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If you're interested in the Elden Ring system requirements, then you're almost certainly a PC gamer and, therefore, most interested in PC versions of any given game. In the specific case of FromSoftware's next flagship release, you may even be worried about Elden Ring PC requirements, if you haven't had the chance to upgrade your gaming rig.
This article is written specifically to discuss the PC feature-set of Elden Ring, though. It's the stuff you want to read if you're on the fence about the game. Not because you're concerned about quality (this is FromSoftware, after all), but optimization and features on PC. So, down below, we'll talk about everything we know about this aspect of the game so far.
Better yet, as more official information is revealed before Elden Ring's launch on February 25th, we'll keep updating this article, too. That way, you'll know precisely where to go if you want to learn more.
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Elden Ring System Requirements
Though we were hoping to get an early peek on how the game might run on PC with last year's network test, this ended up not being the case. Namely, the beta was console-only at the time, and there was no way to tell how Elden Ring might perform on PC.
As of February 15th, however, the official requirements are now available, and boy are they beefy. We're not sure what, exactly, this might mean for the game's scalability, but it's going to take a reasonably powerful PC to run Elden Ring after all.
Minimum System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
- Memory: 12GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 3GB | AMD Radeon RX 580, 4GB
- DirectX: DirectX 12
- Storage: 60GB
- Sound Card: Windows-compatible audio device
Recommended System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 | Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K | AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070, 8GB | AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 8GB
- DirectX: DirectX 12
- Storage: 60 GB
- Sound Card: Windows-compatible audio device
As we said - curious stuff.
Setting Expectations: FromSoftware's Previous PC Track Record
Even though FromSoftware's first foray into PC releases - Dark Souls: Prepare to Die - was legendarily bad, the studio has vastly improved since then. All FromSoftware releases since Dark Souls 1 have had technical limitations, yes, but they look good and run well.
In fact, Dark Souls 3 even has a budding modding scene, for those who are keen on that sort of thing. Perhaps most importantly, modders have managed to implement frame rate unlockers and aspect ratio support post-launch. This should mean that Elden Ring will get these features sooner or later, even if FromSoftware doesn't get them running by default.
All in all, we were hoping that the game would run well on a wide variety of hardware. After all, it's running on an upgraded version of the Dark Souls 3 engine. Now that we have a look at what the minimum requirements are, however, we'd advise people who are on the fence to see how it performs in practice.
Elden Ring PC Summary - Everything Else You Need to Know
First things first, anyone who's had experience with a FromSoftware game on PC will know what's up. We'll discuss the company's track record a bit later on, but the key thing to remember right now is that, in Elden Ring, gameplay comes first, technical capabilities come second.
This isn't necessarily a negative approach, however. Even though FromSoftware titles haven't historically been especially technically advanced, they're always hauntingly beautiful to look at. Generally, they also run pretty well on a wide range of hardware. We expect that Elden Ring will run just fine on low-spec PCs, truth be told.
Still, all pre-release materials we've seen so far have been platform-agnostic, though it's a safe assumption that high-end PCs will get the best ratio of performance to visual fidelity across the board.
Simply put, Elden Ring is FromSoftware's prettiest, most visually appealing game yet. Long visibility ranges are especially prominent, though lighting seems to have received the biggest upgrade compared to From's previous releases.
Exclusive PC Features in Elden Ring
Alright, so, the game is pretty to look at - that much we know. But, will Elden Ring feature any PC-exclusive features?
From what we've gathered from Bandai Namco's own press releases, FromSoftware is going after feature parity across all supported platforms. Though we may hear more information about the game's potentially exclusive PC features closer to its launch, it doesn't seem like there's anything out of the ordinary available.
To summarize what we know about the PC version of Elden Ring at this time:
- Support for native resolution rendering at 3840 by 2160 pixels (4K)
- 60 FPS
- HDR availability
- Raytracing availability (as part of a post-launch patch)
Overall, a very solid showing for a game of this caliber. We're particularly curious about the raytracing implementation since this will be the first time FromSoftware would attempt to tackle the feature in the first place. There's also the matter of 21:9 support to consider, but nothing's been shared in regard to non-standard aspect ratio availability just yet.
Raytracing in Elden Ring
Aside from knowing that raytracing would come to Elden Ring in due time, neither Bandai Namco nor FromSoftware has said much else about the feature. The only thing we do know is that most console platforms will need to either drop performance targets from 60 to 30 FPS or substantially reduce the native render resolution in order to output a raytraced image.
On PC, this shouldn't be an issue. Though, obviously, you'll need a reasonably powerful rig and an RT-enabled graphics card to pull this all off. Expect to read more on this right here in this article - as soon as we get more information to share.
Closing Thoughts
That about covers everything we had to share on the topic of Elden Ring's PC requirements and other PC-specific information. As we said, though, expect this article to expand considerably in the coming days and weeks. February 25th is way closer than you might think, after all!
Consider checking out our other Elden Ring content in the meantime:
- Top Soulslikes to Play While Waiting for February 25th
- Final Elden Ring Beta Impressions - November 2021
- Elden Ring PC Gameplay Reveal Overview
- Everything We Know: The Elden Ring Summary Piece
High expectations are a given with a FromSoftware title, we feel. In the specific case of Elden Ring, however, devs have upped the ante even further. This being a major open-world stepping stone for the Dark Souls developer, it's a make-it or break-it situation at this point.
Thankfully, everyone who's had a chance to try Elden Ring out so far has only had words of praise to share. Indeed, it is an open-world Dark Souls game in everything but name, with improvements available across the board. Is it a GOTY contender already? Oh, you bet.
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