Valorant is one of the few current online shooters that runs on almost any computer, since Riot built it from the start to work even on basic office graphics. Ironically, that’s why the most common reason the game won’t launch for someone isn’t weak hardware but the Vanguard anti-cheat and disabled TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot. We go through the official requirements, this Windows 11 trap and the in-game settings that actually add FPS.
System requirements by target FPS
Instead of the usual “minimum” and “recommended” specs, Riot lists three tiers based on how many frames per second you want. For a shooter that’s the more honest figure: in a tactical game where a shot is decided in a fraction of a second, the difference between 60 and 144 FPS is noticeable.
| Component | Minimum (30 FPS) | Recommended (60 FPS) | High-end (144+ FPS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 (build 19041+) or 11, 64-bit | Windows 10 (build 19041+) or 11, 64-bit | Windows 10 (build 19041+) or 11, 64-bit |
| CPU (Intel) | Core i3-540 | Core i3-4150 | Core i5-9400F 2.90 GHz |
| CPU (AMD) | Athlon 200GE | Ryzen 3 1200 | Ryzen 5 2600X |
| Graphics | Intel HD 4000 / Radeon R5 220 | GeForce GT 730 / Radeon R7 240 | GTX 1050 Ti / Radeon R7 370 / Intel Arc A310 |
| VRAM | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB | 4 GB |
The CPU also has to support the SSE 4.2 or AVX instruction set, which anything newer than 2010 has. Riot lists roughly 30 GB of disk space in the requirements; in reality the game takes up around 26 GB after installation. We go into the details in the article about downloading and installing Valorant.
Notice that RAM and VRAM stay at 4 GB and 1 GB across all three tiers. The only thing that changes between them is CPU and GPU performance, and even that is in a class you’ll find in ten-year-old builds today.
Why Valorant runs on almost anything
It’s neither an accident nor modesty. Riot designed the game so that communities with cheap computers could play it too, which in Asia and South America is the key difference between a hit and a flop. The visual style matches that: stylized, flat graphics with clean colors instead of photorealism. Fewer details in a scene means less work for the GPU and better readability at the same time: you can see an enemy even when they’re standing in the shadows.
The second reason is technical. Valorant’s maps are small and enclosed, there are ten players, and the game doesn’t have to compute a huge open world or environmental destruction. How the maps are built also shows in how cheap they are to render.
Vanguard, TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot
This is the most common reason the game won’t start for someone, and it has nothing to do with hardware performance. Riot Vanguard is an anti-cheat that runs at the system kernel level and starts together with Windows. On Windows 11, Riot added a condition: you need TPM 2.0 and UEFI Secure Boot enabled.
If you don’t have them, the game won’t launch and throws error VAN9001, VAN9003 or VAN9090. The fix isn’t in your graphics drivers but in the BIOS:
- TPM 2.0 is named in the BIOS after the CPU manufacturer: on Intel it’s Intel PTT (Platform Trust Technology), on AMD it’s AMD fTPM. Version 1.2 isn’t enough; Vanguard requires 2.0.
- Secure Boot has to be enabled and the disk has to be in UEFI mode, not legacy/CSM. If you installed your system on an older motherboard in Legacy BIOS mode, just turning on Secure Boot won’t boot Windows; you first need to convert the disk to GPT.
- After any change in the BIOS you have to restart, otherwise Vanguard won’t see the new configuration.
These two conditions don’t apply on Windows 10, so an older build that can’t run Windows 11 will run Valorant just fine. What Vanguard does, why it runs all the time and how to disable or uninstall it is covered in detail in the article about Riot Vanguard.
Settings that actually add FPS
In Valorant it’s not about a prettier image but a stable and readable one. Here’s what to change, in order of impact:
- Resolution and Display Mode. The biggest single jump in FPS. Play in Fullscreen, not Windowed or Borderless, since true fullscreen gives the lowest input lag.
- Material Quality, Texture Quality, Detail Quality on Low. This trio eats the most performance and has no effect on the information you get from the game.
- Anti-Aliasing. On weak hardware, turn it off or use MSAA 2x. MSAA 4x is the most expensive of these options.
- Vignette, Bloom, Distortion, Cast Shadows: turn them off. Purely cosmetic effects that also make the scene harder to read.
- FPS limit. Set the cap a few frames above your monitor’s refresh rate. It keeps frametimes even and your GPU cooler.
What not to turn off
Lower Anisotropic Filtering and you get blurry textures in the distance for almost no performance savings, so leave it at 8x or 16x. Don’t touch Improve Clarity and Experimental Sharpening either if they help you see enemies; they cost a fraction of an FPS. And above all, don’t turn off Raw Input Buffer. It has nothing to do with performance, but without it your mouse behaves differently.
Outside the game, check two things: Game Mode turned on in Windows settings and low latency mode set in your graphics driver. And if you’re on a laptop, make sure Valorant runs on the dedicated GPU, not the integrated one. That’s the classic reason people with a powerful setup report 40 FPS.
What about consoles
Valorant has also been released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, where you don’t deal with any system requirements: the game runs the way Riot tuned it, and Vanguard isn’t installed on consoles. To play online, though, you need a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass Core subscription, depending on the console. Consoles also have their own matchmaking separate from PC, so you won’t face mouse and keyboard players; only cosmetics and the Battle Pass are shared through a linked Riot account. Your rank doesn’t carry over between platforms. How the rank system works is covered separately.
FAQ
Windows 10 (build 19041 or higher) or Windows 11 in the 64-bit version, an Intel Core i3-540 or AMD Athlon 200GE CPU, Intel HD 4000 or Radeon R5 220 graphics, 4 GB of RAM and 1 GB of VRAM. With this hardware, Riot targets 30 FPS.
According to Riot, an Intel Core i5-9400F or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X CPU and a GTX 1050 Ti, Radeon R7 370 or Intel Arc A310 GPU. RAM stays at 4 GB, but for the system around the game to run comfortably, plan on 16 GB instead.
You have TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot disabled on Windows 11. Both are enabled in the BIOS, where you’ll find TPM under the name Intel PTT or AMD fTPM. Restart your computer after the change.
Yes, modern integrated graphics are well above the minimum. On a laptop, though, check in Windows settings and in the driver that the game really runs on the dedicated card, if you have one.
Riot lists 4 GB for all three tiers. In practice, 8 GB is a sensible minimum and 16 GB is comfortable, because besides the game you also have Windows, a browser and Discord running.
Information verified as of 1 September 2026, patch 13.05. If you’re only just getting the game, go through the download and installation steps, including how much space it takes. Once you’re in the game, the overview of agents and their abilities and of weapons and the buy economy will come in handy. You’ll find the rest in the Valorant section.