Publisher 2K Games has released Nvidia’s recommendations for Borderlands 4. But this only shows the current state of the shooter. An RTX 5080 that barely achieves 60 FPS in WQHD is a slap in the face for many players.
Publisher 2K Games has released extensive charts with setting recommendations for Borderlands 4. You can view them directly on Steam. These are solely recommendations for Nvidia graphics cards.
However, these recommendations seem to many players, after the poor launch of Borderlands 4, like a complete joke. Because no one buys an RTX 5080 just to play in Full HD or WQHD.
What are the recommendations? Usually, one would expect that with an RTX 5080 for 1,000 Euros, you could play a modern shooter in WQHD resolution at 120 FPS or in 4K at 60 FPS. However, the recommendations for Borderlands 4 from 2K Games look somewhat different:
- If you want to play Borderlands 4 in high quality on an RTX 5080, the developers recommend a maximum resolution of WQHD, with DLSS enabled and Frame Generation at the highest level. You should then be able to achieve 60 FPS.
- If you want to play Borderlands 4 in 4K with an RTX 5080, you will have to drastically reduce the graphics details to still achieve 60 FPS. With DLSS enabled and Frame Generation at the highest level.
And this is exactly what many players are currently upset about. Because the developers’ ideas and the players’ needs are far apart.
High-End Hardware for WQHD Resolution is Mandatory According to Developers
Why are so many players so angry? The recommendations from Nvidia and 2K Games mostly apply to mid-range and high-end graphics cards, and correspondingly high are the prices: For an RTX 5080, you currently have to spend at least 1,000 Euros or more (via Geizhals.de). The RTX 5080 is not a budget GPU that you buy as an impulse purchase for 300 Euros to slot into your PC.
And this is the issue that so many players are upset about: After all, you don’t buy a graphics card for more than 1,000 Euros just to play a shooter at a maximum of WQHD and 60 FPS. Especially when you need to activate DLSS and Frame Generation just to achieve 60 FPS.
No one, players complain, buys a high-end GPU just to be presented with such poor quality. As one player notes, and this probably resonates with many:
There is no guide that can fix this problem; the developers really need to work on the game. No one on PC wants to play at ~60 fps. You didn’t buy a 3080 or 4080 to play games at 60 FPS and 1440p [WQHD].
These recommendations also show how poorly optimized the game must be if such a powerful graphics card as the RTX 5080 is brought to its knees. And the problems don’t end there. This is also illustrated by another player who explains:
Even with a 9800X3D and a 5090 (@4K), it runs absolutely poorly. I mean, I can play the game, but the power consumption is ridiculously high.
And just to put this into context: The AMD Ryzen 7 9800x3D and GeForce RTX 5090 are currently the fastest products in the PC space that you can install in a gaming PC. This is hardware you buy when you intend to play in 4K resolution. Not to play in Full HD or WQHD while cranking DLSS and Frame Generation to maximum.
DLSS was long considered a wonder technology for games to increase FPS for free. However, many players now speculate that DLSS is only used to mask poor framerates and a lack of optimization.
Borderlands 4 is here and can recently be played by players on Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series – or at least in theory. The community is upset about the current performance of the game, but takes it with a smile: Borderlands 4 Launches with Poor Performance on Steam, Players Find it Funny Anyway Because the Boss Couldn’t Keep His Mouth Shut
