PCGameBenchmarks
Painkiller: Black Edition

Painkiller: Black Edition

70/100
17 ratings2004Easy to run

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Estimated FPS across quality settings and resolutions

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Painkiller: Black Edition 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

Painkiller: Black Edition 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 fps890 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps999 fps965 fps784 fps
RTX 3080999 fps999 fps939 fps763 fps
RTX 4060 Ti999 fps999 fps887 fps721 fps
RTX 3070999 fps999 fps809 fps657 fps
RTX 4060999 fps913 fps730 fps593 fps
RTX 3060978 fps783 fps626 fps509 fps
GTX 1660 Super709 fps567 fps454 fps369 fps

1440p performance

Painkiller: Black Edition 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 fps986 fps
RTX 4070 Ti999 fps999 fps959 fps779 fps
RTX 4070999 fps999 fps822 fps668 fps
RX 7800 XT999 fps905 fps724 fps588 fps
RTX 3080999 fps880 fps704 fps572 fps
RTX 4060 Ti999 fps832 fps665 fps540 fps
RTX 3070948 fps758 fps607 fps493 fps
RTX 4060856 fps685 fps548 fps445 fps
RTX 3060734 fps587 fps470 fps382 fps
GTX 1660 Super532 fps426 fps340 fps277 fps

4K performance

Painkiller: Black Edition estimated FPS at 4K across 14 GPUs and 4 quality presets
GPUlowmediumhighultra
RTX 5090999 fps999 fps877 fps712 fps
RTX 4090999 fps999 fps814 fps661 fps
RX 7900 XTX999 fps913 fps730 fps593 fps
RTX 5080999 fps861 fps689 fps560 fps
RTX 4080 Super999 fps809 fps647 fps526 fps
RTX 4070 Ti799 fps639 fps511 fps415 fps
RTX 4070685 fps548 fps438 fps356 fps
RX 7800 XT603 fps483 fps386 fps314 fps
RTX 3080587 fps470 fps376 fps305 fps
RTX 4060 Ti554 fps443 fps355 fps288 fps
RTX 3070505 fps404 fps323 fps263 fps
RTX 4060457 fps365 fps292 fps237 fps
RTX 3060391 fps313 fps250 fps203 fps
GTX 1660 Super284 fps227 fps182 fps148 fps

Minimum Hardware

Graphics Card
Minimum required

DirextX 9.0 64MB Video Card

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Processor
Minimum required

1GHz

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Memory
Minimum required

1 GB

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Genres

About

Painkiller: Black Edition, released in 2004, is an action-packed first-person shooter that has garnered a cult following for its fast-paced gameplay and intense combat mechanics. The game is notable for its unique weaponry and enemy designs, which provide players with a thrilling experience as they battle through hordes of supernatural foes. The inclusion of the expansion pack, Battle Out of Hell, adds depth with ten additional single-player levels and new villains, further enhancing the game's replayability.

In terms of PC performance, Painkiller: Black Edition is relatively accessible and does not demand high-end hardware to run effectively. With its minimum GPU requirement of an entry-level graphics card (around a score of 50), players can expect decent FPS even on lower settings. However, for optimal performance and higher graphics settings, a mid-range GPU is recommended, allowing for a smoother gaming experience without sacrificing visual quality.

Should you play Painkiller: Black Edition? With a rating of 70/100, it offers a solid experience for fans of the action genre, especially those who enjoy classic FPS titles. If you're looking for a game that combines straightforward mechanics with challenging gameplay, this title is well worth your time.

Performance profile

Released in April 2004, Painkiller: Black Edition 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 Painkiller: Black Edition 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 — Painkiller: Black Edition 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 revolves around a young man named Daniel Garner, who is happily married to his wife Catherine. At the start of the game, Daniel is about to take Catherine out for a birthday meal. As they drive towards their destination at high speed, in the pouring rain, Daniel takes his eyes off the road to look at his wife and While his attention is diverted, he ploughs their car into a truck. Both of them are killed instantly in the crash. While Catherine manages to make it to Heaven and lives in harmony, Daniel is trapped in Purgatory. One day meeting an accomplice called Samael, he is told that in order to receive purification, he has to kill four of Lucifer's generals in order to prevent a war between Heaven and Hell. Lucifer has been secretly organizing a massive army that could overwhelm Heaven, taking over Purgatory in the process. Small portions of the army are already beginning the march. With little choice available to him, Daniel accepts the task. With the forces of Hell seizing and corrupting various parts of Purgatory, Daniel goes through different and random phases of history within Purgatory, which range greatly from ancient times to the modern era. These include Medieval Europe, Babylon, the Crusades, 1800s and even a time slice of modern industry.

Screenshots

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