Best $1200 PC Build for The Last of Us Part II (2026)
The best $1200 build for The Last of Us Part II pairs the RX 7800 XT with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X — 98 FPS average in The Last of Us Part II at 1440p, across 8 parts, for an approximate build cost of $1,047 as of October 2026.
Open this build in the System Builder
Load 6 of these parts into the System Builder to check compatibility and re-total the list — the $1,047 above is an approximation against the $1200 target. Swap anything you already own.
$1200 The Last of Us Part II build at a glance
| Budget target | $1200 |
|---|---|
| Approximate build cost (October 2026) | $1,047 |
| Under budget by | $153 |
| Graphics card | RX 7800 XT |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X |
| Target resolution | 1440p |
| Average FPS in The Last of Us Part II (1440p) | 98 FPS |
| Parts in this build | 8 |
Approximate figures as of October 2026 — not live prices.
Recommended Parts List
| Component | Part | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics Card | RX 7800 XT | $540 | View at Amazon |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | $142 | View at Amazon |
| Motherboard | Asus PRIME B760M-A WIFI II-CSM | $77 | View at Newegg |
| Memory | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | ~$90 (estimated) | — |
| Storage | 1 TB NVMe SSD | ~$75 (estimated) | — |
| Power Supply | Montech GAMMA II 750W | $51 | View at Newegg |
| Case | V200 Micro ATX/ITX Computer Case,Multifunctional Pc Case, Spcc Side Panel Business case, Support 250mm VGA Card 140mm CPU Cooler (White) | $50 | View at Newegg |
| CPU Cooler | Valkyrie Surge SL125 CPU Air Cooler- Black (VK-SUR125B) | $22 | View at Newegg |
| Total build cost (approx., October 2026) | $1,047 | ||
6 of 8 priced from our catalog, rest estimated. Check the retailer before you buy.
Build this parts list in one click
Every matched part above drops into the System Builder: compatibility checks, a per-part price total, and a one-click buy list for your The Last of Us Part II build.
Expected FPS in The Last of Us Part II by Resolution
Every cell is a measured average — the RX 7800 XT row is this build's card.
| Graphics card | 1080p avg FPS | 1440p avg FPS | 4K avg FPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| RX 7800 XTthis build | 126 FPS | 98 FPS | 56 FPS |
| RTX 5090 | 234 FPS | 195 FPS | 124 FPS |
| RTX 4090 | 180 FPS | 150 FPS | 95 FPS |
| RTX 5080 | 166 FPS | 138 FPS | 87 FPS |
| RX 7900 XTX | 158 FPS | 132 FPS | 84 FPS |
| RTX 5070 TI | 155 FPS | 129 FPS | 82 FPS |
Averages from PlanMyPC benchmark runs and community-submitted results for The Last of Us Part II. A dash means we have no measurement for that card at that resolution — we never estimate a frame rate we have not measured.
Why This Build for The Last of Us Part II
The Last of Us Part II runs at 98 FPS on High at 1440p here, 38 past its 60 Hz mark. At $1200 that margin is the point: the RX 7800 XT holds 60 Hz through the scenes that would otherwise send you into Texture Quality.
One rung above the RX 7800 XT, our The Last of Us Part II data has the RTX 5070 TI at 129 FPS — 31 frames, near 32%, measured at 1440p in this game rather than averaged over a suite. Pricing on that SKU moves enough to make it a week-by-week call. $1200 caps graphics at $550 and funds the platform The Last of Us Part II runs on with the remainder.
Naughty Dog's material and character work carries a memory cost that surfaces as VRAM pressure before it ever surfaces as a low average: textures, dense interiors and volumetric lighting fill an 8 GB card at 1440p, and once it is full the symptom is hitching rather than a lower number. Encounters are small and scripted, so the CPU stays quiet throughout. The Last of Us Part II is GPU-bound, which is why $1200 spends its $550 graphics allocation to the edge on the RX 7800 XT and leaves the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X alone. Moving money the other way costs frames.
The RX 7800 XT across every The Last of Us Part II resolution we hold data for — 1080p: 126 FPS, on Ultra, asking about 8 GB; 1440p: 98 FPS, on High, asking about 10 GB; 4K: 56 FPS, on High, asking about 13 GB. $1200 is quoted at 1440p — the rest of that ladder is what The Last of Us Part II does to the same card at a bigger target, before Texture Quality gives.
On memory, The Last of Us Part II asks for about 10 GB on High at 1440p, against 16 GB on the RX 7800 XT — 6 GB spare, enough that The Last of Us Part II textures are not a decision a $1200 buyer has to make.
The Last of Us Part II ships DLSS, FSR and XeSS. The native 98 already beats 60 Hz, so DLSS is headroom for heavy scenes in The Last of Us Part II, not a default.
The Last of Us Part II Settings for This $1200 Build
That 98 FPS comes from the RX 7800 XT in The Last of Us Part II on High at 1440p, the resolution $1200 is built around. To pass it — a 60 Hz lock, or margin in the worst scenes — work down from Texture Quality, which is ranked by what The Last of Us Part II charges for each option.
- Texture Quality
- Reflections
- Shadows
- Volumetric Effects
- Level of Detail