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Best Cities: Skylines II settings for the RTX 4050 Laptop (2026)

On a RTX 4050 Laptop (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-8600K-class CPU), Cities: Skylines II runs at roughly 76 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 57FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.

The RTX 4050 Laptop is a entry-level graphics card with 6GB of VRAM, and Cities: Skylines II is a demanding, graphically heavy game. Paired with the Intel Core i5-8600K, it runs well at 1080p — about 76 FPS with FrameCoach's optimized settings, a clear jump from roughly 57 FPS with everything on High.

Across resolutions you can expect around 76 FPS at 1080p and 67 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 57 FPS at 4K. The biggest free win is DLSS upscaling — set it to Quality for a large FPS boost at little visual cost.

ResolutionAll-High FPSOptimized FPS
1080p5776
1440p3467
4K1957
💡 Cities: Skylines II: Big cities are limited by your CPU, not your GPU - upscaling won’t fix that.
🚀 Biggest free win: enable DLSS (Quality) — about +35% FPS for a small sharpness trade.
Recommended settings
Upscaling — DLSSQuality+35% FPS
Cities: Skylines II supports DLSS and FSR. A free FPS boost - enable it first, though big cities are limited by your CPU, not the upscaler.
Global IlluminationMediumbaseline
Bounce lighting across the city - one of the heaviest GPU settings. Medium is a clean trade.
VolumetricsMediumbaseline
Volumetric fog and clouds. Expensive for the payoff - drop a notch for an easy win.
ReflectionsLowbaseline
Screen-space reflections on water and glass. Low is plenty in a zoomed-out city view.
Shadow QualityMediumbaseline
Shadow resolution and range over the city. Medium is the value pick.
Ambient OcclusionLowbaseline
Screen-space contact shadows between buildings. Low is a cheap trade.
Fog QualityMediumbaseline
Distance and weather fog. Low is fine for a clear city view.
Depth of FieldOnbaseline
Background blur when zoomed in. Cheap to turn off if you don't want it.
Level of DetailMediumbaseline
How detailed distant buildings stay - also leans on the CPU. Medium for big cities.
Anti-AliasingHighbaseline
Edge smoothing across the cityscape. Cheap; leave it on to reduce shimmer.
Texture QualityHighbaseline
Surface sharpness on buildings and terrain - cheap on FPS if it fits your VRAM.

⚡ Fine-tune this for your exact CPU & target FPS →

🎯 Can the RTX 4050 Laptop run Cities: Skylines II? See the verdict →

Cities: Skylines II on other GPUs
Other games on the RTX 4050 Laptop
Frequently asked

What FPS does the RTX 4050 Laptop get in Cities: Skylines II?

With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the RTX 4050 Laptop averages around 76 FPS at 1080p in Cities: Skylines II — up from about 57 FPS with everything on High.

Can the RTX 4050 Laptop run Cities: Skylines II at 1440p?

At 1440p with optimized settings, the RTX 4050 Laptop averages roughly 67 FPS in Cities: Skylines II — a smooth experience.

What are the best Cities: Skylines II settings for the RTX 4050 Laptop?

Turn on DLSS (Quality), 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.