Is Valorant More CPU Or GPU Intensive?

As of today, Valorant continues to be the most popular multiplayer shooting game. Due to their low hardware requirements and much more fun gameplay, they gained people’s attention. 

The game was set to compete with other online multiplayer shooting games such as Call of Duty and Counter Strike Global Offensive, which was the most played game before the launch.

Another big reason for Valorant’s success was its Riot Anti-Vanguard Cheat System, which prevents hackers’ mods and cheats from being used in the game, and it is much more difficult to bypass compared to other cheat systems.

Recently, Counter Strike Global Offensive has been awash with hackers and cheaters, which is one of the reasons most people have left the game. Valorant, however, prevented this downside and quickly became the most entertaining multiplayer game. 

If you are considering playing Valorant on your PC and are hesitant about how it will run, this guide will help, since here you will find is Valorant more CPU or GPU intensive.

Furthermore, If you already play the game regularly and have encountered difficulties changing Valorant kill icon, you may find our guide helpfull.

Is Valorant More CPU Or GPU Intensive?

Valorant is now much more of a CPU-intensive title than it was before. As you only need at least a Core 2 Duo processor for this game to run at its lowest settings and a quad-core CPU for high settings before. As of now at least a Core i5 10th gen for a 1440P gaming experience and a Ryzen 3 3000 processor for 1080P gaming.

Despite being released in 2020, Valorant has some of the best hardware requirements compared to other games' demands. Normally, even if you take a look back at some of the titles from 2016 or above, their requirements are huge and that is why most gamers are unable to play these games. 

Moreover, a Core I5 3rd gen or equivalent AMD processor is required in order to play those games without stuttering and FPS drops. Whereas, Valorant demands at least a Core 2 Duo processor coupled with 4 GB of RAM. These low-end system requirements just go to show that Valorant was targeted at the whole audience of PC owners. However, the GPU plays an essential role in ensuring excellent graphics quality and smooth gameplay for players.

Currently, in 2023, there are some major updates in the game and these updates affected its performance significantly compared to when it was released. Every couple of months, the game receives some major updates that add new features as well as bug fixes, as these updates have made the game more reliant on newer hardware.

Why is Valorant More CPU Intensive?

It might sound unbelievable, but Valorant is made on the Unreal Engine 4, which is a graphics engine from 2014. It has gotten better with time, but you can see why the game is not GPU intensive. 

The Unreal Engine 4 did not require a high-end graphics card in order for you to fully enjoy it, which is why the games that were made on it can often be run with a decent internal graphics card on your PC.

The 2023 version of the game is highly optimized for PCs to run and that is why you can use a 2-core processor like a Cor 2 Duo to play this game at 30 FPS. However, if you have a CPU with more cores, ranging from 4 to 6, then you can play it with no issues at all, like stuttering, anti-lag, and other things like that.

The core is not all you need in a CPU for a game to run well because the processor’s general specs, like clock speeds, manufacturing process, instructions support, and other things like that, matter more than the cores.

If you have an average low-end PC that you just use for work or other stuff but want to play this game, then don’t worry, you can play it without the need for an external graphics card as the game is heavily optimized for lower-end PCs and those users looking for playing valorant on a laptop, you must go through this guide.

Whereas if you are building a gaming rig to play competitive games likely Valorant, then you should opt for a decent CPU and GPU as the games released now are both CPU and GPU intensive. You should prefer a Ryzen 5 processor to achieve decent performance in the latest AAA titles.

How Much RAM Is Required For Valorant?

Despite all the updates that the game has received in the past years, which have made it more hardware demanding, luckily you don’t need to have much higher RAM in order to run this game. It’s worth noting that Valorant has relatively moderate system requirements compared to other modern games. The minimum requirement for running Valorant on your PC is 4GB of RAM. However, more than this amount may be required if you’re looking for a seamless gaming experience. Ideally, 8 GB of RAM would be recommended, as it can handle multitasking and provide enough memory for smooth gameplay.

More than 8 GB of RAM will make the game smoother if you pair it with equally powerful hardware, and if you want to achieve those 120 FPS, then you also need a 120Hz monitor; however, If you want to take your gaming experience up a notch, investing in 16 GB of RAM would be an even better option.

Final Words

As of now, you would be aware of the question of whether is valorant more CPU or GPU intensive. Valorant continues to be the most immersive multiplayer shooting game after its release. It is definitely better and more fun to play as compared to recent fps multiplayer games.

Many users prefer COD Warzone over other games, which is why there is a huge number of online players, but it requires high-end hardware which most people don’t possess. Valorant on the other hand will be a great choice if you want to have some fun with your friends in an online multiplayer game because it is also very good and fun to play.