Valorant and CS2 PC Requirements Compared
Both games run on almost anything, so the official minimums answer "will it launch" and little else. Here are the real numbers from Riot and Steam side by side, plus the things that decide whether you actually hit 144 or 240 frames.
Valorant: Riot's three frame-rate tiers
Riot does something most publishers do not: it publishes specs by target frame rate instead of a single minimum.
| Component | Minimum30 FPS | Recommended60 FPS | High-end144 FPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Core i3-540 / Athlon 200GE | Core i3-4150 / Ryzen 3 1200 | Core i5-9400F / Ryzen 5 2600X |
| GPU | Intel HD 4000 / Radeon R5 220 | GeForce GT 730 / Radeon R7 240 | GTX 1050 Ti / Radeon R7 370 / Arc A310 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit (build 19041 or newer) or Windows 11 64-bit | ||
Two requirements matter more than the hardware. On Windows 11 Valorant needs TPM 2.0 and UEFI Secure Boot, which is how its anti-cheat verifies your system, and Riot states that cloud gaming and virtual machines are unsupported. The CPU also has to support SSE 4.2 or AVX.
Counter-Strike 2: one minimum, and a big download
| Component | Minimum |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 |
| CPU | 4 hardware threads, Intel Core i5 750 or higher |
| GPU | DirectX 11 compatible, Shader Model 5.0, 1 GB or more of VRAM |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage | 85 GB |
Steam lists no recommended tier for CS2. The minimum names a processor from 2009, so it tells you the game will start, not how it will feel. The surprise is storage: 85GB is far more than either game's hardware demands would suggest, and it is the one line here that can actually block an install on a small drive.
What this means for your PC
Every graphics card and processor in our checker database sits at or very near Riot's 144 FPS tier, which names a GTX 1050 Ti, the lowest GPU we track. So the answer to "can my PC run Valorant or CS2" is almost always yes, and it is why we do not offer a pass/fail checker for them: it would say "ready" for nearly every visitor and tell you nothing.
The real question is different: will you hold a steady 144 or 240 frames per second. Riot's own tiers show the pattern. Going from 60 to 144 FPS moves the CPU line from a Core i3 to a Core i5-9400F class chip, while RAM stays at 4GB in every tier. Competitive shooters at very high frame rates lean on the processor and on frame-time consistency more than on the graphics card. We have not benchmarked either game ourselves, so treat that as general guidance, and check your own frame counter.
- Match your monitor. A 240Hz panel is wasted if the game holds 160, and 144Hz is wasted on a 60Hz screen. See our monitor guide.
- Check Windows 11 prerequisites. If Valorant will not start, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot in your BIOS are the first thing to look at.
- Free up disk space for CS2. 85GB is the requirement most likely to catch you out.
- Close background load first. On a low-end system, launchers and overlays cost more frames than any graphics setting.
Chasing 144 or 240 FPS on the PC you already own?
For games this light, the gap is usually Windows and background processes, not hardware. HD OPTI tunes the OS, GPU driver settings and networking for lower latency and steadier frame times, no new parts required.
If you do want to upgrade
1TB NVMe SSD
CS2's 85GB install is the requirement most likely to block you on a small drive.
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