Can You Run Starfield On HDD Or SSD Only?

Do you want to know whether Starfield can run on HDD or only on SSD? Here is a detailed explanation which storage drive is best for the game.

Starfield is the latest action role-playing game from Bethesda available on computers and other platforms, but many PC players who haven’t got their hands on the title are questioning whether this game can be run on the HDD (Hard Drive) or only on SSD (Solid State Drive)? As per the gameplay of the title, many can judge that it is indeed a downright enormous game with detailed environments, and therefore will their machine be able to run such a monster? In this guide, we will answer all the questions regarding what type of PC specs Starfield will require with what drives exactly in detail below.

Why Does Starfield Require SSD and not HDD on PC?

can you run Starfield on HDD or SSD

The minimum requirement to play Starfield on PC is an SSD, even though the game could run on HDD but with a lot of stuttering and lagging issues. Players who have tested the game on both HDD and SSD found out that Starfield takes less than a second to launch on SSD while on HDD the title takes more than 1 minute and 40 seconds approximately to run on PC.

This is because Starfield is an open-world title that requires more and more PC resources for smoother gameplay. Check out the minimum and recommended requirements of the game below.

Minimum Specs of Starfield:

  • Operating system: Windows 10 version 22h 2 (10.0.19045)
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i7-6800K
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 5700 or NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage space: 125 GB
  • SSD Required

Recommended Specs of Starfield:

  • Operating system: Windows 10 or 11
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X or Intel i5-10600K
  • RAM: 16GB
  • Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Network: High-speed internet connection
  • Storage space: 125 GB of available disk space
  • SSD Required

Therefore, if your PC does not have an SSD, you will have no choice but to invest in one such storage device. Thankfully, the game was released at the right time, as the price of storage, particularly SSDs, has never been so low. If you are still hesitant, perhaps now is the time to let yourself be convinced and buy a decent SSD.

That’s all you need to know about whether Starfield can run on HDD or SSD only. While you are here, you might be also interested in exploring more Starfield Guides, such as how to fix crashing issue on Xbox, and what happens when you steal ships.