Hardware ray tracing is required to run Gears of War: E-Day on PC. The published specification note says graphics cards without dedicated hardware ray-tracing support are unsupported. The launch table also calls for 115 GB of SSD storage at every tier, with targets ranging from 1080p at 60 fps to 4K at 60+ fps. Compare your full PC—not just its graphics card—with the tier you want to reach.
Gears of War: E-Day PC system requirements
The Coalition’s launch specifications, announced by Xbox Wire on September 17, 2026, and updated with a new PC specifications image on September 28, are transcribed below. The readable table was reported by PC Gamer on October 1, 2026. These are the listed examples and targets, not a guarantee that every configuration or card in a tier will perform identically.
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| Tier | Preset and target | GPU examples | CPU examples | VRAM | System RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Medium; 1080p, 60 fps | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 or RTX 2060; AMD Radeon RX 6600 or RX 9060 | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X; Intel Core i7-6850K or Core i5-10400 | 6 GB | 12 GB | 115 GB on SSD |
| Recommended | High; 1440p, 60+ fps | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 or RTX 3060 Ti; AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT or RX 9060 XT | AMD Ryzen 5 5600; Intel Core i5-11600K | 8 GB | 16 GB | 115 GB on SSD |
| Ultra | Ultra; 4K, 60+ fps | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti; AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Intel Core i7-14700K | 12 GB | 16 GB | 115 GB on SSD |
Sources: Xbox Wire’s launch announcement and PC Gamer’s October 1 transcription.
Does E-Day require a ray-tracing GPU?
Yes. The launch requirement note says a graphics card with hardware ray-tracing capability is required; a GPU without dedicated hardware ray-tracing support is unsupported. This is a compatibility condition, not merely a recommendation for better visuals. Check the exact GPU model and its hardware features before buying or upgrading.
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Xbox Wire says the game uses Unreal Engine 5 and DirectX 12 and supports hardware ray tracing. Its listed PC features include NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 with Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and Super Resolution, NVIDIA Reflex, AMD FSR, Unreal Engine TSR, Intel XeSS, and Advanced Shader Delivery on compatible hardware. Feature availability depends on compatible hardware, and the announcement does not establish that every feature is available on every GPU or PC storefront. See Xbox Wire’s PC technology announcement.
How to tell whether your PC meets a target
- Choose the outcome you want. The table pairs Minimum with Medium at 1080p and 60 fps, Recommended with High at 1440p and 60+ fps, and Ultra with Ultra at 4K and 60+ fps.
- Check your graphics card. Confirm it has dedicated hardware ray-tracing support, then compare its model and VRAM with the chosen tier’s listed examples and amount. A GPU match by itself does not establish that the whole PC meets the tier.
- Compare the processor and system memory. Check your CPU model against the relevant examples and verify installed system RAM separately from graphics-card VRAM.
- Check your drive. The game lists 115 GB on an SSD for every tier. Confirm that an SSD is available and has enough free capacity for the installation.
- Set expectations carefully. The resolution and frame-rate figures are published tier targets, not guarantees for every PC. The table lists DLSS, FSR, TSR, or XeSS as reconstruction or upscaling options; these can be useful where supported, but they do not promise a particular result beyond the stated target.
What the SSD requirement means for an upgrade
All three tiers specify 115 GB on an SSD. If your current SSD does not have that much free space, freeing capacity or adding a suitable SSD addresses the stated storage requirement. The published specifications do not name a preferred brand or interface, or set an additional capacity target.
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When to upgrade—and what the requirements do not tell you
If your PC misses several parts of the tier you want, compare the cost and practicality of a full-system replacement with upgrading individual components. If only one component falls short, verify the rest of the system first and choose an upgrade based on your intended resolution and preset. The published examples are not a price guide or a comparative value ranking, so they do not establish which listed card is the best buy.
Independent testing offers context but should not be treated as a universal forecast. Tom’s Hardware reported clear CPU scaling among the processors in its tested pool. It also said the built-in benchmark approximated its gameplay scene but did not match it exactly, so its results are specific to that outlet’s test configurations and methods. See Tom’s Hardware’s October 1 performance report.
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