Can I Run Elden Ring? PC Requirements & Shadow of the Erdtree Guide

Can I Run Elden Ring in 2026?

Elden Ring launched back in 2022, but it remains one of the most-played and most-recommended games on PC, and the 2024 expansion Shadow of the Erdtree gave it a fresh surge of attention. The good news is that this is an old engine running on modern hardware, so almost any gaming PC built in the last few years will boot it. The complicated news is that FromSoftware's engine has well-documented stutter and frame-pacing quirks, and the game is hard-locked to 60 FPS by default. So the real question isn't "can my PC run Elden Ring" — it almost certainly can — it's "can my PC run it smoothly, without the traversal stutters and hitches that have frustrated players since launch."

This guide breaks down the official requirements, what hardware you realistically need for clean gameplay at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, the in-game settings that matter most for frame stability, and how upscaling fits into a game that was never designed around it. If you want a fast, automated answer for your exact rig, run your parts through our Can I Run It checker and the FPS estimator — but read on for the context those tools can't give you.

Game Overview

Elden Ring is an open-world action RPG set in the Lands Between, blending FromSoftware's punishing combat with a vast explorable map. The base game is large; Shadow of the Erdtree adds the Realm of Shadow, a dense and visually heavier region with new bosses, weapons, and a level-scaling system. The expansion is more demanding than the base game in places — wide vistas, dense foliage, and weather effects push the GPU harder, and a few areas are notorious for CPU-bound frame drops regardless of how powerful your graphics card is.

Crucially, the game targets a 60 FPS cap. The engine ties some animations and physics to framerate, so unlocking it officially isn't supported and can cause issues online. That means your goal on any modern PC is a rock-solid, never-dipping 60 FPS rather than chasing high refresh numbers. This changes the optimization math considerably compared to a typical 2026 shooter.

How We Evaluate Requirements

We don't treat the publisher's spec sheet as gospel. Official "recommended" specs usually describe a 1080p, mixed-settings, 30–60 FPS target — not the locked, stutter-free 60 FPS most players actually want. Our approach layers three things: the official minimum and recommended specs as a floor, real-world behavior of the engine (which is unusually sensitive to CPU single-thread performance and shader-compilation stutter), and how current 2026 hardware tiers map onto each resolution. We weight VRAM, single-core CPU speed, and storage type heavily here, because those are the components that actually cause the hitches people complain about — not raw teraflops.

Official PC Requirements

Here are FromSoftware's stated requirements for the game including the expansion. Treat "recommended" as the bar for a comfortable 1080p experience, not a ceiling.

Spec	Minimum	Recommended

OS	Windows 10/11 64-bit	Windows 10/11 64-bit
CPU	Intel Core i5-8400 / Ryzen 3 3300X	Intel Core i7-8700K / Ryzen 5 3600X
RAM	12 GB	16 GB
GPU	GTX 1060 3GB / RX 580 4GB	GTX 1070 8GB / RX Vega 56 8GB
VRAM	3 GB	8 GB
Storage	60 GB	60 GB (SSD strongly advised)
DirectX	12	12	The single most important line here isn't on the chart: install it on an SSD, ideally NVMe. A mechanical hard drive will produce constant traversal stutter as the open world streams in, and no amount of GPU power fixes that. This is the most common cause of "my PC is overkill but the game stutters" complaints. What You Actually Need for Each Resolution Because the framerate is capped at 60, you don't need a flagship GPU at any resolution. You need enough headroom that the card never drops below the cap, plus a CPU fast enough to hold the line in the demanding zones of the Erdtree expansion. 1080p 60 FPS Almost any current GPU clears this with room to spare. An RX 9060, RTX 5060, or even last-gen cards like the RTX 4060 and RX 7600 will sit comfortably at maxed settings. The bottleneck at this resolution is the CPU in busy areas, so a modern 6-core like a Ryzen 5 7600 or Core Ultra 5 is the more relevant part. Budget builders can hit a locked 60 here easily. 1440p 60 FPS This is the sweet spot for the game. An RTX 5060 Ti, RX 9060 XT, or RTX 5070 will hold maxed settings at 1440p without breaking a sweat. The expansion's heavier scenes are where a slightly stronger card pays off — they give you the buffer to never dip below 60 even with maximum foliage and grass quality. Pair it with a Ryzen 7 7700, Ryzen 7 9700X, or Core Ultra 7 and you're set. 4K 60 FPS A locked 60 at native 4K with everything maxed is achievable on an RTX 5070 Ti, RX 9070 XT, or anything above. Higher-end cards like the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 are overkill for the framerate target, but the extra margin guarantees zero drops in the worst-case scenes. Since the game won't go above 60 anyway, there's little reason to buy the most expensive GPU purely for Elden Ring — that budget is better spent on a fast CPU and an NVMe drive.	Resolution	Comfortable GPU (2026)	CPU pairing	Target

1080p	RTX 5060 / RX 9060	Ryzen 5 7600 / Core Ultra 5	Locked 60, maxed
1440p	RTX 5070 / RX 9060 XT	Ryzen 7 7700 / Core Ultra 7	Locked 60, maxed
4K	RTX 5070 Ti / RX 9070 XT	Ryzen 7 9700X / Ryzen 7 9800X3D	Locked 60, maxed

If you're unsure whether your CPU and GPU are well matched for this kind of CPU-sensitive engine, our bottleneck calculator and GPU tier list will help you spot a mismatch before you buy.

Best In-Game Settings for Smooth 60 FPS

Maxing every slider is fine on capable hardware, but a few settings disproportionately affect smoothness rather than raw average FPS. Prioritize frame stability over visual maximums.

• Grass Quality: One of the heaviest settings in the open field and the expansion's meadows. Drop from Maximum to High for a meaningful GPU saving with little visible difference in motion.
• Shadow Quality: Lower this one notch before touching anything else; the visual cost is minor and it relieves both CPU and GPU load.
• Motion Blur: Personal taste, but turning it off makes the 60 FPS cap feel sharper and more responsive.
• Depth of Field and Lighting: High is fine on modern cards; only drop these on entry-level GPUs.
• Ray Tracing: The game added optional ray-traced reflections and global illumination. It is a heavy, inconsistent feature with limited visual payoff in this art style. For a locked 60 FPS, leave it off unless you're on an RTX 5070 Ti class card or higher. See our ray tracing guide for the tradeoffs.

The biggest non-slider fix is letting the game compile shaders. Stutter is often worst in the first hour as new effects and enemies appear; it improves as you play. Capping background apps and ensuring the game lives on fast storage matters more than any single graphics toggle. Our game settings guide covers the general optimization workflow.

Upscaling: DLSS and FSR Advice

Elden Ring shipped without DLSS or FSR for years, which is why so many guides ignore upscaling for it. Because the game is capped at 60 FPS and runs well natively, you usually don't need upscaling at 1080p or 1440p on modern hardware — native resolution looks cleaner and you already hit the cap.

Where upscaling earns its place is 4K on mid-range cards. If you're running an RTX 5060 Ti or RX 9060 XT and want native-4K-like sharpness while guaranteeing the locked 60 never wavers, DLSS Quality (on RTX) or FSR Quality (on Radeon) is a reasonable insurance policy. Avoid the aggressive Performance and Ultra Performance modes here — they soften the image more than the framerate headroom justifies for a 60 FPS target. Frame generation is not recommended for this game; the engine's framerate-coupled physics and the 60 FPS cap make generated frames pointless and potentially problematic. For a full breakdown of the upscalers, see our DLSS vs FSR comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Elden Ring stutter even on a powerful PC? Two reasons: shader compilation hitches that happen as new effects load (these ease after the first hour or two), and traversal stutter from streaming the open world. Installing the game on an NVMe SSD fixes the bulk of the traversal stutter, and keeping background apps closed reduces the rest.

Can I run Elden Ring above 60 FPS? Not officially. The engine caps it at 60 and ties some physics and animations to framerate, so unlocking it can break behavior and cause online issues. Aim for a perfectly stable 60 rather than a higher number.

Is Shadow of the Erdtree harder to run than the base game? Slightly, in spots. The expansion's dense foliage, wide vistas, and weather effects push GPUs harder, and a few areas are CPU-bound. Any GPU comfortable with the base game at your resolution will handle the DLC, but the extra headroom from a stronger card eliminates the worst dips.

Do I need a high-end GPU for Elden Ring in 2026? No. Because of the 60 FPS cap, even mid-range 2026 cards like the RTX 5060 or RX 9060 max it out at 1080p and 1440p. Spend on a fast CPU and NVMe storage before an expensive GPU.

How much VRAM do I need? 8 GB is plenty at 1080p and 1440p maxed. At 4K with maximum textures you'll be comfortable on 8–12 GB; there's no need for the largest VRAM buffers for this title.

Conclusion

Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree are not demanding by 2026 standards — the challenge is smoothness, not raw power. For most players, a mid-range build with a Ryzen 7 or Core Ultra 7 CPU, an RTX 5060 Ti or RX 9060 XT, 16 GB of RAM, and an NVMe SSD delivers a flawless locked 60 FPS at 1440p maxed, with enough margin for the heavier expansion zones. Don't overspend on a flagship GPU you can't fully use; put that money toward fast storage and a strong CPU, which is where this engine actually bottlenecks.

To confirm your exact setup, run it through our Can I Run It checker and the FPS estimator. If you're planning an upgrade or a fresh build around this and similar titles, the upgrade advisor and build suggester will point you to the best-value parts for a stutter-free experience.