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How to Prepare Your PC for Squadron 42: Storage, Drivers, and Performance Checks

A practical checklist for checking your PC against RSI’s published Squadron 42 baseline, with careful guidance on SSD space, drivers, RAM, and performance expectations.
Length3 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Start with RSI’s published minimums, check your PC’s actual specifications, and make sure the required SSD space is available before buying hardware. These are provisional readiness checks, not a performance guarantee: RSI said on February 4, 2026 that Squadron 42 was still in development and unavailable to download.

What PC requirements has RSI published for Squadron 42?

RSI’s Game and Launcher Requirements page, updated December 17, 2025, gives minimums for CIG games including Squadron 42. It is not a final, game-specific performance benchmark.

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Component RSI-published minimum or guidance
Operating system Windows 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack) or Windows 11. RSI says Linux and macOS are not currently supported.
Processor Quad-core CPU with AVX, AVX2, and FMA3; Intel i7 Haswell or later, or AMD Excavator or later.
Graphics DirectX 11.1 graphics card with 4 GB graphics memory.
System memory 16 GB or more RAM.
Storage 150+ GB SSD required.

The graphics-memory wording is RSI’s; treat it as a minimum, not a recommended target. Meeting these minimums does not establish a particular frame rate or guarantee how the released game will run.

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How much SSD space should you set aside?

RSI states that a 150+ GB SSD is required. Its same requirements page recommends an NTFS-formatted drive with at least 100 GB for the RSI Launcher and Star Citizen installation, plus at least 10 GB of additional SSD space for the pagefile. Those figures are RSI’s storage guidance; they are not a confirmed final installation-size estimate for Squadron 42.

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  • Check that the drive you intend to use is an SSD and has enough available capacity.
  • Confirm where the launcher and game content are installed, and allow room for the pagefile and other files already on the drive.
  • If your current storage does not meet the published requirement, check whether a compatible SSD is a viable upgrade for your PC before purchasing one.

How to check your PC’s specifications

RSI directs users to Windows System Information or DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDiag) to inspect their system. Record the following before deciding whether anything needs upgrading:

  1. Open Windows System Information, or press Windows key + R, type dxdiag, and press Enter to launch DXDiag.
  2. Note your Windows version, processor, installed RAM, and graphics card. Check the storage details in Windows to identify the drive type, capacity, and free space.
  3. Compare the operating system, CPU core count and instruction-set support, graphics card, RAM, and SSD against RSI’s published minimums.

For the CPU, core count alone is not enough: RSI also lists AVX, AVX2, and FMA3. Do not assume a processor meets the requirement based only on its model family.

Which components might need attention?

Operating system and CPU

Check that Windows is one of the supported versions and that the processor meets the listed core and instruction-set requirements. The published guidance does not give a separate final set of Squadron 42-specific requirements.

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Graphics card and driver

Check whether your card meets RSI’s DirectX 11.1 and 4 GB graphics-memory wording. For routine maintenance, use a driver supported by the GPU maker for your exact card and Windows version. RSI’s requirements page specifies no driver version, and installing a newer driver is not a guaranteed frame-rate improvement.

RAM

RSI lists 16 GB or more as the minimum. If your PC has less, consider an upgrade only after checking compatibility with your motherboard or laptop. The published minimum does not show that adding RAM beyond it will guarantee a particular performance result.

SSD

Prioritize checking the required SSD and available capacity. Consider an upgrade only if your existing drive does not meet the published guidance; no specific SSD model or final Squadron 42 installation footprint is established by these requirements.

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Can telemetry predict how the game will run?

RSI’s Development Hub describes Public Telemetry as a view of performance on community machines. It can provide context for comparing broad system configurations, but it is not a guarantee of the frame rate your PC will achieve, or evidence of Squadron 42 performance at release.

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When should you recheck requirements?

In an RSI support update dated February 4, 2026, the company said Squadron 42 was still in development and unavailable to download, pending completion, testing, and release. Check RSI’s download and availability page and requirements again close to release before making a costly upgrade. The published baseline is a useful starting point, but it has not been tested here against a released version of the game.

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