Cities: Skylines 1 hardware guide
How much PC do you need for your city? Official requirements, what actually matters, then a modest build for each city size.
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Official system requirements
From the Cities: Skylines Steam page (Windows, 64-bit required):
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 Home 64-bit | Windows 10 Home 64-bit |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 930 | AMD FX 6350 | Intel Core i7 2700K | AMD Ryzen 7 2700X |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 (1 GB) | AMD R7 250 (2 GB) | Intel Iris Xe G7 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 (1.5 GB) | AMD Radeon RX 560 (4 GB) |
| Storage | 4 GB | 4 GB |
The official numbers describe a small city. For a 100k+ city, use the builds below.
Also on console. Cities: Skylines is available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and as a Remastered edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Skylines.fyi covers the PC game, so check what your edition includes.
What actually matters in Cities: Skylines
- The CPU matters most. Cities: Skylines runs mostly on one core (Unity engine), so single-core speed counts more than core count. A community CPU guide calls a Ryzen 5 5600X or Core i5-12600K "more than enough" and says top-end chips give diminishing returns. Extra cores still help a little with traffic, pathfinding and water. Source: Steam CPU guide (Jan 2022)
- RAM depends on your assets, not only on population. Players report 16 GB running short with heavy mods and workshop assets, 32 GB working comfortably, and 64 GB rarely needed (one player used 19 GB with many assets). Assets, not mods, are the big RAM users. Source: Steam RAM discussion
- The graphics card is not the bottleneck. A GTX 580 is the official recommendation, and a mid-range card such as an RTX 3060 or RX 6600 XT is described as plenty. Players with large cities recommend a GTX 1060 6 GB or better. Source: WePC GPU guide
- Big cities are slow even on good hardware. One player reports about 30 fps in a 900k city with 4,000 mods and assets on a Core i7-8700K, and others advise strong cores for 500k cities. Source: Steam 500k discussion
About the builds: there are no official benchmarks by population. The CPU picks follow the budget, mid and high tiers of the Steam CPU guide above; GPU and RAM follow the other sources. This is community advice (a few years old), not lab tests. Which tier fits you depends on city size and on how many mods and assets you load.
Recommended PC by city population
| Population | Setup | CPU | GPU | RAM | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 100k | Budget | Intel Core i3-12100F | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (or any GTX 1060 6 GB or better) | 16 GB DDR4 (32 GB with many assets) | $ |
| 200k to 300k | Recommended | Intel Core i5-12400F | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (or any GTX 1060 6 GB or better) | 32 GB DDR4 | $$ |
| 500k and more | Large cities | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (or any GTX 1060 6 GB or better) | 32 GB DDR4 (64 GB for 1,000+ assets) | $$ |
$ = budget, $$ = mid-range gaming PC. Prices move, so check the current price on each link.
Up to 100k population Budget $
The budget tier of the Steam CPU guide: plenty for small and mid-size cities. Take 32 GB if you subscribe to many workshop assets.
Or pick the parts one by one:
200k to 300k population Recommended $$
The mid tier of the Steam CPU guide plus 32 GB of RAM. A stronger graphics card would add almost nothing.
Or pick the parts one by one:
500k and more population Large cities $$
The top tier of the Steam CPU guide. Spend on RAM before anything else, and expect slower simulation in very large cities whatever you buy.
Or pick the parts one by one:
Looking for a map first? Browse all maps or see the maps with the most buildable land.