Elden Ring was FromSoftware’s critical-acclaimed follow up to their ever popular Dark Souls Series. Since releasing in 2022 it’s been a smash hit, having sold 12 million copies just 3 weeks into it’s release and having recently reached the 40 million milestone. The game comes from the minds of Hidetaki Miyazaki (Dark Souls & Bloodborne) and George R.R Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones). It was released February 25, 2022 for Microsoft Windows gaming PCs, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
In 2024, FromSoft released the Elden Ring DLC expansion, Shadow of The Erdtree, to even more praise from fans and critics alike. This challenging open-world experience gives Elden Ring fans new areas to explore and ruthless bosses to defeat. However not every gaming PC will be up to the challenge of running Elden Ring or Shadow of the Erdtree. If your system is suffering from outdated hardware, it might not stand a change against the demanding Elden Ring PC requirements.
For a smooth gaming experience, your PC must have powerful enough hardware to handle the game’s complex environments and dazzling effects. Both Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree DLC require at least 12 GB of RAM.
The minimum supported GPUs are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 1060 (3GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (4GB). This level of GPU is needed to bring the world to life, help avoid frustrating performance issues, and boost the stunning visuals that make exploration immersive.
So let’s take a deeper dive into the Elden Ring PC requirements.
Elden Ring PC Requirements
The best way to enjoy Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree is with a gaming PC that can run the game at optimal settings. Learn how to compare the specifications of your gaming PC with Elden Ring’s minimum and recommended requirements by following the steps below:
- Get Elden Ring system requirements.
- Minimum System Requirements
- Recommended System Requirements
- Check your unit’s specifications.
- Check processor, install RAM, and Windows Edition
- Check GPU/video card model
- Check free space on your hard drive
- Compare your unit specifications with Elden Ring’s system requirements.
- Operating System
- CPU ( Processor)
- GPU (Video Card)
- RAM
- Sound Card
- Free Disk Space
1 – Get Elden Ring system requirements.
First, let’s check what the developers recommend for playing Elden Ring. The game has two sets of system requirements: (1) minimum and (2) recommended. Meeting the minimum requirements should allow you to play the game with the lowest visual settings, while Recommended is intended for playing with medium to high visual settings. Check the following system requirements below.
Elden Ring Minimum System Requirements
- PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
- OS: Windows 10
- RAM: 12 GB
- FREE DISK SPACE: 60 GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX-1060 (3GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (4GB)
- DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 3 GB (4GB AMD)
- PIXEL SHADER: 5.1
- VERTEX SHADER: 5.1
- SOUND CARD: Yes
Elden Ring Recommended System Requirements
- PROCESSOR: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- OS: Windows 10
- RAM: 16 GB
- FREE DISK SPACE: 60 GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX-1070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (8GB)
- DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 8192 MB
- PIXEL SHADER: 5.1
- VERTEX SHADER: 5.1
- SOUND CARD: Yes
2 – Check your unit’s specifications.
Now that you have the list of Elden Ring’s recommended requirements, the next step is to check your gaming PC’s hardware. How well your specs match the recommended or minimum requirements will help you select the best visual settings for your rig. To check your PC specs, follow the steps below:
Check processor, install RAM, and Windows Edition
- Click the Start button on the taskbar.
- Click the gear icon.
- From the Settings menu, click System.
- Scroll down and click on About. The window should display the specs of your gaming unit.
- Take note of the following specifications:
- Processor
- Installed RAM
- Windows Edition
Check GPU/video card model.
Once done, the following specification you need to get is the model unit of your GPU or video card.
- Open Settings and click System.
- Click on Display.
- Click on the Advanced display settings under the “Multiple displays” section.
- Under the Display information, check the graphics card manufacturer and model.
After getting your GPU model, you need to know its vertex and pixel shader. You can search for these specifications by typing in your GPU model on Google.
Check free space on your hard drive.
The next step is to check the free space available on your hard drive. You can simply do this by going to the search box in your taskbar and type “This PC.” Once the window is opened, check the Local Disk below Devices and Drives. It should show the available free space and the total memory capacity of your hard disk.
#3 – Compare your unit specifications with Elden Ring’s system requirements.
Once you have a list of your gaming PC’s specifications, check the Elden Ring’s system requirements to see if they meet the criteria.
Operating System
First on the list is your operating system. You should be running Windows 10 or Windows 11 to be able to install Elden Ring. If you’re using Windows 7, then upgrade your OS. If your gaming PC is running on Windows 10 or Windows 11, check your specifications.
Processor/CPU
Start with the processor. Your CPU should be no lower than an Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X. The higher your model, the better it can run and process Elden Ring.
GPU/Video Card
The next step is to check your installed video card. It should be no lower than the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (3GB) models or AMD Radeon RX 580 (4GB). Similar to the processor, the higher or newer your GPU model, the better it will be when delivering the game’s graphics. While on it, make sure that the video card RAM, pixel shader, and vertex shader meet Elden Ring’s criteria.
RAM
After the GPU, check the RAM amount of your gaming PC. It should be 12GB or higher. If your unit only has 8GB of RAM, you can install another 4GB RAM or 8GB RAM module, depending on your slot. But we recommend going with 16GB or even 32GB RAM if you want to experience the best gameplay possible.
Free Disk Space
Elden Ring needs at least 60GB of free disk space to install. If you are also planning on playing Shadow of the Erdtree, you will need an additional 16.5GB of storage. Free up space by deleting games you are not playing and any large files that you no longer need. If you are still short on space, you can install an additional drive on your gaming PC to install the game.
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Once you are sure that your specifications meet the minimum Elden Ring PC requirements, you’re ready to explore the Lands Between! Remember to turn on Window’s Game mode to boost your gameplay experience.