The Outer Worlds 2
PC hardware build guide for The Outer Worlds 2 — recession, budget, mid-range, and high-end rigs for Obsidian's Unreal Engine 5 RPG sequel.
Official System Requirements
Source: Steam store page (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1449110/The_Outer_Worlds_2) — full minimum and recommended requirements officially published; verified 2026-06-06 from the Steam appdetails store data (saved in sources/the-outer-worlds-2/). Developer Obsidian Entertainment, publisher Xbox Game Studios. (October 2025)
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 2600 / Intel Core i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X / Intel Core i7-10700K |
| GPU | AMD RX 5700 / NVIDIA GTX 1070 / Intel Arc A580 | AMD RX 6800 XT / NVIDIA RTX 3080 |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 110 GB SSD (SSD required) | 110 GB SSD (SSD required) |
Recommended Builds
The floor, and Obsidian names it directly. The minimum GPU list reads "AMD RX 5700 / NVIDIA GTX 1070 / Intel Arc A580" — the Recession tier's Arc A580 is the literal minimum card, no inference needed. XeSS holds 1080p Low-Medium at 60. DirectX 12 runs natively on Arc.
| Component | Part | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Thermaltake S100 TG | $70 | $70 at Newegg |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7500F | $175 | $175 at Amazon |
| GPU | Intel Arc A580 8GB | $185 | $185 at Amazon |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B650M DS3H | $130 | $130 at Amazon |
| PSU | Corsair RM750e 750W 80+ Gold | $72 | $72 at Amazon |
| RAM | G.Skill Flare X5 16GB DDR5-6000 (2x8GB) | $235 | $235 at Newegg |
| Storage | Patriot P300 256GB NVMe SSD | $53 | $53 at Amazon |
The comfortable 1080p tier. The RTX 5060 sits well past the GTX 1070 minimum, short of the RTX 3080 Recommended GPU but close enough that 1080p High at 60 with DLSS is a non-issue.
| Component | Part | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Thermaltake S100 TG | $70 | $70 at Newegg |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | $175 | $175 at Newegg |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 8GB | $350 | $350 at Amazon |
| Motherboard | ASRock B650M PG Riptide WiFi | $130 | $130 at Amazon |
| PSU | Corsair RM750e 750W 80+ Gold | $72 | $72 at Amazon |
| RAM | G.Skill Flare X5 16GB DDR5-6000 (2x8GB) | $235 | $235 at Newegg |
| Storage | Kingston NV2 1TB NVMe SSD | $157 | $157 at Amazon |
Over Budget: the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB lands right around the RTX 3080 Recommended tier and pushes into 1440p High with DLSS. The game caps RAM need at 16 GB, so the mid build's 32 GB is pure headroom.
| Component | Part | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Fractal Design Pop Mini Air | $100 | $100 at Amazon |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | $175 | $175 at Newegg |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB | $430 | $430 at Amazon |
| Motherboard | MSI MAG B650 TOMAHAWK WiFi | $176 | $176 at Amazon |
| PSU | Corsair RM750e 750W 80+ Gold | $72 | $72 at Amazon |
| RAM | G.Skill Flare X5 32GB DDR5-6000 (2x16GB) | $459 | $459 at Newegg |
| Storage | Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB NVMe SSD | $235 | $235 at Newegg |
Over Mid: the RTX 5070 clears the RTX 3080 Recommended bar outright — native 1440p Ultra, or 4K with DLSS. Hardware ray tracing (an optional toggle here, not a requirement) is comfortable at this tier.
| Component | Part | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Fractal Design North | $155 | $155 at Amazon |
| Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 | $35 | $35 at Amazon |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | $425 | $425 at Amazon |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 12GB | $580 | $580 at Amazon |
| Motherboard | ASUS TUF Gaming B650-PLUS WiFi | $117 | $117 at Amazon |
| PSU | Corsair RM750e 750W 80+ Gold | $72 | $72 at Amazon |
| RAM | G.Skill Flare X5 32GB DDR5-6000 (2x16GB) | $459 | $459 at Newegg |
| Storage | Samsung 990 EVO Plus 2TB NVMe SSD | $358 | $358 at Newegg |
Over High: native 4K Ultra with every toggle on and frames to spare.
| Component | Part | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case | Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO | $125 | $125 at Amazon |
| Cooler | Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 | $77 | $77 at Amazon |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D | $657 | $657 at Amazon |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB | $4330 | $4330 at Amazon |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming WiFi | $440 | $440 at Amazon |
| PSU | Corsair RM1200x Shift 1200W 80+ Gold | $170 | $170 at Amazon |
| RAM | G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 64GB DDR5-6000 (2x32GB) | $910 | $910 at Amazon |
| Storage | Samsung 990 Pro 4TB NVMe SSD | $725 | $725 at Newegg |
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What to Upgrade First
The Outer Worlds 2 is an Unreal Engine 5 RPG, and Obsidian’s published requirements are refreshingly literal about the floor. The minimum GPU line names three cards — an RX 5700, a GTX 1070, or an Intel Arc A580 — and the last of those is exactly the card in this site’s Recession build. There is no guessing whether the cheapest tier qualifies; Obsidian put it in the spec sheet. The recommended GPU is an RTX 3080, which is where the real scaling headroom sits.
This is a GPU-led ladder with one unusual flat line: RAM. The spec lists 16 GB at both the minimum and recommended tiers, and storage is 110 GB at both — so the only thing that climbs as you move up the tiers is the graphics card. The Recession Arc A580 meets the named minimum and holds 1080p Low-Medium with XeSS. The RTX 5060 makes 1080p comfortable, the 5060 Ti reaches the RTX 3080 recommended class and 1440p, the 5070 clears it for 4K with DLSS, and the RTX 5090 runs native 4K Ultra. The CPU floor is modest for a UE5 title — a Ryzen 5 5600X / i7-10700K recommended — so every chip on this site, down to the Recession Ryzen 5 7500F, laps it. The one hard line to respect is the SSD: it is required, not suggested, and the 110 GB install means the Recession tier’s 256 GB drive holds this and little else.