Whether you're playing Elden Ring's base game or starting Shadow of the Erdtree, it's important to make sure your gaming PC meets the minimum specs to get the most out of your experience.

Experimentation is key when optimizing your gaming PC. Try different techniques and settings to find the combination that works best for your specific hardware and preferences. Always be cautious when making changes, especially when it comes to overclocking or advanced BIOS settings.

While hardware upgrades can absolutely enhance your gaming experience, there are several strategic optimizations that can significantly improve performance when playing various complex games without breaking the bank. 

This guide outlines the minimum and recommended Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree system requirements and what you can do to optimize your gameplay experience.

Elden Ring System Requirements & PC Specs

Elden Ring Minimum Requirements:

The minimum specs to run Elden Ring on PC ensure you get the base-level experience. You'll be able to play the base game and DLC but likely not at the highest settings.

• Operating System: Windows 10  
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X  
• Memory: 12 GB RAM  
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB or AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB  
• DirectX: Version 12  
• Storage: 60 GB available space  
• Sound Card: Windows Compatible Audio Device  

Elden Ring Recommended Specs:

The recommended Elden Ring PC requirements gives you better performance and visual fidelity at higher settings.

• Operating System: Windows 10/11  
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 8-Core 3.8 GHz 
• Memory: 16 GB RAM  
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 16GB  
• DirectX: Version 12  
• Storage: 60 GB available space  
• Sound Card: Windows Compatible Audio Device

Please note: These are the official recommended system requirements as listed by the developers. Actual performance may vary depending on individual system configurations and settings.

Optimal Hardware Components for Elden Ring

Going for more powerful hardware means you can enjoy Elden Ring at even higher or even max settings.

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 8-Core 3.8 GHz 
• Memory: 16 GB RAM  
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 16GB  
• Storage: 60 GB available space

Tailoring Your Gaming PC for Elden Ring

First, PC gamers will want to make sure that your current PC setup meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for Elden Ring. If your hardware is below the minimum, you may experience performance issues and your gaming experience will suffer.

It will be important for you to play with the in-game graphics settings to find the best balance between visual quality and performance. Lowering settings like resolution, shadows, and textures can improve frame rates but clarity may dip.

As you start to play more complex games, you will need to keep your graphics card drivers up-to-date to ensure optimal performance and compatibility.

If you have to decide between, prioritizing performance or visual acuity (graphics) choose prioritizing performance. You can always adjust settings later to enhance visuals once you've achieved stable gameplay.

Make sure you minimize the number of applications running in the background. The more power you can allocate the better the gaming experience.

If your hardware allows, overclocking your CPU or GPU can boost performance. But note, you must know how to do this and even then, proceed with caution and monitor temperatures carefully. Overclocking can spike temperatures and damage components.

Best Gaming PC Builds for Elden Ring

Budget Build: 1080p, 60 FPS on Low Settings

Apex Bronze

The Apex Bronze comes standard with an AMD Ryzen 3 4100, RX 6500XT and 16GB of RAM to create the perfect entry-level PC for those looking to upgrade their PC over time.

Mid-Range Build: 1080p, 60 FPS on High Settings

Apex Streamer

The Apex Streamer comes standard with an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, 16GB of RAM, and a RTX 4060 to create the perfect mid-level PC, streaming-ready gaming PC.

High-End Build: 1440p, 60 FPS on High Settings

Apex Carbon

The Apex Carbon comes standard with an Intel i5-14600KF, 16GB of RAM, and a RTX 4070 Super which creates a ready-to-stream PC and the perfect base for this high-tier gaming PC designed to handle up to an Intel i9-14900KF and RTX 4090.

Ultra Build: 4K, 60 FPS on High Settings

Apex Xtreme

The Apex Xtreme comes standard with an Intel i7-14700K, 16GB of RAM, and an RTX 4080 which creates a high powered ready-to-stream PC and the perfect base for this high-tier gaming PC designed to handle up to an Intel i9-14900K and RTX 4090.

Optimizing Graphics Settings for Elden Ring

Customizing Graphics Presets & Overall Quality

In-Game Settings:

• Lowering the resolution can improve performance, especially on older or less powerful hardware.
• Adjust the frame rate limit to match your monitor's refresh rate for smoother gameplay.
• Reduce the intensity of effects like shadows, textures, and anti-aliasing to improve performance.

Fine-Tuning Texture Quality & Antialiasing

The best settings for texture quality and anti-aliasing truly depends on your hardware and personal preferences as well as style of play. Try experimenting with different combinations to find the best balance between visual quality and performance. If you're experiencing performance issues, consider lowering these settings to improve frame rates.

Texture Quality:

• High: Provides the highest level of detail and clarity, but can impact performance.
• Medium: A good balance between quality and performance.
• Low: Reduces texture detail for improved performance, but may affect visual quality.

Anti-Aliasing

• FXAA is a basic anti-aliasing method that can reduce aliasing artifacts but might also introduce blurriness.
• TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing) is definitely a more advanced method that can reduce aliasing while preserving image quality. But TAA has been known to introduce ghosting effects.
• MSAA (Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing) is the method that provides the highest-quality anti-aliasing but MSAA is also very demanding on components and if you don’t have the right power to match, it can hurt performance.

Adjusting SSAO, Depth of Field, & Motion Blur

SSAO (Screen Space Ambient Occlusion)

• High: This setting adds more realism as in  shadows and occlusion effects, but because it is on the highest setting, this can impact gaming performance depending on the power of your components.
• Medium: This setting offers a good balance between visual quality and performance.
• Low: When you set SSAO to low, you will most likely reduce the intensity of SSAO effects that is meant to improve performance.

Depth of Field

• High: As with any settings set at its highest, it can effect gaming performance. But a high depth of field will render a more cinematic look with blurred backgrounds.
• Medium: This is a good and balanced approach that provides some depth of field effects without impacting performance too much.
• Low: This lowest setting will disable depth of field for improved performance.

Motion Blur

• High: You might feel like your watching a movie, but at this level it can be disconcerting and distracting.
• Medium: Again at this mid level, you will get a very balanced approach that provides some motion blur effects without being overly distracting.
• Low: Disables motion blur for improved clarity and responsiveness.

The ideal settings for SSAO, Depth of Field, and Motion Blur will depend on your hardware and personal preferences. Experiment with different combinations to find the best balance between visual quality and performance. Keep in mind that higher settings can impact frame rates, so you may need to adjust other settings or lower the resolution if necessary.

 Balancing Shadow, Lighting, & Effects Quality

• Dynamic Resolution: If your graphics card supports it, enable dynamic resolution to automatically adjust the resolution in real-time to maintain a stable frame rate.
• VSync: You may want to enable VSync to reduce screen tearing, but know that it can introduce input lag.
• Framerate Limit: If you're experiencing excessive frame rates, limiting the frame rate to your monitor's refresh rate can reduce GPU load and improve stability.

With any settings, if you want for example more realistic shadowing and advanced lighting techniques and immersive visual effects, a high setting is ideal. However, this can very much affect your gaming performance due to the amount of power and resources this must pull. The most ideal for gamers is a setting of medium. It will give you a balanced view with some bells and whistles without much interruption, if you have the complimentary hardware to back it up. , 

By carefully adjusting shadow, lighting, and effects settings, you can optimize Elden Ring's visuals and performance to match your specific hardware and preferences.

Enhancing Volumetric, Reflection, & Water Surface Quality

To achieve the highest level of visual quality in Elden Ring, enable high settings for volumetric effects, reflections, and water surface quality. A high setting will give you more realistic fog, smoke, reflections, and water surfaces, which will absolutely enhance the overall immersion of the game, making it more realistic. However, these settings can significantly impact performance, so you may need to adjust other settings or lower the resolution if necessary to maintain a stable frame rate.

Managing Shader, Global Illumination, & Grass Quality

The ideal settings for shader quality, global illumination, and grass quality will depend on your hardware and personal preferences. A high setting will give you more realism. The ideal for most gamers would be a medium setting as this won’t pull too much power from other components and still give you a great experience.  Experiment with different combinations to find the best balance between visual quality and performance. Again, keep in mind that higher settings can impact frame rates, so you may need to adjust other settings or lower the resolution if necessary.

Customizing Your Existing PC for Elden Ring

Assessing Your Current Setup

To determine if your gaming PC is adequately equipped for Elden Ring, consider the following factors:

Hardware Specifications:

• CPU: Compare your CPU's specifications to the minimum and recommended requirements for Elden Ring. A faster CPU will provide better performance, especially for complex game logic and AI.
• GPU: Ensure your graphics card meets or exceeds the minimum requirements. A more powerful GPU will allow you to play at higher settings and resolutions. 
• RAM: Ensure you have at least the minimum amount of RAM required. More RAM can improve loading times and overall system performance.
• Storage: Make sure you have enough storage space to install Elden Ring and any necessary updates.
• Power Supply: Verify that your power supply can handle the power requirements of your system, especially if you've recently upgraded any components.

Benchmarking:

• Run Benchmarks: Use benchmarking tools like 3DMark to assess your PC's overall performance and compare it to the recommended specifications.
• Analyze Results: Identify any bottlenecks or areas where your system may be struggling to meet the demands of Elden Ring.

Game Performance:

• Monitor Frame Rates: Use tools like Fraps or MSI Afterburner to monitor your frame rates during gameplay. If you're experiencing frequent frame drops or stuttering, your hardware may be struggling.

Additional Considerations:

• Driver Updates: Ensure your graphics card drivers are up-to-date for optimal performance.
• Background Applications: Close unnecessary background applications to allocate more resources to Elden Ring.
• Game Settings: Experiment with in-game settings to find the best balance between visual quality and performance.

Key Upgrades to Consider

Graphics Card (GPU):

A powerful GPU is essential for running Elden Ring at high settings and achieving smooth frame rates. Look for a GPU with a high core clock speed, ample VRAM, and support for modern features like ray tracing. Consider upgrading to a mid-range or high-end GPU like an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti or AMD RX 6700 XT for optimal performance.

CPU:

A faster CPU can help handle complex game logic and AI, especially if you're playing at high resolutions or with many mods. Aim for a multi-core CPU with high clock speeds. Consider upgrading to a mid-range or high-end CPU like an Intel Core i5-12400F or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.

RAM:

Ensure you have at least 16GB of RAM for Elden Ring, as the game can be demanding on system memory. If you're running other applications in the background or using mods, consider upgrading to 32GB for even smoother performance.

Storage:

A solid-state drive (SSD) is highly recommended for Elden Ring, as it can significantly reduce loading times and improve overall responsiveness. Consider upgrading your primary storage drive to an SSD, especially if your current drive is a traditional hard disk drive (HDD).

Cost-Effective Solutions for Better Performance

While upgrading hardware should significantly boost performance, there are several cost-effective solutions to consider. Keep your system clean and well-maintained. This is crucial for optimal performance. It sounds elementary, but most people don’t clean regularly. You need to remove dust from fans and components to ensure proper airflow. Additionally, defragment your hard drive (if applicable) and optimize your operating system for better responsiveness.

For software-based optimizations, make sure your operating system, graphics card drivers, and game software are up-to-date. With modern games, with more complex infrastructure, outdated software will often lead to performance issues. Also, you should absolutely experiment with in-game settings to find the best balance between visual quality and performance. Lowering resolution, reducing visual effects, or limiting frame rates can help improve performance without sacrificing too much enjoyment.

Conclusion

As you embark on your Elden Ring adventure, remember that the ultimate ending is determined by your choices and actions throughout the game. Whether you choose to restore order to the Lands Between or embrace chaos, your journey will be unique and unforgettable and in your control, for the most part.

Optimizing your gaming system and making strategic upgrades, you can ensure that your Elden Ring journey is as smooth and fun as possible.

Remember to maintain and update your PC to keep it running at its best.