Working out whether your computer can run it

A requirements list is only intimidating until you have your own numbers written on a piece of paper beside it. This step gets you those numbers.

The six figures that matter

Every requirements list published by every PC game asks about the same six things, in roughly the same order. Once you have written yours down, the list stops being technical and becomes a simple comparison.

Operating system. The software your whole computer runs on: Windows, macOS or one of the Linux distributions. Games are written for particular ones, and a game written for Windows will not simply run on macOS.

Architecture. Whether that operating system is 64-bit. Modern games almost all require 64-bit, and almost all computers sold in the past decade are 64-bit, but it costs nothing to check.

Processor. Often called the CPU. It does the general calculation. The model number matters more than the brand, because a current entry-level chip can outperform a flagship from several years ago.

Memory. Usually called RAM, measured in gigabytes. This is working space, not storage. A game that wants more RAM than you have will either refuse to start or will stutter badly while the computer shuffles data to the drive.

Graphics. The GPU, which draws the picture. It may be a separate card with its own memory, called dedicated or discrete graphics, or it may be built into the processor, called integrated graphics. Which kind you have is the single most useful thing to know about a computer for gaming purposes.

Storage. Free space on the drive where programs install, in gigabytes. Large online games are installed once and then grow as updates arrive, so having only just enough is uncomfortable.

Finding them on your own computer

Follow the path for whichever system you use. Nothing here installs anything or changes a setting; every panel named is a reading panel that ships with the operating system.

Open your system information panel. On Windows, open Settings, choose System, then About. On macOS, open the Apple menu at the top left and choose About This Mac. On Linux, open your desktop environment's Settings and choose About, or run a system information command in a terminal if you are comfortable with one.
Write down the operating system and whether it is 64-bit. Record the name and version. On Windows the system type line states 32-bit or 64-bit directly.
Write down the processor. Copy the line exactly, including the model number. "Intel" or "AMD" alone is not enough to compare against anything.
Write down the installed memory. Windows calls it installed RAM; macOS calls it Memory. Record the number of gigabytes.
Write down the graphics hardware. On Windows, open Task Manager, choose the Performance tab, and look at the GPU entry, which also shows dedicated GPU memory. On macOS the graphics entry appears in About This Mac, or in more detail under System Information. On Linux the Settings About panel names the graphics device.
Write down free storage on the install drive. Open your file manager, find the drive where programs are installed — on Windows this is usually the C: drive — and record the free space in gigabytes.

If a figure will not appear

Older laptops sometimes list graphics in an unhelpful way, or list two graphics devices because they switch between an integrated one and a dedicated one to save battery. Two entries is normal. Write both down. You do not need to resolve the ambiguity now; you only need to know what you are looking at when a requirements list names one of them.

Reading a requirements list

A requirements list on a vendor's site is a claim about what the game needs, made by the people who built it. It is the most reliable source available, and it is the only one this course asks you to consult.

Compare line by line, in this order, because the lines are not equally important. Operating system first: if it does not match, stop, because nothing further matters. Architecture second, for the same reason. Then storage, because it is the easiest to fix — deleting things or buying an external drive is cheaper than any other remedy here.

Then memory. If you have less RAM than the minimum, the experience will be poor regardless of everything else. Then graphics, which determines how good the picture can look and how smoothly it moves. Then the processor, which in an online game also affects how well the computer copes when a great deal is happening at once.

Where your hardware is newer than anything on the list, you are fine. Where it is older, or where you cannot tell, the honest answer is that you will find out by trying. Because the game is free to install, trying is a reasonable way to settle it — provided you have the disk space and the data allowance, which is why those two come first on the checklist.

Minimum, recommended, and what sits between

How to read the two columns most requirement lists publish
Column	What it is claiming	What to expect
Minimum	The game will start and be playable.	Lowest picture settings, smaller window, occasional roughness when a lot is happening.
Recommended	The game as the developers intend it.	Mid to high settings at a common screen resolution, steady motion.
Between the two	Not published, because it depends on your settings.	Usually comfortable once you lower one or two settings. This is where most ordinary computers sit.

Nothing on the internet can tell you exactly how a particular game will feel on your particular machine. Benchmarks and comparison sites give an impression, but they test configurations that are not yours. We publish no performance figures of our own, because we have run no tests and would not ask you to trust numbers nobody can check.

Your connection and your data allowance

Two separate things get confused here. Speed is how quickly data arrives. Allowance is how much data you may use in a billing month before your plan charges more or slows down. An online game is undemanding on speed while you play and very demanding on allowance when it downloads.

A first installation of a large online game is tens of gigabytes. Updates arrive regularly and can be several gigabytes each. On an unlimited fixed-line plan this is irrelevant. On a limited plan, or on a mobile broadband connection, it is the main cost of the whole exercise, and it is worth checking your remaining allowance in your provider's app before you start a download rather than after.

There is also latency, sometimes called ping: the delay between your action and the server registering it. It is affected by distance, so a game whose servers are far from Australia will feel less responsive than one with servers nearby, no matter how fast your connection is. Many games let you choose a server region, and choosing the nearest is usually the right default.

The worked example household

Hypothetical household — illustration only

The five-year-old Windows laptop turns out to have 8 GB of memory, integrated graphics only, and 24 GB free on its single drive. The adults write the six figures on the back of an envelope. Two of the three shortlisted games want more free storage than the laptop has, which is settled in ten minutes by moving photographs to an external drive rather than by buying anything.

The graphics line is the one they cannot resolve from the page alone. They note that down as an open question, agree to try the install and see, and check the household's remaining data allowance first. Nobody has created an account yet; that is Step 4.

Why this step is about desktop computers

This course covers games played on desktop and laptop computers running Windows, macOS or Linux. That is a deliberate limit, and the product used as the course's example sits inside it: its affiliate programme states that it runs on desktop computers — Windows, macOS and Linux — and we make no claim about any other kind of device on its behalf.

If the computer in your household is a tablet or a phone, this step does not apply and the rest of the course will be of limited use to you. That is worth knowing now rather than at the end of Step 4.

Visit the World of Tanks websitePaid affiliate link. Multi.kuk.shop s.r.o. is paid a commission if you create and activate an account after following it; your cost is unchanged either way. Check the requirements on the vendor's own pages against the six figures you have written down.

Step 2 checklist

Work through this before Step 3

Write down your operating system and its version.
Write down whether it is 64-bit.
Write down the processor line, in full, with its model number.
Write down the installed memory in gigabytes.
Write down the graphics hardware, and note whether it is integrated or dedicated. If two are listed, write down both.
Write down free space in gigabytes on the drive where programs install.
Open the vendor's own requirements page and compare the six lines in order: operating system, architecture, storage, memory, graphics, processor.
Check your remaining monthly data allowance with your internet provider before downloading anything large.
If the game offers a choice of server region, note which option is closest to Australia.
Keep the six figures somewhere you can find them again. They answer this question for every future game too.

Before you move on

You now know what your computer is and whether the game you are curious about fits on it. You have installed nothing and signed up to nothing. Step 3 leaves the hardware behind and looks at the two things that decide whether a game is suitable for the people in your house: its classification and what it sells.