How to Read Game and Software System Requirements

Minimum vs. recommended

Publishers set these tiers differently. Minimum generally means the software will start and run, often at reduced settings; recommended is the configuration the publisher expects to give a good experience. Neither is a guarantee of a particular frame rate or resolution unless the publisher states one, and some publish only one tier (or only a recommended tier, as some engines do).

RAM and storage are the easy checks

RAM and free disk space are plain numbers: your laptop either has them or it doesn't. Watch the storage note — many modern games say SSD required, which means a solid-state drive, not just enough free gigabytes on a hard disk.

CPU and GPU are names, not numbers

Processors and graphics chips are listed by model name, and comparing them means knowing where each sits in its product family. A newer or higher-tier chip in the same family generally outperforms an older or lower one, but names across brands can't be compared by digits alone. For that reason LaptopCompat never marks a CPU or GPU as passing or failing on its own — it shows what the publisher requires next to what your laptop has, and marks the comparison as not determined when it can't be made honestly.

Laptop-specific traps

• A laptop graphics chip can share a name with a desktop card yet run at lower power, so it may perform below the desktop card the requirement names.
• Integrated graphics share system memory with the processor, so a requirement for dedicated video memory is not met just because the laptop has plenty of RAM.
• Some laptops throttle on battery or when hot; performance while plugged in with good airflow is what requirements assume.
• Apple silicon Macs and Windows on Arm laptops need a version of the software built for them, and many requirement lists cover only x86 Windows.
• The operating system line matters: a requirement naming a specific Windows version excludes older ones outright.

Where the numbers should come from

Trust requirements that come from the publisher or developer — the game's store page or the software's official documentation — and check the date. Requirements change with updates. Every requirement in LaptopCompat's What Can I Run? database links to its source and shows when it was retrieved.