Step 2 of 5
Working out whether your computer can run it
Six numbers describe your computer well enough to answer this question. Finding all six takes about ten minutes, you only have to do it once, and it will save you a forty-gigabyte download that was never going to work.
Why this comes before anything is installed
Online games are large. A download can run into tens of gigabytes, take hours, and only then fail to start because the graphics hardware is too old. Nothing is broken when that happens, but the evening is gone and so is a slice of your data allowance.
The alternative is a short piece of homework. You find out what your computer actually contains, write it on a piece of paper or in a note, and from then on you can answer "will it run this?" for any game in under a minute. The figures change only when the hardware does.
This is also the step where a free game can turn out not to be an option at all, for a reason that has nothing to do with speed. That is the operating-system trap, and it has its own section below.
The six things worth knowing
Published requirements are nearly always expressed as the same short list. Here is what each line means in plain terms.
| Line | In plain terms |
|---|---|
| Operating system | The software your whole computer runs on — a version of Windows, a Linux distribution, or macOS. This is a yes-or-no question, not a faster-or-slower one. |
| Processor (CPU) | The general-purpose engine of the machine. Listed as a manufacturer, a family and a model number. |
| Memory (RAM) | Short-term working space, measured in gigabytes. Too little shows up as stuttering rather than as a refusal to start. |
| Graphics (GPU) | The part that draws the picture. In a game this is usually the line that decides whether the experience is smooth or unpleasant. |
| Storage | How much free disk space the installed game occupies. Updates make this grow over time. |
| Network | An online game needs a working connection for the whole session, not only for the download. |
Two of those six are absolute. If the operating system is not supported, nothing else matters. If you do not have the disk space, the install will stop. The other four are matters of degree: falling slightly short of a recommended figure usually means a less smooth picture, not a failure.
Finding them on your own machine
Ten minutes, once
- Open the system information panel. On Windows, open Settings, then System, then About. On most Linux desktops there is a Settings or System Information entry that shows the same things; a terminal command will also report them if you prefer.
- Write down the operating system. The name, the version or release, and whether the installation is 64-bit. Modern games are generally 64-bit only.
- Write down the processor. Copy the whole line, including the model number. "An Intel one" is not enough to compare against anything.
- Write down the installed memory. A figure in gigabytes.
- Identify the graphics hardware. On Windows, open Task Manager, choose the Performance tab, and read the GPU entry at the bottom of the list. On Linux, the same information appears in your system information tool. If the entry names the processor manufacturer rather than a separate card, your machine is using integrated graphics, which is worth knowing.
- Check free disk space. Open the file manager and read the free space on the drive where programs are installed, which is usually C: on Windows.
- Put the six figures somewhere you will find them again. A note on the fridge is a perfectly good system.
Nothing in that list requires installing a tool, creating an account or giving anything to anyone. Every figure is already on the machine.
Minimum, recommended, and the gap between
Most games publish two columns. The minimum column is the studio's claim about the lowest hardware on which the game will start and run at all. The recommended column describes hardware on which they expect it to run comfortably.
Neither column is a guarantee, and neither is a promise about your particular combination of parts. Treat the minimum as a floor you should be above rather than at. If you match the minimum exactly, expect to turn the picture quality down and expect busy moments to be rough.
If you fall short on one line only, it is worth knowing which. Short on memory is often the cheapest thing to fix. Short on the graphics line is usually the most expensive. Short on the operating system cannot be fixed by buying a part at all.
The operating-system trap
This is the part that catches people, because it is invisible until it stops you. Many online games are published for desktop Windows and sometimes for Linux, and not for macOS. A Mac user can read the whole store page, see the word "free", and still have no way to install the thing.
The example game used throughout this course is a case of exactly that. Its vendor publishes it for desktop Windows and Linux. There is no macOS version, and the game is not offered for phones or tablets either. If the only computer in the house is a Mac, that game is not available to you, and no amount of settings or patience changes it.
Worth checking first
Before you spend time on processors and memory, answer one question: is my operating system on the supported list? If the answer is no, you have finished evaluating that game, and you have saved yourself the rest of this step.
The same logic applies in reverse. A game offered only for Windows is not evidence that your Linux machine is inadequate. It is a decision the studio made about which platforms it supports, and it tells you nothing about your hardware.
Download size, data and the overnight question
A large game is a large download, and it is followed by updates that are smaller but regular. If your internet plan has a data allowance, a single game installation can account for a noticeable share of a month.
Two practical habits help. First, check the stated install size before starting, and compare it against the free space you noted, leaving comfortable room on top — a drive that is completely full tends to behave badly in general. Second, if several people share the connection, start the download when nobody needs the bandwidth. Most game launchers will keep going unattended, and many can be paused.
If you are on a mobile broadband plan or a connection with limited data, treat the install size as a real cost and decide accordingly. That is a budgeting question rather than a technical one, and it belongs in the same conversation as Step 4.
An older machine: both sides of it
In favour of trying
- If the game costs nothing, the only thing at risk is time and download allowance.
- Many online games are built to run on a wide range of hardware, because the studio wants as many players as possible.
- Picture-quality settings exist precisely so that a weaker machine can still produce a playable session.
- You learn your computer's real limits, which is useful well beyond games.
Against
- An unpleasant first session on struggling hardware will put you off a game you might otherwise enjoy.
- Older laptops in particular can run hot and loud under sustained load.
- Large installs on a nearly full drive cause problems for everything else on the machine.
- If you fall short on the graphics line, lowering settings has a limit.
A note on cleaning and booster programs
Searching for ways to make an old computer run a game faster turns up a great many programs offering to clean, optimise or boost it. Be deliberate about what you install. A program that asks for deep access to your system in order to speed up a game is a significant thing to let in, and the benefit is often hard to verify.
General security guidance for individuals is published by the Australian Cyber Security Centre, including advice on software updates and on obtaining software from reputable sources. Reading what a national body recommends is a better starting point than a search result. Nothing here is a claim about your computer's current state; it is a general habit worth having.
The safest performance changes are the ones built into the game itself: resolution, detail levels and frame-rate limits. They cost nothing, they are reversible, and they do not require trusting anybody new.
The share house, at Step 2
Hypothetical example
This invented household is used to show the method applied end to end. It is not a real household and reports no results.
The lounge-room computer turns out to run a current version of Windows, 64-bit, with a four-year-old mid-range processor, eight gigabytes of memory, a separate graphics card from the same era, and about ninety gigabytes free on the main drive. Writing that down takes the housemate eleven minutes, mostly spent finding Task Manager.
Against a typical requirements list, the operating system is supported and the storage is sufficient. Memory sits at the lower end, which suggests closing other programs during a session. The graphics card is the uncertain line, so the plan is to start at low picture settings rather than at the defaults. None of that is a prediction about how well the game will run; it is simply a list of which lines to watch.
Before you move on
Before you move on
- Six figures describe your machine: operating system, processor, memory, graphics, free storage and connection.
- Operating system and storage are absolute. The rest are matters of degree.
- Check the supported operating systems first. A desktop-only, Windows-and-Linux game is simply unavailable on a Mac.
- Treat the minimum column as a floor to be above, not a target to match.
- Download size is a real cost on a metered connection.
Step 2 checklist
Work through these before Step 3
- Record your operating system, its version, and whether it is 64-bit.
- Record the full processor line, including the model number.
- Record the installed memory in gigabytes.
- Record the graphics hardware, and note whether it is integrated or a separate card.
- Record free space on the drive where programs install, and compare it against the game's stated install size.
- Confirm your operating system appears on the game's supported list. If it does not, stop and choose a different game.
- Check whether your internet plan has a data allowance large enough for the download and ongoing updates.
- Agree with anyone else who uses the connection when a large download may run.
- Keep the six figures somewhere you can find them next time.
These items also appear on the All checklists page, which prints onto paper you can fill in by hand.