The Last of Us Part I needs an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel Core i7-4770K, 16 GB of RAM, and a Radeon RX 470 or GeForce GTX 970 with 4 GB of VRAM to run at minimum settings. For the recommended experience, Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic remake asks for an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel Core i7-8700, 16 GB of RAM, and a Radeon RX 5700 XT or GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER with 8 GB of VRAM. These are The Last of Us Part I system requirements players need to check before stepping into Joel and Ellie’s story on PC.
Here are The Last of Us Part I System Requirements (Minimum)
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel Core i7-4770K
- RAM: 16 GB
- Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 470 (4 GB), AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (4 GB), Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB), or Nvidia GeForce 1050 Ti (4 GB)
- Dedicated Video RAM: 4096 MB
- Pixel Shader: 5.1
- Vertex Shader: 5.1
- OS: Windows 10 (Version 1909 or newer)
- Free Disk Space: 100 GB
The Last of Us Part I Recommended Requirements
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel Core i7-8700
- RAM: 16 GB
- Video Card: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB), AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (8 GB), Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER (8 GB), or Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (8 GB)
- Dedicated Video RAM: 8192 MB
- Pixel Shader: 5.1
- Vertex Shader: 5.1
- OS: Windows 10 (Version 1909 or newer)
- Free Disk Space: 100 GB
Minimum vs Recommended At a Glance
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
| CPU | Ryzen 5 1500X / Core i7-4770K | Ryzen 5 3600X / Core i7-8700 |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Video Card | Radeon RX 470 / GeForce GTX 970 (4 GB) | Radeon RX 5700 XT / RTX 2070 SUPER (8 GB) |
| Video RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 100 GB | 100 GB |
| OS | Windows 10 (1909+) | Windows 10 (1909+) |
Can My PC Run The Last of Us Part I?
The Last of Us Part I is one of the more demanding ports on this site relative to its release date. RAM stays fixed at 16 GB across both tiers, which is already above what many action-adventure games ask for even at minimum, and VRAM requirements are steep too, with the minimum tier needing 4 GB and the recommended tier needing a full 8 GB. The 100 GB storage requirement is identical at both tiers and is one of the largest install sizes covered on this site. A PC sitting right at minimum spec should expect this game to push hard on memory and VRAM in particular, more so than the CPU.
Who The Last of Us Part I Is For
The underlying game is one of the most acclaimed titles in the medium, but its PC port had a genuinely rough start. The Last of Us Part I launched on Steam in March 2023 to a “Mostly Negative” user rating, driven by crashes, stuttering, and heavy VRAM demands that caught many players off guard. Naughty Dog and porting studio Iron Galaxy released a long series of patches afterward, and the game has since gained Steam Deck verification, a signal of substantial technical improvement over its launch state.
This makes The Last of Us Part I a strong pick for players who want the definitive way to experience Joel and Ellie’s story with modern visuals, provided their hardware clears the VRAM and RAM bar comfortably. Players on older or VRAM-limited GPUs, or anyone who was burned by the rocky 2023 launch, may want to check recent patch notes and reviews before buying, since performance depends heavily on matching the listed specs rather than approximating them.
Get The Last of Us Part I For Less
Before buying at full price, check our guide on How To Get The Last of Us Part I Free for legitimate ways to pick up the game at a lower cost.
More PC System Requirements Guides
Start with our central guide: Valheim System Requirements, our site wide hub covering PC specs across every genre we track.
As our central guide for this cluster, The Last of Us Part I links out to every other page in the Narrative and Story-Driven Adventures cluster:
- The Last of Us Part II Remastered System Requirements
- Death Stranding 2 System Requirements
- Detroit: Become Human System Requirements
- Mafia: Trilogy System Requirements
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 System Requirements
- Date Everything! System Requirements
- Hitman: Absolution System Requirements
- Monster Hunter Stories 3 System Requirements
This cluster is now complete. Browse the full list above for every game we’ve covered in Narrative and Story-Driven Adventures.
FAQ
What are The Last of Us Part I system requirements?
The Last of Us Part I needs an AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or Intel Core i7-4770K, 16 GB of RAM, and a Radeon RX 470 or GeForce GTX 970 with 4 GB of VRAM at minimum, or a Ryzen 5 3600X or Core i7-8700, 16 GB of RAM, and a Radeon RX 5700 XT or RTX 2070 SUPER with 8 GB of VRAM for the recommended experience.
How much storage does The Last of Us Part I need?
The Last of Us Part I needs 100 GB of free disk space at both the minimum and recommended tiers.
Was The Last of Us Part I broken on PC at launch?
Yes, the March 2023 PC launch had significant performance issues including crashes and stuttering, which led to a “Mostly Negative” Steam rating early on. The game has since received extensive patches and gained Steam Deck verification.
How much VRAM does The Last of Us Part I need?
The Last of Us Part I needs at least 4 GB of VRAM at minimum settings and 8 GB of VRAM for the recommended tier, which is higher than many games from the same era.
Can The Last of Us Part I run on 8 GB of RAM?
No, both the minimum and recommended tiers call for 16 GB of RAM, so 8 GB is below the listed requirements for this game.
