Can you play Starfield without a graphics card? Yes, it works, but only with significant compromises. Another option performs even better.
The system requirements for Starfield are quite demanding and require decent hardware even on low settings. But can you still play Starfield with weak hardware?
Yes, in principle, you can also play Starfield without a fast graphics card from AMD, Nvidia, or Intel, but the game looks far from beautiful. An alternative option would at least be cloud streaming.
Starfield without a graphics card runs at a stable 30 FPS if you turn everything off
How can you play without a graphics card? Both AMD and Intel have processors in their range that come with a graphics chip. We then talk about an APU, even though the term actually comes from AMD and is not officially used by Intel.
In gaming, the processor’s graphics chip takes over the tasks of the graphics card: graphics are rendered, and data is calculated.
How well does Starfield run on a weak system? YouTuber Christo Gevedjov tried Starfield on a Ryzen 5600G (via youtube.com). This is the current mid-range CPU from AMD with a “Vega 7” graphics chip. We have embedded the video for you here:
The game runs surprisingly smoothly and stably at a resolution of 1280×720 with the lowest settings, between 25 and 30 FPS. In enclosed spaces, nearly 40 FPS are achieved, but in open areas, the values can drop to 19 FPS. The graphics chip runs at the limit with 98% utilization, while the processor is more like bored at 30% utilization.
By the way, the surprisingly good performance is also due to the upscaling technology FSR. This means that the game is rendered at a low resolution and then upscaled.
Do you really want to play Starfield this way? But let’s be honest: Starfield doesn’t look good at these settings. The textures are blurry, the faces are distorted, and the resolution is very low.
If you really want to enjoy the game, you should rather play it on better hardware. The cheapest “real” hardware for Starfield would be something like an Xbox Series S, and experts have already explained: Starfield runs really smoothly on the Xbox Series S and looks good.
Cloud Gaming as a Possible Alternative
What other options are there? With Game Pass Ultimate, you also get the option to play Starfield via the cloud. This service is called Xbox Cloud Gaming and is included in the Ultimate subscription. So completely without powerful hardware.
Currently, it is not possible via GeForce Now, but it is not unlikely that Starfield will soon be available via GeForce Now.
What is the problem with this? The problem is that at the current time (September 1, 2023), neither Xbox Cloud Gaming nor GeForce Now offer Starfield for streaming. Whether this will change by the official release on September 6, 2023, we cannot say.
Another disadvantage of cloud gaming is that you need a very fast internet connection. A speed of at least 10 Mbit/s is recommended for good streaming. But you also need this to download the 120 GB of Starfield to your PC or Xbox.
More games for old systems: Tips and recommendations for players who only have slow or weak hardware can be found in the following article directly on MeinMMO:
