Best PC for DEFCON (2026)

DEFCON drops players into a tense Cold War simulation of global thermonuclear war, where you position submarines, silos, and air defenses to launch strikes while vulnerable to instant retaliation. This indie strategy game emphasizes psychological brinkmanship, especially in multiplayer matches with shifting alliances and betrayals, all tracked via a stark minimalist interface and real-time population death tolls. Every decision risks total annihilation, forcing careful management of nuclear exchanges to minimize your losses. Given DEFCON's ancient origins on hardware like Pentium III and GeForce 2, our minimum build centers on the lowest-price Ryzen 5 5500 CPU from the AM4 platform, paired with a budget Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB GPU. This combo ensures rock-solid performance at 1080p high settings, handling silo placements and missile barrages without a stutter, even in heated PvP lobbies. For the recommended specs, we prioritize value with the Ryzen 5 7600X CPU, which excels in the single-thread calculations for unit paths and AI retaliation timing, and the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB GPU. This setup crushes DEFCON at 1440p ultra in cross-platform co-op or LAN PvP, delivering smooth frame rates for prolonged sessions amid escalating nuclear paranoia.