Fallout 3 System Requirements

The Fallout 3 system requirements include a minimum RAM requirement of 1 GB, but 2 GB of RAM is recommended. An Intel Pentium 4 2.40GHz CPU is required at a minimum to run Fallout 3, but the developers recommend a CPU greater or equal to an Intel Core 2 Duo U7600. The cheapest graphics card you can play it on is an NVIDIA GeForce 6800, but a GPU equivalent to an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX is recommended. The Fallout 3 PC requirements also state that you need at least 7 GB free storage space.

Bethesda and Steam make it clear that 'Fallout 3 is not optimised for Windows 7 and later', and users have reported crashes to desktop running the game. However Fallout 3 Windows 10 is still possible by adjusting some of the following settings:

• Enter the properties for the Fallout 3 application and enable 'Run this program as an administrator'
• In addition, under properties try running the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP3.

Fallout 3 Performance Guide

Fallout 3 is an old game now so you shouldn't run into any performance issues unless you're trying to run the game on a very low end PC. Here are some tips for improving FPS.

• You can reduce the graphics further than the game allows as standard through mods. There are mods for reducing view distance, removing dust particles, and a low resolution texture mod which can be downloaded from the internet.
• Ensure you have the latest NVIDIA/AMD drivers for your graphics card.
• Run the game in fullscreen mode, not windowed, otherwise you will see an loss in FPS.

Looking for the latest Fallout game? Check the Fallout 4 system requirements.

Alternatively, if you're looking to take your Bethesda experience into space, see if you can run the Starfield system requirements.

Fallout 3 will run on PC system with Windows XP and upwards.

Looking for an upgrade? Try our easy to use Fallout 3 set up guides to find the best, cheapest cards. Filter for Fallout 3 graphics card comparison and CPU compare. We'll help you find the best deal for the right gear to run the game.

Fallout 3 FPS - what frame rate can you expect?

How many FPS will I get on Fallout 3? We reference thousands of reports from PCGameBenchmark users running our FPS tracking app to tell you exactly how Fallout 3 performs across a range of different settings and resolutions on the most popular PC gaming setups.

What frame rate does Fallout 3 run at?

Avg FPS	CPU	GPU	RAM
53	Intel Core i5-9400F	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti	8 GB
49	Intel Core i7-8850H	Intel UHD 630	32 GB
46	Intel Core i7-3770K	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670	24 GB
45	Intel Core i5-6400	Intel HD 530	8 GB
42	Intel Core i3-8145U	Intel UHD Graphics 620	8 GB

Are you experiencing Fallout 3 FPS drops and stutters? Want to know exactly how the game performs on your system? An FPS monitor is the first step in understanding how the parts in your gaming PC are actually performing in real-world conditions.

Download our free FPS Monitor via Overwolf to count your frame rates as you play, and test how tweaks to your settings can boost FPS and increase Fallout 3 performance. Our app is compatible with hundreds of the best PC games and available now.