Finding Out Whether Your PC is Powerful Enough to Run a Particular Game

While a lot of attention is diverted onto playing video games on consoles and mobile phones, PC gaming is still very popular. PC play has long been the real bedrock of gaming, and lots of people still love that way of playing. Classic casino games played on a PC are one niche that holds its own – just remember to get golden nugget online casino promo details if you do, so you have more money to use to play.

It is thought that the whole video game sector made over $150bn in 2019, and PC gaming made up an impressive $35bn of that. If you are an avid PC gamer, one question that might come up time and again is whether your machine is powerful enough to run a particular game. After all, there is nothing more frustrating than excitedly loading a cool new title – only to find it will not work! Modern games are getting ever more sophisticated, and this means that PCs need the right specs to run them.

But how do you find out whether you have enough juice under the hood?

Check the statistics

The best way is first to look at the system requirements of the game. They will usually be shown on screen if you download games or on the box if you go for old-school hard copies. You are looking out for things like how much memory is needed to run it, what OS you need, what graphics card is required, and so on. Once you know the game specs, you can compare it to the spec of your PC.

If, for example, you have an older operating system than recommended, you know that it will not work. If the spec in your PC matches (or exceeds) the game spec, then you will be okay to play it. Just look out for minimum game specs and recommended ones. These are pretty much as they sound – you should be able to run any game if you have the minimum specs needed, but it might not provide as good an experience as having the recommended specs in your PC.

Use an online tester

But what if you cannot find your PC specs or are unsure as to what processors or cards you have inside your computer? The best bet then is to use an online test to find out. There are some around to use that are straightforward, such as the System Requirement Labs ‘Can You Run It?’ tool, and you usually just download the testing tool to use on your PC. Once done, this kind of tool will review your PC hardware and let you know if a particular game you like the look of will run okay.

Give it a go

If you are short on time or are just feeling lazy, you could always just try the game out. Of course, this is not the most satisfying way of working out if you have the necessary power, but it will still give you an answer. If you download a game and it will not run, or it plays badly when you do (i.e., lots of lagging or freezing), then you can be sure you don’t have the right specs in your machine to handle what the game needs.

What can you do if you don’t have the power needed?

There is nothing like that new game that you have waited to be released and you being able to play it. That can be ruined, however, if you find out your PC doesn’t have the power to run it. In this case, you have two choices – find another game you can play or upgrade your computer. Buying more powerful graphics cards and processors is pretty simple online while updating your operating system is also not too difficult. While this will cost some money, there are some pretty good deals on quality PC upgrades these days. Changes like this can mean your machine does have the power it needs to run that cool new game you like.

PC gaming will always be here

The buzz around console play and mobile play can sometimes mean we forget about PC gaming. Of course, PCs were around way before consoles and were the original way to have fun with video games. Over the years, the games we play on our machines have got ever more powerful, which means you have to be sure your computer can handle it. If you need a few tips on how to go about it, the above should help.

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