Half-Life 2 — Settings, Requirements & Optimization
2004 · Shooter, Action · Valve Software · ESRB Mature · Metacritic 96
Optimize Half-Life 2 for your hardware
Pick your GPU, CPU, resolution and target refresh rate, then generate a printable settings card with per-preset expectations and upscaler guidance.
Optimize Half-Life 2 for your PC
This is a planning estimate derived from the game's demand tier, not a benchmark.
My Half-Life 2 Settings Card
Generated at GameFigs on 2026-08-21. Game demand tier: 5/9.
Official system requirements
Publisher-published Minimum / Recommended values via RAWG. Real-world performance varies with drivers, resolution and your full build.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Minimum: | — |
| Processor | OS: Windows 7, Vista, XP | — |
| Memory | Processor: 1.7 Ghz | — |
| Graphics | Memory: 512 MB RAM | — |
| Storage | Graphics: DirectX 8.1 level Graphics Card (requires support for SSE) | — |
| DirectX | Storage: 6500 MB available space | — |
About Half-Life 2
Gordon Freeman became the most popular nameless and voiceless protagonist in gaming history. He is painted as the most famous scientist and a hero within the world of Half-Life, and for a good reason. In the first game he saved the planet from alien invasion, this time, when the invasion is already begun, the world needs his help one more time. And you, as a player, will help this world to survive. This time Gordon arrives in City 17, ravaged and occupied by Combines, where he meets his old Black Mesa friends. What is different, aside from the overall design quality, is the use of Valve’s Source engine that not only expands on the fluidity of character model animations and movement but allows players to interact with a myriad of objects with the advanced and realistic (to an extent) physics. Classic Headcrab Zombies are revamped and have new variants that provide players with different threats. For a story-driven FPS, Half-Life 2 is unique in its plot delivery, and making in-game mechanics feel natural, be it platforming or driving.
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Sources & attribution
- Game data (release year, genres, platforms, system requirements, description, cover art) via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21.
- FPS bands, presets and upscaler advice on this page are GameFigs planning estimates from the game's demand tier — not benchmark results.
How the Half-Life 2 optimization card is computed
Each game is scored on a 0–9 demand tier from its published PC requirements (and a year/genre fallback when requirements are absent). Your GPU and CPU selections map to comparable-class scores. The generator compares your hardware score against the game's demand to pick a starting preset, estimate an FPS band at 1080p/1440p/4K, and recommend an upscaler (DLSS / FSR 3) and ray-tracing posture. The output is a planning guide — always verify in-game with the built-in benchmark when available.