Can I Run System Shock?
Released in 2023, System Shock is an action adventure game built by Nightdive Studios. Publishing duties went to Atari. The game supports a single player campaign. Its Steam review count passes 9 thousand, a large enough sample that odd hardware behaviour would be known by now. Saves sync through Steam Cloud, so moving between machines does not cost progress. It carries 46 achievements. It is localised into 13 languages according to the store listing. Controller support is partial, so some input still falls back to the keyboard. It is a Windows title, so the requirements below are the Windows ones.
Can your PC run it? →System requirements
Minimum requirements
| CPU | Intel Core i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 or better |
|---|---|
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or better |
| VRAM | 2 GB |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage | 10 GB |
| OS | Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit only) |
| DirectX | 11 |
Recommended requirements
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3770/AMD FX-8350 or better |
|---|---|
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB/AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB or better |
| VRAM | 4 GB |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage | 10 GB |
| OS | Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit only) |
| DirectX | 11 |
Verified from Steam · 9 Jul 2026 source
Scores are deterministic, computed by fixed rules and benchmark tables, not written by an AI. How we score. Maintained by Farhad Ali. Spotted a wrong specification? Tell us.
Setting and environment
Players spend their time in a cyberpunk future, moving through dense spaces with several routes through each problem. Play is presented from a first person view. There are 12 official screenshots to judge the look from.
Why System Shock is demanding
Very little is asked of the GPU by System Shock. NVIDIA GTX 970 scores low against the RTX 3060, putting System Shock within reach of laptop and integrated graphics. Disk footprint is light, near 10 GB. A 64 bit version of Windows is required. At 4 GB, VRAM is a non issue for System Shock. System Shock needs only 8 GB of RAM.
This reading comes from the published requirements and our own benchmark tables, not from the store listing.
Can you run System Shock?
System Shock targets a mainstream modern PC: NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or better and 4 GB of RAM for the minimum, stepping up to NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB/AMD Radeon R9 290 4GB or better for the recommended experience. No single part dominates the requirements, so a balanced mid-range build clears it.
Bottleneck: GPU
Projected by resolution
| Resolution | Projection | Headroom |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | Comfortable | 2.58x |
| 1440p | Runs well | 1.45x |
| 4K | Below the bar | 0.64x |
A projection, not a measurement. We scale the published GPU requirement by pixel count, since 1440p draws 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p and 4K draws 4 times as many, then compare against RTX 3060 / Ryzen 5 build. The publisher did not state a target resolution, so 1080p is assumed as the baseline. We hold no frame rate data, so no FPS figure is claimed. Headroom above 1 means the reference machine has room to spare at that resolution.
Common GPUs
| Graphics card | Verdict |
|---|---|
| GTX 1060 6 GB | Runs great |
| GTX 1060 Laptop | Runs great |
| GTX 1650 4 GB | Runs great |
| GTX 1650 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 2060 6 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 2060 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 3060 12 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 3060 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 4060 8 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 4060 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 3070 8 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 3070 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 4070 12 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 4070 Laptop | Runs great |
| RX 6600 8 GB | Runs great |
Each card is compared against System Shock's published GPU requirement, assuming an otherwise-capable PC. Laptop rows use the real mobile chip's benchmark, a mobile GPU is always slower than its desktop namesake.
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Frequently asked questions
Can my PC run System Shock?
Upload your DxDiag file to Idxdiag's free checker and get a component by component compatibility verdict for System Shock in seconds. No install required.
What are the minimum system requirements for System Shock?
The minimum requirements are CPU: Intel Core i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 or better; GPU: NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or better; 4 GB RAM; OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit only).
How much storage does System Shock need?
System Shock needs about 10 GB of available storage.
Can an RTX 3060 run System Shock?
The RTX 3060 runs System Shock comfortably, clearing the title's GPU requirement with room to spare.
What is the bottleneck for System Shock?
On a typical modern PC (Ryzen 5 5600, RTX 3060, 16 GB RAM), the tightest component for System Shock is the GPU.