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News

Watch Dogs and Ghosts Might Force You to Upgrade Your Gaming Rig

The next time you launch into these next-gen frag fests you might need to include some gaming rig upgrades to your load out.
Image of Eli "The Mad Man" Shayotovich
Eli "The Mad Man" Shayotovich
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Published: Oct 8, 2013 11:38 am

This article is over 10 years old and may contain outdated information

If you plan on playing Watch Dogs or Call of Duty: Ghosts you may be looking at some costly computer upgrades.

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Minimum system requirements (not suggested) for both of these games have been released in the last 24 hours, and they are, shall we say… extreme. If you’re fanatical about keeping up with the Joneses and always having the latest and greatest components lodged in your rig – good for you. But for those who try to bleed every last drop of gaming goodness from your aging rigs, well… you’re either going to have to bite the bullet and upgrade, or bypass playing these two games altogether.

Here are the minimum specs for Watch Dogs:

  • Supported OS: Windows Vista SP2 64-bit, Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66Ghz or AMD Phenom II X4 940 @ 3.0Ghz
  • RAM: 6 GB
  • Video Card: 1024 VRAM DirectX 11 with Shader Model 5.0 (see supported list)
  • Sound Card: DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card

Yup, you read that right. This particular game requires a 64-bit operating system to play. And yes, you’re going to need 6 gigs of RAM. 

Here are the minimum specs for Ghosts:

  • Supported OS: Windows 7 64-Bit,  Windows 8 64-Bit
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHZ, AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHZ or better
  • RAM: 6 GB RAM
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti, ATI Radeon HD 5870 or better
  • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
  • HDD: 50 GB HD space
  • DirectX: 11

If you were paying attention you’ll see that this game also requires a 64-bit operating system with at least 6 gigs or RAM. And god help you if you’re running an older video card. What’s worse is that Nvidia “recommends” a GeForce GTX 780. Um, okay. Hope you have an extra $600+ in your wallet for that bad boy. The difference between the “minimum” card and the “recommended” card is not unlike the difference between a Volkswagen Bug and a Porsche. It’s kind of ming boggling actually. Oh, and while you’re at it you better have an extra 50 gigs of HD space, because these ghosts need a lot of elbow room.

So, what are your thoughts? Are these specs ridiculous or is it just the evolution of the hobby?  Does anyone care?  Let us know.

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Image of Eli "The Mad Man" Shayotovich
Eli "The Mad Man" Shayotovich
Pong, Pitfall and Pole Position were my babysitters, which means I've been traipsing through virtual realities longer than most of you young whipper snappers have been alive. How did cutting my teeth on video games influence me? Private investigator, body guard and bounty hunter. Video game characters, right? Yup, but they're also things I've done in real life. I've also written professionally about Star Wars, video games and craft beer. --- "Save the Earth. It's the only planet with beer." "Fairy tales are more than true - not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten." G. K. Chesterton