Need for Speed™ Rivals

Need for Speed™ Rivals

By Luigi R. Updated: May 2026

To run Need for Speed™ Rivals (2020) on PC you need at least a Intel 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo or AMD 2.8 GHz Athlon X2 processor and a AMD Radeon 3870 512 MB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance; Intel HD 4000 Integrated 512 MB or higher performance, with 4GB of RAM and 30GB of free storage. For higher settings and frame rates, the recommended specs are a Intel Quad-Core CPU or AMD Six Core CPU and a AMD Radeon 7870 3GB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce GT660 3GB or higher performance with 8GB of RAM. Check your exact PC against Need for Speed™ Rivals with our free Can I Run It tool, estimate your frame rate with the FPS Estimator, or see the best GPU for Need for Speed™ Rivals.

System Requirements

Minimum
  • CPU: Intel 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo or AMD 2.8 GHz Athlon X2
  • GPU: AMD Radeon 3870 512 MB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance; Intel HD 4000 Integrated 512 MB or higher performance
  • RAM: 4
  • Storage: 30
Recommended
  • CPU: Intel Quad-Core CPU or AMD Six Core CPU
  • GPU: AMD Radeon 7870 3GB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce GT660 3GB or higher performance
  • RAM: 8
  • Storage: 30
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Building a PC to play Need for Speed™ Rivals at its best

Meeting the Need for Speed™ Rivals minimum requirements (a AMD Radeon 3870 512 MB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance; Intel HD 4000 Integrated 512 MB or higher performance) is enough to launch the game, but it won't give you high frame rates at 1440p or 4K. The recommended AMD Radeon 7870 3GB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce GT660 3GB or higher performance is a solid target, and stepping up to a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 or Radeon RX 9070 XT gives you the headroom for ultra settings, ray tracing and high-refresh play. On mid-range cards, DLSS 4 and FSR frame generation can lift Need for Speed™ Rivals's frame rate substantially, while a flagship RTX 5090 drives 4K at maximum settings.

The processor matters just as much: pairing your graphics card with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or an Intel Core Ultra, at least 8GB (ideally 32GB) of DDR5 RAM and a fast Gen5 NVMe SSD removes the stutter and long load times that can hold Need for Speed™ Rivals back. For modern textures at 4K, aim for a GPU with 12–16GB of VRAM so you never run short.

The same premium components also decide whether your rig is VR ready: if you game in virtual reality on a Meta Quest 3, Valve Index or PlayStation VR2, a strong GPU and CPU are what hold a steady 90 FPS. Check your exact setup against Need for Speed™ Rivals with the free Can I Run It tool, or see the best GPU for Need for Speed™ Rivals.

Need for Speed™ Rivals — Frequently Asked Questions

What are the minimum requirements for Need for Speed™ Rivals?
Need for Speed™ Rivals needs at least a Intel 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo or AMD 2.8 GHz Athlon X2 CPU and a AMD Radeon 3870 512 MB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance; Intel HD 4000 Integrated 512 MB or higher performance graphics card, 4GB of RAM and 30GB of storage.

What are the recommended specs for Need for Speed™ Rivals?
For a smooth experience, Need for Speed™ Rivals recommends a Intel Quad-Core CPU or AMD Six Core CPU and a AMD Radeon 7870 3GB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce GT660 3GB or higher performance with 8GB of RAM.

How much RAM does Need for Speed™ Rivals need?
Need for Speed™ Rivals requires 4GB of RAM as a minimum, with 8GB recommended.

What GPU do you need to run Need for Speed™ Rivals?
The minimum graphics card for Need for Speed™ Rivals is a AMD Radeon 3870 512 MB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or higher performance; Intel HD 4000 Integrated 512 MB or higher performance, while a AMD Radeon 7870 3GB or higher performance; NVIDIA GeForce GT660 3GB or higher performance is recommended for higher settings. Check any GPU against this game with our Can I Run It tool.