GamesMMOStar CitizenUpdated Star Citizen minimum system requirements look gentle but they’re more guidelines than actual rulesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesMMOStar CitizenUpdated Star Citizen minimum system requirements look gentle but they’re more guidelines than actual rulesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Cloud Imperium Games)
Star Citizen has just updated its minimum system requirements and they appear rather easy-going: a quad-core CPU of unspecified age, a GPU with 4GB of VRAM, and 16GB of system memory. Many modern systems quite happily conform to that specification, especially with the developers noting a few examples of graphics cards that meet the requirement, including the GTX 1060, RX 460, and Arc A380.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyStar Citizen minimum requirements (April 2024)Header Cell - Column 020242023Operating systemWindows 10Windows 10CPUQuad-core (Intel Core i7 or later, AMD Bulldozer or later)Quad-core (Intel Sandy Bridge or later, AMD Bulldozer or later)GPUDirectX 11 compatible GPU, with 4GB VRAMDirectX 11 compatible GPU, with 3GB VRAMMemory16 GB16 GBStorage100+ GB83 GB
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Star Citizen minimum requirements (April 2024)Header Cell - Column 020242023Operating systemWindows 10Windows 10CPUQuad-core (Intel Core i7 or later, AMD Bulldozer or later)Quad-core (Intel Sandy Bridge or later, AMD Bulldozer or later)GPUDirectX 11 compatible GPU, with 4GB VRAMDirectX 11 compatible GPU, with 3GB VRAMMemory16 GB16 GBStorage100+ GB83 GB
That’s the absolute bare minimum hardware required to run the game, asper the developers(viaKitGuru). Though you probably won’t get far even if you do meet them. Take a look at theStar Citizen subredditand recent threads would suggest anyone with a similar specification PC may run into some performance issues. In a thread noting the need for updated system requirements, you’ll find multiple mentions of how 32GB of speedy RAM is much more a requirement to enjoy the game with a modicum of performance than anything else.
The Star Citizen developers have addressed that with the updatedrecommendedsystem requirements.
Swipe to scroll horizontallyStar Citizen recommended requirements (April 2024)Header Cell - Column 020242023Operating systemWindows 10 / Windows 11Windows 10 / Windows 11CPUQuad-core (Intel Core i7 or later, AMD Ryzen 5 or later)Quad-core (Intel Sandy Bridge or later, AMD Bulldozer or later)GPUDirectX 12 compatible GPU, with 8GB VRAMDirectX 11 compatible GPU, with 4GB VRAMMemory32 GB DDR416+ GB DDR4Storage100+ GB83+ GB
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Star Citizen recommended requirements (April 2024)Header Cell - Column 020242023Operating systemWindows 10 / Windows 11Windows 10 / Windows 11CPUQuad-core (Intel Core i7 or later, AMD Ryzen 5 or later)Quad-core (Intel Sandy Bridge or later, AMD Bulldozer or later)GPUDirectX 12 compatible GPU, with 8GB VRAMDirectX 11 compatible GPU, with 4GB VRAMMemory32 GB DDR416+ GB DDR4Storage100+ GB83+ GB
The CPU requirement remains vague: Neither Intel or AMD CPU states a suitable generation, implying all are welcome, though that’s not generally seen to be the case today. You do need a relatively modern CPU in order to run Star Citizen, among other things.
The developers now “strongly advise” the game be installed on an SSD. That’s been the longstanding advice of experienced players, as the HDD performance is painfully slow.
Your next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
Your next upgrade
(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
(Image credit: Future)
Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
The increase in minimum SSD capacity also highlights the game’s growing size: 83 GB up to 100 GB. The actual install size is around the 103 GB mark.
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One upgrade for Star Citizen that’s been gradually rolling out is the new Gen12 update with support for a new graphics rendering pipeline with support for Vulkan. This, many hope, will cut down on overheads and increase performance, alongside bringing support for modern graphics features.
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