Can I Run Halo 3?
The first step to determine whether you can run Halo 3 is to know figure out what components make up your gaming PC. Pay particular attention to the CPU, GPU, and RAM as these tend to dictate what kind of performance you can expect. If you’re not sure how to go about this, you can refer to our step-by-step guide right here.
Armed with your PC’s specifications, compare them to the minimum and recommended system requirements for Halo 3. You can find these below. We recommend aiming for the recommended requirements if at all possible to avoid any performance issues. If your PC falls short, a few choice targeted hardware upgrades may be worth considering.
Moving forward, we plan on publishing a bespoke tool designed to automatically scan any given PC for its full specifications. The idea is to take the tedium out of the task for our readers. It’s still under wraps, but we’ll be sure to push out an update once it’s ready for action.
Halo 3 Game Details
- Release Date: July 14th, 2020 (PC)
- System Requirements: Low
- Genre: First-person shooter
- Developer: 343 Industries, Ruffian Games, Saber Interactive
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
”Halo 3 comes to PC as the next installment in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Now optimized for PC, witness the Master Chief’s return to finish the fight between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire Human race in this dramatic, pulse-pounding conclusion of the original Halo trilogy. With the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance, the Master Chief returns to uncover an ancient secret hidden beneath the sands of Africa, which could hold the key to humanity’s salvation or destruction – an object that could change the tide of the Human-Covenant conflict.
- PC Settings/Optimizations: Halo 3 is now optimized for PC and looking better than ever at up to 4k UHD and at 60+ FPS.* Other PC native settings include customizable mouse and keyboard support, ultrawide support, FOV customization, and more.
- Campaign: Experience the next chapter in the Halo saga and fight your way through 11 unforgettable missions.
- Multiplayer: Continue your Halo adventure with 24 multiplayer maps from the iconic Halo 3, featuring a completely updated progression system in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
- Forge & Theater: Create new ways to play with the iconic Forge tool and utilize the Theater to capture and share your favorite moments with the community”
Halo 3 Minimum Requirements
- CPU: Intel Core i7-975 | AMD A12-9800 APU
- RAM: 2 GB
- HDD: 55 GB of storage space
- GPU: GeForce GTS 450 | Radeon R7 Graphics
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7
- DirectX: Version 11
- Screen Resolution: 1080p
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
Halo 3 Recommended Requirements
- CPU: Intel Core i7-870 Quad 2.93GHz | AMD FX-4100
- RAM: 4 GB
- HDD: 55 GB of storage space
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti | AMD Radeon R7 360
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10
- DirectX: Version 11
- Screen Resolution: 1080p or higher
- Network: Broadband Internet Connection
Optimal Hardware Suggestions
Given that Halo 3 is essentially a port of the 2007 Xbox 360 title, the overall system requirement demands are fairly tame by modern standards. With the minimum recommended settings, you’re looking at 30 fps at 1080p, while the recommended requirements can push 60 fps or more at 1080p or higher. Naturally, you’ll be able to tinker with the newly introduced PC settings to find a middle ground that suits you, but the overall rule is that most PCs won’t struggle to run Halo 3 in a respectable state.
Halo 3 on PC offers 4K support. If you plan to push those kinds of resolutions, we’d advise looking at a GPU that outclasses those in the recommended requirements. Note that we aren’t talking RTX 2080 territory, but rather something in the ballpark of a GeForce GTX 1060.
What Gaming PC Do We Recommend?
As a nostalgia-infused blast from the past, Halo 3 deserves a decent machine to do justice to its first appearance on PC. With that in mind, we recommend a look at our $600 or $700 builds.
The $700 PC features an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU, XFX Radeon RX 570 GTS GPU, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a roomy 250 GB SSD. With those specifications, you’ll widely surpass those of the recommended system requirements for Halo 3.
As for the $700 build, you’re looking at mid-range build with at virtually the same build but with a Radeon RX 5500 XT for an extra graphical boost and a 500 GB SSD for some extra storage breathing space. With this one, you’ll set yourself up not just for Halo 3, but a broad selection of other modern titles.