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Step 2 of 5

Working out whether your computer is up to it

This step answers one question and no others: will the program run acceptably on the machine you already own? You will do it by writing down five numbers about your computer and comparing them with a table the vendor publishes.

The five numbers that matter

A computer has hundreds of specifications. For deciding whether a game will run, five of them carry almost all the weight, and the rest are detail.

The processor, often called the CPU, is the general-purpose part that handles the game's logic and co-ordinates everything else. It is identified by a brand and a model number, and the model number is the part that matters — a bare brand name tells you nothing useful, because the same brand covers fifteen years of very different hardware.

The memory, usually called RAM, is the working space the program uses while running. It is quoted in gigabytes. Running short of it does not usually stop a game outright; it makes everything intermittently slow as the computer shuffles data to and from the disk.

The graphics hardware, the GPU, draws the picture. It is either a separate card or chip with its own dedicated memory, or it is built into the processor and shares the system memory, which is called integrated graphics. Many thin laptops and most office machines have integrated graphics. That does not rule out playing, but it is the single specification most likely to be the limiting one.

The free disk space is how much room is left on the drive where the program would live. Large online games commonly need tens of gigabytes, and they grow as updates arrive. The relevant figure is free space, not the size of the disk.

The operating system version is the full version of Windows, macOS or your Linux distribution, including the point release. Requirements are often written against a minimum version, and an operating system that is no longer receiving security updates is a problem well beyond gaming.

Finding them on your own computer

Nothing below installs anything or changes a setting. Every one of these panels is part of the operating system and is safe to open. Have a sheet of paper next to you; the point of the exercise is the written record, not the looking.

1. Open the system information panel. On Windows, open Settings, choose System, then About. On macOS, open the Apple menu in the top-left corner and choose About This Mac. On a typical Linux desktop, open the Settings application and choose About; if your desktop has no such panel, a system information command in a terminal will print the same facts.
2. Copy the processor line exactly. Write it as it appears, model number and all. Do not shorten it. The model number is what you will compare later.
3. Write down the installed memory in gigabytes. The panel reports it directly. If it shows a figure slightly below a round number, that is normal; some memory is reserved by the system.
4. Find the graphics hardware. On Windows, open Task Manager, choose the Performance tab, and read the GPU entry; the DirectX Diagnostic Tool gives the same information in more detail. On macOS, the graphics entry appears in the full system report reached from About This Mac. On Linux, the About panel usually names it, and a hardware listing command will otherwise.
5. Find free space on the right drive. Open the file manager, look at the drive where programs are installed, and read the free figure rather than the capacity. On a machine with more than one drive, note which one you intend to use.
6. Write down the full operating system version. Include the build or point release. While you are there, check whether updates are pending, because an operating system that has not been updated in a year is worth attending to before anything else.

Reading a requirements table without guessing

Vendors publish system requirements, usually in two columns: minimum and recommended. The wording varies, but the meaning is reasonably consistent across the industry. Minimum means the game is expected to start and run at low settings and a modest resolution. Recommended means it is expected to run comfortably at ordinary settings. Neither is a promise, and neither is a legal guarantee; they are the vendor's estimate.

Read the table in this order. First, the operating system line, because that one is binary: either your version is at or above the stated minimum or it is not. Second, disk space, for the same reason. Third, memory, which is a simple numerical comparison. Fourth, graphics. Fifth, processor.

The last two are the awkward ones, because a table names specific models — a particular card from some years ago, a particular processor — and yours will almost certainly be a different model. The honest approach is comparison by generation and class rather than by name: a part newer than the one listed, in the same or a higher class from the same maker, is generally at least as capable. Where you cannot tell, the vendor's own support pages are the place to ask, and this workbook will not invent a benchmark figure to fill the gap.

One more line deserves attention: many online games require a permanent internet connection to play at all, including for single-player-looking modes. If the table or the terms say so, that is a hard requirement, not a preference.

World of Tanks, the title named on this site, publishes its own requirements, availability and supported systems, and those are the vendor's to state and to change. We do not reproduce them here, because a copy on this page would silently fall out of date. Visit the World of Tanks website to read them at the source, with your five numbers beside you.Paid affiliate link. The publisher is paid a commission if you create and activate an account after following it. The method in this step is the same whichever title you check.

What to do when you are close to the minimum

Plenty of readers will find their machine sits near the minimum rather than comfortably above it. That is a normal position and it does not settle the question by itself. A few general adjustments apply across the category.

Lowering the resolution is usually the largest single change available, because the amount of work the graphics hardware does scales with the number of pixels drawn. Reducing shadow and effect quality is typically the next most effective. Closing other programs, particularly browsers with many tabs open, returns memory that was quietly in use. On a laptop, being plugged in to mains power matters: many laptops deliberately reduce performance on battery, and the same game can behave like two different programs depending on the cable.

Heat is the other common cause of a game that starts well and degrades after twenty minutes. A laptop sitting on a bed or a couch has its air intakes covered. Moving it to a hard flat surface is free and sometimes decisive.

What this workbook will not tell you is to buy hardware. If your computer does not meet the minimum, the reasonable options are to pick a title with lighter requirements, to accept lower settings, or to decide this is not the right moment. None of those requires spending money, and no page here is going to suggest that your machine is inadequate as a way of selling you something.

The sixth thing: your connection

The five numbers describe your computer. Online play also depends on the link between your computer and the company's servers, and that is a separate matter with two separate properties.

Latency is how long a message takes to travel to the server and back, measured in milliseconds. It is governed mostly by distance and by the number of hops in between, not by the headline speed of your plan. A very fast connection to a server on the other side of the world will still have high latency. This is why many online games operate regional servers and why it is worth checking whether the title you are considering has one close to Australia — the vendor's support pages will say, and if they do not say, you have learned something useful.

Throughput is the headline speed, and it matters mainly for the install and the updates rather than for play. The first install of a large online title can run to tens of gigabytes. On a connection with a monthly data allowance — which includes most mobile broadband and some fixed plans — that single download can consume a meaningful share of the month. Checking your remaining allowance before you start is a two-minute job that prevents an expensive surprise.

A wired connection is generally steadier than wireless for this kind of traffic, because wireless shares the air with everything else in the house. If a cable is impractical, being in the same room as the access point is the next best thing.

The sheet to fill in