Star Citizen Ile Avalon Pilot Logbook
Flight notebook of a Star Citizen

System requirements

For best gaming experience while exploring Star Citizen

As of Star Citizen Alpha 3.17: Fueling Fortunes, the game will require DirectX 11.1 or later. Below are the system requirements to run Star Citizen on your PC, as well as recommendations for a better experience exploring the 'verse. As the game is still in development, these minimum and recommended specifications may change in the future.

What are the minimum requirements to play Star Citizen?

Star Citizen requires a 64-bit processor and operating system.

  • Windows 8.1, or Windows 10 (Latest Service Pack)
  • Quad Core CPU, Intel Sandy Bridge or later, AMD Bulldozer or later
  • DirectX 11.1 compatible graphics card with 3 GB VRam
  • 16+ GB of RAM
  • 80+ GB of free storage

Although the minimum system requirements do not specify the use of an SSD drive, it is strongly recommended, if not essential.

Star Citizen is not available for macOS or Linux.

As of patch Alpha 3.11, Star Citizen requires a computer capable of running AVX instructions, which is listed above in the processor requirements.

As of patch Alpha 3.17, Star Citizen requires DirectX 11.1 compatible graphics cards to run, see later in this page for DirectX 11.1 support.

What are the recommended requirements to play Star Citizen?

For the best gaming experience while exploring the 'verse, players are advised to have systems that meet or exceed the specifications below.

  • Windows 10 operating system (Latest Service Pack)
  • Quad Core CPU, Intel Sandy Bridge or later, AMD Bulldozer or later
  • DirectX 11.1 compatible graphics card with 4+ GB VRam
  • 16+ GB of RAM, DDR4
  • 80+ GB free storage on SSD media

Support for DirectX 11.1

DirectX is related to graphics, and therefore requires video cards that can support it. Most modern video cards released in the last few years can use this feature set. If you are not sure if your computer configuration allows it, check the specifications with your video card manufacturer. Below are some links to help you in your search:

The specifications to search for are "DirectX 3D 11.1", with the use of feature set 11_1.

What does DirectX 11.1 mean for Star Citizen players?

DirectX version 11.1 is not compatible with the Windows 7 operating system (OS), which some gamers still use for some reason. Microsoft officially ended support for the Windows 7 operating system on January 14, 2020. For more information on what this means, please read the related article on Microsoft's website.

Although the game has been able to run in a Windows 7 operating environment until now, the Alpha 3.17: Fueling Fortunes patch will render the game unable to run on systems that still use this OS due to the new DirectX 11.1 requirement. The same will be true for players on systems using graphics cards that are too old and cannot support DirectX 11.1 or higher. This will result in an error message on these systems that will prevent the game from launching.

Because this is an operating system/hardware conflict, CIG Technical Support will not be able to assist players having difficulty running the game until they upgrade their hardware to a newer Windows configuration that is compatible with a compliant graphics card.

While upgrading a graphics card is no small feat these days, operating system upgrades can be purchased directly from Microsoft or other computer software retailers that service your area. As with any software purchase, make sure your computer can run it before you buy it.

If you have questions about upgrading your operating system, contact Microsoft support for assistance.

What about Windows 11?

Star Citizen will fully support Windows 11, which was released in October 2021, but extensive testing and troubleshooting is underway to ensure the game is compatible with this operating system.

Any technical issues with running the game on a Windows 11 operating system should be reported on the Issue Council so that development teams can investigate and resolve them while compatibility testing continues.

Star Citizen Telemetry?

CIG offers a tool that players can use to get a rough estimate of performance for most system configurations so they can get an idea of what to expect. It's called the Telemetry Dashboard and can be accessed directly from the Roberts Space Industries website.

Keep in mind that each system is unique and your performance may vary based on a number of factors that cannot be accounted for by this tool.

What about Reshade and Star Citizen?

Currently, the third-party tool program Reshade is causing problems for players in the Alpha 3.17: Fueling Fortunes patch. When using this program, the game can sometimes incorrectly register that your video card and system are not compatible, preventing a player from entering the game.

If you are currently using this program to improve the visual appearance of the game, it is recommended that you disable or uninstall it until the conflict is resolved if you encounter this error. There are reports that renaming the Reshade d3d11.dll file to dxgi.dll before copying it to the StarCitizen/Live/Bin64 folder may fix this issue. However, if this fails, it is recommended to disable or uninstall the program.

If the error messages persist after disabling the program and your system meets all specifications, please report it through the Issue Council for investigation.

Notes & References

Last update: 2024-02-10