Demanding PC Games and the GPU Features Behind Their Requirements
Last updated:
Checked 29 August 2026. Requirements refer to the named store listing or developer update and can change with patches.
“Most demanding” is not a permanent or universal ranking. A game can be limited by ray tracing at 4K, CPU simulation in a crowded area, shader compilation during traversal or memory at high texture settings. The useful comparison is a documented version, target resolution and preset on a known PC.
Cyberpunk 2077 after Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty
CD Projekt Red revised the official PC requirements for the Update 2.0 era and Phantom Liberty. Its raster targets include 1080p at 30 FPS on Low with a GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, Radeon RX 580 8 GB or Arc A380; 1080p at 60 FPS on High with an RTX 2060 Super, RX 5700 XT or Arc A770; and 4K at 60 FPS on Ultra with an RTX 3080 or RX 7900 XTX.
The developer’s ray-tracing table is much heavier. The RT Overdrive target lists 4K at 60 FPS using an RTX 4080 with DLSS Frame Generation. That is a vendor- and feature-specific target, not evidence that every 4080 system will reproduce the result. CD Projekt Red says the requirements were based on internal testing and that performance can vary. An SSD is required.
Alan Wake 2
The current Epic Games Store listing for Alan Wake 2 specifies Windows 10/11 64-bit, 16 GB RAM and 90 GB on SSD. Its minimum lists an Intel Core i5-7600K or equivalent and a GeForce GTX 1070 or Radeon RX 5600 XT. The recommended listing moves to a Ryzen 7 3700X or equivalent and an RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT.
A store requirement is a compatibility starting point, not a benchmark. It may omit the exact patch, frame-rate target or image reconstruction setting. Treat it as a way to screen obvious mismatches, then consult the developer’s current performance notes and community measurements for the exact build.
What actually makes a game heavy
| Feature or workload | Typical pressure | What to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Path tracing or extensive ray tracing | GPU shaders, VRAM, denoising | Exact RT mode, resolution and reconstruction |
| High-resolution textures | VRAM and storage streaming | Texture pool, pop-in, memory warnings |
| Dense crowds or simulation | CPU/game thread | Busy-city frame times, not an empty benchmark |
| Large traversal areas | Storage, memory and compilation | SSD requirement and repeat-run stutter |
| High refresh-rate targets | CPU and GPU together | Frame-time consistency and input response |
Build a reproducible comparison
- Record the game version, driver, operating system and whether an expansion is installed.
- State resolution, preset, ray-tracing mode, upscaler mode and frame-generation status.
- Use a built-in benchmark when available, then validate with a demanding playable scene.
- Report frame-time behavior as well as averages, and separate measured results from official specifications.
- Do not combine results from different patches or call a vendor target an independent test.
For a step-by-step tuning method, use our guide to PC settings and bottlenecks. If hardware purchase cost is the issue, compare it with the network and ownership trade-offs in cloud gaming versus a high-end PC.
