PC Games Guide
Elite: Dangerous cover art

Elite: Dangerous

Developer
Frontier Developments
Publisher
Frontier Developments
Released
16 December 2014
Age rating
PEGI 7
UK price
£14.99

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC, macOS, Xbox One

Genres: shooter , role playing rpg , simulator , strategy , adventure

The next game in the Elite series - an amazing space epic with stunning visuals, incredible gameplay, breath-taking scope and award-winning sound. All content can be enjoyed in game any mode: solo, personal invite-only group or open/MMO. Carve your own path through the richest, largest gaming sandbox ever created, a 1:1 scale representation of the Milky Way galaxy, set against a backdrop of raw anarchy, galactic powerplays and political intrigue.

Best gaming PC for Elite: Dangerous in 2026

Full buyers guide →

Below are the four PC tiers we'd actually recommend for Elite: Dangerous today. These are our 2026 hardware picks, not the dated publisher minimums you'll find on Steam.

Custom-built PCs for Elite: Dangerous

Full buyers guide →

If you'd rather buy than build, these are the Create PCs machines we'd put Elite: Dangerous on, cheapest first. Real specifications and current prices, each link lands on that exact build.

CREATE TRINITY

Mid

£2,453
CPU
Intel 14 Core Ultra 5 245K Unlocked Desktop CPU/Processor
GPU
Palit NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti INFINITY 3 16GB Blackwell Graphics Card
RAM
Corsair Vengeance Grey 32GB 6000MHz DDR5 Dual Profile Memory Kit
Storage
WD Black SN850X 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD PC/PS5
See this build →

CREATE NR200P

Mid-high

£3,567
CPU
Intel 20 Core Ultra 7 265 Desktop CPU/Processor
GPU
PALIT NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB GamingPro-S Blackwell Graphics Card
RAM
Corsair Vengeance Grey 32GB 6000MHz DDR5 Dual Profile Memory Kit
Storage
Sandisk Black SN850X 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD PC/PS5
See this build →

CREATE ZION

Mid-high

£3,693
CPU
Intel 14 Core Ultra 5 245K Unlocked Desktop CPU/Processor
GPU
ASUS ROG STRIX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti OC Blackwell Graphics Card
RAM
Corsair Vengeance Grey 32GB 6000MHz DDR5 Dual Profile Memory Kit
Storage
Sandisk Black SN850X 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD PC/PS5
See this build →

Prices from Create PCs, the UK builder we run, and include VAT. They're the price shown on arrival, not a teaser, but components get repriced, so treat them as current rather than fixed. Custom-built machines start around £2,400; below that a self-build is usually the better answer, and we say so on our budget guides.

Official system requirements

These are the minimum and recommended specs as published by Frontier Developments on Steam. They tend to be conservative, usually "what ran the game at 1080p when it shipped". For what you should actually buy in 2026, see the tier cards above.

Minimum Recommended
OS Windows 8 / 10 64-bit Windows 8 / 10 64-bit
CPU Quad Core CPU (4 x 2Ghz) Intel Core i7-3770K Quad Core CPU or better / AMD FX 4350 Quad Core CPU or better
RAM 6 GB 8 GB
GPU Nvidia GTX 470/AMD R7 240 Nvidia GTX 770 / AMD Radeon R9 280X
Storage 25 GB 25 GB
DirectX 11 11

Verified 23 August 2026 against the Steam store page.

Can your PC run Elite: Dangerous?

If your CPU is roughly equivalent to Intel Core i7-3770K Quad Core CPU and your GPU is at or above Nvidia GTX 770 / AMD Radeon R9 280X, you'll hit recommended settings at 1080p/60. For 1440p or higher, look at the tier picks above.

Best gaming PC for Elite: Dangerous →