Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s system requirements shouldn’t be overly complicated. Developed alongside lead PC studio Beenox, Vanguard offers extensive graphics customization, uncapped framerates, ultra-wide monitor support, and performance upgrade features like NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FidelityFX. If you want to squeeze maximum frames on a budget card or run the game at native 4K with ray tracing, here’s the complete breakdown of official PC hardware specs and storage optimization tips.
Call of Duty: Vanguard PC System Requirements
| Requirement | Resolution / FPS | CPU | GPU | RAM | Storage / Cache |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 720p @ 60 FPS (Low Settings) | Intel Core i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300 | NVIDIA GTX 960 (2GB) or AMD Radeon RX 470 (2GB) | 8GB | 36 GB (MP & Zombies) + 32 GB Cache |
| Recommended | 1080p @ 60 FPS (Medium Settings) | Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | NVIDIA GTX 1060 (4GB) or AMD Radeon RX 580 (4GB) | 12GB | 61 GB (All Modes) + 32 GB Cache |
| Competitive | 1440p @ High FPS (High Settings) | Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | NVIDIA RTX 2070 / RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8GB) | 16GB | 61 GB (All Modes) + 32 GB Cache |
| Ultra 4K | 4K @ High FPS (Ultra Settings) | Intel Core i9-9900K or AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | NVIDIA RTX 3080 (10GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16GB) | 16GB | 61 GB (All Modes) + 64 GB Cache |
Note: All tiers require a 64-bit operating system. Minimum settings require Windows 10 (64-bit), while Recommended tiers and above support both Windows 10 (64-bit) and Windows 11 (64-bit).
Storage & On-Demand Texture Streaming Explained
One of Vanguard’s biggest quality-of-life improvements over previous Call of Duty releases is its reduced initial download size.
- Multiplayer & Zombies Only: 36 GB
- Full Game (Campaign + MP + Zombies): 61 GB
Players are not forced to download hundreds of gigabytes of uncompressed 4K textures locally, as Vanguard uses On-Demand Texture Streaming. Thanks to it, the game reserves up to 32 GB on your drive for standard resolutions and up to 64 GB for 4K asset streaming. If you’re tight on storage, you can disable texture streaming in the Graphics options or limit the daily bandwidth allowance to save drive space and bandwidth.
Performance Tweaks & Optimization Tips
If your PC has near the minimum spec or struggles during intense firefights, tweak these key graphics settings for an immediate performance gain:
- Upscaling Technologies (DLSS & FSR): On an NVIDIA RTX card, enable NVIDIA DLSS on Quality or Balanced mode to increase framerates by up to 25% with virtually no loss in graphics clarity. AMD users can enable FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) for a similar performance lift.
- Filmic TAA & Grain: Turn down Filmic Strength to
0and disable Film Grain. This removes visual blurriness and gives competitive players a much sharper picture that can help spot targets at long distances. - Shadow & Volumetric Lighting: Reduce Shadow Map Resolution and Volumetric Quality from Ultra to Medium or Low. Volumetric lighting is exceptionally heavy on mid-range GPUs and offers minimal visibility benefits in multiplayer.
- V-Sync & Framerate Caps: Always turn V-Sync OFF in shooter titles to reduce input lag unless you experience severe screen tearing. Set a custom frame rate cap matching your monitor’s refresh rate to prevent GPU thermal throttling.
