On a Steam Deck (RDNA2 iGPU) (paired with a balanced Intel Core i5-8600K-class CPU), Dark Souls III runs at roughly 60 FPS at 1080p with our optimized settings — up from about 49FPS with everything maxed. Here's the configuration and what each setting costs.
The Steam Deck (RDNA2 iGPU) is a handheld graphics card with 4GB of VRAM, and Dark Souls III is a relatively light game to run. Paired with the Intel Core i5-8600K, it runs well at 1080p — about 60 FPSwith FrameCoach's optimized settings, a clear jump from roughly 49 FPS with everything on High.
Across resolutions you can expect around 60 FPS at 1080p and 60 FPS at 1440p, dropping to roughly 38 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 | 49 | 60 |
| 1440p | 29 | 60 |
| 4K | 17 | 38 |
⚡ Fine-tune this for your exact CPU & target FPS →
🎯 Can the Steam Deck (RDNA2 iGPU) run Dark Souls III? See the verdict →
With FrameCoach's optimized balanced settings, the Steam Deck (RDNA2 iGPU) averages around 60 FPS at 1080p in Dark Souls III — up from about 49 FPS with everything on High.
At 1440p with optimized settings, the Steam Deck (RDNA2 iGPU) averages roughly 60 FPS in Dark Souls III — a smooth experience.
Turn on FSR (Quality), keep ray tracing off for maximum FPS, and ease the heaviest options like Lighting Quality and Shadow Quality 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.