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buying games

How to Check Whether Your PC Can Run a New Game Before You Buy It

Check a game’s official PC requirements against your actual components before buying. Here’s how to use DxDiag and interpret minimum and recommended specs.

By VGSources Team 3 min read
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To check whether your PC can run a game, compare your computer’s components with that game’s official PC requirements. Check minimum and recommended specs separately: meeting the minimum is a baseline, not a promise of smooth performance or a particular frame rate.

1. Find the game’s official PC requirements

Open the game’s listing on its publisher’s site or the store where you plan to buy it. Find the PC requirements and note the minimum and recommended specifications separately. Requirements are specific to each game, so don’t rely on another title’s specs or a general “gaming PC” benchmark.

  • Operating system
  • Processor (CPU)
  • Graphics card (GPU)
  • Memory (RAM)
  • Storage space
  • DirectX version, if listed

Keep the minimum and recommended lists distinct. They are different targets, not two ways of describing the same pass/fail threshold.

2. Find your PC’s specifications

On Windows, use the built-in DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DxDiag) to inspect system and display information. To check the DirectX version, Microsoft’s instructions for Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows 11 say to search for dxdiag, open the tool, and look under System Information: Microsoft: Which version of DirectX is on your PC?

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For a report you can inspect or share when troubleshooting, EA explains how to open DxDiag and save a 64-bit report. Its guidance also recommends checking a game’s minimum requirements and graphics-driver updates when diagnosing PC game issues: EA Help: Diagnose PC game issues using DxDiag. Rockstar Support likewise points to DxDiag as a way to identify PC hardware for a compatibility check: Rockstar Support: How can I check my PC is compatible with a Rockstar game?

3. Compare matching components

Compare your actual CPU and GPU models with the models in the game’s requirements—not just a broad family or brand name. Then check RAM, available storage, operating system and DirectX wherever the game lists them. Match each item to its corresponding requirement rather than treating one strong component as a substitute for another.

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  • CPU: Compare the full processor model.
  • GPU: Compare the full graphics-card model. If your PC has both integrated and discrete graphics, make sure you identify which GPU the game is expected to use.
  • RAM and storage: Check installed memory and whether enough storage space is available for the game.
  • Operating system and DirectX: Confirm that your version meets any stated requirement.

EA’s DxDiag guidance is useful when you need a report to identify system details. The exact hardware-to-requirement comparison is also the approach described by Rockstar Support.

4. Interpret the result realistically

If your PC meets the minimum requirements

That suggests your PC meets the game’s published baseline. It does not establish a guaranteed frame rate, visual quality, or consistently smooth experience. The published requirements are a compatibility guide, not a benchmark result for your exact PC and settings.

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If your PC meets the recommended requirements

Recommended specs are a separate target from minimum specs. Meeting them is useful evidence when judging a potential fit, but it still does not promise a specific performance outcome.

If one or more components fall short

Identify the specific gap first. A CPU shortfall, GPU shortfall, or lack of storage calls for different next steps; the game title alone is not enough to justify a particular upgrade. Consider your desired settings and the rest of your PC before deciding whether to change hardware or skip the purchase.

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5. Use automatic checkers as a cross-check

Third-party tools can make the comparison quicker. PCGameBenchmark describes both manual specification entry and automatic PC checking: PCGameBenchmark: System requirements and game benchmarks. It is not the publisher’s requirements source, and the site’s claims are vendor claims rather than independently tested results here. Verify the game’s requirements against its official listing and check that the tool has identified your PC’s components correctly.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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