Red Dead Redemption 2 is the joint-highest reviewed game of this entire gaming generation. Rockstar's magnum opus is a Western epic. A rootin' tootin' ride through the Wild West against some of the visually stunning backdrops ever created. And Red Dead 2 is out on PC in less than four weeks' time. This doesn't leave you with much time to prepare, pardner, so saddle up. Here are the PC system specs required to run Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Minimum System Requirements

OS: Windows 7 64-bit - Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601)

Windows 7 64-bit - Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601) CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz or AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHz

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz or AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHz RAM: 8 GB System Memory

8 GB System Memory GPU RAM: 2 GB Video Memory

2 GB Video Memory GPU: GeForce GTX 770 2GB or Radeon R9 280 3GB

GeForce GTX 770 2GB or Radeon R9 280 3GB HDD: 150 GB Available Hard Drive Space

150 GB Available Hard Drive Space DX: DirectX 11

Red Dead Redemption 2 Recommended System Requirements

OS: Windows 10 64-bit - April 2019 Update (v1803)

Windows 10 64-bit - April 2019 Update (v1803) CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz

Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz RAM: 12 GB System Memory

12 GB System Memory GPU RAM: 4 GB Video Memory

4 GB Video Memory GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB HDD: 150 GB Available Hard Drive Space

150 GB Available Hard Drive Space DX: DirectX 11

Red Dead Redemption 2 minimum specs assessment

Looking at the low end specs above shows us that Red Dead 2 requires an AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB graphics card to run low graphics settings. Pair this with the Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD FX-6300 processor or better to achieve 30FPS on a 1080p monitor res at low graphics settings. You will also require 8 GB RAM to meet the minimum system memory needed. Your graphics card will need to be capable of running at least DirectX 11 to get RDR2 to run. So overall we expect that just to get Red Dead Redemption 2 to run on PC you will be looking at having around a 3 year old PC, with hardware being fairly modern to reach the minimum system settings.

One thing to look out for is you will need a massive 150GB space storage space to install Red Dead Redemption 2. The console version takes up around 105GB, indicating higher quality assets in the PC version.

Red Dead 2 recommended requirements assessment

But if you are hoping to play the best possible looking version of Red Dead 2 then you have come to the right place. The PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 will be the best visual offering of the cowboy-em-up around. To get that smoother frame rate and more impressive graphical experience or perhaps to bump up to the higher screen resolutions on PC then you will be looking for hardware that can deliver the RDR2 PC recommended requirements. The sort of graphics cards you will be after to meet the recommended graphic requirement will be either an Nvidia Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or the AMD AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB. Both of these GPUs aren't particularly high-end for recommended specs and should ensure RDR2 can run at High graphics on a wide range of PC gaming systems.

Add into your gaming PC a processor like either the AMD AMD Ryzen R5 1500X or Intel Intel Core i7-4770K 4-Core 3.5GHz CPU to reach the Red Dead Redemption 2 recommended system specs. This sort of hardware PC setup will deliver 60 Frames Per Second on High graphics settings on 1080p monitor resolution when playing RDR2 providing you have 12GB RAM.

Red Dead Redemption 2 on 1440p and 4K resolutions

For those of you with larger monitor real estate, to get RDR2 to run reliably on 1440p screen resolution you will be looking at the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 5700 8GB if you are after some high end graphics settings as well. You would always be able to turn down and tweak the multitude of Red Dead 2 graphics options to find the more stable frame rate for 1440p.

To get Red Dead 2 running on 4K and around the High graphics settings mark you will be needing at least an Nvidia RTX 2070 Super 8GB or perhaps an AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB and even then you will probably have to adjust a few of the graphics settings down from some of the default High settings. Faster video cards such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, and AMD Radeon VII 16GB can potentially play Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K/Ultra with high frame rates.

Please note that these are all provisional guidelines, and we will be running our PC hardware tests for a variety of resolutions as soon as we get our hands on the PC build in the coming weeks.

Red Dead Redemption 2's PC system specs may change over time

These are the official launch system requirements for Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC but Rockstar has warned these specs may change over time. Additional downloadable content and programming changes will alter the system requirements for Red Dead 2.

Will Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC support real-time ray-tracing?

No, Red Dead 2 on PC will not include support for Nvidia's RTX-powered ray-tracing features and it is unlikely to include any retrospectively added patch with Ray Tracing technology at a later stage.

What game engine does Red Dead 2 use?

Red Dead Redemption 2 uses the proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE). This is the same game engine for Grand Theft Auto V on PC.

What PC Graphics Options will Red Dead Redemption 2 have?

This PC version will include high resolution support, unlocked frame rates, powerful extended draw distances, and improved shadow mapping. Naturally Rockstar have improved the RAGE engine for Red Dead Redemption 2, incorporating HDR support, greater foliage density, higher texture resolution, more detailed character rendering, particle lighting, and some incredible volumetric lighting.

Red Dead 2 on PC will be one of the best looking games to date on any system and once the RDR2 modding community get their coding paws into it, we expect some wonderful and imaginative visuals to be an optional extra for PC owners of Red Dead 2.

When is Red Dead Redemption 2 out on PC?

RDR2 launches on PC on November 5th through the Epic Games Store and the Rockstar Games Launcher. A Steam release will follow in December 2019. You can see more details here.

As ever, remember you can always check out how well your PC can run the Red Dead Redemption 2 System Requirements here, where you can check benchmarks and performance from other users. Compare your graphics card to the Red Dead Redemption 2 GPU benchmark chart and we also have an Red Dead Redemption 2 Frames Per Second system performance chart for you to check.