Will Wright jokingly announced the system requirements for Spore
Though Spore doesn't require a powerful graphics card, it does (by comparison) require a relatively fast processor. It can be assumed this is because of the procedural nature of the game.
Hardware requirements[]
Spore's minimum requirements aren't very high. However, to attain the levels of graphic detail that is shown in most demo videos, a more powerful computer is needed.
Spore is available for Windows and Mac OS X. Both versions are nearly identical. The Mac version is, in fact, little more than the PC version run on top of TransGaming's Cider.
On both PC and Mac, you will need an internet connection when installing and launching the game for the first time (because of the SecuROM copy protection).
Below, you will find a summary of Spore's hardware requirements for each OS. More information on Spore's system requirements can be found on Spore.com's official System requirements page.
Windows XP/Vista[]
| Processor | 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent |
| RAM | XP: 512 MB / Vista: 768 MB |
| Graphics card | 128 MB with support for Pixel Shader 2.0 |
| Hard disk drive space | At least 6 GB |
When using a PC with an on-board (aka built-in or "shared") graphics chipset, the specs bump up to:
- Intel Integrated Chipset, 945GM or above.
- 2.6 GHz Pentium D CPU, or 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent.
- 768 MB RAM
Although it is not included in the official list, The AMD HD4870 chipset will run the game without issue using Catalyst version 8.9 drivers.
Mac OS X[]
Note: Spore will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac).
| OS | Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher |
| Processor | Intel Core Duo Processor |
| RAM | 1024 MB |
| Graphics card | ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100 |
| Hard disk drive space | At least 4.7GB for installation, plus additional space for creations. |
When using a Mac with an on-board (aka built-in or "shared") graphics chipset, the specs bump up to:
- Intel Integrated Chipset GMA X3100
- Dual 2.0GHz CPUs, or 1.7GHz Core 2 Duo, or equivalent
Linux[]
A guide about how to get spore running on linux is available here.
Creature creator hardware requirements[]
The only difference in system requirements between Spore itself, and the Spore creature creator are a slightly lower processor speed when using an on-board graphics chipset and less disk space: "At least 270 MB of hard drive space for installation, plus additional space for created creatures. (190 MB for the Trial Edition)."