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Starfield is a deep space exploration action RPG from Bethesda, creators of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, that has been a highly anticipated work in progress for a few years now. After being bought by Microsoft, we know that Bethesda will release this epic game on PC as well as the Xbox series X and S consoles. This has left players desperate to know if their consoles will be able to handle the Starfield system requirements, and we’re here to help.
Given that the official PC specs to run Starfield have been officially released, we’ll go over both the minimum and recommended Starfield system requirements below. Plus some additional information for 4K and Xbox gamers.
Starfield Recommended System Requirements
Here are the official recommended specs needed to run Starfield on your PC. These recommended requirements are a bit more demanding, including components launched in the last four years. Notably, the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X was released in 2019, and Intel’s Core i5-10600K was released in 2020.
- OS: Windows 10/11 with updates
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, Intel i5-10600K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 125 GB available space (SSD card required)
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
Starfield minimum system requirements (PC)
While you might find yourself a bit limited in terms of resolution and frame rate, the minimum specs for your PC as detailed by the Bethesda website will enable you to launch and run Starfield. These specs should include most systems built with components from the last ten years (Intel’s i7-6800K was released in 2003), making them pretty inclusive – but those running at these specs won’t experience the game as intended
- OS: Windows 10 version 22H2 (10.0.19045)
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700, or NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti GPU
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 125 GB available space (SSD card required)
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
Starfield system requirements 4K – AMD’s suggestion
If you want to play the game in 4K, there’s no doubt that the latest setups with highly-capable parts will be required. Although we don’t have an official Starfield system requirements 4K list, AMD has done a job of providing its own. Of course, AMD will want to shine a light on its newer components, but 4K is still demanding, so these component specs are likely in the right ballpark:
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Both the above CPU and GPU are designed for 4K, and we’d be pairing this with 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a suitable X670 motherboard, not forgetting a monitor for 4K resolutions. Of course, you needn’t go with AMD for Starfield in 4K, so we’d consider something along the lines of pairing a Core-i9 12900K or Core-i7 13600K with an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti or RTX 4080. But we’ve no verified tests to prove 4K performance, so it’s sensible to wait for third-party reviews and performance.
Starfield system requirements – Xbox considerations
You can’t exactly change the configuration of your Xbox to improve how it runs the game. However, there are suggestions on Reddit that the Xbox Series S will run the game at 1440p@30fps. We’ve not seen this confirmed anywhere officially, but it makes sense that the game should at least be optimised for a good experience on the console.
Final thoughts
It’s looking like you might need some powerful processors and large amounts of storage to run Starfield at the recommended, or 4K, requirements. But it should be worth it considering the high level of graphics quality and visual aesthetic we’re expecting from this game.
We would recommend investing in an SSD for a game that exceeds the predicted storage space needed by almost double, and we have got you covered with our guide for the Best SSD for gaming in 2023. However, if you’re further looking to boost your system ready to max out graphics in Starfield, we’ve also looked at the best graphics card for gaming in 2023 ahead of the September release.
So there you have it, the latest updates on the official PC system requirements needed to play Starfield when it comes out in September. If you want to run the game on lower settings and think it’s time for an upgrade check out our best budget gaming PCs. For those wanting to play at recommended and higher settings, here are our best PCs for gaming.