Can I Run Borderlands 3 on My PC / Laptop?

The minimum is an AMD FX-8350 or Intel i5-3570 processor, a Radeon HD 7970 or GTX 680 2GB graphics card, and 6 GB of RAM, on DirectX 11. The full minimum and recommended specs are in the table above.

For a smoother experience, Borderlands 3 recommends a Ryzen 5 2600 or Intel i7-4770 processor, a Radeon RX 590 or GTX 1060 6GB graphics card, and 16 GB of RAM, on DirectX 12.

On NVIDIA cards, DX11 usually gives the higher raw frame rate and skips the shader compile wait at launch. On AMD cards, DX12 tends to be the smoother, more stable option. Try both if you are unsure; the game lets you switch freely.

That is almost always DirectX 12 compiling its shader cache, which takes a minute or two on first launch and again after graphics driver updates. It looks like a hang but it is normal. Switching to DirectX 11 skips this wait if it bothers you.

Busy fights with a lot of enemies, particles, and effects on screen lean on your CPU more than menus or exploration do. If drops are frequent, lower Ambient Occlusion, Volumetric Fog, and Screen Space Reflection first, since those cost the most for the least visual payoff.

No. An SSD is not required. It will shorten load times a bit, but a hard drive runs the game fine.

About 75 GB of drive space.

It is, comfortably. Sixteen gigabytes matches the official recommended figure, and since the minimum sits at just 6 GB, even 8 GB systems tend to get by, though 16 GB is the safer number for running a browser or Discord alongside the game.

Yes. The game checks in with 2K's servers to launch, even for solo, offline-style play. Once that check passes, the campaign itself does not depend on a live connection.

Badass is Borderlands 3's name for its highest graphics preset, equivalent to what most games call Ultra. It pushes Ambient Occlusion, Volumetric Fog, and Screen Space Reflection to their heaviest settings, which are also the three that cost the most frame rate.

At 1080p on a strong graphics card, the CPU often becomes the limit first, especially in busy fights with a lot of enemies and effects. At 1440p and 4K, the graphics card takes over as the main limiter again.

Yes. The graphics settings menu includes a built-in benchmark that runs a short combat scene and reports your average fps, which is a quick way to test DirectX 11 against DirectX 12 or compare settings changes on your own hardware.

Yes. The RTX 3050 has headroom over Borderlands 3's recommended card, so you can push 1080p high and move to 1440p when you want.

Good enough to play. The GTX 1650 sits at Borderlands 3's minimum, so expect 1080p low to medium and a bit of tuning for smoothness. Around 65 to 70 fps at 1080p on High, a comfortable step above the minimum.

Runnable. The GTX 1060 6GB covers Borderlands 3's minimum, meaning 1080p low to medium and a smoother feel after a small settings drop. About 50 fps at 1080p on the Badass preset, or around 80 on Medium. This is the official recommended card.

Runnable. The RX 580 covers Borderlands 3's minimum, meaning 1080p low to medium and a smoother feel after a small settings drop. Roughly 45 to 50 fps at 1080p on Badass, close to the recommended RX 590.

For sure. The RTX 4060 outpaces Borderlands 3's recommended card, leaving you high 1080p now and 1440p whenever you like. Around 150 fps at 1080p on High and about 100 fps at 1440p on Badass. The CPU becomes the limiter before the card does.

Easily. With the RTX 3060 you are past Borderlands 3's recommended tier, which means high settings at 1080p and a genuine shot at 1440p. Around 120 to 140 fps at 1080p on High, or roughly 85 fps at 1440p on Badass.

Yes, with room to spare. Borderlands 3 recommends less than the RTX 2060 offers, so expect smooth 1080p high and a playable 1440p.

Yes, with room to spare. Borderlands 3 recommends less than the GTX 1660 offers, so expect smooth 1080p high and a playable 1440p. About 115 to 120 fps at 1080p on High, more than enough for a steady 60.

Yes, with room to spare. Borderlands 3 recommends less than the GTX 1660 Super offers, so expect smooth 1080p high and a playable 1440p.

Yes. On the RX 6600, Borderlands 3 runs at high settings in 1080p and scales up to 1440p without much fuss. About 140 fps at 1080p on High, similar to or slightly ahead of an RTX 3060 in this game.

Comfortably, yes. The GTX 1660 Ti clears Borderlands 3's recommended bar, which puts high 1080p and 1440p both in reach.

Plenty of power here. The RTX 3060 Ti is above Borderlands 3's recommended tier, so high 1080p is smooth and 1440p is a fair target.

Comfortably, yes. The RTX 4050 clears Borderlands 3's recommended bar, which puts high 1080p and 1440p both in reach.

Underpowered here. The GTX 1050 Ti sits below Borderlands 3's minimum, so expect the lowest settings and a frame rate to match.

For sure. The RTX 4070 outpaces Borderlands 3's recommended card, leaving you high 1080p now and 1440p whenever you like. Close to 190 fps at 1080p on High, and a strong pick for 1440p on Badass or a mixed-settings 4K.

Gearbox skipped macOS for this one entirely, M-series chip or not, so there's nothing native to install. GeForce Now cloud streaming is the practical option on a Mac, and CrossOver offers an unofficial Windows layer that can work but isn't consistent.

Older integrated graphics fall below the minimum. Newer ones like Intel Iris Xe or AMD's Radeon 780M and 760M can manage 1080p on Low, usually in the 30 to 45 fps range, since Borderlands 3's cel-shaded look is not especially demanding.

Chrome OS can't run the Windows build locally, so cloud streaming through something like GeForce Now is the way in, rendering the game elsewhere and piping the video to your screen.

Yes, and it runs well on all three. The Steam Deck holds close to 60 fps at its default Low preset, and a common tweak is forcing 1280x800 resolution with FSR for a steadier 60. The OLED model does better capped to 45 fps to match its variable refresh screen. The ROG Ally and Legion Go, being more powerful, handle higher settings at the same or better frame rates.

An RTX 3080 or RX 6800-class card gets you a solid 4K experience on Badass settings, roughly 60 to 90 fps depending on the scene. Weaker cards can still do 4K by dropping to High or Medium.

An RTX 3060 or RX 6600 holds 1440p on Badass at 60 fps or better. Anything from that tier up handles 1440p comfortably.

The recommended GTX 1060 6GB or RX 590 already gets you 60 fps at 1080p on High. Since the game is light by today's standards, most cards from the last several generations clear 60 without much tuning.

Less than most current games. 4 GB is workable at 1080p on High, and 6 to 8 GB covers Badass at 1440p and 4K comfortably. VRAM is rarely the bottleneck here the way it is in newer, texture-heavy titles.

Check for a card below the HD 7970 or GTX 680 minimum, less than 6 GB of RAM, an outdated graphics driver, or a corrupted shader cache first. Also confirm the game can reach 2K's servers, since it needs an internet check even for solo play, and try switching between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 if one API is misbehaving on your setup.

No native Linux build ships here, but Steam Play's Proton layer handles it well, backed up by the game's Steam Deck Verified rating, which relies on that same technology. Performance on a Linux desktop generally lands close to what Windows players see.

Yes. Borderlands 3 is available on GeForce Now, which runs the game on remote hardware and streams the video to you, so your own device mostly needs to handle playback and input.

Yes. Borderlands 3 runs on Xbox Series X and S, plus the original Xbox One, with a performance boost on the current-gen consoles. This page covers the PC version.

Yes to both. The PS4 version targets a locked 30 fps, and the PS5 version adds an unlocked frame rate mode. This page is about the PC version.

Yes, a Switch version arrived in 2023 as part of the Ultimate Edition. It is a scaled-back port with softer textures, an unlocked frame rate that mostly sits between 30 and 50 fps, and split-screen co-op cut to two players instead of four. The PC version this page covers is far more capable.

It does, through Switch 2's own backward compatibility rather than a dedicated new build. Reports point to steadier frame rates on the newer hardware than the game managed on the original Switch. Borderlands 4 is the separate title with its own purpose-built Switch 2 release.

Yes, within reason. At the minimum of a Radeon HD 7970 or GTX 680, an FX-8350 or i5-3570, and 6 GB of RAM you can play 1080p on Low. That bar is old even by budget standards today, so most low-end PCs built in the last several years clear it without trouble.

A recent i3 or Ryzen 3 handles it fine at 1080p on High paired with a mid-range card, since the official minimum CPU, an FX-8350 or i5-3570, is old. Combat with a lot of enemies on screen leans on the CPU more than menus do, so a quad-core with decent single-thread speed is the safer choice.

Yes, comfortably. A GTX 1070 sits well above the recommended GTX 1060 6GB and holds around 90 to 100 fps at 1080p on High, with room to try 1440p at a mix of High and Badass.

Yes. A GTX 1080 clears 1080p on Badass at over 90 fps and handles 1440p on High comfortably, well above what the recommended spec asks for.

Yes. An RTX 2070 sits well above the recommended tier and pushes past 100 fps at 1080p on Badass, with 1440p on High also well within reach.

Yes. Around 170 fps at 1080p on High and a strong choice for 1440p on Badass at 60 fps and up, since Borderlands 3 is not a heavy game for this class of hardware.

Yes, and this is the tier where native 4K on Badass gets genuinely playable, roughly 60 to 90 fps depending on the scene. At 1080p or 1440p it is well past what the game needs.

Yes, far beyond what the game asks for. Expect 250 fps or more at 1080p and around 110 fps at native 4K on Badass. Your CPU and monitor will likely limit you before the card does.

Yes. Around 165 to 170 fps at 1080p on High, which comfortably covers 1440p on Badass at 60 fps or better.

Yes, easily. Borderlands 3 is a light workload for a current-generation card like the RTX 5070, so expect well above 100 fps at 1440p on Badass and a strong result even at native 4K.

Generally yes, in the same performance range as an RTX 3060, but Intel Arc's driver support for older DirectX 11 titles has been uneven. If you hit odd stutter on Arc, switch the game to DirectX 12, since Arc cards tend to do better on DX12 across the board.

No. Borderlands 3 does not have a ray-tracing mode, so ray-tracing capable cards run it the same as any other card here, just faster.