DragonSword : Awakening PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum asks for an Intel Core i5-9400F, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, 8 GB of RAM, 25 GB of storage, and an SSD. The i5-9400F is a six-core 9th-generation chip, which by today's standards is an older mainstream part. The GTX 1660 is an entry-level card, roughly comparable in tier to an RTX 3050 laptop GPU. The minimum is a starting point for running the game at 1080p-class settings, not a target for high-quality visuals.
The official recommended spec is an Intel Core i7-9700F, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 16 GB of RAM, the same 25 GB of storage, and an SSD. The i7-9700F is an eight-core chip from the same generation, and the RTX 3060 sits roughly in the tier of an RTX 4050 laptop GPU, a mainstream 1080p class. The biggest practical gap between the two levels is the graphics card, with RAM doubling from 8 GB to 16 GB as well. More memory helps when the open world is loading lots of assets at once.
The publisher does not list a higher configuration, so anything above the recommended tier is our estimate based on these two levels. Real results depend on drivers, background software, and your in-game settings.
How much headroom you get above the recommended tier is not specified by the publisher.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players who want to get the game running for the least money. A GTX 1660 or RTX 3050 paired with a Core i5-10400F-class processor and 16 GB of RAM is a sensible starting point. The goal is stable play at or above the official minimum, with medium-to-low settings. Do not expect high resolution and high quality at the same time from this tier.
The mainstream build is where most players will get the best value. An RTX 3060 or RX 6600 with 8 GB or more of VRAM, paired with a Ryzen 5 5500 or Core i5-11400F and 16 GB of RAM, should land roughly at the official recommended level. If your budget allows, the 12 GB version of the RTX 3060 gives more room when textures are heavy.
The high build suits anyone who wants to play at 1440p or higher with more demanding settings. An RX 6800 XT or RTX 4070 paired with a Ryzen 7 7700 or Core i7-12700K, with 16 GB of RAM as the baseline, is well above the official recommended spec. If you run many programs at once or want extra cache headroom, 32 GB is the more comfortable choice. The main benefit at this tier is visual and resolution headroom rather than whether the game runs at all.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In open-world action RPGs like this, the settings that usually cost the most are shadows, volumetric lighting and fog, real-time ray tracing, crowd and environment object density, and view distance. Shadows and view distance tend to be the heaviest, while ray tracing is only worth enabling if your card supports it and you still have headroom. Start by moving those options to medium. Textures and anti-aliasing usually have a smaller effect, so you can keep them higher.
If the game offers DLSS, FSR, or XeSS, these upscalers render at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image at your target resolution. The loss in sharpness is usually acceptable, and if your card supports it, the Quality or Balanced mode is often the best trade-off.
We do not publish frame-rate figures for this game. Tune the settings on your own screen and hardware. If you see stutters, lowering shadows and view distance usually helps the most.
Laptops and handheld PCs
A laptop GPU with the same name as a desktop card is usually slower, because laptop versions run on lower power limits and have less room for cooling. When judging whether a laptop meets the official requirements, use the laptop model itself and check whether it is running in a high-performance mode. Keeping the machine plugged in, ensuring good airflow, and using the manufacturer's performance profile all make a noticeable difference to stability.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally are portable Windows or Linux machines that generally run at lower resolutions and lower graphics settings. We have no verification data for this game on Steam Deck, so we cannot give it a compatibility rating. If you play on a handheld, reduce the resolution, enable upscaling, and tune settings around battery life and thermals.
Storage and memory
The official minimum asks for 8 GB of RAM and the recommended level asks for 16 GB. An open-world game keeps streaming in maps and character assets, so 16 GB makes that process smoother and reduces stutter caused by running out of memory. If you also run streaming software, a browser, or other background programs, go for 16 GB or more and make sure it is in dual-channel configuration, which improves memory bandwidth.
The game itself needs 25 GB, and the official spec requires an SSD. An SSD shortens load times and reduces asset-loading delays while moving around the open world. A mechanical hard drive generally does not meet the official requirement. Leave extra room for updates and cache files, ideally several gigabytes of free space, so an update does not fail for lack of disk space.