On a NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-8600K-class CPU), Cities: Skylines II runs at roughly 29 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 12FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.
The NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) is a entry-level graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, and Cities: Skylines II is a demanding, graphically heavy game. Paired with the Intel Core i5-8600K, it is a real challenge at 1080p — about 29 FPSwith FrameCoach's optimized settings, a clear jump from roughly 12 FPS with everything on High.
Across resolutions you can expect around 29 FPS at 1080p and 17 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 10 FPS at 4K. The biggest free win is FSR upscaling — set it to Quality for a large FPS boost at little visual cost.
| Resolution | All-High FPS | Optimized FPS |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 12 | 29 |
| 1440p | 7 | 17 |
| 4K | 4 | 10 |
⚡ Fine-tune this for your exact CPU & target FPS →
With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) averages around 29 FPS at 1080p in Cities: Skylines II — up from about 12 FPS with everything on High.
At 1440p with optimized settings, the NVIDIA GTX 960M (laptop, 4GB) averages roughly 17 FPS in Cities: Skylines II; turn on upscaling or aim for a locked 60 for the best feel.
Turn on FSR (Balanced), keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Global Illumination and Volumetrics down a notch. The full per-setting breakdown is above.
FPS figures are estimates from a generalized model (hardware tier × game load × per-setting weights), not live benchmarks — real performance varies by scene, drivers and game version.