Computer requirements?

[jdmblazinj]

hey, with all the new games coming out, i know my computer is definately not up to par. I was wondering, taking intoconsideration the the games that need the most ram/everything else in order to run, what are appropriate system requirements?

Currently I have:

A compaq v3.11

Windows xp

3200+ AMD Athelonxp processor

160gb 7200RPM ultra DMA hardrive

512mb pc2700 DDR SDRAM

I have a FP 7317 Compaq 17 inch flat lcd screen (im pretty sure its HD) moniter.

im not sure what graphics card, but its not even good enought to play roller coaster tycoon 4, which is bad :[

I was wondering, how much of each does everyone suggest i have in order to play the top games out right now?

[joe43wv]

My best advice is try shopping around and find the best deal, and if you have any questions about a certain product post back and we'll see what we can help ya with.

[Tripredacus]

I don't understand how AMD numbers its processors equal what they are, but your RAM should be at least 2GB.

Basically, think about what game you want to play, and then go to this site:

http://www.canyourunit.com/

If it won't work, not only will it tell you that it doesn't, but it will tell you what you would need. Some games aren't listed and it is also true that some games may still run on your computer even if the website says it can't, but it's a good guide.

[Dblake1]

i have the same exact computer as my main box, but i have XP Pro and 1.5 GB RAM. and the Processor Speed for mine is 2.20GHz, which should be yours too. and i think the graphics card is VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP Graphics, with a max of 64MB shared RAM. i hope this helps you all

[Tripredacus]

Sometimes games are picky about wanting to run. Some games try to run on anything, while other will check for file versions or supported hardware before trying to open. One example of checking hardware is Oblivion, which only checks your video card against the supported card list. If your card is there then it will open. It doesn't matter if the game will actually run properly or not. If you card isn't there then (if you are lucky) it will tell you that you can't run it. But some developers are slackers and maybe the game just errors our wakes up Dr Watson instead.

So video card detection can be a blessing or a bane for you. Another example is that Crysis will actually open and play on my computer even though it is way outdated because my video card is supported, and that is the only thing Crysis checks before attempting to run. When I say that Crysis works, you must know I put it all on the lowest settings and it takes an hour to load into the level where you can actually do something. I remember going to make dinner while waiting for the cutscene to play because it doesn't work right, but the actual gameplay part was fine.

So you might want to see if you can pick up a cheap video card to stick in your computer, an ATI or nVidia that is DirectX 9.0c compliant. Most games only check the video card, very few check the CPU or RAM.