GTA 6 low FPS on RX 7800 XT: settings and driver fixes

Quick Answer

A RX 7800 XT should hold 80-100 fps in GTA 6 at 1440p High with FSR Quality; if you are well below that the culprit is almost always an outdated GPU driver or a corrupted shader cache, not the card itself. Clean-install the latest Adrenalin 25.x branch driver, delete the shader cache, and cap background apps before you touch in-game settings.

First fixes that recover the most frames

Start with the driver. A clean install (DDU in Safe Mode, then the newest Adrenalin 25.x package) resolves the large majority of "sudden low fps" reports on the RX 7800 XT. Next, delete GTA 6's shader cache so it rebuilds against the new driver, and set the game's process priority to High in Task Manager. These three steps alone typically move a stuttery RX 7800 XT back into the 80-100 fps band at 1440p High with FSR Quality.

Settings that cost the most performance

Volumetric fog, ray-traced reflections and the highest crowd/traffic density sliders are the heaviest hitters in GTA 6. Drop ray-traced reflections one notch and cap shadows at High and the RX 7800 XT climbs from the 55-70 fps range at 1440p Ultra native into comfortable territory. Upscaling is your biggest single lever: enable it at Quality first, then Balanced only if you still need headroom.

SA-specific checks before you blame the card

On Eskom-stable power a RX 7800 XT build will run at full clocks, but a marginal power supply or a hot enclosure in a Highveld summer can force the card to throttle. Confirm GPU temps stay under 80 C and that the PSU is sized for the whole system. A RX 7800 XT pulls real wattage under load, so a quality 750W+ unit is the safe floor. All cards and PSUs referenced here are stocked locally at Evetech with SA warranty.

FAQ

Why did my RX 7800 XT suddenly drop frames in GTA 6?

A driver update or a Windows update usually invalidated the shader cache. Clean-install the Adrenalin 25.x driver and delete the GTA 6 shader cache folder; frames return to the 80-100 fps band at 1440p High with FSR Quality.

Do I need to lower resolution on a RX 7800 XT?

No. The RX 7800 XT has the raw horsepower for 1440p High with FSR Quality. Use upscaling at Quality instead of dropping native resolution, and you keep image sharpness while gaining frames.

What FPS should I realistically target?

Aim for 80-100 fps at 1440p High with FSR Quality as your everyday target. If you run 1440p Ultra native expect 55-70 fps, which is still smooth with frame generation enabled.