Assassin's Creed® Origins PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum CPU is listed as an Intel Core i5-2400s at 2.5 GHz or an AMD FX-6350 at 3.9 GHz, or equivalent. By today's standards that sits around the Intel Core i3-3220 class, a very old entry-level processor. It will launch the game, but only just. The minimum GPU is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or AMD R9 270 with 2048 MB of VRAM and Shader Model 5.0 support, which corresponds roughly to a GTX 750 Ti-class entry card. The minimum listed RAM is 6 GB and storage is 42 GB, and the publisher does not require an SSD.
The recommended CPU is an Intel Core i7-3770 at 3.5 GHz or an AMD FX-8350 at 4.0 GHz, which lands around the Intel Core i3-4130 tier. That is still an older entry-level chip, but a clear step above the minimum. The recommended GPU is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD R9 280X with 3 GB of VRAM, roughly the level of an AMD Radeon HD 7950. Recommended RAM rises to 8 GB, and storage stays at 42 GB.
The gap between minimum and recommended comes down mainly to GPU power and VRAM, plus more system memory. Minimum hardware is enough to get in and play at low settings. If you want a steadier experience, aim for the recommended tier at least. The publisher did not list anything above the recommended level, so how a newer system performs beyond that is a judgment call based on current hardware.
Note that the official requirements are the reference point here. Nothing on this page reflects measured performance.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build pairs an AMD Ryzen 3 3100 or Intel Core i3-10100F quad-core with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, and 16 GB of RAM. This clears the recommended tier by a comfortable margin and suits players on a tight budget who can accept low to medium settings. The 4 GB of VRAM handles most texture needs, though higher resolutions will start to feel tight.
The mainstream build centers on a six-core chip such as the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5-10400, paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super or RTX 3050 8GB and 16 GB of RAM. This tier has real headroom above the recommended spec and suits anyone who wants a smooth 1080p experience with medium to high settings. The 8 GB of VRAM gives more room for textures and dense scenes.
The high build uses an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-12400 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or AMD Radeon RX 7600, plus 16 GB of RAM. Its strength is running at higher resolutions and settings, and it makes upscaling easier to use. If you play at 1440p or above, or want more stability in demanding areas, this is the better choice. For more memory headroom, 32 GB is a worthwhile upgrade.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In a large open-world action adventure like this, the settings that usually cost the most are shadows, volumetric lighting and fog, vegetation and crowd density, and view distance. Shadow quality is often one of the most expensive options because it means drawing many objects a second time. View distance decides how much of the distant Egyptian landscape has to be loaded and rendered, so it matters a lot here. Volumetric effects add load across large areas, and dense crowds in markets and cities put pressure on both the CPU and GPU.
If you want to balance a mid-range system, lower shadows, view distance and volumetric effects first, and keep texture quality and anti-aliasing reasonable. Texture quality mostly affects VRAM use. As long as your card has enough VRAM, it costs relatively little performance, so there is little point in dropping it aggressively.
Upscaling technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR and Intel XeSS work by rendering at a lower internal resolution and reconstructing the image to your display resolution, which eases GPU load. They can free up a lot of headroom on supported hardware, but image quality varies with the mode and settings. Pick the option your graphics card supports, try the different modes in the in-game menu, and settle on the balance between sharpness and smoothness you prefer.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop GPUs often share names with desktop parts, but they are not the same. Power limits (TGP) and cooling constrain laptop chips, so a GPU with the same name usually delivers less performance in a laptop than on a desktop. When judging whether a laptop can run this game, look at the manufacturer's listed power limit and cooling design, not just the model name. Under long sessions, weak cooling can cause throttling and gradual performance drops.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ASUS ROG Ally fall into the general handheld PC category. Their performance usually sits between entry laptops and low-end desktops, and they rely on integrated or small discrete GPUs. On these devices, start from low presets and use in-game resolution scaling or upscaling. Battery life and heat also matter, and playing while plugged in usually gives more stable performance. We have no Steam Deck verification data for this game, so treat handheld guidance as general.
In short, if you plan to play on a laptop or handheld, check the GPU power and cooling specs and use the official requirements as your baseline, expecting low to medium settings rather than desktop-level results.
Storage and memory
The official RAM minimum is 6 GB and the recommended is 8 GB. Once you account for the operating system, background apps and system memory used alongside the GPU, 16 GB is a more comfortable target. Use dual-channel memory by installing matched modules in pairs, which improves bandwidth between the CPU and RAM and helps overall smoothness. VRAM is separate: the official recommended 3 GB is only the floor, and 8 GB gives more room for higher textures and resolutions.
For storage, the official figure is 42 GB, but leave extra space for updates and cache files. The publisher does not require an SSD, yet an SSD noticeably shortens load times, especially during fast travel and when loading saves. If your budget allows, install the game on an SSD. A hard drive will still work, just with longer waits.
Finally, keep some free space on the drive. A nearly full disk can slow performance and cause update problems. Keeping drivers and system updates current also helps the game run stably.