Hollow Knight: Silksong PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum for Hollow Knight: Silksong lists an Intel Core i3-3240 or AMD FX-4300 processor, a GeForce GTX 560 Ti (1GB) or Radeon HD 7750 (1GB) graphics card, 4GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. No SSD is required. In our tier comparison, the minimum CPU sits roughly at the level of an Core i3-2100, which is very old entry-level silicon, and the minimum GPU is in the integrated or very old entry band. The bar is low, but it is really just a floor for getting the game to start and run.
The official recommended spec is an Intel Core i5-3470, a GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB) or Radeon R9 380 (2GB), 8GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, again with no SSD requirement. The recommended CPU is roughly at the FX-8350 level, and the recommended GPU is an older entry-level card. For a player, the gap between minimum and recommended mostly comes down to GPU generation and memory capacity. The recommended setup gives more headroom for higher-quality settings and busier scenes.
The publisher does not list any higher tier, so if you want a higher resolution or heavier effects, you will need to judge for yourself. The build suggestions below cover that case.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build pairs a card like the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB or RTX 3050 6GB with a Ryzen 3 3100 or Core i3-10100F, plus 16GB of RAM. It suits a tight budget and a 1080p target where stable play matters more than maxed visuals. It comfortably clears the official recommended tier without needing high-end parts.
The mainstream build uses a GTX 1660 Super or RTX 3050 8GB class card with a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5-10400 and 16GB of RAM. For most players this is the best value. It keeps play smooth at higher settings and leaves room for other games.
The high-end build uses an RTX 4060, RX 7600 or Arc B580 with a Core i5-12400 or Ryzen 5 5600 and 16GB of RAM. It makes sense if you want higher resolutions, more effects, or you stream and record while playing. For this game it sits far above the official recommended requirements, so you do not need to chase the top of the market.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In a 2D-art, exploration-focused action adventure like this, the settings that usually cost the most are shadow quality, volumetric fog and light effects, the density of enemies and particles in busy scenes, and view distance. If your card only just meets the recommended tier, lowering shadows and particle density usually helps more than dropping resolution, because these cost a lot of processing for a modest visual difference.
Anti-aliasing and post-processing can be tuned to your monitor. At 1080p, moderate anti-aliasing is usually enough. At higher resolutions, you can trim the heavier post-processing options. Ray tracing or similar options, if offered, are generally worth turning off on a card at this tier so the performance goes to more important effects.
Upscaling technologies such as DLSS, FSR and XeSS work by rendering at a lower internal resolution and reconstructing the image at your target resolution. This trades a small amount of image quality for more performance. If the game offers them and your card supports them, a quality mode is usually a good choice. Which options are actually available is listed in the in-game settings menu; our data does not cover that.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop graphics chips often share a name with desktop cards but perform noticeably worse. Laptops run lower power limits and have limited cooling, so the same model name can mean a meaningfully slower card. When comparing, check the laptop's actual power configuration and cooling design rather than just the name. An older laptop GPU may look close to a recommended-tier desktop card on paper but still fall behind in practice.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally can usually run the game well by lowering the resolution, using upscaling and dropping to low-to-medium presets. We do not have Steam Deck verification data for this title, so we cannot give a compatibility rating for it; check the official requirements and your device's specs to judge fit.
On battery power, laptops and handhelds typically reduce their power limits and performance drops. Playing while plugged in will give you a fuller experience.
Storage and memory
The official minimum RAM is 4GB and the recommended is 8GB, but we suggest 16GB for actual play, which is the common figure across all three build tiers. With enough memory, data moves between the system and the game more smoothly, and background programs are less likely to cause stutter. Where possible, use dual-channel configuration, meaning two sticks in the correct slots, which tends to matter more for integrated graphics and some processors.
The official storage figure is 8GB, which is only the rough size of the base game. Updates and save files add to that, so keep plenty of free space to avoid failed updates.
An SSD is not required, and the game will run from a traditional hard drive. However, an SSD noticeably shortens load times and reduces hitching when moving between areas. If your budget allows, install the game on an SSD.