Karateka
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Estimated FPS across quality settings and resolutions
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Karateka 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
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 951 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 815 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 999 fps | 909 fps | 728 fps | 591 fps |
1440p performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 943 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 917 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 866 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 972 fps | 790 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 878 fps | 713 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 999 fps | 941 fps | 753 fps | 611 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 853 fps | 682 fps | 546 fps | 443 fps |
4K performance
| GPU | low | medium | high | ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RTX 4090 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps |
| RX 7900 XTX | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 951 fps |
| RTX 5080 | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 897 fps |
| RTX 4080 Super | 999 fps | 999 fps | 999 fps | 843 fps |
| RTX 4070 Ti | 999 fps | 999 fps | 820 fps | 666 fps |
| RTX 4070 | 999 fps | 878 fps | 702 fps | 571 fps |
| RX 7800 XT | 967 fps | 774 fps | 619 fps | 503 fps |
| RTX 3080 | 941 fps | 753 fps | 602 fps | 489 fps |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 889 fps | 711 fps | 569 fps | 462 fps |
| RTX 3070 | 810 fps | 648 fps | 518 fps | 421 fps |
| RTX 4060 | 732 fps | 585 fps | 468 fps | 380 fps |
| RTX 3060 | 627 fps | 502 fps | 401 fps | 326 fps |
| GTX 1660 Super | 455 fps | 364 fps | 291 fps | 236 fps |
Where to buy
Karateka
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$3.99
Minimum Hardware
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Genres
About
Karateka is a landmark 1984 beat'em up created by Jordan Mechner during his time at Yale University. This action-strategy game originally launched on Apple II before spreading to numerous home computers and early consoles, becoming a foundational title in the fighting game genre. The game challenges players to fight through levels of increasingly difficult opponents in a classic martial arts narrative.
Running Karateka is trivial by modern standards, requiring only 1 GB of RAM and posing virtually no GPU demands whatsoever. You'll achieve smooth 60+ FPS on integrated graphics from any processor made in the last decade, making performance benchmarks nearly irrelevant. This classic runs so efficiently that hardware limitations are never a concern, allowing focus entirely on gameplay rather than graphics settings or frame rate optimization.
With a respectable 68/100 rating, Karateka offers historical significance and straightforward action-strategy gameplay that remains engaging for retro enthusiasts. However, modern players expecting polished mechanics or complex storytelling may find the 1984 design dated, so it's best approached as a piece of gaming history rather than contemporary entertainment.
Performance profile
Released in December 1984, Karateka predates modern GPU acceleration as we know it today. It runs effortlessly on virtually any current hardware, including integrated graphics and entry-level laptops — framerate is limited by the engine, not the GPU.
As a strategy title, Karateka is typically CPU-bound rather than GPU-bound — single-thread CPU performance dictates framerate during large-scale battles, end-game saves and late-game AI turns. A fast modern 6-core will help more than a GPU upgrade.
Extremely light — Karateka 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.
