Most published requirement tables raise every number between minimum and recommended. Arrowhead's for Helldivers 2 does something more informative than that.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Core i7-4790K or Ryzen 5 1500X | Core i7-9700K or Ryzen 7 3700X |
| Memory | 8GB | 16GB |
| GPU | GTX 1050 Ti or RX 470 | RTX 2060 or RX 6600 XT |
| Storage | 135GB | 40GB |
| Notes | none | SSD recommended |
Two things to pull out of that.
The minimum CPU is an i7-4790K. That is a high floor. For comparison, Rust's published minimum is a Core i5-6600 and Monster Hunter Wilds asks for an i5-10400 or even an i3-12100. Naming a four-core i7 as the floor and a 2018 eight-core i7 as the recommendation is Arrowhead telling you, without saying it, that this game leans on the processor.
That fits what the game actually does. Helldivers 2 gets busy rather than detailed. The hard moments are not a dense showcase vista, they are forty things moving, ragdolling and exploding at once, and simulating that is CPU work that arrives in bursts. A GPU handles a steady load. A CPU spike is what drops your frame rate at the exact moment it matters.
The two storage figures disagree, and we are reporting them as published. 135GB in the minimum tier and 40GB in the recommended tier is not a difference any engine produces. The usual explanation is that the install size changed after release and only one field got updated. Plan around 135GB, because that is the number you cannot undo if the drive turns out to be too small.
The Usual Wall, in the Usual Place
The published GPU floor is a GTX 1050 Ti or RX 470. 110 of the 180 laptops in our catalogue have integrated graphics, 54 have a discrete GPU, and 16 do not publish a GPU figure at all. No current integrated mobile part is in GTX 1050 Ti territory, so the majority of the laptop market is outside this game before settings come up.
The RAM side is the easy one: 117 of our 172 machines with a published RAM figure have 16GB or more, which clears the recommendation outright. The 50 machines that ship 8GB meet the minimum and not the recommendation, and 106 of 180 laptops have soldered memory, so check which kind you are buying before you count on fixing it. Laptops with upgradeable RAM has that breakdown.
Storage is the awkward one. 97 of the 162 laptops with a published storage figure ship 512GB or less, and 42 ship 256GB or less. Against a 135GB install the 256GB machines are not viable without a second drive.
Tier 0: Integrated Graphics
Verdict: below the published minimum.
110 of 180 laptops. The floor is a GTX 1050 Ti and nothing integrated reaches it.
Tier 1: Minimum Spec, 1080p Low
Target: GTX 1650, RTX 3050 or RTX 4050 class, 16GB, and the best CPU you can get at this price.
Read the CPU column here more carefully than the GPU column. That is the point of this guide.
| Machine | CPU | GPU | RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Nitro V 14 AI ANV14-62 | Ryzen AI 5 340, 6 cores | RTX 5050, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 1TB |
| Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57 | Core i5-11400H, 6 cores | RTX 3050 Ti, 4GB | 16GB socketed | 512GB |
| HP Victus 15-fa | Core i5-13420H, 8 cores | RTX 3050, 6GB | 8GB socketed | 512GB |
| Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8 (RTX 4050) | Core i5-13420H, 8 cores | RTX 4050, 6GB | 8GB socketed | 512GB |
| Dell G15 5510 | Core i5-10200H, 4 cores | GTX 1650, 4GB | 8GB socketed | not published |
The catch: the Dell G15 5510's 4-core i5-10200H is the weakest CPU in this guide and the one most likely to be the thing you notice, for the reasons above. Three of these five also ship 8GB, below the recommendation.
The pick: the Acer Nitro V 14 AI, as the only one here with 16GB and a 1TB drive already fitted. Its 6-core CPU is modest, but a current 6-core comfortably clears a 2014 i7-4790K.
Tier 2: Recommended Spec and Then Some, 1080p High
Target: RTX 4060 or RTX 5050 class, 16GB, and 14 or more CPU cores if you can get them.
Everything here is well clear of the recommended RTX 2060. The CPU is the differentiator, and it is also where the price differences in this tier go.
| Machine | CPU | GPU | RAM | Panel | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 | Core i7-14700HX, 20 cores | RTX 4060, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 16in 1440p 165Hz | 1TB |
| Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 16IRX9 | Core i7-14700HX, 20 cores | RTX 4060, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 16in 1440p 165Hz | 1TB |
| Dell G15 5530 | Core i7-13650HX, 14 cores | RTX 4060, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 15.6in 1080p 165Hz | 512GB |
| Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8 (RTX 4060) | Core i7-13700H, 14 cores | RTX 4060, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 15.6in 1080p 144Hz | 512GB |
| Acer Nitro V 15 ANV15-52 | Core i5-13420H, 8 cores | RTX 5050, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 15.6in 1080p 165Hz | 1TB |
| Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41 | Ryzen 7 7735HS, 8 cores | RTX 4060, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 16in 1440p 165Hz | 1TB |
| Lenovo Legion Slim 5 16APH8 | Ryzen 7 8845HS, 8 cores | RTX 4060, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 16in 1440p 165Hz | 1TB |
The pick: the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16. Twenty cores against an eight-core recommendation, a 1TB drive against a 135GB install, and a 16-inch chassis rather than a thin one. For this game that is the right set of priorities.
The runner-up: the Legion 5i Pro 16IRX9, which is the same CPU and GPU in a different shell. Pick on whichever is cheaper.
Note the pattern: every machine in this tier has the same RTX 4060 class GPU, and the spread in CPU runs from 8 cores to 20. In a GPU-bound game that spread would barely matter. Here it is the whole decision.
Tier 3: 1440p High, With CPU Headroom for Busy Missions
Target: RTX 4070 or RTX 5060 class with a 16 or 24 core CPU.
| Machine | CPU | GPU | RAM | Panel | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IRX9 | Core i9-14900HX, 24 cores | RTX 4070, 8GB | 32GB socketed | 16in 1440p 240Hz | 64GB |
| Gigabyte AORUS 16X | Core i9-14900HX, 24 cores | RTX 4070, 8GB | 32GB socketed | 16in 1440p 165Hz | 64GB |
| ASUS ROG Strix G16 2025 | Core i9-14900HX, 24 cores | RTX 4070, 8GB | 16GB socketed | 16in 1440p 240Hz | 32GB |
| HP Omen 16 2025 | Ryzen 9 8945HX, 16 cores | RTX 4070, 8GB | 32GB socketed | 16.1in 1440p 240Hz | 64GB |
| Lenovo Legion 5 Gen 10 15AHP10 | Ryzen 7 260, 8 cores | RTX 5060, 8GB | 32GB socketed | 15.1in 1440p 165Hz | 64GB |
| MSI Stealth 16 AI Studio A1V | Core Ultra 9 185H, 16 cores | RTX 4070, 8GB | 32GB socketed | 16in 1440p 240Hz | 64GB |
The pick: the Legion Pro 5 16IRX9. Twenty-four cores, 32GB socketed, a free NVMe slot for the install, and a 1440p 240Hz panel you will not need for this game but will for others.
Skip the Stealth 16 for this specifically. It is the thin machine in the group, and sustained CPU load in a 16-inch slim chassis is where throttling shows up. The specification is right and the thermals are the wrong shape for Helldivers 2.
Tier 4: Everything, Because You Also Play Other Things
Target: RTX 4080 class and up with 24 cores.
| Machine | CPU | GPU | VRAM | RAM | Panel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 | Core Ultra 9 275HX, 24 cores | RTX 5080 | 16GB | 32GB socketed | 16in 1440p 240Hz |
| Acer Predator Helios 18 PH18-71 | Core i9-14900HX, 24 cores | RTX 4090 | 16GB | 32GB socketed | 18in 1440p 240Hz |
| MSI Raider 18 HX A14V | Core i9-14900HX, 24 cores | RTX 4080 | 12GB | 32GB socketed | 18in 1440p 165Hz |
| Gigabyte AORUS 17X | Core i9-14900HX, 24 cores | RTX 4080 | 12GB | 32GB socketed | 17.3in 1440p 240Hz |
| ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2026) | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, 24 cores | RTX 5090 | 24GB | 64GB socketed | 18in 4K 240Hz |
| MSI Titan 18 HX AI A2WX | Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, 24 cores | RTX 5090 | 24GB | 64GB socketed | 18in 4K 240Hz |
The pick: the Helios 18 or the Raider 18 HX, on the strength of being 18-inch chassis with 24 cores. In a game this CPU-dependent, the big machines earn their size through cooling rather than through the GPU badge.
Honest assessment: Helldivers 2 does not need this tier. The recommended GPU is an RTX 2060. Buy here because of what else is on your drive.
What Actually Decides Your Helldivers 2 Frame Rate
The CPU, when the mission goes wrong. This is the one guide in our series where we would take 20 cores and an RTX 4060 over 8 cores and an RTX 4070. Arrowhead's own minimum spec, naming an i7 rather than an i5, is the evidence for that.
Sustained cooling, not peak clocks. The heaviest load is a long firefight, which is exactly when a thin chassis gives up. Given two similar machines, take the larger one.
Storage, before you buy rather than after. Plan for the 135GB figure. 42 of our 180 laptops ship 256GB or less, and on those this game is most of the drive.
Not the panel. This is a co-op game against AI, not a reaction-time duel. 144Hz is nice and it is not what to spend on. If you want the guide where the panel is the entire decision, that is Counter-Strike 2, where Valve's published GPU floor is one gigabyte and 93 of 171 laptops are capped at 60Hz.
Sources
- Helldivers 2 on Steam, Arrowhead Game Studios. Minimum: Core i7-4790K or Ryzen 5 1500X, 8GB RAM, GTX 1050 Ti or RX 470, 135GB. Recommended: Core i7-9700K or Ryzen 7 3700X, 16GB RAM, RTX 2060 or RX 6600 XT, 40GB, SSD recommended. The conflicting storage figures are quoted as published
All laptop counts and specifications are from the 180 laptops in the Consumercarts catalogue as of October 2026. Statements about CPU-bound behaviour are inferences from the published requirement tiers and from what the game simulates, not measured benchmarks.