Recommended System Requirements

[j4ckaL]

Does a game's "recommended system requirements" tell you what it takes to run the game on max settings or what it takes to run the game smoothly on lowest settings or what?

 

[dhw200]

absolute lowest of the lowest settings. Even then ur not guaranteed decent framerates

 

[hu_xu]

I think dhw got mixed up with 'minimum' system requirements. At minimum system requirements the game "should" run but that doesn't mean it's playable (low frame rates and etc.).

Recommended system requirements means the game is playable but it DOESN'T mean you can set everything high and jack up the resolution and AA and AF. Settings could range from medium to high as long as the AA, AF, and resolution settings are reasonable and comparable to your hardware limtiations.

 

[dhw200]

ah yea sorry bout that, i thought he was talking about minimum lol. Yea recommended prolly means medium or so depending on the game with decent framerates. Dont count on AA/AF

 

[Counter-Strike]

But they get very vague, like for HL2 it is:

2.4 Ghz Processor
512MB RAM
128MB DX 9.0 Card

Now they don't say PC3200 or anything of the sort, just RAM...

And the 128MB video card is VERY vague, could range anywhere from a MX4000 to a 6800...

 

[j4ckaL]

But they get very vague, like for HL2 it is:

2.4 Ghz Processor
512MB RAM
128MB DX 9.0 Card

Now they don't say PC3200 or anything of the sort, just RAM...

And the 128MB video card is VERY vague, could range anywhere from a MX4000 to a 6800...

Yeah, I hate how vague they are. They should tell you the exact gfx card that is recommended for good frames in the game as well as the best CPU, type of RAM ect.
....although I guess thats what bench marks are for.

 

[Chase]

In all honesty, to judge how a game will play on your system takes alot of experience with your setup. Once you get to know how it operates and what its strong & weak points are you can judge more easily on how the game will run on your setup. The recommended system requirements is just a rough marker. If you have well over what they reccomend, most of the time it should run flawlessly (if all your hardware is properly compatible). If you have right at or under what they recommend, you probably won't be satisfied with the quality. So basically the requirements and such are just a stab in the dark, just to give you an idea of where your system ranks at compared to the game.

::-Chase-::

 

[hu_xu]

But they get very vague, like for HL2 it is:

2.4 Ghz Processor
512MB RAM
128MB DX 9.0 Card

Now they don't say PC3200 or anything of the sort, just RAM...

And the 128MB video card is VERY vague, could range anywhere from a MX4000 to a 6800...

Yeah and DX9.0 could mean a FX5200 which is actually defaulted to DX8.1 much to the chagrin of FX owners.

 

[Mr. Switch]

And the 128MB video card is VERY vague, could range anywhere from a MX4000 to a 6800...

and both the MX4000 and 6800 can run HL2.

 

[Jorsoft]

There's not enough room on the box to list every good ram speed/video card model, or every little configuration where slower ram/cpu/video can be made up for with something else. Just gain experience and get to know your system and you'll be fine, like Chase said. Besides, tons of technical notes and model number will greatly confuse the non-techy gamers and they'll get scared and decide not to buy half life 2.