Finalized PC Specs are here!

[2K Elizabeth]

Hey guys,

We have the finalized PC specs for you. More PC information is on its way, but I wanted to get this out to you as soon as possible.

BIOSHOCK PC SPECIFICATIONS

Operating Systems:
Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) or
Windows Vista


Minimum System Requirements:
CPU: Pentium 4 2.4GHz Single Core processor

System RAM: 1GB

Video Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550).

Sound Card: 100% direct X 9.0c compatible sound card

Hard disc space: 8GB free space


Recommended System Requirements:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo processor

System RAM: 2GB

Video card:
DX9: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT or better)
DX10: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 or better

Sound Card: Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ series (Optimized for use with Creative Labs EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0 or EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 compatible sound cards)

Important Note: Game requires Internet connection for activation

[BioShockWins]

AWESOME!! I saw it first! ha!

[Melowfelow]

Bioshock what card do you have?

[BioShockWins]

Bioshock what card do you have?

I have a GeForce FX 5500 (haha)

I'll have gotten a XFX 8600GTS by the time BioShock is out

[Havok4]

The computer I have on order should come in any day now, and it meats all minimum specs and meets about half of the recommended specs, yay!

[Kill the BDs]

yippie, Im fullfilling the min system specs rooooxxxxx

[Mydriac]

damn look like i wont be able to activate it since i don't have the internet

this game is going to be beautiful

[501105]

Hmm so what about amd dual core?

[BioShockWins]

question: do I need a sound card?

my motherboard supposidly has one integrated into it

[Kill the BDs]

will it still look good on low/est settings? or like doom 1 lol

I know games where they looked ROX on highest settings, but on lowest it was SuuxxxXXXxxxx

[501105]

No game requires it and imo they dont create that much better sound.
Also I wonder why we need internet play it.

[BioShockWins]

will it still look good on low/est settings? or like doom 1 lol

I know games where they looked ROX on highest settings, but on lowest it was SuuxxxXXXxxxx

they should play a short vid of something simple... and then replay it on lowest (assuming the first time around was on the highest settings)

[BioShockWins]

No game requires it and imo they dont create that much better sound.
Also I wonder why we need internet play it.

for the activation code to be certified so they know you didn't steal the game =P

[501105]

Oh well atleast it is better then starforce

[MF9000]

No game requires it and imo they dont create that much better sound.
Also I wonder why we need internet play it.

F.E.A.R. apparently does. Half-Life series of games. Prey, etc. There are plenty of games that require at least a one time activation via the net.

[BioShockWins]

F.E.A.R. apparently does. Half-Life series of games. Prey, etc. There are plenty of games that require at least a one time activation via the net.

he's talking about sound cards

[borgdrone89]

the only thing i am failing in is RAM (1GB), so im happy

[Necros]

Important Note: Game requires Internet connection for activation

I don't think it's a wise thing. What about those who don't have internet at home?

But besides that, it sounds good. Thanks! And I hope those PC infos are coming soon.

[Kill the BDs]

they should play a short vid of something simple... and then replay it on lowest (assuming the first time around was on the highest settings)

wonderful idea!! please do it btw

[Psyclone]

Oh well atleast it is better then starforce

Getting kicked in the teeth before playing is a better alternative to Starforce.

[Alminie]

AMD x2 4800
8800 gts
and 2gigs dual channel 2 DDR2

so I am sooooooooo looking forward to play Bioshock in all of its glory

[Karamell]

Why is ATI X1550 excluded?

[kunrian]

Morrowind required a sound card...

Anywho, Not even close to matching this. Good thing I'm getting it on the 360

[lurchibald]

Important Note: Game requires Internet connection for activation

Im just still wondering about this? i have friends who want to get this but they have no net connection at all, can they still get it and play? OR will i have to download an installer or NO-CD/Fixed Exe crack for them to play it??? (that is to say that they WILL own the game(which i believe IS legal)and have a crack)

[jackinthebox]

Im just still wondering about this? i have friends who want to get this but they have no net connection at all, can they still get it and play? OR will i have to download an installer or NO-CD/Fixed Exe crack for them to play it??? (that is to say that they WILL own the game(which i believe IS legal)and have a crack)

many games which require internet activation also have telephone activation...

[neeyik]

Video Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 128MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600 or better/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550)

"DX9.c compliant" and "GeForce 6600 or Radeon X1300" strongly suggests that this a SM3.0-only title. Would anyone from 2K Games be kind enough to confirm or refute this? I'm sure a great many potential BioShock gamers may want to know this well in advance of purchasing it.

[BioShockWins]

many games which require internet activation also have telephone activation...

that's what I was thinkin; I dunno why I didn't say anything

[CitrusFreak12]

OMFG. I actually have the recommended settings for once! This has never happened to me before!

I'd like to thank my parents, my friends, and most of all the acadamy for this wonderful award....

[pn18]

thanks, but I'm buying a 360 for Bioshock.

[Funky Cow]

Oh goodie. My processor meets minimum specs. No upgrading for me!

[poopypooperson]

Although I'm getting the game for 360, my PC fits all the minimum specs for the game, too bad I have a ☺☺☺☺ty eMachines... in a couple years I'm gonna build my own.

[Mr.Bubblez]

Well I meet most of the recommended specs, my vid card is just a bit out of date (planning to upgrade next month).

I still disagree with them tho. You DO NOT need a core 2 duo. An AMD dual core will work just as fine (unless you guys can prove otherwise). Personally I own a core 2 duo, so Im not an AMD fanboy.

Also can someone please explain why 512MB video memory is "recommended"? Because I havent seen a single game yet were there is any difference between 256MB and 512MB. Unless there is something special about BioShock, in which case please explain it to me. There are versions of the Nvidia 8800GTS with 320MB of video memory. You cant honestly tell me that one of the fastest cards ON THE FRIGGIN PLANET, does not fall into the "recommended" category. This is craziness I tell ya!

[neeyik]

Recommended specs are exactly that - recommendations, not requirements. They're essentially what the publisher is suggesting that one should have to enjoy the game at its best, as a balance between looks and performance.

If you've not come across a game that displays a difference between a 256MB and 512MB graphics card then it's possible you've just not played specifics titles with high levels of AA at high resolutions. You can use the following tool to keep track of how much video memory is being utilised by a game (it follows memory allocations by the graphics card drivers):

http://www.nonatainment.de/web/Default.aspx?tabid=62

It's also safer for a publisher to recommend 512MB of VRAM, rather than 320MB, as there is only one graphics card model (the 8800 GTS) that has the latter, whereas there are quite a few that sport the former.

[Mr.Bubblez]

If you've not come across a game that displays a difference between a 256MB and 512MB graphics card then it's possible you've just not played specifics titles with high levels of AA at high resolutions.

I've played both Oblivion and FEAR at 1600x1200 with AA enabled.

Ill give you a specific example as to why 512MB is probably too much. My old card was the X1900XT 512MB. Lets compare that to the newer X1950XT 256MB or the 8800GTS 320MB. You'll soon see that the amount of video memory is a poor indicator of overall videocard performance. Unless, of course the card uses more than 256MB at one time, which I have yet see. Honestly, Im not trying to just argue here, can you please post a review or something that shows a card using more than 256MB vram?

I want to understand because Im on the fence about what card Im going to upgrade to.

[neeyik]

Try using that little app I linked to - it'll give you an accurate measurement of exactly how much local memory you're really using. Unfortunately I've just reformated my test machine, so I can't collate any data for you right now. It is, naturally, highly title-specific but games that use FP16 back buffers and render targets for HDR and a couple of high resolution shadow maps will easily consume up to 100MB of memory space at 1600 x 1200 with high level for those alone - and that's not including vertex, index and texture buffers.

One quick check I could do for you was to run LOTRO (location: Thorenhad) at maximum detail settings, 1680 x 1050 with 4x MSAA + supersampling TAA - reported memory usage was 275MB and that's not a particularly texture heavy area.

[Agnus Déi]

yay i pass them.. not so high afterall.

[Mr.Bubblez]

Interesting. Well I'll admit, the evidence is piling up So, what happens when you reach the limit. I mean, if I were running a 256MB and the usage is 275MB, what happens?

[Jiiiihad]

SWEET.

8800GTX/ 3.4Ghz C2D / 4GB Ram, I should be fine on Max!

[neeyik]

Interesting. Well I'll admit, the evidence is piling up So, what happens when you reach the limit. I mean, if I were running a 256MB and the usage is 275MB, what happens?

Usually not a lot - it depends on what and how many textures are required for that particular frame being processed. If there is a whole stack of them needed and they're not in the local memory, then they have to be copied across from the system RAM. As fast as the AGP and PCI Express interfaces are, they're dog slow in comparison to the local interface on a graphics card. A sensible developer is unlikely to have many scenarios where 400+MB of unique textures are absolutely required each frame and I suspect that 2K Games' recommendation of 512MB is to ensure smooth frame rates as one moves around the large levels; graphics cards with less than this may possibly experience small stutters or hitches in the fps as one moves about.

[neeyik]

I shouldn't perhaps do this but what the hell! If anyone is uncertain as to how close their systems are to the requirements, you can give our Game-o-Meter tool a run for BioShock:

http://www.yougamers.com/gameometer/10181/