Enshrouded is a voxel-based survival game, and that one detail drives every spec decision you make for a dedicated server. The world is fully destructible and re-shapeable, so the server isn’t just relaying player positions — it’s constantly tracking terrain edits, base structures, and world state across the whole map. That makes Enshrouded heavier per player than a typical survival title, and it punishes underpowered hosts with rubber-banding and save-stutter long before you hit the player cap. This guide breaks down the real CPU, RAM, disk, OS, and bandwidth requirements by player count so you can size the box correctly the first time.
The short version
An Enshrouded dedicated server caps at 16 players. The developer’s own recommended specs land around an Intel Core i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X class CPU, with the thread count scaling by group size. RAM is the figure most people get wrong: the server process idles near ~4.4 GB on a vanilla world, so a “6 GB minimum” only covers a tiny duo. For a real group you want headroom for terrain edits and world tracking, not just the idle baseline.
- CPU: high single-thread clock matters most; 6c/12t for 4–6 players, 8c/16t for larger groups up to 16
- RAM: ~6 GB for a duo, scaling toward 12–16 GB for an 8–16 player world (more if modded)
- Disk: ~13 GB for server files; plan for ~30 GB free, ideally on SSD/NVMe
- OS: official binary is Windows; Linux hosts run it via Proton/Wine (commonly in Docker)
- Bandwidth: roughly 2 Mbit/s upload per connected player
CPU: clock speed over core count
Enshrouded’s server logic leans heavily on a few hot threads rather than spreading evenly across many cores. That means a CPU with strong single-core clock speed will outperform a higher-core-count chip that runs slower per thread. The developer’s recommended-specs guidance points at roughly an i7-9700K / Ryzen 7 3700X tier, and scales the thread budget with group size:
- 4–6 players: a 6-core / 12-thread CPU around 3.2 GHz or better
- Up to 16 players: an 8-core / 16-thread CPU around 3.7 GHz or better
On shared or VPS hosting this is the spec that quietly makes or breaks a server. A host that oversubscribes cores will give you a high core count on paper but poor real clock speed under load — exactly the wrong trade for Enshrouded. Prioritize dedicated vCPU with a high base clock over a big core count you’ll never saturate.
RAM by player count
Because the server tracks the whole editable world, RAM use climbs with how much of the map has been explored and modified, not just how many people are online. A fresh world is light; a heavily built-up, fully-explored map with a full lobby uses far more. The figures below are practical tiers (vanilla), with idle sitting around 4.4 GB — treat the per-tier number as the floor for stable play, not a hard ceiling. Modded servers idle higher (commonly 6–7 GB) and should be bumped a tier.
| Players | RAM (vanilla) | Suggested CPU | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | 6 GB | 4c / strong clock | Covers idle (~4.4 GB) plus a small world |
| 3–4 | 8 GB | 6c / 12t | Comfortable for a small co-op group |
| 5–8 | 10 GB | 6c / 12t | Add a tier if running mods |
| 9–12 | 12 GB | 8c / 16t | Larger built-up worlds push RAM up |
| 13–16 | 16 GB | 8c / 16t | Full lobby; headroom prevents save-stutter |
If you plan to mod, want a fully-explored map, or just dislike babysitting memory, round up. RAM is the cheapest insurance against the most common Enshrouded server complaint — hitching when the world saves.
Disk, OS, and bandwidth
Disk: the server files run around 13 GB; budget roughly 30 GB free to cover the install, save backups, and updates. Put it on SSD or NVMe — world saves are write-heavy and a slow disk shows up as periodic lag spikes.
OS: the official Enshrouded dedicated server binary is Windows-only (Steam app ID 2278520). There’s no native Linux build, but Linux hosts run it reliably through Proton or Wine — most commonly via a Docker image that wraps the compatibility layer. If you self-host on Ubuntu, that’s the standard route; managed hosts handle this for you. See our Enshrouded server documentation for the panel-side details, or the WindowsGSM self-host guide if you’re running it on your own Windows machine.
Bandwidth: plan for about 2 Mbit/s of upload per connected player. A full 16-player server therefore wants roughly 30+ Mbit/s of sustained upstream — trivial on any datacenter link, but worth checking before you try to host from a home connection. Two UDP ports are used by default (a game port and a query port); your host or panel exposes these.
Mapping specs to a hosting tier
Translating the table above into a plan: a 2–4 player private world is happy on a small tier (8 GB, a fast 6-core), while a public or community 12–16 player server wants 16 GB and an 8c/16t chip with a high clock. The trap is choosing a tier by RAM alone and ending up on slow, oversubscribed cores — Enshrouded will stutter regardless of memory. If you’d rather skip the Proton/Docker setup and the capacity math entirely, our managed Enshrouded hosting plans are pre-sized to these tiers with dedicated clock speed. Once it’s live, the dedicated server setup guide walks through first-run configuration.
FAQ
How much RAM does a 16-player Enshrouded server need?
For a full 16-player world, plan for 16 GB on a vanilla setup. The server idles around 4.4 GB, but a fully-explored, heavily-built map with a full lobby uses far more, and the extra headroom prevents the world-save hitching that low-memory servers suffer. Modded servers should add a tier on top.
Can I run an Enshrouded dedicated server on Linux?
There’s no native Linux binary — the official server (Steam app ID 2278520) is the Windows build. Linux hosts run it through Proton or Wine, most commonly inside a Docker container that handles the compatibility layer. It works well in practice; managed hosts and the standard Ubuntu Docker images abstract this away.
Is CPU or RAM more important for Enshrouded?
Both matter, but the bottleneck most people hit first is CPU clock speed. Enshrouded’s server runs hot on a few threads, so a high single-core clock beats a high core count. RAM determines how large and built-up a world you can hold without save-stutter; CPU determines moment-to-moment smoothness. Under-spec either and you’ll feel it.
Ready to play?
Run your own Enshrouded server with XGamingServer
Spin up an always-on Enshrouded server your friends can join in minutes — no port-forwarding, no tech headaches.
