Zwift doesn’t take advantage of high-end CPUs with many cores, so don’t waste your money on an expensive, top-tier model. Processor: Ideally, use a CPU with strong raw (single thread) performance to combat the frame rate drops when it’s busy. TL DR – Key Components for Best Performance in Zwift Numerous edits and corrections to wording and grammar.Omitted references to the absurd graphics card pricing situation in previous years.Details added for what’s needed to achieve specific targets at all times.Changes to the settings tweaks required for optimum performance.Further clarity on what causes the frame rate to drop in Zwift.Updated specification guidance going into 2024.For those already familiar with it, the main changes are: This is the third major revision of the Ultimate Guide. If you absolutely must have portability then the same guidance applies, just be aware that mobile components are universally less powerful than their desktop counterparts with the same or similar model name – sometimes significantly so.

I wouldn’t recommend buying a gaming laptop for Zwift, on the basis of poor value for money. As a result, all of the CPU and GPU recommendations are based on desktop versions of the parts mentioned. This guide is primarily aimed at those who want to use their PC solely or mainly for Zwift and want a great experience without wasting money unnecessarily. You don’t need the latest and most expensive parts. It’s important to note that almost all of what follows is NOT particularly good advice for PC gaming in general, because Zwift is different to most other modern games and there are diminishing returns beyond a certain point of investment. We’re all paying to stare at Zwift, so why wouldn’t we want it at its best? This at 30fps or less… …versus this at 60fps or more? At this point, my own PC has been rebuilt and changed at least ten times…Ī warning: if you’re already happy or content with a lower level of detail and/or a low frame rate, this article is not intended for you! A better-looking, smoother Zwift will not make you faster or stronger (unless it gets you on the bike more often), it’s just nicer. The information here is based on having personally put together over 100 dedicated Zwift PCs for members of the community, and hundreds of hours of testing and discussion with fellow nerds enthusiasts.

PCs certainly require additional effort to set up versus other platforms, but I firmly believe the results are worth it. There are many misconceptions addressed here – primarily that Zwift is all about the graphics card (not the whole story), that the CPU doesn’t matter (inaccurate), that you need an ‘expensive high end gaming rig’ (incorrect), and that PCs inherently aren’t as stable as other platforms for running Zwift (codswallop). Whilst there are many people who happily run Zwift on their mobile phone, tablet, Apple TV or regular laptop, some may be considering ways to improve their experience. This article is not intended to provide a comparison between the pros and cons of the various available platforms but rather to offer advice on running Zwift at its very best, which means at the highest levels of detail, resolution, and frame rate. To experience Zwift at its highest visual quality and performance, a Windows PC is required.

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