overall the experience was good and comfortable.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 in FIFA 21 @ 4K

Finally at 4K resolution, the RTX 2080's FPS performance in FIFA 21 is still really great, reaching 190fps on average. There is, however, some stuttering going on at the highest graphics settings but did not affect gameplay. But if you want the best performance and minimized stuttering you may want to stay on High graphics settings at 4K resolution.

Overall, the RTX 2080 is perfectly suited for 1080p, 1440p, and even 4K gaming in FIFA 21 and rarely drops below 200fps. At 4K resolution however, it's probably best to stick to High graphics settings if you're worried about stuttering affecting your gameplay, but Ultra settings still provide a comfortable and enjoyable experience.

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FIFA 21 GTX 1060 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on Nvidia MSI GeForce GTX 1060 | Intel i7-5820K | 16GB

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 in FIFA 21 @ 1080p

The FPS performance at 1080p for the GTX 1060 in FIFA 21 is pretty good, reaching above 180fps even at Ultra graphics settings. Performance was pretty stable and perfect for high refresh rate monitors.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 in FIFA 21 @ 1440p

At 1440p, the FPS performance in FIFA 21 with the GTX 1060 is also pretty good, achieving more than 150fps even at Ultra graphics settings. Though if you have a high refresh monitor and would prefer to use that for FIFA 21, Medium settings at 1440p resolution would be your safest option.

Average FPS for Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 in FIFA 21 @ 4K

The FPS performance at 4K resolution for the GTX 1060 is once again pretty good, reaching above 90fps at Ultra settings and rarely dropping below 70fps at any one time. Though at 4K the performance is not suitable enough for a high refresh rate monitor unfortunately.

In the end, the GTX 1060 is perfectly suitable for playing FIFA 21 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions. Most notably there was next to no stuttering at all going on with the GTX 1060, which resulted in a much smoother and comfortable experience at whatever resolution and graphics settings.

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FIFA 21 R9 380 benchmarks and frames per second analysis performed on AMD MSI Radeon R9 380 | Intel i7-5820K | 16GB

Average FPS for AMD Radeon R9 380 in FIFA 21 @ 1080p

The FPS performance for the R9 380 in FIFA 21 at 1080p resolution is surprisingly really good, and more surprisingly performs better than the GTX 1060 listed above at Low-High graphics settings, but performs worse (as expected) at Ultra settings. Nevertheless the R9 380 performs really well at 1080p and rarely drops below 100fps, though there is some stuttering going on at Low and Medium graphics settings.

Average FPS for AMD Radeon R9 380 in FIFA 21 @ 1440p

At 1440p, the R9 380's FPS performance in FIFA 21 is still really good, though there is more stuttering going on here. Whilst that didn't affect the enjoyability of the experience all that much, sticking to High graphics settings is recommended for the most comfortable gameplay.

Average FPS for AMD Radeon R9 380 in FIFA 21 @ 4K

At 4K the FPS performance for the R9 380 in FIFA 21 is still really good, barely dropping below 78fps even at Ultra settings. Overall the R9 380 performs really well across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions, though there is the occasional stuttering but this did not affect enjoyment or comfort whilst playing, unless you prefer to use a high refresh rate monitor.

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Conclusion

Overall, FIFA 21's performance is pretty good across the board, with lower-end hardware like the R9 380 even able to achieve a decent FPS even at 4K resolution on the max graphics settings.

Strangely, the R9 380 actually performs better than the GTX 1060 at 1080p resolution on graphics settings Low-High. We assume this has something to do with better optimization for AMD cards or better drivers from AMD, however we invite you to discuss what you think might be going on there.

Chances are, if you're using some low-end hardware you'll be more than able to play FIFA 21 at a decent performance, even possibly at resolutions higher than 1080p. Meaning FIFA 21 is a pretty accessible experience for all types of hardware setups.