Conan Exiles Server Requirements Calculator

Conan Exiles dedicated server requirements

Conan Exiles ships a standalone dedicated-server build (downloadable via SteamCMD, app ID 443030, with no game licence required). After the Enhanced update of May 2026 rebuilt the game on Unreal Engine 5, server hardware demands rose noticeably: real-world memory and CPU usage climbed roughly 30-50% over the old UE4 build, with Lumen and Nanite alone adding about 15-25% to baseline RAM. Any guide written before 2026 will under-spec a modern server.

RAM

RAM is the resource you will run out of first. On Enhanced:

• 6-8 GB is the realistic minimum for a comfortable 10-20 player vanilla world. The old 4 GB tier still boots but stutters under load.
• ~12 GB suits a 30-slot vanilla server.
• ~16 GB covers a busy 70-slot vanilla server.
• 18-24 GB is normal for heavily modded servers (EEWA, Age of Calamitous, Pippi and similar), even at modest player counts.

Memory use also climbs over time as players build: thousands of placeables, thrall armies and decay-pending structures all live in RAM. Plan for the ceiling, not the empty-world floor, and give the OS headroom on top.

CPU

This is the most misunderstood part of Conan hosting. The server's main simulation tick runs on a single thread, so a high per-core clock speed matters far more than core count. Two to four genuinely fast cores beat eight slow ones. As a rough guide, ~3.0-3.5 GHz handles around 10 players, while 40-70 players want 4.0 GHz or higher (turbo above 4.5 GHz is ideal). Funcom's own official servers historically ran Intel Xeon E3-1270 v6 quad-cores at 3.80 GHz with 64 GB of RAM, typically packing about three game servers per machine. Placed thralls are a major hidden CPU cost: roughly 30 thralls impose the load of 6-8 extra connected players.

Storage

The Enhanced build's install footprint dropped to roughly 60 GB (down from ~105 GB on UE4). Budget around 60-70 GB to cover the install, the growing game database (game.db, which can reach several gigabytes on long-lived worlds), mods and backups. An SSD/NVMe drive is strongly preferred; database commits and world saves are I/O sensitive and HDDs cause hitching.

Network and OS

The dedicated server runs natively on Windows; Linux hosting is done through Proton/Wine wrappers and is less officially supported. Open the default ports (game 7777 UDP, query 7778 UDP, Steam 27015 UDP). Bandwidth is modest per player but real: a packed 70-slot PvP server wants a stable upload of around 100 Mbps to avoid lag during sieges, while small servers are happy on far less.

Optimizing a Conan Exiles server

Because the tick rate is single-threaded, the single best optimization is a CPU with strong single-core performance; everything else is damage control around it. Beyond hardware:

• Tune building decay and limits. Abandoned mega-bases are the top cause of RAM bloat and tick lag. Keep decay enabled and consider a sensible per-clan building limit so the world database stays lean.
• Cap thralls and pets. Each placed follower carries AI and physics cost. Lowering the follower limit and purging inactive clans recovers both CPU headroom and memory.
• Run on NVMe/SSD. The game.db SQLite database is written frequently; fast storage cuts the periodic save hitch players feel as a freeze.
• Audit mods ruthlessly. Mods load in a fixed order and one heavy or poorly written mod can dominate tick time. Add them one at a time and watch frame time; keep load order identical between client and server.
• Schedule restarts. A nightly automated restart clears accumulated memory fragmentation and is standard practice for long-running Conan servers.
• Watch server FPS. Admin tools and RCON expose the server tick rate; if it falls below ~20-30 FPS during peak hours you are CPU-bound, which usually means too many thralls/structures or too slow a core.

What to look for in a host

If you would rather rent than self-host, evaluate providers against what Conan actually stresses:

• High single-thread CPU. Ask for the exact processor model and clock speed, not just "dedicated cores." A modern chip with strong single-core performance and 4.0 GHz+ turbo is worth more than a higher core count.
• Enough dedicated RAM for the Enhanced build. Match the tiers above to your real player and mod plans, and confirm the RAM is dedicated rather than shared/oversold.
• NVMe or SSD storage with room for the ~60 GB install plus a growing database and backups.
• Automatic, restorable backups of the game database, ideally with one-click rollback.
• Full config and mod access (ServerSettings.ini, RCON, Steam Workshop mod management) so you can tune decay, limits and load order yourself.
• DDoS protection and a stable upstream link, since busy PvP servers need consistent bandwidth during sieges.
• A clear path to scale RAM/CPU without a full migration as your population or mod list grows.

Confirm the provider explicitly supports the Enhanced (UE5) version, as some older plans were sized for the lighter UE4 build.

CPU note: Conan Exiles runs its main simulation loop on a single thread, so high single-core clock speed matters far more than core count. Aim for 3.5 GHz+ for small servers and 4.0 GHz+ (turbo 4.5 GHz+) for 40-70 players. Placed thralls and large bases add real CPU load: roughly 30 thralls equal the cost of 6-8 connected players.

Numbers reflect the May 2026 Conan Exiles Enhanced (Unreal Engine 5) rebuild, which raised server RAM/CPU usage roughly 30-50% over the old UE4 build (Lumen/Nanite add ~15-25% baseline). Pre-2026 sizing guides under-spec Enhanced. Vanilla figures assume the default Exiled Lands or Isle of Siptah map; mods, large player-built bases and thrall armies are the biggest variable and drive RAM/CPU well above these baselines.