Horizon Zero Dawn™ Complete Edition PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum CPU is an Intel Core i5-2500K at 3.3GHz or an AMD FX 6300 at 3.5GHz. In our tiering, that places it at the very old, entry-level end, roughly on par with an FX-6300. The minimum GPU is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 (3 GB) or an AMD Radeon R9 290 (4GB), which sits in the older entry-level band. The minimum asks for 8 GB of RAM and 100 GB of storage. The publisher does not require an SSD.
The recommended CPU is an Intel Core i7-4770K at 3.5GHz or a Ryzen 5 1500X at 3.5GHz. This is still a very old, entry-level part by our measure, close to a Ryzen 5 1400. The recommended GPU is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) or an AMD Radeon RX 580 (8GB), which falls in the mainstream 1080p band. The recommended RAM is 16 GB, and storage stays at 100 GB.
For most players, the gap between minimum and recommended is most noticeable in the graphics card. The recommended GPU gives you a clearer margin for normal settings at 1080p, while the CPU difference is smaller. The publisher does not list anything above the recommended tier, so if you want higher resolutions or more demanding settings, you will need to build in your own margin above that level.
If you do not see a particular level listed, the publisher has not published it for this game.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players with a tight budget who plan to play at 1080p with low to medium settings. It pairs an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB with an AMD Ryzen 3 3100 and 16 GB of RAM. This combination reaches the recommended GPU tier, but you should keep graphics settings conservative.
The mainstream build is the best value for most players at 1080p with medium to high settings. It uses an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super, an AMD Ryzen 5 3600, and 16 GB of RAM. It sits clearly above the recommended tier, leaving room to turn on most of the main graphics options without much trade-off.
The high-end build is for players who want higher resolutions or better image quality, or who want room to upgrade later. It pairs an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and 32 GB of RAM. It is well beyond the recommended threshold and suits players aiming for a more demanding visual experience.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In open-world action games like this, shadows, volumetric lighting and fog, vegetation and crowd simulation density, and view distance usually cost the most. If you need more smoothness, start by lowering shadow quality and view distance. These two often cost less in visual quality than they return in performance. Volumetrics and fog are also heavy and can be reduced if needed.
If your graphics card supports ray tracing, enabling it adds a noticeable load. On lower and mid-range cards, it is usually better to leave ray tracing off and spend that budget on resolution and core lighting quality. Anti-aliasing and main texture detail are worth keeping where you can, since they strongly affect how clean the image looks and usually cost comparatively little.
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. If your card supports one of them, enabling it often gives a useful performance margin with little visible loss in quality. Results vary by card and quality mode, so compare a few settings yourself.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop GPUs often share names with desktop cards, such as GTX 1660 or RTX 3050, but real performance depends heavily on power limits and cooling. A laptop version of the same name usually runs at lower power and more conservative clocks, so judge it one tier below the desktop card when checking the requirements. Poor cooling can also cause throttling during longer sessions. A cooling pad helps, and you should make sure the power mode is set to high performance.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally are designed to run games at lower power. You will generally need to drop the resolution and graphics settings considerably and make use of any built-in scaling or upscaling the device offers. We have no verification data for these devices, so this is only general guidance: start with low settings, raise them step by step, and balance the result against battery life and heat.
Storage and memory
The official minimum RAM is 8 GB and the recommended is 16 GB. For most people today, 16 GB is a sensible starting point, and dual-channel configuration (two sticks in matched slots) is worth using because it increases memory bandwidth. If you also run other programs or stream while playing, 32 GB gives more comfortable headroom.
The official storage requirement is 100 GB. An SSD is not required, but a solid-state drive noticeably shortens loading times and keeps area transitions and fast travel smoother. If your budget allows, install the game on an SSD. An HDD will work, but loading will be slower.
Finally, leave more free space than the listed requirement. Updates and cache files add to the total, and a nearly full drive can cause problems with patching and saves.