PCGameBenchmarks
Original War

Original War

90/100
13 ratings2001Easy to run

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Estimated FPS across quality settings and resolutions

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Original War 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

Original War 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 fps999 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 3080999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4060 Ti999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 3070999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4060999 fps999 fps999 fps989 fps
RTX 3060999 fps999 fps999 fps848 fps
GTX 1660 Super999 fps946 fps757 fps615 fps

1440p performance

Original War 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 fps999 fps
RTX 4070 Ti999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RTX 4070999 fps999 fps999 fps999 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps999 fps999 fps980 fps
RTX 3080999 fps999 fps999 fps954 fps
RTX 4060 Ti999 fps999 fps999 fps901 fps
RTX 3070999 fps999 fps999 fps821 fps
RTX 4060999 fps999 fps913 fps742 fps
RTX 3060999 fps978 fps783 fps636 fps
GTX 1660 Super887 fps709 fps567 fps461 fps

4K performance

Original War estimated FPS at 4K 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 fps989 fps
RTX 5080999 fps999 fps999 fps933 fps
RTX 4080 Super999 fps999 fps999 fps876 fps
RTX 4070 Ti999 fps999 fps852 fps692 fps
RTX 4070999 fps913 fps730 fps593 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps804 fps643 fps523 fps
RTX 3080978 fps783 fps626 fps509 fps
RTX 4060 Ti924 fps739 fps591 fps480 fps
RTX 3070842 fps674 fps539 fps438 fps
RTX 4060761 fps609 fps487 fps396 fps
RTX 3060652 fps522 fps417 fps339 fps
GTX 1660 Super473 fps378 fps303 fps246 fps

Minimum Hardware

Graphics Card
Minimum required

OpenGL 2.1 compatible with alteast 64 MB of VRAM

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Processor
Minimum required

Intel Pentium® III - 900MHz

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Memory
Minimum required

1 GB

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Genres

About

Original War is a 2001 indie strategy game that combines real-time tactical combat with resource management and base building. Set during a UN expedition in Siberia that uncovers an alien mineral, the game challenges players to balance exploration, technology research, and military strategy. It's a cult classic that stands out for its engaging campaign and unique blend of genres that influenced many modern strategy titles.

Since Original War launched over two decades ago, it runs exceptionally well on modern hardware and won't stress your GPU at all. Even budget graphics cards or integrated graphics can easily maintain high FPS at maximum settings, making it an accessible title regardless of your PC's performance tier. For benchmark purposes, you'll see consistently smooth performance across any recent GPU—this is more about enjoying the gameplay than pushing your system's limits.

With a strong 90/100 rating and engaging strategic gameplay, Original War is absolutely worth playing if you enjoy indie strategy games or classic real-time tactics. The engaging campaign and accessible performance make it easy to jump into one of the genre's defining titles.

Performance profile

Released in June 2001, Original War 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.

As a strategy title, Original War 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 — Original War 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

The game's story revolves around an extraterrestrial mineral, Siberite, that can catalyze cold fusion and serve as fuel for an alien artifact. Siberite and the artifact - named EON - are discovered by a U.S. expedition to Russia during World War I. EON is revealed to be a time machine capable of sending objects into the past, but by the time of the discovery, Siberite stocks are exhausted and research stops. Then in the new millennium vast deposits of the mineral are found in Siberia, and Americans are able to extract enough of it for small-scale time-travel. The U.S. comes up with a plan to send a small force two million years back in time. There it will mine the Siberite and transport it over the Bering Land Bridge to Alaska, into what will one day be in American hands. The best troops are selected, briefed, and told that it is a one-way trip back through time. This results in a new time line with the mineral located in Alaska and the U.S. being the only undisputed superpower thanks to the inexhaustible source of energy. Here the time machine wasn't found by the U.S. but the Russians instead. The USSR fumes under American supremacy. Frustration turns to outrage when Soviet scientists find traces of American settlement and Alaskite, the source of U.S. power, in remote Siberia. A Soviet expedition is sent through the EON, here called TAWAR, to repel the American thieves and preserve what is rightfully theirs.

Screenshots

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