Empires of the Undergrowth PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum for Empires of the Undergrowth is an Intel Core i5-760 or AMD Phenom II X4 965 quad-core processor, paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 or AMD Radeon HD 6750 with 1 GB of video memory, 4 GB of system RAM and 5 GB of storage. By our tier ranking, that CPU sits in the very old entry band and the GPU is at integrated-graphics entry level, so the minimum mostly tells you the game is compatible with older machines rather than how much hardware you need for a comfortable experience.
The recommended spec is an Intel Core i5-2400 or AMD FX-8100 quad-core, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti or AMD Radeon HD 7750 with 1 GB, 8 GB of RAM and the same 5 GB of storage. The CPU is still in the old entry band, while the GPU lands near the Intel HD Graphics 530 level, a clear step above the minimum but still an aged target. The gap between the two tiers shows up mainly in memory and graphics capability: meeting the minimum will get the game running, but large army battles will feel strained, while the recommended tier handles most scenes without trouble.
The publisher does not list an SSD requirement, and the field is marked as not required. The game will not force a solid-state drive on you, although one will still shorten load times. No higher requirement tier is listed, so if you want more detail or larger battles, use the build suggestions in the next section as your reference point.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players who want the game to run smoothly without chasing high settings. Pick an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, pair it with an AMD Ryzen 3 3100 or Intel Core i3-10100F, and use 16 GB of RAM. This combination sits well above the official recommended spec and will handle most of the game, with some compromises on visual quality and the size of the scenes you can push.
The mainstream build is for players who want a stable experience in a reasonable budget and some headroom for better graphics. An NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super or RTX 3050 8GB works well here, along with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5-10400 and 16 GB of RAM. It offers a comfortable balance of image quality and battle scale, and for most people it is the best value.
The high-end build is for players who want higher settings with large campaigns and complex nests. Consider an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or AMD Radeon RX 7600, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-12400, and 16 GB of RAM. This tier is far beyond what the game asks for, so you rarely need top-end parts; putting the spare budget into a better monitor is often the smarter choice.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In a strategy game built around large unit counts and simulation, the settings that usually cost the most are shadow quality, volumetric effects such as smoke and light scattering, the density of units and vegetation, and view distance. Shadows and volumetrics are especially heavy in busy scenes because many objects have to be processed. If your system is struggling, lower these first; they tend to give the biggest improvement with the least effect on how the game plays.
Ray tracing is generally not essential in this game unless your graphics card has dedicated support for it. Unless you care a lot about lighting detail, turning it off is the practical choice, leaving your GPU headroom for unit counts and smoother play.
Upscaling technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS, AMD FSR and Intel XeSS work by rendering at a lower internal resolution and then reconstructing the image to your target resolution. Where the game supports them, they are a common way to gain performance without a large loss in visual quality. Quality modes look closer to native resolution than performance modes, so choose based on your card and how much image quality matters to you.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop graphics chips often share names with desktop cards, but the specifications usually differ. Laptop versions are limited by power and cooling, so a chip with the same name as a desktop model typically performs below it. When buying a laptop, check the power limit (TGP) and the cooling design rather than only the model name. If the discrete GPU runs at low power, long battles can trigger throttling even when the spec sheet looks good.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally are self-contained devices, and their performance depends on the built-in processor and integrated graphics. On these machines, start with low or medium settings and consider a lower resolution or upscaling to keep things stable. We have no verification data for the Steam Deck, so we cannot give a specific compatibility rating for it and can only go by general handheld characteristics.
If you plan to play on a laptop or handheld, think about power and heat as well. Running flat out for long periods, whether plugged in or on battery, raises temperatures and drains power faster, so modestly reducing settings or the refresh rate often gives a more consistent experience.
Storage and memory
The official minimum RAM is 4 GB and the recommended is 8 GB. For a current general-purpose build we suggest 16 GB, which leaves room for the system and the game and reduces stutter caused by running short on memory. Install the memory in dual-channel mode by filling the matching slots as pairs, since dual-channel gives higher memory bandwidth, which matters most when the integrated graphics or the CPU is under heavy load.
The official storage requirement is 5 GB. That figure covers the base game only; once installed you also need space for updates, saves and temporary files, so leave a generous margin beyond the listed number and avoid running the drive close to full.
An SSD is not mandatory, but it noticeably shortens loading, which matters most when you switch scenes often or load saves. A traditional hard drive will work, just with slower loads. If your budget allows, installing the game on an SSD is a worthwhile investment.