While the performance of a gaming PC varies from game to game, developers follow a constant trend for the minimum and recommended requirements for hardware as years progress. This generality of moving to new hardware creates the new “minimum requirements spec” for releasing games has become a joint discussion in the enthusiast sphere.
The minimum requirements for gaming PC's today is an NVIDIA GTX 770 or an equivalent with 2GB of VRAM and a CPU from Intel’s 3000 to 7000 series, depending on the game.
Every game's requirements differ; we find that these configurations cover a majority of hardware used in gaming in 2021/2022. Let's look into the most critical aspects of each component and what the FPS counter contributes when configuring one of our custom builds
CPU
The CPU is one of the most critical components when describing the capabilities of a system. A CPU is excellent for procedural physics and number generation and simulation in real space. If a game is CPU-dependent, you can look up requirements from the developers. Here are a few games that I came across using this article as a helpful list for determining game requirements.
Kerbal Space Program
Universe Sandbox
Valorant
CS:GO
BeamNG Drive
Civilization 5 & 6
Minecraft
GPU
The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is one of the most coveted components in the gaming market due to being required for most games and display types. While games get more detailed, dated graphics cards need to get creative. The minimum requirement for VRAM (video RAM) has held strong for over four years however is starting to move up in requirement. Here are some examples of games considered GPU dependent:
Apex Legends
Rainbow 6 Siege
Metro Exodus
CoD: Modern Warfare
RAM
While viewed as a supporting component to the CPU, RAM is a necessary constant that brings out the best features in a CPU. While not always pushed to the max, specific workloads cause the most run-of-the-mill RAM to reduce performance. Here is a list of some games and VR titles that depend on a recommended amount of 16GB of RAM:
Project Cars 3
Resident Evil 8
Godfall
VRChat
PSU
The PSU is a mediation component Its primary role is to provide adequate power to all hardware within a system. While the type and conditions of certain CPUs, GPUs, and RAM varies depending on their specification, the PSU gives the system the proper power budget to accommodate any needs, including overclocks or future component power requirements. While second-hand PSUs can be viable, the detailed history of a PSU leads to more confidence in its ability to provide a system with its needs and keep the components safe.
Storage
Storage is one of the most subjective quantitative issues for a given PC, and the importance goes into two questions for a given system: "How fast and how much would you like?” which is a different answer for everyone.
If a person plays, for example, three games with a combined storage space of 300GB, If you only want to play those games, then you could opt for an NVME like our 512GB option.
It is best to prioritize what games are played the most and their size to accommodate better vs. worse storage solutions. For example, If a game has substantially long loading times, it would be best to have them on the fastest storage option to reduce time loading assets.