System Requirements And Speculation, merged threads Options

[Fuzzy Knight]

Thought this could be usefull in the W4O Forums, as I was bored and browsing I found the thread. It's nothing new to those who keeps up with TES and Oblivion but anyway.

The Offical "Will My Computer Run Oblivion" Thread

The Most Recent Thread in TES OB Section;
Newest Link
Updated: Wednesday 4th January 06

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For those just tuning in, this thread was made in answer to the numerous 'Will my computer run Oblivion' threads. And because I kept (and will keep on) locking those, I felt it only right to allow this one thread to remain open.

So please post your questions, speculations and the like here!

As always, try to keep things on-topic, and no pointless remarks, 'pc vs. xbox bashing', flaming, trolling or spam please as they will be dealt with accordingly.

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Supplementary Post, courtesy of Nottheking


First, if you want to post here, it's generally a GOOD IDEA to find out as much information as you can about your system. A good way to do this would be to install and run a free analysis program like one of the below:
•Lavalys Everest (http://www.lavalys.hu/products/overview.php?pid=1?=en) - Very comprehensive, will give you exact information. Must wait while it runs after downloading and installing. Find CPU information under "Motherboard->CPU." For your motherboard, look at "Computer->Summary." For RAM, look at "Motherboard->SPD" and for video card, look under "display." (must double-check this)
•Crucial System Scanner (http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/) If you've got an Internet connection availible from the PC in question, this is very quick & straightforward; download it, (it's only 77KB) run it, and it will scan and upload all the necessary information to Crucial's website, and automatically open up a page with the results in a matter of seconds. Ignore the graphics card tab, but take a look at the information listed on the left-hand sidebar; it will have virtually all the information you need if you want to ask a question about your system, and exactly that. You don't have to purchase anything through them, and it's cheaper elsewhere anyway, but it's a very useful tool.
•CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php) - Doesn't cover your graphics card, but a clean, simple tool for everything else; recommended for "system tweakers" rather than the novice.
•DirectXDiag - This is already on your computer; click the Start Menu, then "Run...". Then, type in DXDiag.
Here is the standard set of specs used in what appears to be the "standard" dev machine, according to the German magazine GameStar:

AMD AthlonXP 2500+ or 2600+ (Barton Core, 333MHz FSB)
1024MB (1GB) RAM
ATi Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 256MB video RAM

The above settings would likely run the game at a fairly decent clip, and more importantly, if such machines are in use for development, they obviously run the games with all the settings "turned on."

Note that there are MANY different types of PC in use at the BethSoft HQ. From what I understand, the PC used to render that mind-blowing trailer used a pair of GeForce 6800 (GT or ultra) cards in SLi-mode. Also, the machines have varied processors; a dev (Steve Meister, a.k.a. MSFD) noted that Dell is the company's main supplier of PCs; he apparently works at debugging and optimizing from his computer, which is the same as the one mentioned by GameStar, except that it has a 3.0GHz Pentium 4. MSFD also stated that he still uses the same computer he had when Bloodmoon shipped, (in 2003) to code, test, and play Oblivion. It is believed that he has the following specs:

Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz with hyper-threading technology
1024MB RAM
ATi Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 256MB video RAM

Because countless people have asked by now, now all CPUs are made equal when it comes to gaming. Different processor lines come with different qualities, so in the end, one processor may actually beat a processor that may seem to be superior. To attempt to alleviate confusion, here is a little guide. Take your processor's clock speed (if it's an Intel) or its "+" rating, (if it's an AMD) and multiply it by the following number, according to what kind of processor it is. the resulting number will be the speed of an equivalent Pentium 4 processor, assuming if it has hyper-threading.

Celeron - 0.50
Celeron D - 0.80
Sempron - 0.85
Pentium 4 (no hyper-threading) - 0.90
AthlonXP - 0.95
Pentium 4 (with hyper-threading) - 1.00
Pentium 4 Extreme Edition - 1.10
Athlon64 - 1.15
Pentium D - Varies (anywhere from 1.00-1.20+)
AthlonX2 - Varies (anywhere from 1.15-1.35+)
Celerom M - 1.75
Pentium M - 1.85
Athlon64 FX - 1.85 (clock speed, see below for exact numbers)
FX-51: ~4.0GHz (equal to an AMD 3700+, actually runs at 2.4GHz, but its lower FSB speed makes it more like a 2.2GHz, just like the 3700+ San Diego)
FX-53: ~4.4GHz (equal to an AMD 4000+, actuall runs at 2.4GHz like the San Diego 4000+)
FX-55: ~4.8GHz (equal to an AMD 4200+, actually runs at 2.6GHz)
FX-57: ~5.2GHz (equal to an AMD 4500+, actually runs at 2.8GHz)

Additionally, when it comes to the question of video cards, I think we could take a look at a poll made by Pete Hines, director of PR and marketing. While sadly, the poll has been taken down, he refers to a card such as the Radeon 9800pro as "mid level" while calling a card like the Radeon X800XT or GeForce 6800GT as "the latest." In a more recent update, Gavin Carter reported to Bit-Tech (link) that the PC version of the game will feature the same thread-scheduling technology that’s being used to take advantage of all three of the Xbox 360’s CPU cores. In other words, this will mean that Oblivion will attain great benefits from multi-core CPUs. Note that the E3 demo and E3 trailer were made before dual-core processors existed, so they aren’t necessary, but rather an awesome addition.

Anyway, for the convenience of those that DO think, or find out, that they need to upgrade, I have thrown together a list of "recommended" video cards for AGP. I also have one for PCI-express cards. For now:

$119US: Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 128MB video RAM - This card is a little outdated now, but in performance, it can hold its own against the GeForce 6600GT.

$125US: GeForce 6600, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This is the lowest 256MB video card I can reccomend. It's still a rather decent mid-range card, and offers quite a bit for the money. Although the other cards on this list are all more powerful, this is good if your priorities are for detail over resolution/performance, and you're on a budget.

$149US: GeForce 6600GT, AGP with 128MB video RAM - A bit more powerful than the 9800pro, it also supports shader model 3.0; this will help ease some "laggy" shader- and lighting-intensive scenes in games. (think flashlight in foggy corridors)

$176US: Radeon 9800pro, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This breaks from my tradition of only including retail (not OEM) cards in this list, however, it seems to be the only 256MB model of the 9800pro availible. This is the card that the devs are using. I do not recommend this card for purcahse; this is included here only for the sake of comparison.

$179US: GeForce 6800, AGP with 128MB video RAM - This is a VERY nice price/power ratio alone, and this card is also well-known among system tweakers because it's really just a 6800GT with a few easily-broken limits placed on it. The downside? Only 128MB of video RAM. (the 256MB version costs as much as a full 6800GT, hence it's not included)

$229US: Radeon X800GTO, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This card is perhaps a better buy for 256MB of video RAM than any lesser card, as it’s powerful enough to at least be in league with most top-of-the-line cards today, though it only sports 12 instead of 16 pipelines. Note that unlike most cards mentioned here, it's OEM-only, but it's easily the only decent deal in this price range.

$353US: Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition, AGP with 256MB video RAM - This is unquestionably the best card availible for AGP. And chances are close to 100% it’s all there ever will be; both ATi and nVidia won’t be making AGP versions of their latest high-end cards. Both will be making their mid-range X1k and 7 series cards available for AGP, but keep in mind that this card compares nearly to a Radeon X1800XL or GeForce 7800GT. (there was a cheaper one availible at some $350US, but you people bought it out. )
I have also compiled a list of decent PCI-express video cards, complete with prices and some sort of summary on them, for those looking to upgrade their PCI-express video card.

As a forewarning note, I am not one to truly recommend any new video card that costs notably less than $100US; going below that amount, you will get FAR less performance, and only save a little money; you'll ultimately wind up dissatisfied. Additionally, I base my performance comparisons on the VGA charts available at Tom's Hardware Guide, (Link) as well as other sources.

$99US: GeForce 6600, PCI-e with 128MB video RAM - This is perhaps the lowest card that I can truly recommend. Anything cheaper has some fairly serious issues with it. Cheapest card that supports shader model 3.0.

$101US: Radeon X1300pro, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - For once, next-gen cards spill out into the reasonable purchases. It seems to clearly beat-out the 6600 in performance, and comes with full SM 3.0 support, as well as 256MB of video RAM. Not bad at all for around $100US.

$129US: Radeon X700pro, PCI-express with 256MB video RAM – This is both a solid mid-range card in power, as well as having a full 256MB of video RAM.

$130US: GeForce 6600GT, PCI-e with 128MB video RAM - A highly popular video card, this is generally a good deal, and comes with enough processing power to last you for a few years to come.

$137US: Radeon X800, PCI-e with 128MB video RAM - Arguably a better deal than the GeForce 6600GT, this will barely land you into the "high-end" range.

$171US: Radeon X800GTO, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - A powerful deal of a card, this would perhaps be the cheapest truly high-end card with 256MB video RAM on it.

$209US: GeForce 6800GS, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - As the reviews have said, this nearly comes up to the level of the GeForce 6800GT, but is notably cheaper. Apparently, this uses a unique core; no extra pipelines to unlock, but thanks to a die shrink, it can be fairly overclockable.

$230US: Radeon X800XL, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - Though it's getting a bit muscled over by the significantly cheaper, while hardly any less powerful 6800GS, this card is still a viable option. It's a fairly low price for a 16-pipeline, high-end video card.

$239US: GeForce 6800GT, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - This is largely included here for the sake of completeness; it is clear that the 6800GT is at the end of its commercial lifespan, and prices are rising again as supply is running low. Either the cheaper X800XL or more powerful 7800GT would be a better idea at this point.

$295US: GeForce 7800GT, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - This is a good deal, and a good bit cheaper than the 7800GTX. However, note that it’s not a massive leap over the previous generation of GeForce 6800 and Radeon X850 cards.

$330US: Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - It's inferior to the GeForce 7800GT, as it doesn't support SM 3.0, is slightly weaker, and also a bit more expensive, (though there's also a $30US rebate attached that brings the prices within range) but I thought I'd include this for the ATi fans there; lots of people will only buy one type of card or the other, and this price range is pretty dominated by nVidia. It's likely a better deal than a X1800XL minus the SM 3.0 support, though, and possibly the PCI-e card that's anything close to a good deal compared to the nVidia cards nearby.

$449US: GeForce 7800GTX, PCI-e with 256MB video RAM - If you want top-end performance, you’ve found the right card. It’s a true beast, even if its time might be considered to be waning, as it approaches the half-year-old point.

$539US: Radeon X1800XT, PCI-express with 512MB video RAM - An ATi flagship card that's actually readily availible? If you can't get lucky enough to purchase a 7800GTX 512, or can't swallow the incredible price, this is perhaps the best card out there that you'll lay your hands on. It easily trumps the ordinary 7800GTX in everything, even former nVidia bastions like Quake IV.

$750US+ GeForce 7800GTX 512, PCI-express with 512MB video RAM - You want the best, do you? Good luck. This is easily the hardest-to-find card out there; every store is currently "temporarily sold out" with no real clue when they'll get their next shipment. This is THE lowest price that vendors have agreed upon; if you want the very best, you'll have to be quick, lucky, and willing to shell out this much money. But make no mistake, this card is the current champion.
Note that this list is most likely NOT perfect, as the lineup of PCI-express cards IS rather confusing to ANYBODY.

Lastly, for those that're really curious as to how good their video card is, I have sketched out a ROUGH outline of how just about any video card in use today stacks up against each other. It's VERY rough, and not gaurunteed to be accurate. It also ignores, for the most part the suffix (ultra, XT, GT, pro, LE, SE, etc.) that follows the model number. In this case, I'm just ranking the series as a whole; If i measured things for every single differing model in existance, this list would be FAR too long. Also, keep in mind that the ammount of video RAM on the board has NO real impact on performance in and of itself; it merely comes into play in determining how well the card will do on certain detail levels.

As a general rule, the lower on the list the card comes, the more powerful it is; all cards in one lower list section ARE more powerful than those of the section above it, and generally, the card at the bottomg of any given section will be the most powerful, and the least powerful at the top of the section. (this comparison was done fairly loosly after looking at enough benchmarks to make one's eyes hurt, and aren't perfect, obviously) Anyway:

(Please notice that I have not added the spes. colours)

Rock Bottom (these cards do NOT support pixel shaders, and as such, won't run Oblivion)
(Any integrated graphics that's NOT listed elsewhere on here, save for any integrated Radeon or GeForce chips I forgot)

Radeon 7000 (Radeon VE)
GeForce 4 MX 4000
GeForce 256
GeForce 2 MX
Radeon 7200 (ATi Radeon)
GeForce 2 GTS
GeForce 2 Pro
GeForce 2 Ti
GeForce 2 Ultra
GeForce 4 MX 420
Radeon 7500
GeForce 4 MX 440

Outdated (these cards support shader model 1.x, which at the very least won't enable HDR in Oblivion, or may only allow diminished features, or may not even run the game)

Volari V3
GeForce 3
Radeon 8500
Matrox Parahelia 128
Radeon 9000
Radeon 9100
GeForce 3 Ti
Radeon 9200
Radeon 9250
GeForce 4 Ti

Low-end (these cards support shader model 2.0, but are fairly old now)
Intel GMA 900 Integrated graphics (chipset 915) (much better than the "Intel Extreme," but still somewhat below a GeForce FX 5200, and perform more like the "outdated" group)

GeForce FX 5200 (questionable SM 2.0 ability)
GeForce PCX 5300
GeForce FX 5500
GeForce FX 5600
S3 S8 256
GeForce 6100 IGP (integrated graphics)
Radeon Xpress 200 (integrated graphics)
GeForce FX 5700
GeForce PCX 5750
Radeon 9550
Radeon X300 HyperMemory
GeForce 6200 TurboCache
Radeon X600 HyperMemory
Radeon X300SE
Radeon 9600SE
Radeon X300
Radeon 9600
GeForce 6200
Volari V8 Duo
Radeon 9500
Volari V5 Ultra
GeForce 6600LE
GeForce 6500
Radeon X1300HyperMemory
Radeon 9600pro
Radeon X600pro
Radeon 9600XT
Radeon X600XT
Radeon 9500pro

Mid-Range (these cards were/could've been considered top-end a few years ago, and are fairly powerful, using 8 pixel pipelines and support for at least shader model 2.0)

Radeon X1300
GeForce FX 5800
Radeon 9700
GeForce FX 5900XT
GeForce FX 5900
GeForce 6500
GeForce PCX 5900
Radeon 9800
GeForce FX 5800ultra
GeForce 6600
Radeon 9700pro
GeForce 5900ultra
Radeon 9800pro
GeForce 5950ultra
Radeon X700
Radeon X1300pro
Radeon X700pro
GeForce 6800LE
GeForce 6800 (PCI-express version)
GeForce 6600GT
Radeon X800GT (also called X800RX)
Radeon 9800XT

High-End (some of these cards may be "outdated," but just about any given one is OVERKILL for almost any game out there)

Radeon X800
Radeon X1600pro
GeForce 6800 (AGP version)
Radeon X800pro
Radeon X800GTO
Radeon X1600XT
Radeon X800GTO²
GeForce 6800GS
Radeon X850pro
GeForce 6800GT
Radeon X800XL
GeForce 6800ultra
Radeon X800XT
Radeon X850XT
Radeon X800XT Platinum Edition
Radeon X850XT Platinum Edition

OMGWTFBBQ! (these cards are outrageous; a new top class all of their own, they are rather expensive, but insanely powerful. Note that I cannot guarantee perfect accuracy of this ranking)

Radeon X1800XL
GeForce 7800GT
GeForce 7800GTX
Radeon X1800XT
GeForce 7800GTX 512mb

(Please note that all italicized cards are not truly final yet, and are likely to not be placed with much of a degree of accuracy. As more reliable benchmarks pour in, their ranking will be revised)

Anyway, if your card is on the "rock bottom" list, please, for the love of Akatosh, upgrade it; those cards don't support shaders at all, and don't even run Morrowind at it's fullest!

For those who have cards in the "outdated" list, start praying. The cards likely won't be enough, given that the game seems to rely on shader model 2.0, whereas these cards only support 1.1.

If your card is in the "low end" list, I can just about assure you Oblivion WILL run on your system; it's just a matter of what your going to wind up sacrificing, be it a part of quality, resolution, or performance.

If you find your card listed as "mid range," don't sweat it. Things will run FINE, and you'll get plenty enough eye candy to satsify you. For those that need to upgrade, I'd reccomend looking at some of these cards first. These ones will last for at least a short while.

If your card makes it to the lofty heights of the "high-end" list, rejoice! You have monstrous gaming power that will certainly eat up Oblivion quite greedily. Just remember to keep your drool bucket handy.

Lastly, if your card makes it into the “OMGWTFBBQ” list, careful there, steady! You were starting to hyperventilate. Please don’t pass out on the forums. And make sure your drool-catching bib is still firmly tied on. You’re going to need it when playing.

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I'd say that if you're not sure if you're PC will be able to run Oblivion and not sure what upgrades you should do; Follow the threads, a lot of usefull information (which we don't find that much in the TES Oblivion Section for the time )



Since this is basically about the same thing, and following in the footsteps of TESF
this is now merged.

~ Alexander ~

[Curly_G_]

Well, we're not allowed to speculate ... *coughs* March 31st?