BF 4 Requirements

[HaJa]

Ooops now the CPU and, GPU mem and RAM memory gets upped for new games.

 

[Die Alone]

Good, IMO they need to make the recommended the new required minimum for most games. Because lets face it if your system is that of the above minimum, gaming is not what you should be doing with that POS.

 

[HaJa]

Hehe, fair estimate I'd say

 

[Kenadian]

Windows 8 is recommended specs, wtf, is EA in bed with Microsoft now? I don't think Win 7 is old enough to not be recommended specs, FISTYA sure, but not 7.

 

[Kitlope]

I was wondering that too Duke but in the end I don't think it will make a difference.

 

[mondo]

Its probably because 8 is more stable and performs better than 7. It is pretty rock solid.

 

[little P]

3GB graphics memory? Feck.

 

[Kenadian]

Its probably because 8 is more stable and performs better than 7. It is pretty rock solid.

I didn't know that Win 7 was unstable?

 

[Kitlope]

Windows 8 is still too new to even think about upgrading, especially since W7 is so awesome.

Will be interesting to hear about there being a decent performance difference between the two... but I'm betting it's negligible.

 

[Kenadian]

I'm not moving to 8 ever.

I'll wait for 9 instead.

 

[Ninja-n00b]

It's the version of direct X that comes with Win 8... and only Win 8 has that version, so that's probably most more than likely why.... most likely....probably...but what the hell do I know.

 

[Die Alone]

Eventually you all will assimilate! To the perfect evolution that is the Windows 8+. You're resistance is futile.

 

[mondo]

I didn't know that Win 7 was unstable?

I had a few crashes with it and my work laptop has finally got to the point where I have to reinstall due to bloat. I've not had that problem with the machines I've got Windows 8 on. Generally I find it more reliable (I've got about 7 PC's and 16 VM's with a mixture of both 7 and 8 for work) and performance is a little better across the board.

It was certainly worth the £25 upgrade from 7 for my gaming machine and I did a day one upgrade, never had a problem with it. The negativity around 8 is completely unfounded.

Also ninja is correct, you can't get DX11.1/2 for Windows 7. Only 8. Its unlikely you'll ever get another DX update for 7 unless its bug fixes.

 

[Kenadian]

Gawd someone else needs to make an OS that can actually compete with Microsoft. I can't believe there won't be another DX update; Win 7 isn't that old an OS.

Phasing out FistYa makes sense but shafting 7 is just plain stupid or greedy; not sure which?

Is there an actual software limitation in Win 7 that won't see more DX updates or is it just MS making the executive decision?

 

[JohnnyK]

There were rumors of DX11.1 for W7 a while ago (IE10 installs part of the DX11.1 runtime on W7), but haven't heard anything lately

I bought the 30 bucks upgrade licence at the beginning of the year, might finally use it before BF4 comes out.

3GB graphics memory? Feck.

That should only be an issue at very high screen resolutions.

 

[little P]

Oh good, I only play at 1920 x 1080 so I should be ok then...

 

[mondo]

You'll be ok at 1920x1080. I'm going to have to upgrade my 580GTX because i'm running at 2560x1440.

Yeah, the upgrade to 8 is stupidly cheap and really easy to do. The first time I did it, it took me 15 minutes to install then about the same time to move a few things about or create junctions etc. because I didn't want to reinstall a bunch of stuff. Its never fallen over and its consistently fast to boot and use unlike 7.

If you have 7 or Vista I'd recommend the 8 upgrade, especially when 8.1 comes out.

 

[JohnnyK]

because i'm running at 2560x1440.

Which monitor? I was thinking about getting one of those Korean PLS screens; 27", 2560*1440, overclockable to about 100Hz. Problem is that I very much doubt my 7950 can produce anywhere near consistent 100FPS at that resolution at High/ultra, so I'd need to get a new card or at least crossfire a second 7950...

 

[HaJa]

Problem is if you buy the upgrade and install it over your W7 that license is gone.
Better to but the "OEM" version which really is the full stand alone license for 64 bit.

Also it's cheaper but requires a complete fresh install.

 

[mondo]

Which monitor? I was thinking about getting one of those Korean PLS screens; 27", 2560*1440, overclockable to about 100Hz. Problem is that I very much doubt my 7950 can produce anywhere near consistent 100FPS at that resolution at High/ultra, so I'd need to get a new card or at least crossfire a second 7950...

I got a Dell 2713HM. I'd recommend it certainly. Its only downside is lack of 10bit support and wide gamut but I don't know anyone who'd complain about that. Otherwise it has a nice 'game' mode which kicks in automatically reducing its input lag to similar levels of a good TFT but retains the fact its a really nice IPS with sRBG. Contrast, brightness and black depth are about as good as you can get on an IPS.

The problem you might find is it needs some serious power at 2560x1440. Granted you don't need much FSAA (if any!) but texture sizes are massive leading to Vram problems (BF3 is a good example, because its not very well made). Its actually a good example of where SLI does work and is kind of needed to maintain a solid 60FPS or more..not that I can personally tell the difference between 60 and 100.