Part S-02 · Course file SM-FTP-5

Step 2 — Working out whether your computer can run it

Step 2 of 5

This is the step that saves the most wasted time, because it is answered before anything is downloaded and it is answered with facts rather than hope. By the end of it you will know what your computer actually contains, what a system requirements table is telling you, and whether the machine you have is in the conversation at all.

First question: which kind of computer is it?

Before any numbers, there is a yes-or-no question that decides whether the rest of the step is worth doing: what operating system does the machine run, and is it a desktop or a laptop?

Operating system first. Most PC games in this category are published for desktop Windows. A growing number also run on Linux. A smaller number are published for macOS, and many are not — the example title used in this course, Crossout, is one that its publisher lists for desktop Windows and Linux only, with macOS not supported. If the only computer in the house is a Mac, that particular title is out, and no amount of specification-checking changes it. Other titles in the same category do publish Mac versions, so this rules out one game rather than the whole idea.

Desktop or laptop matters for a different reason. A laptop of a given age is usually slower than a desktop of the same age, because it has less room to get rid of heat, and it often shares memory between the processor and the graphics. A laptop is not disqualified; it simply tends to sit lower against the same requirements table than its price suggests.

Finding your specifications, step by step

Four facts are enough for almost every requirements table: the operating system and whether it is 64-bit, the processor model, how much memory is installed, and the graphics hardware. Here is how to collect them without installing anything.

On Windows

1. Open the Start menu, type About your PC and open the result. Write down the Windows edition, the version number, the processor line exactly as it appears, the installed RAM figure, and whether the system type says 64-bit.
2. Press the Windows key together with R, type dxdiag and press Enter. This is a reporting tool built into Windows; it changes nothing.
3. In the window that opens, choose the Display tab. Write down the name of the graphics adapter and the amount of display memory.
4. Close the tool. You now have all four facts.
5. Open File Explorer, select This PC, and write down the free space on the drive you would install to — usually C:, but not always.

On Linux

1. Open a terminal window.
2. Type lscpu and press Enter. The Model name line is your processor.
3. Type free -h and press Enter. The total figure on the Mem line is your installed memory.
4. Type lspci | grep -i vga and press Enter. The line returned names your graphics hardware.
5. Type df -h and press Enter, and read the available column for the filesystem you would install to.
6. Note your distribution and release as well; some publishers name the distributions they have tested.

Keep that short list somewhere you can find it again. You will use it for every game you look at from now on, and it saves you repeating the exercise each time.

Reading a system requirements table

Publishers normally print two columns: minimum and recommended. They are not two opinions about the same thing. They describe two different experiences, and understanding the difference is most of the skill.

The advantages and the drawbacks of aiming at the minimum

Running a game on minimum hardware has real advantages. You find out whether you enjoy it without spending anything on equipment, you keep an older machine useful, and if the answer is no you have lost only the download. For a game you are merely curious about, that is a sensible trade.

The drawbacks are equally real. At the minimum, a game is usually running at low detail and a reduced resolution, and online games are at their heaviest exactly when the most is happening, which is when you most want them to be responsive. An older computer may also run hot and loud. And a poor first impression caused by hardware is easy to mistake for a poor game.

The practical rule: if you meet the minimum comfortably on three of the four facts and fall short on one, it is usually worth trying. If you fall short on memory or on the operating system version, stop — those two are rarely negotiable.

Disk space, download size and your connection

The storage figure in a requirements table is the space the installed game occupies. It is not the whole story. A drive that is completely full behaves badly in general, so leave headroom beyond the stated figure rather than exactly meeting it. Patches also accumulate, and a game that installs at one size often grows over a year.

Then there is the connection. In Australia a great many households are on plans with a monthly data allowance, and some are on mobile broadband where every gigabyte is counted. A first download of a large game plus a month of patches can be a noticeable share of a modest allowance. Before you start, look at your plan — the figure is on your bill or in your provider's app — and decide whether the download should wait for any off-peak or unmetered period your plan includes.

It is also worth downloading when nobody else in the house needs the connection. A large download will take whatever bandwidth it is given, and the complaints that follow are a poor start to a household's relationship with a new game.

Graphics drivers, and where to get them

A driver is the software that lets your operating system talk to a piece of hardware. Graphics drivers are updated often, and an old one is a common reason for a game running badly or refusing to start on hardware that should be fine.

There is one safe source for a graphics driver: the manufacturer of the graphics hardware, or, on Linux, your distribution's own package repositories. Websites offering driver update utilities, "driver packs" or one-click updaters are a long-standing route for unwanted software, and the Australian Cyber Security Centre's general advice on keeping software up to date — install updates from the vendor, automatically where possible — is the right habit here. You can read that advice at cyber.gov.au.

Nothing about this means your computer is currently at risk or that anything is wrong with it. It is ordinary maintenance, done once before you install a game and then left to update itself.

Before you move on

You should now have four facts about your computer written down, plus the free space on your install drive and your monthly data position. You should be able to open a publisher's requirements table and say, within a minute, whether you are above the minimum, between the two columns, or below.

If you are below the minimum on memory or operating system, the course ends usefully here for that title: you have saved yourself a download and a disappointment. If you are somewhere between the columns, carry on to Step 3, which is about the account — the part that outlives any particular computer.