PCGameBenchmarks
Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2

90/100
3,371 ratings2004Easy to run

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Estimated FPS across quality settings and resolutions

Search for your GPU above to see a full FPS breakdown at every quality and resolution.

Half-Life 2 FPS by GPU

Estimated framerates for 14 reference GPUs · pick a resolution and quality

Full benchmark grid · 14 GPUs × 4 qualities × 3 resolutions

1080p performance

Half-Life 2 estimated FPS at 1080p across 14 GPUs and 4 quality presets
GPUlowmediumhighultra
RTX 5090999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4090999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RX 7900 XTX999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 5080999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4080 Super999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4070 Ti999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4070999 fps999 fps999 fps900 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps999 fps976 fps793 fps
RTX 3080999 fps999 fps949 fps771 fps
RTX 4060 Ti999 fps999 fps897 fps729 fps
RTX 3070999 fps999 fps818 fps664 fps
RTX 4060999 fps923 fps738 fps600 fps
RTX 3060989 fps791 fps633 fps514 fps
GTX 1660 Super717 fps574 fps459 fps373 fps

1440p performance

Half-Life 2 estimated FPS at 1440p across 14 GPUs and 4 quality presets
GPUlowmediumhighultra
RTX 5090999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4090999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RX 7900 XTX999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 5080999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4080 Super999 fps999 fps999 fps996 fps
RTX 4070 Ti999 fps999 fps969 fps788 fps
RTX 4070999 fps999 fps831 fps675 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps915 fps732 fps595 fps
RTX 3080999 fps890 fps712 fps579 fps
RTX 4060 Ti999 fps841 fps673 fps546 fps
RTX 3070958 fps766 fps613 fps498 fps
RTX 4060865 fps692 fps554 fps450 fps
RTX 3060742 fps593 fps475 fps386 fps
GTX 1660 Super538 fps430 fps344 fps280 fps

4K performance

Half-Life 2 estimated FPS at 4K across 14 GPUs and 4 quality presets
GPUlowmediumhighultra
RTX 5090999 fps999 fps886 fps720 fps
RTX 4090999 fps999 fps823 fps669 fps
RX 7900 XTX999 fps923 fps738 fps600 fps
RTX 5080999 fps870 fps696 fps566 fps
RTX 4080 Super999 fps818 fps654 fps531 fps
RTX 4070 Ti808 fps646 fps517 fps420 fps
RTX 4070692 fps554 fps443 fps360 fps
RX 7800 XT610 fps488 fps390 fps317 fps
RTX 3080593 fps475 fps380 fps309 fps
RTX 4060 Ti560 fps448 fps359 fps291 fps
RTX 3070511 fps409 fps327 fps266 fps
RTX 4060462 fps369 fps295 fps240 fps
RTX 3060396 fps316 fps253 fps206 fps
GTX 1660 Super287 fps229 fps184 fps149 fps

Minimum Hardware

Graphics Card
Minimum required

Nvidia GeForce FX 5700

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Processor
Minimum required

1.7 GHz

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Memory
Minimum required

1 GB

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Genres

About

Half-Life 2, released in 2004, is an action-packed first-person shooter that revolutionized the genre with its seamless blend of intense combat and immersive storytelling. The game puts you in a dystopian world where your actions directly impact the environment and characters around you, creating a responsive and engaging experience. Its combination of physics-based puzzles, varied weapons, and memorable encounters established it as a landmark title in PC gaming.

Running Half-Life 2 is remarkably accessible by modern standards, making it an excellent benchmark for older or budget GPU hardware. Even integrated graphics can deliver solid 60+ FPS at 1080p with high settings, while dedicated GPUs from the GTX 1050 tier and above will max out the game effortlessly. The game's scalable performance makes it ideal for testing how different graphics settings affect FPS across entry-level and mid-range systems.

With a 90/100 rating, Half-Life 2 remains a must-play for action game fans and anyone interested in gaming history. Its timeless design and tight gameplay ensure it holds up remarkably well today, making it worth experiencing whether you're benchmarking hardware or simply revisiting a classic.

Performance profile

Released in November 2004, Half-Life 2 comes from the DirectX 9 era. Even the cheapest modern discrete GPU crushes it at maxed-out settings; the only real bottleneck today is CPU single-thread speed on older titles that were never multi-threaded.

Action titles like Half-Life 2 reward high framerates for visual clarity during combat. A mid-range modern GPU at 1440p 60–120 FPS is the practical sweet spot; VRR (G-Sync/FreeSync) smooths out drops during heavy effects.

Extremely light — Half-Life 2 runs at 60 FPS 1080p on any integrated GPU (Intel Iris Xe, AMD Radeon Graphics) or a decade-old discrete card like the GTX 1050. A current-gen RTX 4060 pushes 4K Ultra without effort.

Storyline

Gordon Freeman is brought out of stasis by the G-Man, who inserts him into a train arriving at City 17. After arriving at the station and eluding Combine forces, Gordon joins Lambda resistance members including Barney Calhoun, a former Black Mesa security guard now working undercover as a Combine CP officer, and Alyx Vance, the daughter of one of Gordon's former colleagues, Dr. Eli Vance. After a failed attempt to teleport Gordon to Black Mesa East from Dr. Kleiner's makeshift laboratory, Gordon, re-equipped with the HEV suit and a crowbar, is forced to embark on foot through the city's old canal system. After obtaining an airboat, he battles his way to Black Mesa East, several miles from the city. Gordon is reintroduced to Eli and meets Dr. Judith Mossman. Alyx introduces Gordon to her large pet robot D0g and gives him a "Gravity Gun", a weapon which allows Gordon to pick up and move any large object with ease. Black Mesa East soon comes under Combine attack and Eli and Mossman are captured to be taken to a Combine prison, Nova Prospekt. Gordon and Alyx are forced to take separate paths to Nova Prospekt; Gordon takes a detour through the town of Ravenholm, receiving help from its last survivor, Father Grigori. After making his way through the town and a mine, Gordon makes his way to a Resistance outpost. Gordon is provided with a Dune Buggy, which he uses to travel along a crumbling coastal road to Nova Prospekt. Along the way, Gordon encounters frequent Combine patrols, and helps one of the resistance leaders, Colonel Odessa Cubbage, to defend a Resistance base from a Combine gunship. After crossing an antlion-infested beach, Gordon enters Nova Prospekt, where he is reunited with Alyx. They manage to locate Eli, but also discover that Mossman is a Combine informant. Before they can stop her, she teleports herself and Eli back to City 17's Citadel. The Combine teleporter explodes as Gordon and Alyx use it to escape Nova Prospekt. Upon reaching Kleiner's lab, a shaken Dr. Kleiner reveals to Gordon and Alyx that they were caught in a "slow teleport", during which a week had passed. In their absence, the Resistance, who heard about what had happened at Nova Prospekt, has mobilized against the Combine, turning City 17 into a battleground. During the fighting, Alyx is captured by the Combine and taken to the Citadel, and Gordon fights through the city with the aid of D0g and Barney to reach it. Inside the Citadel, he is caught in a Combine confiscation chamber that destroys all of his weapons except for the Gravity Gun, the energy enhancing its capabilities and allowing Gordon to escape and dispatch platoons of Combine soldiers. Eventually, Gordon is captured riding in a Combine transport pod and is taken to Dr. Breen's office, where he and Dr. Mossman are waiting with Eli and Alyx in captivity. Dr. Breen begins to explain his plans for further conquest of the humans by the Combine, contrary to what he had told Dr. Mossman. Angered, Mossman frees Gordon, Alyx, and Eli before Breen teleports them off-world. Dr. Breen tries to escape through a portal, but Gordon pursues him and destroys the portal reactor with the super-charged Gravity Gun. Breen appears to be annihilated in the resulting explosion. Just before Gordon and Alyx are presumably met with a similar fate, time is frozen. The G-Man reappears, praising Gordon for his actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Making vague mention of "offers for [Gordon's] services", the G-Man places him back into stasis.

Screenshots

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