MW4 system requirements: what your PC actually needs

Official PC specifications

The Recommended tier is defined as 90 FPS in multiplayer on High settings, not 60 FPS. That is a meaningful jump from most Call of Duty spec tables and explains why the GPU floor looks high.

The requirements that actually block launches

TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are mandatory. This is part of RICOCHET's hardware-level anti-cheat. If either is disabled in your motherboard firmware, the game will not start. Enable Secure Boot, then TPM 2.0, then confirm in Windows Security under Device Security. Some older boards need a firmware update before the option appears.

An SSD is mandatory. The 115 GB figure is the launch install, not the final footprint. Updates, shaders and cache will add to it. Leave at least 15–20 GB free or you will get stutter and failed shader compilation.

Only Intel and AMD CPUs with AVX are supported. Very old Xeons and some low-power laptop chips without AVX will fail even if they meet the clock-speed comparison.

Intel Arc needs Resizable BAR. Without ReBAR, Arc cards lose a large amount of performance and can crash under ray tracing.

Recommended drivers

Install the driver before launch. A clean install is worth it if you have switched GPU vendors recently; leftover vendor software is a common cause of black screens.

What each tier feels like

• Minimum (GTX 970 / RX 470): 1080p, low to medium settings, upscaling on. Expect 60 FPS in multiplayer and dips in the campaign's larger battles. 8 GB RAM is technically supported but Windows alone can eat 4–6 GB; 16 GB is the practical floor.
• Recommended (RTX 3060 Ti / RX 6600 XT): 1440p, high settings, 90 FPS target. This is the tier most players should aim for. DLSS or FSR can push beyond 90 if you have headroom.
• 4K ray tracing (RTX 5070 Ti / RX 9070 XT): 4K upscaled with high ray tracing. The 16 GB VRAM requirement is real; 12 GB cards will need to lower ray tracing or texture resolution.

These are Activision's targets, not independent benchmarks. Launch drivers and day-one patches can move performance by 5–15% in either direction.

Console and Switch 2 notes

The PS5 version is listed as PS5 Pro Enhanced, so expect a higher-resolution or higher-frame-rate mode on Pro hardware. Xbox Series X|S supports the same cross-play and cross-progression pool. Nintendo Switch 2 gets a native build by Infinity Ward and Digital Legends with Joy-Con 2 mouse controls, gyro aiming, HDR and cross-play; its download is roughly 77 GB.

Settings that buy free performance

Ray tracing is supported in Campaign, Multiplayer and DMZ, but it is the first thing to cut on a mid-range card. Use the built-in benchmark, which runs a simulated multiplayer sequence and reports average FPS, CPU and GPU timings, ping and input latency. Set your resolution first, then upscaling, then shadows and reflections. The best settings guide has a full order of operations.