The Doom Slayer up close in Doom: The Dark Ages

Doom: The Dark Ages PC Specs Need a Ray Tracing Card at Minimum

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Published: January 24, 2025 9:33 AM

After yesterday's Developer Direct deep dive, Bethesda and id Software have announced the Doom: The Dark Ages PC specs, and it turns out you're going to need quite a beefy machine even to run it at a minimum level.

During yesterday's presentation, we got to see more of Doom: The Dark Ages' gameplay, and we also got a release date for it: May 15th. Now, on the game's official website, Bethesda has unveiled the game's PC specs, and even the minimum preset might prompt you to upgrade.

Often, when it comes to PC gaming, you can get away with older graphics cards if you're just looking to run games with fairly modest visuals. Not so with Doom: The Dark Ages, though; it needs you to have a ray tracing-compatible card even for its lowest tier.

The player throwing their spiked shield at an enemy in Doom: The Dark Ages
Doom: The Dark Ages won't let you get away with a potato PC.

Here's a rundown of the specs you'll need at each tier for Doom: The Dark Ages. All of these tiers require Windows 10 or 11, as well as a 512GB or higher NVMe SSD with 100GB available.

Minimum (1080p, 60fps, Low)

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, Intel Core i7-10700K, or better
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super, AMD Radeon RX 6600, or better
  • 16GB RAM

Recommended (1440p, 60fps, High)

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, Intel Core i7-12700K, or better
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Radeon RX 6800, or better
  • 32GB RAM

Ultra 4K (4K, 60fps, Ultra)

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X, Intel Core i7-12700K, or better
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, AMD Radeon RX 7900XT, or better
  • 32GB RAM

id Software calls Doom: The Dark Ages its "most ambitious" game to date, and it looks like the recommended PC specs will match that ambition. Better make sure you upgrade your machine in time for the game's launch if it needs it!

Doom: The Dark Ages launches on May 15th for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. You can read our very own Austin's preview of the gory medieval FPS right here.

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Joe has been writing for TechRaptor for several years, and in those years has learned a lot about the gaming industry and its foibles. He’s originally an… More about Joseph