Can My PC Run S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2? [Minimum & Recommended Specs]

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a thrilling, eerie FPS releasing in late April 2022, and the previews and sneak-peeks have historical gamers champing at the bit to play it. A beautiful game set in the harrowing era of Chernobyl, it’s sure to be one of the games you don’t want to miss out on next year.

However, it is a new, advanced game. As games require more effort to create in the new age of technology, your computer needs to be able to compete with the demands of the games. This leaves S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 anticipators wondering if their systems can run the game when it comes out.

To run S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on PC, you’ll need at least 8GB of RAM capacity, and 150GB of free disk space. You’ll need an AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB or newer for your GPU. You’ll also need an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X or newer for your CPU. Additionally, you’ll want Windows 10 64-bit or newer.

Let’s discuss this in further detail.

Minimum Part Requirements for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

Memory	GPU	CPU	OS	Disk Space
8 GB	AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB	AMD Ryzen 5 1600X	Windows 10 64-bit	150 GB

These are the minimum specs required to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on a PC. You’ll need at least 8GB of RAM and 150GB of available disk space. This shouldn’t be too hard to meet, since most gamers have at least 8GB of RAM in their systems already.

For your GPU, an AMD Radeon RX 580 (or Intel Core i5-7600K) or newer is required. You’ll also need an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060) or newer for your CPU.

Finally, make sure you’re running Windows 10 or newer, as this is a modern game and needs a recent Windows version to launch.

Recommended Specs and Build for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

	Memory	GPU	CPU	OS
Recommended	16 GB	AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X	Windows 10 64-bit
Top Build	32 GB	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060	Intel Core i7-9700K	Windows 10 64-bit

Here are the recommended specs for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, which are a good deal better than what you need to meet launch requirements. You’ll get better performance with 16GB of RAM, Windows 10 64-bit, an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, and an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.

If you want the best build for your S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 rig, I’ve included a top build designed for the purpose. It involves 32GB of RAM for boosted speed, and an RTX 3060 GPU for ray-tracing and better graphics.

The top build has the same tier of CPU, since you’re mostly concerned about graphics with a game like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

Best Laptops to Run S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

Laptop	Memory	GPU	CPU	OS
HP Pavilion	32 GB	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650	AMD Ryzen 5 4600H	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Sager NP7859PQ	16 GB	GeForce RTX 3060 6GB	Intel Core i7-11800H	Windows 11 64-bit
Eluktronics MECH-15	32 GB	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	Windows 10 Home 64-bit

These are three of the best gaming laptops on the market for playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, in descending order of cheapest to most expensive. Any of these will give you the performance you need, but the Eluktronics MECH-15 will give the best.

The HP Pavilion has 32GB of RAM, which is great, but it skimps on the GPU/CPU combination, whereas the other two options excel. The Sager laptop will give you better performance than the Pavilion, but it lacks in RAM.

The best deal is the MECH-15, hands-down. You get ample RAM capacity, next-gen GPU and CPU, and a sleek package. It’s almost twice as expensive as the Sager, but twice as worth it as well.

Does S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Work on Windows 10?

Yes, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 works on Windows 10. In fact, it exclusively works on Windows 10 or newer, so if you’re still running Windows 7 for the aesthetics, you’ll need to upgrade.

Additionally, make sure your Windows version is 64-bit, since 32-bit severely hampers your RAM utility, and you want all the RAM you can get with a game like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

How Much Space Does S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Take?

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will take up 150GB of space on your storage drive. It’s a hefty game, but from the trailers and previews, it looks like it’ll be worth it. Also, consider storing on your SSD rather than your HDD for improved transfer speeds.

Why is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Running So Poorly?

There are a few common causes behind a game not running very well. It could be that your system barely meets the minimum specs and is thus struggling to keep up with the game, in which case you need to make some upgrades.

It could also be that some of your components are overheating, or that your game settings are too high. One of these is likely the culprit, but upgrading is the only costly solution, where the others should be relatively easy fixes.