Some of the high-budget (AAA) games released these days require an AVX (Advanced Vector Extensions) compatible CPU to run on your PC, and you have to check AVX before buying the game. Such as The Last of Us Part I, Sonic Frontiers, Victoria 3, NBA 2K23, NBA 2K24, Star Citizen, WWE 2K22, Death Stranding, Yakuza 3 Remastered, Age of Empires IV, Dying Light 2, UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection (AVX2), etc...
If your CPU doesn't support AVX instructions, attempting to run a game that requires AVX or AVX2 will result in the game not launching, and you will see an error message like the one below.
"Your CPU needs to support AVX instructions to run this game."
"Unsupported Hardware Detected. This game requires a CPU supporting the AVX instruction set to run."
"Fatal error. Error launching the application. Please check the system requirements. (AVX)"
"Minimum requirements failed. Warning: Your system is below the minimum requirements. For optimal performance please refer to the supported hardware list. Following CPU instruction sets are required: AVX"
Note: The game may crash even without any error messages.
What is AVX?
Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) are a set of SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) instruction set extensions for x86 processors from Intel and AMD. They accelerate certain mathematical operations, particularly in tasks like video encoding, scientific simulations, and cryptography.
AVX is an expansion of the x86 instruction set architecture that provides improved performance for floating-point-intensive applications. It does this by enabling the execution of multiple data elements with a single instruction, allowing for greater parallelism in computations. The introduction of AVX marked a significant step forward in the capabilities of modern processors.
Differences between AVX versions
There are three main versions of AVX: AVX, AVX2, and AVX-512. Each version builds upon the previous one, adding new features and enhancements:
AVX
AVX: The first iteration of Advanced Vector Extensions introduced 256-bit wide SIMD registers, allowing for better performance in floating-point operations. It also added new instructions for better support of complex arithmetic operations.
AVX2
AVX2: This version expanded the capabilities of AVX by adding support for integer operations in the 256-bit SIMD registers. AVX2 also introduced Fused Multiply-Add (FMA) instructions, which further improve the performance of certain mathematical operations. Additionally, it added new instructions for manipulating and processing data in SIMD registers.
AVX-512
AVX-512: AVX-512 further extended the SIMD registers to 512-bit widths, providing even greater performance improvements for specific workloads. It also added support for a larger number of registers and introduced new instructions for enhanced data manipulation, processing, and control flow.
Related: How to Boost FPS and PC Performance for Gaming
How to check if CPU supports AVX and AVX2
Before purchasing a game with AVX requirements, it is wise to check if your CPU supports it.
You can use free software to check AVX compatibility. Install the software by following the steps below, and then use it to make sure that your CPU supports AVX.
- Go to https://www.fosshub.com/HWiNFO.html
- To download the software, click "HWiNFO Installer"
- Then install it and run HWiNFO64.
- A tiny window like the one below will appear. Just hit the Run button.
- When HWiNFO64 is opened, look into the CPU section.
- If AVX is green, it means your CPU supports it.
- If you want to play a game on your rig that requires AVX2. You can also see it there. AVX2 is right next to AVX. If it's green, your CPU supports it too.
How do I see if my processor supports AVX or AVX2 via Steam?
If you have Steam installed on your system, you can check if your CPU supports AVX or AVX2 without the need for extra software. Here is how to check AVX:
- Click Help from the top left bar on Steam.
- Then choose the "System Information"
- In the mini window that opens, scroll down the list a little and find AVX. If it says Supported, then there is no problem. You can see the AVX2 as well.
List of CPUs with AVX, AVX2, and AVX-512 support
AVX has been introduced in multiple versions, including AVX, AVX2, and AVX-512. Here's a list of some processor families that support these extensions:
- AVX support:
- Intel Sandy Bridge and later desktop and mobile processors
- Intel Xeon E3, E5, and E7 series starting with the Sandy Bridge-EP generation
- AMD Bulldozer and later processors
- AVX2 support:
- Intel Haswell and later desktop and mobile processors
- Intel Xeon E3, E5, and E7 series starting with the Haswell-EP generation
- AMD Excavator and later processors (including Ryzen)
- AVX-512 support:
- Intel Skylake-SP and later Xeon Scalable processors
- Intel Xeon Phi x200 series (Knights Landing and Knights Mill)
- Intel Core X-series processors (Skylake-X, Cascade Lake-X)
- Intel Ice Lake and later desktop and mobile processors (limited subsets)
AVX CPU List
The following table shows a selection of CPUs that support (or do not support) AVX, AVX2, and AVX-512:
| Processor | AVX Support | AVX2 Support | AVX-512 Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core2 Quad Q9550 | |||
| Intel Pentium G3258 | |||
| Intel Pentium G4560 | |||
| Intel Pentium G4600 | |||
| Intel Pentium G4600T | |||
| Intel Pentium Gold G5400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Pentium Gold G5400T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Pentium Gold G6400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 330M | |||
| Intel Core i3 540 | |||
| Intel Core i3 2120 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i3 2120T | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i3 3240 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i3 3240T | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i3 4160 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 4160T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 6100 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 7100 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 9100F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 9350K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 9350KF | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 10100 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 10100F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 12100 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 12100F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i3 13100F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 750 | |||
| Intel Core i5 750s | |||
| Intel Core i5 760 | |||
| Intel Core i5 2400 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 2400S | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 2500 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 2500K | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3470 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3470S | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3470T | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3570 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3570K | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3570S | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 3570T | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i5 4460 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 4670K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 6500 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 6600 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 6600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7400T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7500 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7500T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7600 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 7600T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 8400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 8400H | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 8400T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 8600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 9400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 9400F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 9400T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 9600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 9600KF | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 10400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 10400F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 10600KF | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 10600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 11400 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i5 11400F | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i5 11600K | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i5 12400 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 12400F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 12600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13500 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13500E | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13500H | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13500HX | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13500T | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13500TE | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13400F | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13600KF | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i5 13600K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 860 | |||
| Intel Core i7 870 | |||
| Intel Core i7 930 | |||
| Intel Core i7 2600 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 2600K | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 2600 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 3630QM | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 3770 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 3770K | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 3770S | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 3770T | ✓ | ||
| Intel Core i7 4770 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 4770HQ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 4770K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 4790K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 6700 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 6700HQ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 6700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 7700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 8700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 9700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 10700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 11700K | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i7 12700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i7 13700K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i9 9900K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i9 11900K | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i9 11900KB | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i9 11900KF | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Core i9 12900K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i9 12900KF | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i9 12900KS | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Core i9 13900K | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Xeon E5 2690 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Xeon E5 2697 v2 | ✓ | ||
| Intel Xeon E5 2699 v3 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Xeon E5 2698 v4 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Intel Xeon X5650 | |||
| Intel Xeon X5675 | |||
| Intel Xeon X5690 | |||
| Intel Xeon Gold 6130 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Xeon Gold 6150 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Intel Xeon Phi 7290 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AMD Phenom II X4 955 | |||
| AMD Phenom II X4 965 | |||
| AMD FX 6300 | ✓ | ||
| AMD FX 8350 | ✓ | ||
| AMD Ryzen 3 2200G | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 3 2200GE | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 2200GE | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 3 2200U | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 1500X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 1600 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 1600X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600E | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600H | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 2600 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 3400G | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 3400GE | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 3400GE | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 3600 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AMD Ryzen 7 1800X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 7 2700 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 7 3700X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5900X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Ryzen Threadripper 3990X | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Athlon 200GE | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD Athlon 3000G | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD EPYC 73F3 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| AMD EPYC Embedded 9124 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Please note that this list is not exhaustive and only provides a snapshot of some popular CPUs supporting AVX, AVX2, and AVX-512. Always consult the processor's documentation for the most accurate and up-to-date information on supported features.