To say that Starfield is one of the biggest RPGs in years is an understatement. We’re close to Bethesda’s first new IP in decades, and while it’s the Xbox Series X| s Control unit Exclusively, the massive RPG also hits a gaming PC near you. But which of the best graphics cards are well suited for exploring this brand new galaxy?
Fortunately, the system requirements for Starfield were released a while ago. And while Bethesda has partnered with AMD to bring in some of the technology, anyone with a decent modern gaming rig should have no problems getting into the RPG on its September 6 release day — you can even preload Starfield now if you’re using Game Pass.
Starfield PC system requirements
Bethesda has released two sets of system requirements, as is typical for PC games these days. These are separated into minimum specifications and recommended specifications. I’m not quite sure what settings those requirements are, but with how lax the minimum specs are, you should be able to slip through the game with a very modest PC.
Minimum system requirements:
OS: Windows 10 21H1
Healer: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X / Intel Core i7-6800K processor
ram: 16 gigabytes
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5700 / Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti
storage: 125 GB – Although this may not be final
Recommended system requirements
OS: Windows 10/11
Healer: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Intel Core i5-10600K
ram: 16 gigabytes
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080
storage: 125 GB
There are a few things to note right off the bat. Both the minimum and recommended specs require 16GB of RAM, so you can be fairly sure that an 8GB system won’t cut it. 8GB of RAM on a Windows PC has been kind of hard lately, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Storage space is also great. It is important to note that the SSD required. This isn’t surprising when you consider the big deal both the PS5 and Xbox Series X had about built-in SSDs at launch. Both manufacturers have consistently cited open-world games as the reason that SSDs are the future, as they allow instant loading of giant regions without obnoxious loading screens whenever you change regions.
Also, I don’t know anyone else, but I have Starfield preloaded on my computer and it takes up 140GB of storage, not 125GB. This may have involved an update pushed after the initial system requirements were posted, but it’s important to note that the 125GB figure is about 15GB short. However, if you’re on Xbox Series X, the game only takes up about 100GB.
How to build a computer for starfield
With the amount of fuss Starfield makes about being a true next-gen experience, it doesn’t actually require a lot of horsepower to run, especially on minimal settings. If you don’t already have one of the best gaming PCs and you’re looking to build a new one for Starfield, I’ve gone ahead and gathered the perfect components to build a Starfield, at least based on the recommended system requirements.
OS
while you Can You still buy a Windows 10 key and moving on, this operating system is really starting to look a little long in the tooth. Windows 11 is what you should get if you’re buying a new PC right now. Because even though Starfield may not recommend it, many next-gen games that run DirectX 12 Ultimate will ask for it.
Healer
I really don’t know what Bethesda was thinking when it recommended the Ryzen 5 3600 when the Ryzen 5 2600 was minimum. Especially considering how CPU heavy this game is likely to be – which is probably why the game is limited to 30fps on console – I’d recommend going over the recommendation a bit here.
Fortunately, if you fast forward a few generations, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X absolutely blows the older Ryzen 5 chips out of the water, making it one of the best CPUs out there. This is a CPU that should easily be able to handle Starfield at 60fps – take the Xbox Series X.
ram
Once you look at the system requirements, it seems like the minimum you should go for is 16GB of RAM. However, if you plan to have other things open at the same time, like manuals or music, you may want to increase the storage to 32GB. Modern CPUs are pretty flexible when it comes to DDR5 or DDR4, but I’d recommend DDR5 if you can afford it – if only because you’ll be able to get ahead if you build another PC in the future.
GPU
The most exciting part of a PC, the best graphics cards are unfortunately more expensive than ever. While I might be selfish and recommend everyone go out and buy an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and forget about the graphics settings, I know most people can’t afford that ridiculous graphics card.
Bethesda recommends the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 or the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT – two completely different GPUs, but that’s another story. You can still buy the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, as AMD has not yet released a GPU at this level as part of the Radeon 7000 series.
However, this Nvidia card is a little outdated. The RTX 2080 hasn’t been on the market in a while, but perhaps the closest comparison to the last generation is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070. You can get this card all around $599 these days. And while this graphics card isn’t the most exciting generation-level improvement over the RTX 3070, the RTX 3070 isn’t available on store shelves right now.
SSD
Unfortunately for turntable fans, it looks like Starfield will require an SSD to run. To be fair, though, SSDs are pretty cheap these days, so if you’re still into a hard drive, spend the $15 and get an SSD, at least for Starfield only. The game takes up 140GB on its own, so I’d recommend getting a 256GB drive at least, so you’ll have enough room for Windows 11 on top of Starfield.
You can get a file A SATA drive this size for just $14.99but I recommend spending a little more on an M.2 drive, Which will likely cost around $19.99 for PCIe 3 lonliness. Or if you want something that will last for quite some time, my favorite SSD these days is Samsung 980 Pro.
Should you play Starfield on PC?
Ever since Todd Howard told us Starfield would be sitting at 30fps on console, I knew I’d be playing this game on PC. Say all you will about PC gaming, but at least I’ll be able to play at whatever frame rate I want to play at, without having to worry about what my living room box can do.
Then again, I’ve played every Bethesda RPG on PC, and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon. It will control better, it will look better and most importantly it will have mods. PC will be the exact place to play Starfield, and if you have a hardware that can handle it, I recommend trying it out on PC first.