CS2 system requirements: the minimum Valve lists for Windows and Linux, the storage, and the DirectX 11 floor

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CS2 system requirements: what Valve lists

Counter-Strike 2 is free to play, but it still has a hardware floor. Valve publishes the minimum specification on the Steam store page. Here are the Windows and Linux minimums, the storage figure, and the details that matter when you are checking an older PC.

Windows minimum

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: 4 hardware CPU threads, Intel Core i5 750 or higher
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 1 GB or more, DirectX 11 compatible with Shader Model 5.0 support
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 85 GB available space

SteamOS and Linux minimum

• OS: Ubuntu 20.04
• Processor: 4 hardware CPU threads, Intel Core i5 750 or higher
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD GCN+ or NVIDIA Kepler+ with up to date Vulkan drivers
• Storage: 85 GB available space
• Sound card: highly recommended

The Linux entry adds one note that matters on some distributions: support for VK_EXT_graphics_pipeline_library is highly recommended. That is a Vulkan extension, and the page lists it as a recommendation rather than a hard requirement.

What the store page does not list

Valve publishes a minimum tier only. There is no recommended tier on the store page, so the listing will not tell you how the game runs on a particular card. The 85 GB storage figure is the other number people miss when they check whether a drive has room.

Checking your own PC

1. Open Task Manager and look at the CPU entry. Four hardware threads is the floor.
2. Run dxdiag and check the display tab. The requirement is a DirectX 11 card with Shader Model 5.0 support.
3. Leave more than 85 GB free so updates have room to land on top of the base install.

Sources
Counter-Strike 2 on Steam, system requirements section