Custom Resolution Utility (CRU) System Requirements: What Your PC Needs

CRU runs on Windows Vista through Windows 11, but the deciding factor is your graphics driver, not your Windows version. You need an AMD/ATI or NVIDIA card with its proper driver installed, or an Intel GPU with a specific driver version depending on generation. Windows XP is not supported at all, and the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter driver will not work.

Supported Windows Versions

The tool edits EDID (Extended Display Identification Data), the block of information a monitor reports about its supported resolutions and refresh rates. That mechanism is why XP is excluded: the override path CRU relies on does not exist there.

Graphics Card and Driver Requirements

CRU depends on the graphics driver to apply EDID overrides, so an installed, vendor-supplied driver is mandatory.

AMD/ATI and NVIDIA

Any AMD/ATI or NVIDIA graphics card works provided the correct driver is installed. The Microsoft Basic Display Adapter driver — the generic fallback Windows uses when no vendor driver is present — will not work. If Device Manager shows your display adapter as "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter," install the driver from AMD or NVIDIA first.

Intel GPUs

Intel support is conditional on driver generation:

• Newer Intel GPUs: use the latest Intel drivers.
• 6th generation (Skylake): use the Intel Graphics Driver for Windows [15.45].
• 4th/5th generation (Haswell/Broadwell): a matching older driver is required (the source page's requirement list is cut off at this point, so confirm the exact version on Intel's driver archive before proceeding).

Laptops with Switchable Graphics

Intel-based laptops with switchable graphics are supported when the right drivers are installed. Because the display output may route through either the integrated or discrete GPU, make sure both adapters have current vendor drivers.

Quick Compatibility Check

Before downloading, confirm three things:

1. OS: Windows Vista or newer (not XP).
2. GPU vendor: AMD/ATI, NVIDIA, or Intel.
3. Driver status: open Device Manager → Display adapters. If you see a named vendor GPU rather than "Microsoft Basic Display Adapter," you meet the driver condition. For Intel, verify your generation and match the driver version above.

If all three pass, CRU's EDID editing — adding resolutions, removing unused ones, adjusting refresh rates and FreeSync settings — should be available to you. If the driver check fails, resolve that first; the download itself (v1.5.3, 533 KB per the site) is small, but it cannot compensate for a missing driver.