Can Your PC (or Fancy Mac) Survive Crimson Desert? Specs Explained with Snacks

Crimson Desert is rolling up like that one ambitious friend who plans a road trip across three countries and expects you to bring snacks. If you want to play it, your machine needs to meet actual demands. Here is the plain, slightly sarcastic breakdown of what Pearl Abyss wants from your PC or Mac.

PC requirements: the basics and the dreams

Pearl Abyss released a tiered set of PC specs that range from "I just want to see it" to "I want my screenshots to become wallpaper calendars." In short: Windows 10 64-bit 22H2 or newer and DirectX 12 are required. Also, the game needs an SSD and about 150 GB of free space. Yes, 150 GB. No, you cannot put it on that dusty HDD sitting under your desk.

Performance targets and a reality check

• Recommended target is medium settings at 1080p running at 60 fps. For that, expect to need an RTX 2080 paired with something like an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or an Intel i5-11600K.
• The listed targets assume no fancy upscaling. Using DLSS, FSR, or other upscalers will likely push those frame rates higher, so feel free to turn on the tech and pretend you made a smart decision.
• Ray tracing will hit performance, so keep that in mind if you like both pretty reflections and smooth gameplay.

Specs by preset

• Minimum - Target: 1080p (upscaled from 900p) at 30 fps. GPU: AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT or NVIDIA GTX 1060. CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel i5-8500. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB on SSD.
• Low - Target: 1080p at 30 fps. GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT or NVIDIA GTX 1660. CPU: same as minimum. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB on SSD.
• Recommended - Target: 1080p at 60 fps (also listed 4K at 30 fps). GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT or NVIDIA RTX 2080. CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel i5-11600K. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB on SSD.
• High - Target: 1440p at 60 fps. GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT or NVIDIA RTX 4070. CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X or Intel i5-12600K. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB on SSD.
• Ultra - Target: 4K at 60 fps. GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT or NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti. CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7700X or Intel i5-13600K. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB on SSD.

Mac requirements: yes, Apple machines too

Mac players are not left in the dust. The game uses a "For this Mac" preset that auto-tunes settings to balance visuals and performance. It supports macOS 15, but Pearl Abyss recommends macOS 26 Tahoe for the best results. If you like silky frame rates, macOS 26 plus MetalFX and frame interpolation will be your friend.

Mac performance targets

• On macOS 15 using MetalFX: expect 720p or 900p at 30 fps on lower-end chips, 1080p at 30 fps for recommended machines, 1440p at 30 fps for high, and up to 4K at about 40 fps on top-tier chips.
• On macOS 26 and newer using MetalFX plus frame interpolation: most targets jump to 60 fps. So upgrading macOS pays off if you have the hardware.

Mac chips and what they mean

• Minimum - M2 Pro (without ray tracing) or M3/M4 if you want ray tracing. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB.
• Recommended - M3 Pro, M4 Pro, or M5 for ray tracing. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB.
• High - M2 Max without ray tracing or M3 Max with ray tracing. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB.
• Ultra - M3 Ultra or M4 Max with ray tracing. RAM: 16 GB. Storage: 150 GB.

Short version: both PC and Mac want 16 GB of RAM and 150 GB on an SSD. Ray tracing will make the game look nicer and your frame rate cry. If you are aiming for 60 fps at 1080p without tricks, aim for RTX 2080 class GPUs or M3-class Apple silicon or better.

So check your specs, clear some SSD space, and maybe prepare some snacks before you jump into Crimson Desert. Your rig will thank you, or at least it will stop complaining for a little while.