What Specifications Should a Computer for Video Game Development Have?
Video game development has been one of the key industries in recent years and is projected to grow even more popular by 2025. The global market is forecast to reach $503.14 billion annually. To make a part of it, aside from having a collaborative team (from creative visionaries or artists to tech specialists), it’s crucial to have appropriate hardware.
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As for video game development, there’s a whole set of system requirements and benchmarks necessary for creating quality games. Let’s break them down for clarification.
CPU – Compile, Iterate, and Bake
The CPU handles all the hard development tasks, including 3D sculpting, compiling shaders, and light baking. Depending on the project to be completed, i.e., the game complexity, you may need a PC with 6 physical cores to 64-core HEDT/workstation chips. Currently, the overall best CPUs for game development in Unreal Engine are AMD’s Threadripper 7000 Series. The latter not only provides quad-channel RAM for compiling source code more effectively but also ensures well-scaling of multi-threaded development tasks.
Other worthwhile alternatives are Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, Ultra 9 285K, and AMD’s Ryzen 9000 Series–three models with a decent number of cores delivering high single-core clock speeds to aid 3D modeling app performance.
GPU Importance
The performance of the GPU chip on a video card (which functions as the graphics processing unit) determines all textures, models, and effects to be shown on the screen. Also, some editors and engines perform other tasks on the GPU, like ray tracing (to deliver accurate lighting and reflections) and bake lighting (a new feature in Unreal Engine).
Presently, the fastest GPUs for game development are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, 5080, or 5070.
Storage (SSD)
Another crucial element for game development is storage (SSD). A decent SSD will deliver higher read and write speeds in contrast to traditional SATA SSDs or HDDs. Also, this ensures more effective handling of large assets (this might be models and textures), quicker file transfers, and immediate boot times in case the OS is on the drive.
All these qualities are especially apparent when you work with real-time game engines. NVMe SSD is currently the most recommended option for game developers. It uses the faster PCIe interface to eventually handle impressively higher speeds in all relevant operations, perform more input/output actions every second, and deliver more data simultaneously. All these qualities make NVMe SSD especially appropriate for game development since it requires storage-intensive tasks.
Required Memory (RAM)
How much RAM your PC must have for video game development is determined by the scale of the project, how many apps are open, and what specific tasks are performed. For example, 2D and small-scale 3D game development requires at least 16 GB (32 GB would be preferable), while UE5 with Lumen/Nanite or big world games scheming needs 64 GB at minimum or 128+ GB for high-end projects.
Real-time rendering, cinematics, or VFX require at least 64 GB of RAM. The perfect amount, however, is 128 GB, while in rare cases the project may need 192+ GB.
VRAM – Crucial Component in Game Development
VRAM, or video memory, is installed on the GPU, separate from the system RAM. It stores shaders, textures, framebuffers, meshes, lighting data, and render targets. How much VRAM is necessary depends on the target platform and quality of the in-engine settings. For instance, for 2D or low-poly games, 4 to 6 GB VRAM is the lowest threshold. Ideally, you should have 8 GB of VRAM. Meanwhile, for 4K or multiple high-res monitors, you must aim for at least 16 GB VRAM. The ideal option would be 24 GB or more of VRAM.
PSU to Power Components
PSU or Power Supply Unit powers all the components in a computer and ensures a stable electrical supply. This is a crucial feature for high-end CPUs and GPUs, often used for game development. Also, the PSU protects all the components in the computer against power surges and fluctuations to avoid system crashes and potential damage.