Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum asks for an AMD FX-4350 (4.2 GHz) or Intel Core i5-2300 (2.80 GHz) processor, an AMD HD 7870 2GB or NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB graphics card, 6GB of RAM and 70GB of storage. An SSD is not required. By our tier mapping, those parts are very old entry-level hardware, roughly on the level of a Radeon HD 7850. The game should run on them, but there is little room for higher settings or smooth frame pacing.
The official recommended tier asks for an AMD FX-8350 (4.0 GHz) or Intel Core i7-3770 (3.4 GHz) processor, an AMD RX 480 4GB or RX 580 4GB, or an NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB or GTX 1060 6GB, with 12GB of RAM and 70GB of storage. The GTX 970 sits at the older end of entry level in our ranking, while a GTX 1660 Super is a step up into mainstream territory. The recommended tier should give you a reasonable experience, but if you want comfortable headroom you will want something above it.
The gap between minimum and recommended is mostly about the graphics card and memory. The GPU tier roughly doubles, and RAM goes from 6GB to 12GB. A machine at the minimum level is more likely to run short of memory or need heavy setting cuts. The publisher does not list an SSD requirement, but an SSD still helps a lot, as covered below.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players on a tight budget who can accept low to medium settings. Pair a GTX 1650 4GB, GTX 1660 or RTX 3050 6GB with a Ryzen 3 3100 or Core i3-10100F. This combination should comfortably reach the official recommended tier, but at higher resolutions or higher settings it will start to struggle, so 1080p is the realistic target. Go straight to 16GB of RAM rather than stopping at 12GB, because the game, Windows and background apps add up quickly.
The mainstream build is the choice for most players. Look at a GTX 1660 Super, RTX 3050 8GB, GTX 1660 Ti or RX 5600 XT, with a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i5-10400 and 16GB of RAM. This tier has clear headroom above the recommended level, which suits players who want medium-high settings at 1080p and a smooth experience over a long time.
The high-end build is for players who want higher settings or resolution. Consider an RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT, RX 7600 or Arc B580, paired with a Ryzen 5 5600, Core i5-12400 or Ryzen 7 8700G. 16GB of RAM is enough for most players, and 32GB makes sense if you stream or record while playing. This tier is not required to run the game; it simply gives you room to push the settings further.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In open-world action RPGs like this one, the settings that usually cost the most are shadow quality, volumetric lighting and fog, view distance, and the simulation density of crowds and battle units. Shadows and view distance tend to have a large effect because they add objects to draw and lights to compute. If your graphics card is only at the recommended tier, start by setting these to medium and then judge how the game feels overall.
Anti-aliasing and post-processing effects such as depth of field and motion blur usually cost less, so adjust them to taste. High-quality reflections and volumetrics are heavier, so lower them first on a mid-range card. If the game offers ray tracing options, they will typically add a noticeable load; on entry and mainstream cards it is best left off.
Upscaling technologies such as DLSS, FSR and XeSS render the game at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image at your target resolution, which buys performance headroom. Use them if your card supports them, and compare the quality and performance modes yourself, since the quality mode generally keeps more detail.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop graphics chips often share names with desktop cards but perform noticeably worse because of lower power limits and tighter cooling. A laptop GTX 1660 and a desktop GTX 1660 can behave quite differently under sustained load. When comparing, look at the actual power limit and cooling design rather than just the name. If a laptop only just meets the official minimum, run the game at lower settings and resolution and keep an eye on temperatures and clock throttling.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally use integrated or low-power hardware, so the game typically needs low settings, a lower resolution, upscaling and a power cap to run smoothly. We do not have verification data for the Steam Deck, so we cannot give a specific rating for it. In general, start with low settings, a shorter view distance and shadows turned down, then adjust from there. If the handheld lets you cap power or the frame rate, a limit can give a steadier experience.
Storage and memory
The official minimum RAM is 6GB and the recommended amount is 12GB. In practice we suggest 16GB, since the game, the operating system and background apps can easily push 12GB. Make sure the memory runs in dual-channel mode with the sticks in the correct slots, which improves data transfer between the processor and memory. If your budget allows, 32GB gives extra headroom, especially if you stream or record while playing.
Storage requirements are 70GB for both the minimum and recommended levels, but leave extra space for patches and cache files. The official listing does not require an SSD, so a hard drive will work, but an SSD noticeably shortens load times and reduces stutter during area transitions. It is one of the most worthwhile upgrades. If space is tight, install the game on an SSD and keep bulk files on a hard drive.