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Thinking about playing Dying Light on PC and wondering what hardware you actually need? Dying Light is the 2015 first-person action survival game set in a post-apocalyptic open world overrun by the infected, where you roam a city devastated by a virus epidemic, scavenge for supplies, craft weapons and face down hordes of the infected. It arrived long before the ray-tracing era, and its official requirements are genuinely modest — the minimum asks for nothing more than a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6870. That means most desktops built in the last decade can run it. This guide covers the official specs, how demanding the game really is, the best GPU for each resolution, and complete build recommendations.
How Demanding Is Dying Light?
Not very, by modern standards. Dying Light released on 26 January 2015 and was built for DirectX 11-era hardware: the official minimum is a GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6870 with 4 GB of RAM, and the recommended tier is a GTX 780 or R9 290 with 8 GB. That makes it an older, light title rather than a punishing one — entry-level cards handle it at 1080p, and even 1440p and 4K come down to how much GPU headroom you have rather than fighting a heavy engine. It is not CPU-heavy either; the open world streams comfortably on a modern quad-core. Treat the official figures below as the baseline rather than any generic rule of thumb.
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View on AmazonDying Light Official PC System Requirements
| Component | Minimum (official) | Recommended (official) |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows® 7 64-bit / Windows® 8 64-bit / Windows® 8.1 64-bit | Windows® 7 64-bit / Windows® 8 64-bit / Windows® 8.1 64-bit |
| Processor | Intel® Core™ i5-2500 @3.3 GHz / AMD FX-8320 @3.5 GHz | Intel® Core™ i5-4670K @3.4 GHz / AMD FX-8350 @4.0 GHz |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM DDR3 | 8 GB RAM DDR3 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 / AMD Radeon™ HD 6870 (1GB VRAM) | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 780 / AMD Radeon™ R9 290 (2GB VRAM) |
Source: the official Dying Light Steam store listing (app 239140), checked October 2026. Publishers can update these specs after patches.
A few details from the official notes are worth keeping in mind: laptop versions of these graphics cards may work but are not officially supported, the install needs 40 GB of free space, and a Windows-compatible keyboard and mouse are required, with an Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended if you prefer a gamepad. The listed operating systems are the 64-bit versions of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 that shipped with the 2015 release, and the game also runs on later 64-bit versions of Windows.
Best GPU for Dying Light by Resolution
1080p
At 1080p the official recommended card — a GTX 780 or R9 290 from 2013 — is already more than this game needs today, and anything from a GTX 1050 Ti or RX 570 upward will run Dying Light at high settings. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 sits far above that: it runs the game at maximum settings at 1080p with a large amount of headroom to spare. If you are buying new, current-generation cards such as the GeForce RTX 5060 or Radeon RX 9060 XT are similarly far more than this 2015 title requires.
1440p
1440p is comfortable territory here. A GTX 1660 Super, RX 5600 XT or RTX 2060-class card holds high settings at 1440p without difficulty, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is far more than Dying Light can use — it is a card you buy for newer games, and it will simply idle through this one. Mid-range current-generation options like the RTX 5060 or RX 9060 XT also clear 1440p here with room to spare.
4K
4K is the only resolution that asks anything of your graphics card, and mostly because of the pixel count rather than the engine. A GTX 1080, RTX 2060 Super or RX 5700-class card runs Dying Light at 4K with settings tuned sensibly, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER handles 4K at maximum settings without strain. A current-generation RTX 5070 or RX 9070 is likewise more than enough.
CPU, RAM and Storage for Dying Light
Dying Light is not CPU-hungry. Its official recommendation is an Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD FX-8350, and the minimum is an i5-2500 or FX-8320 — processors from 2011 to 2013. Any modern quad-core clears that bar, so the AMD Ryzen 5 7600, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the Intel Core i5-14600K are all far more than this game can use — choose between them based on the other titles you play, not on Dying Light.
Memory is just as forgiving: 4 GB is the official minimum and 8 GB is the recommendation, so a modern 16 GB kit is already generous and a Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB kit is well beyond anything the game asks for. Storage is light too — 40 GB of free space covers the install — though an SSD still shortens load times, and a drive like the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe SSD leaves plenty of room for the game and everything else.
Recommended PC Builds for Dying Light
1080p budget build: AMD Radeon RX 7600 + AMD Ryzen 5 7600 + 16 GB DDR5 — well above the official recommended spec, and enough to run Dying Light at 1080p on maximum settings.
1440p sweet-spot build: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER + AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + 32 GB DDR5 + 2TB NVMe SSD — more than this game needs, and a strong base for newer titles at 1440p.
4K high-end build: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER + AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + 32 GB DDR5 + fast NVMe SSD — 4K at maximum settings with headroom to spare.
Is It Worth Upgrading Your PC for Dying Light?
Probably not for this game alone. Dying Light is a 2015 release whose official minimum is a GTX 560 and 4 GB of RAM, so if your PC already has anything from roughly a GTX 1050 Ti or RX 570 upward, you can run it well without spending anything. If you are upgrading anyway for newer games, the graphics card still delivers the biggest jump in gaming performance, so target the GPU first. The processor matters less here than in most modern titles, and going past 8 GB of RAM will not transform Dying Light the way it would a newer release. An SSD is a worthwhile, inexpensive upgrade mainly for load times and asset streaming, but it is not a requirement — the game asks only for 40 GB of free space.
Can You Play Dying Light on a Laptop or Handheld?
Yes. The official notes state that laptop versions of graphics cards may work but are not officially supported, so a gaming laptop is not a guaranteed configuration — in practice, though, this is a light 2015 title, and a laptop with a mobile GTX 1050 or GTX 1650-class GPU or better handles it at 1080p, while newer mobile RTX cards run it without effort. Handhelds such as the Steam Deck and ROG Ally run Dying Light comfortably at their native 720p–800p panels, which makes it a good portable pick. The install is only around 40 GB, so storage is rarely an obstacle.
How to Boost FPS in Dying Light
Dying Light predates DLSS, FSR and frame generation, so there is no upscaler to switch on — the quickest gains come from the graphics menu and from your display resolution. Lowering your render resolution is the single biggest lever, followed by the most expensive effects: shadow quality, view distance, ambient occlusion and anti-aliasing. Keeping GPU drivers up to date, closing background applications and installing the game on an SSD also help, particularly with load times and asset streaming. A stable frame rate at slightly lower settings will always feel better than a stuttering image at maximum settings.
Graphics Settings That Matter Most in Dying Light
If Dying Light is not hitting the frame rate you want, shadow quality, view distance, ambient occlusion and anti-aliasing are the settings worth lowering first — they cost the most performance for the least visual gain. Texture quality works the other way around: it is relatively cheap on performance, so keep it as high as your graphics card’s VRAM allows, remembering that the official recommended cards carry 2 GB and the minimum cards 1 GB.
Because the game has no DLSS, FSR or XeSS support, resolution is your main performance dial: dropping from 1440p to 1080p, or 1080p to 720p, will do more than any single settings change. Beyond that, simply working through the heaviest options one at a time is the most reliable way to find a configuration you are happy with.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my PC run Dying Light?
Almost certainly. The official minimum is an Intel Core i5-2500 or AMD FX-8320, 4 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 560 or Radeon HD 6870 with 1 GB of VRAM — hardware from 2010 to 2012. For the recommended experience the game asks for an i5-4670K or FX-8350, 8 GB of RAM and a GTX 780 or R9 290 with 2 GB of VRAM, and anything modern sits comfortably above that.
Is Dying Light demanding on PC?
No. It is a 2015 DirectX 11 title with modest official requirements, and it runs on entry-level cards and even integrated graphics at 1080p. It is not CPU-heavy, and 4K is limited mainly by your graphics card’s raw power rather than by the engine.
What GPU do I need for Dying Light at 1440p 60fps?
Far less than most modern games need. The official recommended card for the game’s 2015 settings is a GTX 780 or R9 290, and a GTX 1660 Super, RX 5600 XT or RTX 2060-class card will hold high settings at 1440p comfortably. A NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER-class card is enormously more than Dying Light requires — that is headroom for newer titles rather than a requirement here.
How much RAM does Dying Light need?
The official recommendation is 8 GB, with 4 GB as the minimum. 16 GB is a comfortable modern baseline and more than this game can use; 32 GB is unnecessary for Dying Light specifically, though it is a sensible target if the same PC will run newer releases.
Do I need an SSD for Dying Light?
No — the only storage requirement is 40 GB of free space. An SSD such as the Samsung 990 Pro will cut load times and smooth out asset streaming, so it is a nice upgrade, but a mechanical hard drive will still run the game.
