Unreal Engine 5 is currently the most powerful software for creating real-time 3D environments. But does your computer meet the minimum and recommended system requirements?
The software is mostly utilized as a game engine, but it is also used in architecture, cinema and television, live events, animation, and even the automobile sector.
Epic Games created Unreal Engine, which is the engine behind globally renowned games such as Fortnite, Rocket League, or Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Unreal Engine 5’s latest version includes technological advancements such as Lumen and Nanite, making game development easier and more powerful than ever before.
Do you want to find out more?
Then we can begin our learning roadmap.
First let’s talk about the Unreal Engine 5 System requirements, or you can jump directly to the Unreal Engine 5 installation.
WINDOWS
Unreal Engine 5 Minimum Specs for Windows
- Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
- Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD, 2.5 GHz or faster
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics Card: Any graphics card that is compatible with either DirectX 11 or 12.
- If you want to get the most out of Lumen technology (real-time lighting), it is recommended to use an NVIDIA RTX-2000 series or higher graphics card, or an AMD RX-6000 series or higher.
- To use Nanite or Virtual Shadow Maps, you’ll need a graphics card that supports DirectX 12.
Recommended Unreal Engine 5 System requirements
If you’re thinking about building or upgrading your PC for Unreal Engine 5, you might be wondering what kind of hardware Epic Games uses. While your requirements will vary depending on the size and complexity of your projects, it’s useful to have an example of what a high-end PC at Epic Games looks like.
Take a look at the kind of hardware that Epic Games uses for their development work, so you can get a better idea of what might be needed to run Unreal Engine 5 effectively.
- Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit (Version 20H2)
- Processor: Six-Core Xeon E5-2643 @ 3.4GHz
- Memory: 64 GB RAM
- Hard Drives: 256 GB SSD (OS Drive) and 2 TB SSD (Data Drive)
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER
- Tools: Xoreax Incredibuild (Dev Tools Package)
To learn more check the official documentation.
macOS
macOS UE5 System requirements
- Recommended Operating System: MacOS Ventura
- Minimum Operating System: macOS latest Monterey
- Processor: Quad-core Intel, 2.5 GHz or faster
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics Card: Metal 1.2 Compatible Graphics Card
Linux
Linux UE5 System requirements
- Recommended Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04
- Minimum Operating System: CentOS 7.x and up
- Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD, 2.5 GHz or faster
- Memory: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 960 GTX or Higher (8GB VRAM)
- RHI Version: Vulkan: AMD (21.11.3+) and NVIDIA (515.48+)
In any case, I always recommend downloading the program and testing it on your PC. You have nothing to lose. Unreal Engine’s download size is typically around 20 GB.
Installing Unreal Engine
Installing new software can be a daunting task, but the process for installing Unreal Engine 5 is simple and straightforward. You can install Unreal Engine 5 on your PC with ease, whether you’re a seasoned developer or a newcomer to game development.
In this section, we’ll walk you through the installation process step by step so you can get started quickly creating your own real-time 3D environments and games.
Is Unreal Engine 5 free?
Unreal Engine is completely free to use for creating linear content such as films, as well as for custom and internal projects. It’s also free in many cases for game development—a 5% royalty is only charged if your title earns more than $1 million USD. More Info.
1) Epic Games Launcher
The first step to installing Unreal Engine 5 is to download the Epic Games Launcher. If you don’t already have it installed on your computer, you can download it from the Epic Games website.
If you already have the launcher installed, you can skip this step and move on to the next one.
Once you’ve navigated to the download page, simply click on the “Download” button and follow the prompts to download and install the launcher. The download size of the launcher is relatively small, usually around 150 MB, so the process shouldn’t take too long.
2) Download Unreal Engine
To install Unreal Engine 5, first, you need to open the Epic Games Launcher and select the “Unreal Engine” option from the left-hand column.
From there, click on the “Library” tab located on the top menu to access your library of installed and available engines.
Finally, select the version of the engine that you wish to install from the list of available options to begin the installation process.
You can have more than one engine version installed at the same time.
After you’ve decided on a version, click “Install” and select an installation folder of your choice.
