Sony publishes God of War PC system requirements, adds DLSS to Horizon Zero Dawn

[Daniel Sims]

Something to look forward to: Sony posted the system requirements for the upcoming PC version of its 2018 hit God of War this week, along with a new trailer reiterating the PC port’s enhancements. They seem slightly steep if you want to play the game in 4K.

When Sony announced God of War for PC in October, it confirmed the port would support Nvidia DLSS, Nvidia Reflex, higher resolution shadows, Ground Truth Ambient Occlusion, Screen Space Directional Occlusion, and 21:9 aspect ratio. The new trailer containing PC footage at 4K and 60 frames per second reconfirms these features.

The system requirements appear similar to those of Sony’s other Blockbuster PC ports – Horizon: Zero Dawn and Days Gone. Impressively, the ancient i5-2500k can still play these games, although it does seem strange for God of War to recommend a Ryzen 9 3950X for 4K 60fps.

Click on the image to zoom in

Minimum system requirements (720p 30fps Low settings)

• GPU: Nvidia GTX 960 (4GB) / AMD R9 290x (4GB)
• CPU: Intel i5-2500k (4 core 3.3GHz) / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 (4 core 3.1GHz)
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1809)
• Storage: 70GB HDD (SSD Recommended)

Recommended system requirements (1080p 30fps PS4 settings)

• GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD RX 570 (4GB)
• CPU: Intel i5-6600k (4 core 3.5GHz) / AMD Ryzen 5 2400 G (4-core 3.6GHz)
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1809)
• Storage: 70GB SSD

High system requirements (1080p 60fps PS4 settings)

• GPU: Nvidia GTX 1070 (8GB) / AMD RX 5600 XT (6GB)
• CPU: Intel i7-4770k (4 core 3.5GHz) / AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (8 core 3.2GHz)
• RAM: 8GB
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1809)
• Storage: 70GB SSD

Performance system requirements (1440p 60fps High settings)

• GPU: Nvidia RTX 2070 (8GB) / AMD RX 5700 XT (8GB)
• CPU: Intel i7-7700k (4 core 4.2GHz) / AMD Ryzen 7 3700x (8 core 3.6GHz)
• RAM: 16GB
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1809)
• Storage: 70GB SSD

Ultra system requirements (4K 60fps Ultra settings)

• GPU: Nvidia RTX 3080 (10GB) / AMD RX 6800 XT (16GB)
• CPU: Intel i9-9900k (8 core 3.6GHz) / AMD Ryzen 9 3950x (16 core 3.5GHz)
• RAM: 16GB
• OS: Windows 10 64-bit (version 1809)
• Storage: 70GB SSD

God of War launches on PC on January 14, 2022.

Sony also released patch 1.11 for the PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn on Wednesday, which adds DLSS and AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution. The update also moves shader compilation from startup to loading screens, as well as in the background during gameplay.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92555-sony-publishes-god-war-pc-system-requirements-adds.html

 

[Dimitriid]

3950x? I'd be surprised if the game consistently uses more than 8 threads but at 4k it's never going to need more than 6 before the GPU taps out no matter which.

 

[GamerNerves]

Nice to see little more detailed requirements, not that I'd trust them that much, but this is another example of CPU requirements being completely wacky.

 

[MrBlkfx1]

It looks like they just wanted to scale up the CPU and RAM as they reasonably have to do with the GPU. I doubt you'll need that level of CPU power to play comfortably at 4K. Also, when did games start recommending 16GB of RAM? While I'm sure most people with a top-end system will have atleast 16GB, it seems excessive for game requirements.

 

[Chemicalfaerie]

Wow. Wanting more GPU power than the PS4 Pro even had. That's a bit of an upscale.

 

[Watzupken]

It looks like they just wanted to scale up the CPU and RAM as they reasonably have to do with the GPU. I doubt you'll need that level of CPU power to play comfortably at 4K. Also, when did games start recommending 16GB of RAM? While I'm sure most people with a top-end system will have atleast 16GB, it seems excessive for game requirements.

I feel RAM requirements is very subjective. Most developers will add a buffer in their recommendation because they have no idea what you are running in the background, in addition to the game. I feel 8GB is not going to cut it nowadays for a gaming system, and especially when you are pushing 1440p or higher. In any case, the minimal specs is still very acceptable.

 

[Watzupken]

Wow. Wanting more GPU power than the PS4 Pro even had. That's a bit of an upscale.

I don't think it is an apple to apple comparison. If I am playing this game on a PC, I won't want to be bound by the same limitations on a PS4 Pro. The game ran mostly at 30 FPS @ 4K checkerboard on PS4 Pro with variable resolution. So it is not exactly native 4K. In every game, pushing actual native 4K will see a significant drop in FPS. Thus, I think it is not unexpected that we see a big disparity in specs. I suspect if one is to enable say DLSS or FSR, we should still be able to push the specs down somewhat.

 

[Lionvibez]

I can't wait to play this at 1440 Ultrawide so glad it has 21:9 support.

 

[Kosmoz]

I'm glad I did not play GoW yet, playing it for the 1st time on PC maxed out, looking better than on consoles and with all the latest updates to the game... that should be great.

I just hope the port won't be as bad as Horizon ZD was at launch on PC...

 

[Puiu]

Why does the CPU requirement grow at Ultra 4K 60FPS? Aren't you GPU limited with those settings?

 

[pencea]

I'm glad I did not play GoW yet, playing it for the 1st time on PC maxed out, looking better than on consoles and with all the latest updates to the game... that should be great.

I just hope the port won't be as bad as Horizon ZD was at launch on PC...

Played and completed it since 2018 on PS4 then again on PS5. It's an amazing from start to finish. Glad the game will be experienced by new players.

I'm excited for God of War Ragnarök when it comes out next year.

 

[McMurdeR]

Contender for classic status. Hope the PC gets a good port.

 

[Nintenboy01]

Strange indeed that the CPU recommendations shoot up at 4K, since you're more GPU-limited there anyway. Plus the original game had to make do with far weaker AMD Jaguar CPU cores.

 

[Nobina]

How come HZD got FSR and this game won't? That should significantly reduce system requirements for people not willing to pay 2.5x for a new GPU.

 

[Kosmoz]

How come HZD got FSR and this game won't? That should significantly reduce system requirements for people not willing to pay 2.5x for a new GPU.

Because this game and Sony got nvidia to sponsor it and it will have only DLSS...

Pretty weird considering it's running on AMD hardware on consoles...

 

[defaultluser]

How come HZD got FSR and this game won't? That should significantly reduce system requirements for people not willing to pay 2.5x for a new GPU.

It just sounds like a paid-for NVIDIA launch exclusive, but they should be able to get FSR post-launch.

 

[Shadowboxer]

How come HZD got FSR and this game won't? That should significantly reduce system requirements for people not willing to pay 2.5x for a new GPU.

Because FSR is awful and most players turn it off. I’m annoyed when I see FSR and not DLSS in games as it mayswell just have no upscaling technology. I’m sure FSR will improve but right now DLSS is so much better and actually useable.

On top of this if you add DLSS to a game Nvidia will market your game for free. It’s one of the ways Nvidia helps to persuade devs to go with their technology.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Man, talk about dishonesty! The number of draw calls per second that a CPU makes to the GPU isn't affected by the resolution being used! SOMEBODY has slipped Sony a few shekels to make these claims so that gamers who don't know better might decide that it's time for a new CPU that they don't need or (in the case of Alienware gamers) a new PC altogether.

A CPU is either fast enough to be able to send the 60 draw calls per second to get the 60fps or it isn't. CPU-heavy games have other demands on the CPU that can interfere with that if the CPU isn't fast enough to send 60 draw calls to the GPU while also handling the other demands that the game puts on it.

Some games need more cores/threads than others but if an i7-4770K with 4 physical cores and 4 logical cores is enough, then any Intel or AMD CPU that came out after the i7-4770K with at least 4 physical cores and 4 logical cores running at least 3.6GHz should be able to do the trick with no problems. The resolution should have no impact on this. If an i7-4770K is capable of 60fps at 1080p, then it's capable of 60fps at 2160p. The question only becomes whether or not the GPU is fast enough to make the draw that the CPU calls for before the CPU makes the next call.

This is why absolute CPU gaming performance tests are done with potato graphics settings.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Wow. Wanting more GPU power than the PS4 Pro even had. That's a bit of an upscale.

It's a matter of overhead and the API used. The APIs used in consoles are much lower level (closer to the actual hardware) than any API used by a PC. The lowest-level API typically used in PCs is VULKAN and even that isn't the same as a console API. The reason is that consoles do nothing but game while PCs will always be doing more than just gaming.

 

[Nobina]

Because FSR is awful and most players turn it off. I’m annoyed when I see FSR and not DLSS in games as it mayswell just have no upscaling technology. I’m sure FSR will improve but right now DLSS is so much better and actually useable.

On top of this if you add DLSS to a game Nvidia will market your game for free. It’s one of the ways Nvidia helps to persuade devs to go with their technology.

FSR is not awful and it supports GPUs like the GTX 1060 which is the most popular GPU out there and could greatly benefit from it. DLSS and FSR don't have to be one or the other, like in HZD, have both so your AMD hating *** can turn it off.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Contender for classic status. Hope the PC gets a good port.

Yeah, that's always the trick, eh? So many great games have been ruined by a bad port to the PC.

Strange indeed that the CPU recommendations shoot up at 4K, since you're more GPU-limited there anyway. Plus the original game had to make do with far weaker AMD Jaguar CPU cores.

It's a load of crap if you ask me. If CPU power was affected by resolution, then absolute CPU gaming ability wouldn't have been historically tested with potato graphics settings.

How come HZD got FSR and this game won't? That should significantly reduce system requirements for people not willing to pay 2.5x for a new GPU.

All we know at this point is that it hasn't received FSR support yet. It might be just around the corner. It makes sense that it got DLSS support first because there are a lot more gamers with GeForce cards who can benefit from it than there are with Radeon cards. I have a Radeon card myself and while FSR does look great, I don't often notice what the graphics look like in games that involve killing enemies. I'm usually too focused on the actual enemies to notice.

Keep in mind though that I'm old-school and so I grew up on games with graphics that would be considered to be terrible today. I still like going back to playing games like Wolfenstein 3D and StarCraft from time to time and those were made 25-30 years ago. Maybe my past experience just makes me a lot more appreciative of graphics today because my gaming skills were forged in graphics hell compared to today.

Because this game and Sony got nvidia to sponsor it and it will have only DLSS...

Pretty weird considering it's running on AMD hardware on consoles...

I think that it'll get FSR in time even if nVidia is sponsoring the game. I say this because AMD can implement FSR even on games that don't support it and God of War is a HUGE title.

Honestly though, I think that it's just a matter of the fact that most PC gamers have GeForce cards and so they're making sure that they're taken care of first. I have a Radeon card and I'm not offended by this.

 

[Lionvibez]

FSR is not awful and it supports GPUs like the GTX 1060 which is the most popular GPU out there and could greatly benefit from it. DLSS and FSR don't have to be one or the other, like in HZD, have both so your AMD hating *** can turn it off.

I won't use FSR or DLSS I prefer native but I like people having options if they choose to do so. The one track minded thinking is silly but it is what it is.

 

[McMurdeR]

Strange indeed that the CPU recommendations shoot up at 4K, since you're more GPU-limited there anyway. Plus the original game had to make do with far weaker AMD Jaguar CPU cores.

I think the issue here is that these titles were built from the ground up for console hardware before there was any mention of PC ports not to mention PS4 Pro. It isn't always as easy as it looks. Horizon Zero Dawn is a prime example, but credit to them, they put the effort in to fix the issues - it even got a new patch the other day.

 

[TheCamperSnake]

This isn't looking normal. Either they wanted to keep the list short or, they messed it up to a certain degree. No way this game requires a RTX 3080 to run at 4K60 with CPU requirement even odder. It should have been a GTX 1080 Ti/RTX 2080 with a 6 core CPU at best.

 

[Kosmoz]

Honestly though, I think that it's just a matter of the fact that most PC gamers have GeForce cards and so they're making sure that they're taken care of first. I have a Radeon card and I'm not offended by this.

Yes, Geforce as in GTX, not RTX. DLSS only works on RTX and the majority still have GTX...

Sure there are a quite lot that have RTX, but they are not yet the majority and the game having DLSS is targeted only for them, while FSR would be for everybody. So this is a big PR move by nvidia, I'm just curious what did Sony get out of this...

There is a big "IF", if FSR will ever come to an nvidia sponsored title (see Metro Exodus, CP 77, Watch Dogs Legion, etc - as examples, they don't have it not even now after so much time passed).