The rig.
Two pages: the floor you can boot on, and the hardware that actually earns the grades.
Minimum rig.
Floor boots, lab class plays. 6 cores and 6 GB VRAM to check boots; 8 cores and 8 GB VRAM to match the grades.
◎ At a glance
Reviewed 2026-10-13.
| Floor CPU | x86-64, 6 cores / 12 threads |
| Floor GPU | Vulkan 1.3, ~6 GB VRAM |
| Lab CPU | x86-64, 8 cores / 16 threads |
| Lab GPU | Vulkan 1.3, 8 GB+ VRAM |
Floor vs lab class
| Part | Minimum — boot check | Lab class — graded |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit, 1803+ | Windows 11 64-bit |
| CPU | x86-64, 6 cores / 12 threads | x86-64, 8 cores / 16 threads |
| GPU | Vulkan 1.3, ~6 GB VRAM | Vulkan 1.3, 8 GB+ VRAM |
| RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB |
| Storage | SSD | NVMe SSD |
| Expect | 720p boot checks | 1080p Stable grades |
Two tiers, no mushy middle
Minimum — boot check: Windows 10 64-bit (1803+), 6-core / 12-thread x86-64, Vulkan 1.3 GPU around 6 GB VRAM, 16 GB RAM, SSD, keyboard / Xbox pad / DualSense. Expect 720p boot checks. Many titles will not reach gameplay.
Lab class — the graded tier: Windows 11 64-bit, 8-core / 16-thread CPU, Vulkan 1.3 with 8 GB+ VRAM (RTX 3060 Ti / RX 6700 XT class is the reference), 32 GB RAM, NVMe, DualSense over USB. Expect 1080p lab targets on Stable titles.
Both tiers need the official PS5UPDATE.PUP installed by you and the current Visual C++ runtime if Windows asks.
Read the table, then read your PC
The table below is the whole story. If your PC sits between tiers, expect between-tier results — Stable titles playable, heavy scenes dipping.
Below the floor is not a tier. It is a no.
Static spec sheet
The full static sheet with x86-64, Vulkan, laptop, and firmware notes lives on the main site spec page.
Questions
Can I run Kiln on 4 cores?
No. Six cores / twelve threads is the floor for boot checks, and gameplay realistically wants eight cores.
Is 6 GB VRAM enough?
For boot checks and light titles. The graded 1080p results assume 8 GB or more.
Does RAM matter?
Yes. 16 GB is the floor; the lab grades on 32 GB. Emulation plus OS plus drivers eats memory fast.
Related
GPU and CPU.
GPU: Vulkan 1.3, 8 GB+ VRAM, current driver, discrete device selected. CPU: 8 real cores. Everything else is secondary.
Reference rig.
One PC grades everything: 8-core CPU, RTX 3070, 32 GB RAM, NVMe, Windows 11. Every status on the roster comes from this machine.
Vulkan 1.3.
Vulkan 1.3 is the graphics API Kiln renders on. Your driver provides it. Old driver, wrong GPU, no frames.
Windows installer.
One setup file, 64-bit Windows 10 or 11. The installer gives you the emulator and the launcher — nothing else.
Windows installer · 400+ titles in the launcher
Get the launcher.
Install Firmware with your own PS5UPDATE.PUP, boot the system software, then start a game you own.