MW4 System Requirements: Specs, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 Explained
By Luke Setzer · Updated 10/4/2026
Modern Warfare 4 needs at least a Ryzen 5 1400 or Core i5-6600 with 8 GB RAM and a GTX 970, and 115 GB of SSD space at every tier. The recommended spec for 90 FPS on High is a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i7-8700K with 16 GB RAM and an RTX 3060 Ti. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are mandatory on PC, Intel Arc cards need Resizable Bar, and only Intel or AMD processors with the AVX instruction set are supported.
These are the official numbers from Activision, not estimates. Two of them will stop people from playing on launch day, so start at the bottom of this page if you are on PC and have never touched your BIOS.
Minimum, recommended and ray tracing
| Minimum | Recommended (90 FPS, High) | Ray tracing (4K upscaled) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64 Bit | Windows 11 64 Bit | Windows 11 64 Bit |
| CPU (AMD) | Ryzen 5 1400 | Ryzen 5 3600 | Ryzen 7 3700X |
| CPU (Intel) | Core i5-6600 | Core i7-8700K | Core i7-10700K |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | 32 GB |
| GPU (AMD) | Radeon RX 470 | Radeon RX 6600 XT | Radeon RX 9070 XT |
| GPU (NVIDIA) | GTX 970 or 1060 | RTX 3060 Ti | RTX 5070 Ti |
| GPU (Intel) | Arc A580 | Arc B580 | not listed |
| Video memory | 3 GB | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 115 GB SSD | 115 GB SSD | 115 GB SSD |
An SSD is required, not recommended, and the storage figure is the same at every tier. For the platform questions around this (Game Pass, Xbox One, Steam Deck) there is a separate page. Activision also notes that additional space may be needed for mandatory updates.
Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 are mandatory
This is the part that catches people. TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are required to play Modern Warfare 4 on PC. They are part of RICOCHET's hardware-level protections, alongside server-side detection, 2FA and email verification on the account.
If you have never enabled either, do it before launch day rather than at midnight:
- Check TPM: press Windows and R, type
tpm.mscand press enter. The status panel tells you whether a TPM is present and which version it is. - Check Secure Boot: press Windows and R, type
msinfo32, and look for "Secure Boot State" in System Summary. - Both are switched on in your motherboard's BIOS or UEFI, not in Windows. On older boards Secure Boot needs the drive converted from MBR to GPT first, which is the step that takes time.
Activision's own support page covers the specifics: support.activision.com/tpm.
Two more hardware notes
- Intel Arc GPUs require Resizable Bar. Without it the card is not supported.
- Only Intel and AMD processors with the AVX instruction set are supported at this time.
Drivers
| Vendor | Recommended driver |
|---|---|
| AMD | 26.7.1 |
| NVIDIA | 616.56, with an ASD compatible driver arriving October 21 |
| Intel | 32.0.101.8974 |
What the PC version actually does with that hardware
The target is 90 FPS at recommended specs without hand tuning. Ray tracing runs in Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ. Upscaling options are NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, AMD FSR Redstone, Intel XeSS 3 and Filmic SMAA T2X, and there is a built-in benchmark tool that reports average FPS, CPU, GPU, ping and input latency with per-zone setting suggestions.
PC-only on top of that: Enhanced FOV, which widens the view at the edges of the monitor without changing your centre FOV, and sub-frame mouse polling. The full feature breakdown is in our MW4 PC trailer rundown.
Before launch day
Preloading opens October 15, and the install is 115 GB, so it is not something to start at midnight. Dates are in MW4 release date and unlock times. Installing the Xbox PC app ahead of time, whatever store you play on, lets Advanced Shader Delivery push precompiled shaders to you so the game boots faster.
Source
- Call of Duty Blog, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 PC Trailer, Tech Updates, and More", September 29, 2026: callofduty.com
FAQ
What are the minimum requirements for MW4?
A Ryzen 5 1400 or Core i5-6600, 8 GB RAM, a Radeon RX 470, GTX 970 or 1060, or Intel Arc A580 with 3 GB of video memory, Windows 10 64 Bit, and 115 GB free on an SSD.
Does MW4 need Secure Boot and TPM 2.0?
Yes, both are mandatory on PC as part of RICOCHET anti-cheat. Check TPM with tpm.msc and Secure Boot with msinfo32, and enable them in your BIOS or UEFI, not in Windows.
How much storage does MW4 need?
115 GB on an SSD, and that figure is the same at minimum, recommended and ray tracing specs. Extra space may be needed for mandatory updates.
What do you need for 90 FPS in MW4?
The recommended tier: a Ryzen 5 3600 or Core i7-8700K, 16 GB RAM and an RX 6600 XT, RTX 3060 Ti or Arc B580 with 8 GB of video memory. Activision targets 90 FPS on High at that spec without manual tuning.
Can you run MW4 without an SSD?
No. An SSD is listed as required at every spec tier, not as a recommendation.