Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum requirements are an Intel Core i5-4590 or similar CPU, a GeForce GTX 1050 or similar graphics card, 8 GB of RAM, and 2 GB of storage. The publisher states that an SSD is not required. In today's terms, the i5-4590 is an old entry-level quad-core processor from the Core i5-4570 generation, and the GTX 1050 is a bottom-tier entry graphics card. Both sit at the very bottom of what can run the game.
The publisher did not list recommended requirements for CPU, GPU, RAM, storage or SSD, so there is no official recommended tier to compare against. For our own reference, the GTX 970 is roughly an older upper-entry card, but that is our estimate, not an official recommendation. Think of the minimum as the threshold for the game to launch and run at all, not a guarantee of a smooth experience.
When planning, treat the minimum as the question of whether you can play, and use the builds below to judge what gives a comfortable margin. Graphics memory size, CPU core and thread count, and whether RAM runs in dual-channel all affect real performance, and those details are not specified by the publisher.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players on a tight budget who are happy with low to medium settings. Pick a GTX 1650 4GB, GTX 1660 or RTX 3050 6GB class graphics card, paired with a Ryzen 3 3100, Core i3-10100F or Ryzen 5 3500X, and go with 16 GB of RAM. This leaves a clear margin above the official minimum and keeps performance steadier during busy fights.
The mainstream build suits players who want a comfortable experience at 1080p. Look at a GTX 1660 Super, RTX 3050 8GB, GTX 1660 Ti or RX 5600 XT class card, and a six-core CPU such as a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5-10400. Start with 16 GB of RAM. This tier handles large numbers of enemies and projectiles on screen and leaves room for higher graphics options.
The high-end build is for players who want plenty of headroom at higher resolutions or higher quality settings. Graphics options include RX 9070 XT, RTX 5070 Ti or RX 7900 XTX class cards, with CPUs such as the Ryzen 7 9800X3D or Core i9-14900K, and 32 GB of RAM. The official requirements for this game are modest, so the main value here is headroom and multitasking rather than necessity.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In survivor-style shooters, shadows, volumetric lighting and fog, particle effects, and the density of enemies and simulation usually cost the most performance. Shadows and volumetric effects are expensive to compute, so they are usually the first things to lower. Dropping shadow quality to medium or low and reducing volumetric intensity is a sensible starting point.
Enemy count and simulation density load the CPU. When many enemies and projectiles are on screen at once, the processor often becomes the bottleneck, and a stronger graphics card alone may not help much. View distance and terrain detail usually have a more even effect. Lowering them makes the image cleaner but tends to gain less performance than shadows and particles.
If your graphics card supports upscaling such as NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR or Intel XeSS, consider enabling it. In general terms, these techniques render at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image to your target resolution, reducing the load on the GPU with limited loss of image quality. Results vary by game and setting, so compare the picture yourself. Newer effects such as ray tracing, where offered, are usually costly and are best left off on entry and mainstream builds.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop graphics chips often share names with desktop cards but can deliver noticeably different performance. Laptop versions typically run at lower power limits and are constrained by cooling space, so they can throttle under sustained load. When评估 a laptop, check its power and cooling specifications rather than relying on the model name alone.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally have strict power and thermal budgets, so you will usually balance graphics quality against battery life. We have no verification data for the Steam Deck, so we cannot give a rating for that platform. In general, use a lower resolution and modest settings on handhelds, and enable upscaling where the device supports it.
Plugging in to mains power and choosing a performance mode in the system settings is an easy step to overlook. Many laptops limit performance on battery, so launching the game while plugged in usually gives a fuller result.
Storage and memory
The official minimum is 8 GB of RAM, but the operating system, browser and background apps take a share, so less memory is left for the game than the number suggests. 16 GB is a safer starting point, and 32 GB suits players who stream, record or multitask heavily. Install RAM in matched pairs to run dual-channel, which gives higher memory bandwidth and helps in CPU- or iGPU-heavy situations.
For storage, the official minimum lists 2 GB, but you should leave extra room for the installation and future updates. The publisher does not require an SSD. An SSD noticeably shortens loading times, which helps if you restart often or switch between areas frequently. A traditional hard drive will still run the game, but loading waits will be more noticeable.
Keep some free space on the drive beyond the game's own size so that patches and temporary files install without trouble.