Step 2 of 5

Step 2 — Working out whether your computer fits

Why this step comes second

Most of the frustration newcomers report in this category is not about the game. It is about an evening spent downloading something that was never going to run, or that ran badly enough to be no fun. Twenty minutes of checking before you start removes almost all of it, and the checking is clerical work: four or five numbers, written down, compared.

This step is about the comparison. It is deliberately boring, and it is the step the rest of the course leans on, because a game you cannot run is not a game you need an opinion about.

The platform question, which is yes or no

Before any number, there is one question with a hard answer: does the game run on the operating system you have? An operating system is the software your whole computer runs on — Windows, macOS or one of the Linux distributions. A game built for one does not, as a rule, run on another.

The example this course follows is stated to run on desktop Windows and desktop Linux. No macOS version is stated, so on a Mac the honest answer is that this one is not for you, and no amount of memory or graphics power changes that. Nor is it a mobile game: it is a desktop title, so a phone or tablet is outside what the vendor states.

That pattern is common enough to be worth generalising. Read the platform line first. If your platform is not on it, you have finished this step with a complete answer and saved yourself the rest.

Visit the Crossout website Paid affiliate link. K.R.N. rest s.r.o. is paid a commission if you create an account and confirm your email address after following it. The platform list and the requirements are the vendor's to publish; checking them there costs nothing and does not oblige you to sign up.

How to read a requirements list

A system requirements list is the vendor's statement of what a computer needs. It almost always comes in two columns.

Minimum means the game is expected to start and run. It does not promise the game will look good or feel smooth. Think of it as the floor.

Recommended means the configuration the vendor expects to give a normal experience. Most people land between the two columns, which is fine; it usually means turning some settings down, which Step 4 covers.

The rows are usually the same five things. Operating system: the version, which matters because an old version can be excluded even on the right platform. Processor (CPU): the general-purpose chip. Memory (RAM): working space, given in gigabytes. Graphics (GPU): the part that draws the picture, and in this category usually the part that decides whether play feels smooth. Storage: free disk space needed for the installation.

Two rows deserve more attention than they usually get. The graphics row is the one that most often disappoints, because an older office computer frequently has no dedicated graphics card at all — it uses a portion of the processor, which is sufficient for video and documents but not always for a 3D game. And the operating system row quietly excludes machines that have not been updated in some years.

Finding your own numbers

You cannot compare without your own figures. Here is the short way to get them. These are general desktop procedures, not instructions for any particular game.

On Windows

1. Open Settings, then System, then About. This gives you the Windows edition and version, the processor name and the installed memory in gigabytes.
2. Note the processor line and the "Installed RAM" line exactly as written, including the numbers.
3. Open Settings, then System, then Display, then Advanced display, to see which graphics adapter the computer is using. Write its name down as it appears.
4. Open File Explorer and select This PC. Under each drive you will see the free space and the total. Write down the free space on the drive you would install to.

On Linux

1. Open your desktop's Settings and look for an About or Details page, which usually lists the distribution and version, the processor, the memory and the graphics device.
2. If your desktop does not show that, a terminal gives the same facts: your distribution's release file for the version, and the standard system tools your distribution documents for processor, memory and graphics.
3. For free space, your file manager shows it per volume, or the standard disk-free command reports it per filesystem.
4. Note which graphics driver is in use as well as the device, because on Linux that is sometimes the part that needs attention rather than the hardware.

Write the five figures on one piece of paper. You now have a column to put next to the vendor's column, and the comparison is simple: for each row, is yours equal to or better than theirs? If you are unsure whether one processor or graphics chip is better than another, the manufacturer's own product pages state the model numbers and generations, which is enough to place yours roughly.

Storage, and why the stated size is the smallest it will ever be

An online game's installed size grows. Each update adds files, and large content updates can add a noticeable amount at once. A reasonable habit is to treat the stated storage figure as a starting point and to keep clear headroom on top of it — enough that an update arriving on a Thursday night does not fill your drive.

There is a second reason to care about free space. A drive with very little room left can make the whole computer feel slow, including the parts of it you rely on for work. Checking free space before a large download is good practice regardless of what you are downloading.

Your connection and your data allowance

Two different things matter here and they are easy to confuse.

Your allowance is how much data your plan lets you use in a billing period. A game client is a large download, and updates keep coming. If your plan is metered, find the allowance before you install, and check what your provider does when you exceed it — some slow the connection, others charge. Your provider's own account page is the authority on this, not a general article.

Your connection's behaviour is what affects play. For an online game the responsiveness of the connection matters more than raw speed: a fast connection that pauses intermittently can be worse to play on than a slower, steadier one. You cannot usefully predict this from an advertised speed, which is why Step 4 suggests treating the first session as a test rather than a performance.

If you share a household connection, the polite and practical move is to schedule a large download for a time when nobody is working or streaming. On a mobile or satellite connection, check the allowance twice.

The worked example household

Our hypothetical share house has three computers. The Mac is excluded by the platform line and no further checking is needed. The five-year-old Windows desktop has enough memory, a graphics card that sits below the recommended column and above the minimum one, and 40 GB free on a drive that is otherwise fairly full. The third machine runs a current Linux distribution and is in better shape, but it belongs to someone who is not interested.

So the household's answer is: the Windows desktop, with settings turned down, after clearing some space, and with the download scheduled overnight because the plan is metered. That took a sheet of paper and about fifteen minutes. The household is a hypothetical example written for this course; it reports no results and endorses nothing.

Checklist 2 — Does your computer fit

Printed boxes; nothing on this site records your answers. Also on the All checklists page.

• Read the vendor's platform line and confirm your operating system is on it.
• Note your operating system version, not just its name.
• Write down your processor exactly as your system information shows it.
• Write down your installed memory in gigabytes.
• Write down your graphics device, and on Linux the driver in use.
• Write down the free space on the drive you would install to.
• Compare each row against the vendor's minimum column, then the recommended column.
• Add headroom for updates on top of the stated install size.
• Check your monthly data allowance and what your provider does if you exceed it.
• Pick a time for the download that does not clash with anyone else's work or streaming.