Surviving Mars: PC System Requirements & Best Hardware to Run It (2026)

Thinking about playing Surviving Mars: Relaunched on PC and wondering what hardware you actually need? The remastered sci-fi city builder arrived on November 10, 2025, and it is still a simulation and strategy game at heart — you explore Mars, build out the infrastructure, welcome colonists and then try to keep the whole colony stable over the long term. That means a lot of systems, resources and settlers being tracked at once, so Surviving Mars leans on the processor while its visuals stay friendly to modest graphics cards. This guide covers the official PC requirements, the best GPU for each resolution, and complete build recommendations.

How Demanding Is Surviving Mars?

Not very. The official minimum asks for a GeForce GTX 970, Radeon RX 470 or Intel Arc A380 paired with an Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, on Windows 10 64-bit. The recommended tier only moves up to a GTX 1060 6 GB, Radeon RX Vega 56 or Arc A770 with a Core i7-4790K or Ryzen 5 1500X — parts that were mainstream around 2015–2017. Both tiers ask for just 8 GB of RAM and 10 GB of free space. That profile tells you where the real load sits: as your colony grows, the game is simulating hundreds of colonists, drones, resources and supply routes, and that simulation is what pushes a system, not fancy rendering. If your PC runs most games released in the last decade, it can run this one.

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Surviving Mars Official PC System Requirements

Source: the official Surviving Mars: Relaunched Steam store listing (app 3215050), checked October 2026. Publishers can update these specs after patches.

Best GPU for Surviving Mars by Resolution

1080p

The official recommended card for this game is a GTX 1060 6 GB, RX Vega 56 or Arc A770, and anything at or above that tier runs Surviving Mars comfortably at 1080p with high settings. If you are buying new, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (or a comparable current card such as a GeForce RTX 5060 or Radeon RX 9060 XT) is far more than this game needs and leaves headroom for everything else in your library. Older cards that meet the official spec, like a GTX 1060 6 GB or RX 580, are also perfectly adequate here.

1440p

1440p raises the rendering load but not the simulation load, so the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is a comfortable choice at high settings, and even the official recommended tier — GTX 1060 6 GB, RX Vega 56 or Arc A770 — still handles this resolution with sensible settings. Current-generation options such as the RTX 5060 Ti or RX 9060 XT simply give you more headroom. This is the resolution most PC gamers target, and Surviving Mars is light enough that a mid-range card has plenty left over.

4K

4K is the one resolution where the graphics card does some real work, but Surviving Mars is still a long way from the heaviest titles. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is a sensible entry point and handles the game at 4K with sensible settings, while cards like the RTX 5070 or Radeon RX 9070 run it without breaking a sweat. You do not need a flagship here, and there is no need to lean on upscaling — the late-game bottleneck in a big colony is the processor, not the pixel count.

CPU, RAM and Storage for Surviving Mars

Because Surviving Mars is a simulation and strategy game, the processor matters at least as much as the graphics card. The official recommendation is an Intel Core i7-4790K or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X — old quad-cores — so almost any modern CPU clears the bar. If you are building new, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is excellent value and far beyond what the game asks for, while the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is the fastest mainstream gaming CPU if you want the smoothest possible simulation once your colony is enormous. Intel fans can opt for the Intel Core i5-14600K. For memory, 8 GB is the official figure at both the minimum and recommended tiers; 16 GB is a sensible amount for a modern gaming PC and covers background apps, and a 32 GB kit such as the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB gives you headroom for other games and heavy multitasking. Storage is easy — the game needs only 10 GB of free space. An NVMe drive like the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB NVMe SSD keeps load times short and is ideal for modern games generally, though the gap over a SATA SSD will be small in a title this size.

Recommended PC Builds for Surviving Mars

1080p budget build: AMD Radeon RX 7600 + AMD Ryzen 5 7600 + 16 GB DDR5 — comfortably above the official recommended spec, so it runs high settings at 1080p with plenty in reserve for other games.

1440p sweet-spot build: AMD Radeon RX 7600 + AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + 32 GB DDR5 + 2TB NVMe SSD — here the CPU is the part that pays off, keeping large late-game colonies ticking over while the GPU cruises at 1440p.

4K high-end build: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 + AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D + 32 GB DDR5 + fast NVMe SSD — more than enough for 4K, and the strong CPU keeps the simulation smooth as the colony scales up.

Is It Worth Upgrading Your PC for Surviving Mars?

Probably not on this game’s account alone. Surviving Mars: Relaunched asks for hardware from around 2015–2017, so if your PC handles modern games at all, it almost certainly already meets or beats the official spec. If you are upgrading anyway and play a lot of colony builders and strategy games, the processor is the part to prioritise: a chip with strong per-core performance is what keeps a large, busy colony responsive, and it will help in every other simulation you play. A graphics card upgrade only makes sense if you are moving up in resolution or want more performance elsewhere. Moving from 8 GB to 16 GB of RAM is inexpensive, and putting the game on an SSD shortens load times, but with a 10 GB install neither is urgent. Rather than replacing everything at once, target the weakest link in your build.

Can You Play Surviving Mars on a Laptop or Handheld?

Yes, easily. With an official recommended GPU of a GTX 1060 6 GB, most gaming laptops from the last several years can run Surviving Mars at 1080p, and a laptop with something like an RTX 4060 mobile GPU will handle it without trouble — expect more fan noise and shorter battery life than a desktop, as always. On handhelds like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, this game sits well inside the hardware’s comfort zone, making it a great portable pick, and at 10 GB it fits easily alongside other games on internal storage or a fast microSD card. The only caveat is the same one that applies on desktop: a very large late-game colony is processor-bound, and a handheld’s power limits will show up there before the GPU does.

How to Boost FPS in Surviving Mars

Surviving Mars does not need aggressive tuning, but if frame rates dip, start with the in-game graphics preset and drop it a notch, then reduce shadow quality and post-processing effects first — those are usually the most expensive options in a city builder. If you are playing at 4K on a modest card, stepping down to 1440p costs you very little in a top-down game and is the simplest fix. Keep your GPU drivers up to date, close background apps, and make sure the game is installed on an SSD. One thing to understand: late-game slowdowns in a big colony are usually processor-side, so turning graphics settings down may not help much once your settlement is huge — a faster CPU, or simply accepting a lower frame target while the simulation catches up, is often the real answer. A stable, slightly lower frame rate almost always feels better than maxed-out visuals with stutter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my PC run Surviving Mars?

If your PC has at least a GTX 970, RX 470 or Arc A380-class GPU, an Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, 8 GB of RAM and 10 GB of free space, it meets the official minimum on Windows 10 64-bit. For the recommended experience — GTX 1060 6 GB, RX Vega 56 or Arc A770 with a Core i7-4790K or Ryzen 5 1500X — you will be comfortable at 1080p and beyond. Because the game is a simulation, the CPU is the part most likely to hold you back in very large colonies.

Is Surviving Mars demanding on PC?

No. It is a light game: the official minimum is a GTX 970 / RX 470-class card and a processor from the early 2010s, and both tiers need only 8 GB of RAM and 10 GB of storage. It leans on the CPU rather than the GPU, so a decent modern processor matters more here than a powerful graphics card.

What GPU do I need for Surviving Mars at 1440p 60fps?

Anything at or above the official recommended tier — a GTX 1060 6 GB, RX Vega 56 or Arc A770 — is enough at 1440p. A current card such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600 is well beyond what the game requires and gives you headroom for other titles too. Because Surviving Mars is CPU-bound, hitting a steady target at 1440p is usually limited by the processor rather than the card.

How much RAM does Surviving Mars need?

8 GB, according to the official minimum and recommended specs — it is the same figure at both tiers. 16 GB is a sensible amount to have in a modern gaming PC and gives you room for background apps and other titles, but this game itself does not ask for more than 8 GB.

Do I need an SSD for Surviving Mars?

No — the game requires only 10 GB of free space and does not list an SSD as a requirement. That said, installing it on an SSD shortens load times and is standard practice for any modern PC. An NVMe drive like the Samsung 990 Pro is ideal for modern games, though the difference over a SATA SSD will be modest in a title this small.