Minimum requirements specs -- How accurate?

[Myrmidon]

So when a new game comes out most people tend to look at the specs to see if they can run the said game. There is usually "minimum requirements" and "recommended requirements". My question is just how accurate are minimum requirements and do they really mean *absolute* minimum?

The reason I ask is that I want to get Dishonored 2 and according to 3 different sites that have scanned my hardware all my specs are a green light apart from my processor except the difference between my current processor and the minimum recommended processor is very very small:-

What it states as minimum - Intel Core i5 2400
What I have - Intel Core i5 2320 @ 3.0GHz

So does it really mean I can't run it based on the fact my processor is a few points under minimum because the minimum requirements are absolute set in stone total minimum or is it a bit of a grey guideline with a tiny bit of leeway? I have no problem running it in a window box on lowest settings with a gamebooster app in the background if that's what it takes.

Thanks for your time guys

[ColBigglesworth]

If your graphics and RAM are above minimum, and your Processor is just below, Low/ Medium it will most likely run alright. I would say that it would run well on Low, though would be very much playable on Medium.

[76561198218426745]

It means the developer is free to refuse to assist you if you have problems running the game, as you are below the minimum requirements. It doesn't necessarily mean the game will be unplayable. As a general rule it's a good idea to meet the minimum requirements, even though you can get away with a lot less in some cases (e.g. Dead or Alive 5: Last Round.)

[Hextravert]

Those are just guidelines.

Neither the minimum nor the recommended requirements are set in stone.

Just because you don't meet the requirements, doesn't mean you can't run the game at all.

Originally posted by Myrmidon:

So when a new game comes out most people tend to look at the specs to see if they can run the said game. There is usually "minimum requirements" and "recommended requirements". My question is just how accurate are minimum requirements and do they really mean *absolute* minimum?

The reason I ask is that I want to get Dishonored 2 and according to 3 different sites that have scanned my hardware all my specs are a green light apart from my processor except the difference between my current processor and the minimum recommended processor is very very small:-

What it states as minimum - Intel Core i5 2400
What I have - Intel Core i5 2320 @ 3.0GHz

So does it really mean I can't run it based on the fact my processor is a few points under minimum because the minimum requirements are absolute set in stone total minimum or is it a bit of a grey guideline with a tiny bit of leeway? I have no problem running it in a window box on lowest settings with a gamebooster app in the background.

Thanks for your time guys

[Myrmidon]

Thanks for the replies so far. Basically the 3 main features here are RAM, Graphics and CPU.

RAM - Minimum is 8 and I have 8.
Graphics - Minimum is 2 and I have 4.
CPU - 2400 minimum I have 2320

I just punched all this into game debate and it says my CPU meets 97% of the requirements but is 3% under. It seems so small and on the basis everything else is fine I really hope it will just let me physically get into the game so I can turn everything off and set everything to low etc.

[76561198218426745]

Graphics - Minimum is 2 and I have 4.

VRAM is only one aspect of the performance of a GPU, and generally not the most important one. A GTX 960 with 2 GB of VRAM would steamroll a GT 730 with 4 GB of VRAM. It's important that your GPU performs at least as well as the minimum card.

[Start_Running]

To answer your question OP. COnsider Minimum specs to be the absolute minimum to run the game at the lowest settings. If you're a tech-savy person you can cheat the specs here and there. But since people like that don't ask these sorts of questions I'm gonna say. Nope.

[Myrmidon]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

To answer your question OP. COnsider Minimum specs to be the absolute minimum to run the game at the lowest settings. If you're a tech-savy person you can cheat the specs here and there. But since people like that don't ask these sorts of questions I'm gonna say. Nope.

Reading this filled me with RAGE!! Lol but.... If you're in the know with these things I welcome a honest answer as I don't want to waste my money. They're really not guidelines but very much indicative of minimum as in set in stone minimum?

Regarding cheating specs what I generally do is set everything to lowest, put all anti-aliasing to either lowest or off, everything that can be turned off I turn off, then I get it to run the game in a boxed window mode at a very low resolution (I've played games at 600x480 before in windowed. On top of that I'll usually have a gamebooster app running in the background. This is about the limits of my tweaking knowledge.

[Heh]

mhm

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Myrmidon:

Originally posted by Start_Running:

To answer your question OP. COnsider Minimum specs to be the absolute minimum to run the game at the lowest settings. If you're a tech-savy person you can cheat the specs here and there. But since people like that don't ask these sorts of questions I'm gonna say. Nope.

Reading this filled me with RAGE!! Lol but.... If you're in the know with these things I welcome a honest answer as I don't want to waste my money. They're really not guidelines but very much indicative of minimum as in set in stone minimum?

Consider them set in stone. Those are the lowest specs that the developers/publishers legally certify that the game will run at. And by run I mean it will start. Playable is another matter.

Regarding cheating specs what I generally do is set everything to lowest, put all anti-aliasing to either lowest or off, everything that can be turned off I turn off, then I get it to run the game in a boxed window mode at a very low resolution (I've played games at 600x480 before in windowed. On top of that I'll usually have a gamebooster app running in the background. This is about the limits of my tweaking knowledge.

Minimum is basicallyt assuming you have turned off everything and have everything down to the lowest settings. Also Gameboosters... are snakeoil. They, like the goggles, do nothing.

[Myrmidon]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

Originally posted by Myrmidon:

Reading this filled me with RAGE!! Lol but.... If you're in the know with these things I welcome a honest answer as I don't want to waste my money. They're really not guidelines but very much indicative of minimum as in set in stone minimum?

Consider them set in stone. Those are the lowest specs that the developers/publishers legally certify that the game will run at. And by run I mean it will start. Playable is another matter.

Regarding cheating specs what I generally do is set everything to lowest, put all anti-aliasing to either lowest or off, everything that can be turned off I turn off, then I get it to run the game in a boxed window mode at a very low resolution (I've played games at 600x480 before in windowed. On top of that I'll usually have a gamebooster app running in the background. This is about the limits of my tweaking knowledge.

Minimum is basicallyt assuming you have turned off everything and have everything down to the lowest settings. Also Gameboosters... are snakeoil. They, like the goggles, do nothing.

Gameboosters do nothing? Gamebooster was literally the only way I was able to run Warframe originally, it made an incredible difference. It said I was boosted by 42% but I have no idea where it got that arbitrary statement from. They work on the basis that they close background processes that use up RAM. Do you not think that perhaps you and similar people haven't noticed a difference because the difference was so negligible in relation to your awesome rigs? Just wondering. When I first started on warframe any background process being turned off was a benefit because my system was so appalling.

[76561198218426745]

I believe what Start_Running means is that the game booster does not do anything you cannot do without it, and without the necessity of having the game booster running in the background.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Myrmidon:

Originally posted by Start_Running:

Consider them set in stone. Those are the lowest specs that the developers/publishers legally certify that the game will run at. And by run I mean it will start. Playable is another matter.



Minimum is basicallyt assuming you have turned off everything and have everything down to the lowest settings. Also Gameboosters... are snakeoil. They, like the goggles, do nothing.

Gameboosters do nothing? Gamebooster was literally the only way I was able to run Warframe originally, it made an incredible difference. It said I was boosted by 42% but I have no idea where it got that arbitrary statement from.

Uhm.. dude. I'm playing on an 8 year old rig, running windows xp and I can run warframe.

They work on the basis that they close background processes that use up RAM.

Anyone who knows computers, knows the problems with your statement.

For starters, most games don't really use the system ram as much these days. Most games as a rule rely heavily on your vram.

Do you not think that perhaps you and similar people haven't noticed a difference because the difference was so negligible in relation to your awesome rigs?

As the saying goes. Someone out there must be buying all those penis enlargement pills.

[Myrmidon]

Originally posted by Start_Running:

Originally posted by Myrmidon:

Gameboosters do nothing? Gamebooster was literally the only way I was able to run Warframe originally, it made an incredible difference. It said I was boosted by 42% but I have no idea where it got that arbitrary statement from.

Uhm.. dude. I'm playing on an 8 year old rig, running windows xp and I can run warframe.

They work on the basis that they close background processes that use up RAM.

Anyone who knows computers, knows the problems with your statement.

For starters, most games don't really use the system ram as much these days. Most games as a rule rely heavily on your vram.

Do you not think that perhaps you and similar people haven't noticed a difference because the difference was so negligible in relation to your awesome rigs?

As the saying goes. Someone out there must be buying all those penis enlargement pills.

My warframe rig was a windows 7 dual core laptop with 3GB RAM from 2009. It did really really struggle.

I'm not massively knowledgable about computers which is why I came on here. Typically a forum full of gamers is a good place to find people who are knowledgable.

I'm not challenging you to be malicious, my problem is that a lot of people have basically said "yeah it'll probably be okay" and you've basically said "it most certainly won't" the reason this is a problem is that being dumb at computer stuff I can't judge which party is the most accurate. 100 opinions saying one thing doesn't necessarily beat 1 opinion saying the other. The 100 could be stupid and the 1 an enlightened expert, or vice versa but my problem is I'm not qualified to judge as I suck at this stuff.

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

The best solution is to look up gamplay videos on your hardware or as close as you can get. People make whole channels for this purpose.

There are no standards for minimum system requirements, and the definition differs from developer to developer.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Barf the Mawg:

The best solution is to look up gamplay videos on your hardware or as close as you can get. People make whole channels for this purpose.

There are no standards for minimum system requirements, and the definition differs from developer to developer.

Hence why you don't buy a game unless you're somewhere between the minimum and recommended requirements.. THat's how smart people do these things. This is also why people complain about the refund policy claiming they spent 3 hours trying to tweak it to run.

Consider the sys requirements law. If you only meet the minimum. Skip it. If you meet recommended. go for it.