Is my computer strong enough for Overwatch?

[spanglock]

My specs

Windows 10
7.45 GB RAM
AMD A8-4500 APU
Radeon(tm) HD Graphics 1.90 GHz
64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Recommended

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 / Windows® 10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
Processor
Intel® Core™ i5 or AMD Phenom™ II X3 or better
Video
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 or AMD Radeon™ HD 7950 or better
Memory
6 GB RAM

I just threw up all of my specs. I'm not sure what they mean, and I'm hoping one of you do.

[Jej]

An APU? Hmm...

You *can*, but it won't run exactly well.

[spanglock]

Originally posted by Jej.:

An APU? Hmm...

You *can*, but it won't run exactly well.

I'm talking about running on the lowest possible graphics the game offers. I'm not someone who cares about looks, I just want to know if it'll run smoothly.

[Jej]

Originally posted by The Spanglock:

smoothly

It won't. If you want a smooth experience get a dedicated GPU.

[spanglock]

Originally posted by Jej.:

Originally posted by The Spanglock:

smoothly

It won't. If you want a smooth experience get a dedicated GPU.

How many frames are we talking? 10? 20? 30? What if I tried to overclock my system?

[Jej]

Originally posted by The Spanglock:

Originally posted by Jej.:

It won't. If you want a smooth experience get a dedicated GPU.

How many frames are we talking? 10? 20? 30? What if I tried to overclock my system?

Low twenties at the very best. And if you're going to overclock, be VERY careful. It doesn't take much to completely fry your CPU.

[Venlord]

It's not worth overclocking the APUs you are better off trying to find a dedicated card. 750ti/950 are like the mininum if you decide to go find one.

[ostar]

blizzard games are usually fairly potato-proof, especially when you set them to circa-2000-potato settings, like 800x600 resolution.

I don't have overwatch or any personal experience with it, just an observation.

Also, if you don't know the basics (like comparing specs/knowing what you system is capable of playing), I would stay away from the advanced stuff like overclocking.

[spanglock]

Just a question. I've done some reading around and have heard that the game is well optimized in terms of settings. Someone played on a Surface Pro 4 m3 and hit a consistent 60 fps (low graphcis) and someone played on a Macbook Pro at 30 fps (low graphics).

I meet the recommended in terms of everything for CPU, RAM, etc. and meet the minimum in terms of the graphics chip. I compared my APU to the minimum required graphics card here[gpu.userbenchmark.com]. I'm not sure exactly what it means, maybe one of you do.

As well, I heard that the game plays in DirectX 11, and that, unless my laptop supports it, the game won't launch. I did a test with TF2, setting it from "-dxlevel 80" to "-dxlevel 110", putting all graphics on high, playing on a full 32 person server on Upward, and my frames stayed consistently around 30-40 fps.

I've played a lot of games that require a strong PC, such as Planetside 2 (40 fps), Dark Souls (25-30 fps [it's capped at 30 fps]), Skyrim (60 fps), CoD 4 (40-50 fps), MW2 (40 fps) and SC2 (35-40 fps), all on medium to high graphics.

Plus, the minimum specs refer to playing the game on medium and having a stable 60 fps, so I'm thinking that, with the new information, I shouldn't have too many issues playing on low? Right?

Or maybe I'm completely wrong and my laptop is worse than a potato. Any input? Or am I still screwed?

[Cathulhu]

That benchmark says that the minimum Intel videochip is more than twice as fast as your integrated videochip.
Actually, Overwatch uses DirectX10.1, not DirectX11.
The Radeon HD 4000 series does support DirectX10.1.

Expect severe peformance issues.

[spanglock]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

That benchmark says that the minimum Intel videochip is more than twice as fast as your integrated videochip.
Actually, Overwatch uses DirectX10.1, not DirectX11.
The Radeon HD 4000 series does support DirectX10.1.

Expect severe peformance issues.

I thought that if I could play in DirectX 11, that then I could do DirectX 10.1.

[spanglock]

Question: what's the difference between hardware and software DirectX level? I have TF2 in DirectX 10.1 for hardware, but it says that software is DirectX 9.0.

[Cathulhu]

TF2 does not support DirectX10, it runs in DirectX9.
As long as the hardware supports DirectX11 it also supports the older versions, so DirectX10.1 won't be a problem.

[spanglock]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

TF2 does not support DirectX10, it runs in DirectX9.
As long as the hardware supports DirectX11 it also supports the older versions, so DirectX10.1 won't be a problem.

Yeah, my hardware was in DirectX 11 and I didn't have any issues, as well as in DirectX 10.1 for TF2. It ran as smoothly as it does in DirectX 8, I just like the look of -dxlevel 80 more.

[spanglock]

I set my hardware to DirectX 11, and DirectX 10.1. Software stayed at DirectX 9, though.

[Jimmy Wichard]

Dont overclock a potato with less than choice parts. You want to break what you have?

Just slowly upgrade parts, and play what you can. Your friends can play without you for the time being.