If you're still running a pentium 4 and the equivelant graphics card and memory, and you still expect the latest games to run just fine on it, then you clearly don't know much about PC's.

Yeah, like anyone said it should "run just fine" (whatever that means) on a Pentium 4. Why bother coming here with your strawman arguments? This is a game coming two years after Crysis, not looking nearly as good as that, which is somewhat understandable given the genre, yet still requiring far more advanced hardware, even though it aims to "run just fine" on a 360. That is all. If you're fine with paying for hardware that's never really exploited, great for you. You can leave others in peace without making stupid assumptions about how much they know.

Fallout 3 for comparison is one of the most unoptimised pieces of shit I've encountered, looks ugly not due to low spec goals, but due to sheer incompetence as the texture resolutions, polycounts, shader usage, etc, are simply sky-high, yet even that has more modest requirements.

The minimum system requirements seem fine to me. Granted, I'm looking at the one for XP, because let's face it... Vista is really terrible for gaming.

Go check average computer specs, and the min/recommended specs of every Bioware game on PC after Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal and you'll find they've always been above normal. From Neverwinter Nights to the PC release of Mass Effect; their requirements are always higher than average for PC games.

I ran crysis on my Pentium 4. Smoothly at a decent setting.

Sorry to break it to you, but the Netburst (Pentium 4) architecture left the market 3 years ago. Even then it was a highly inefficient architecture and was destined to fail (it's the primary reason that AMD pulled ahead in performance for a time).

I can understand why they would completely ignore it, although you might be able to get the game to run on Pentium D (NetBurst dual core).

I don't think they're really leaving behind that many gamers, either. See the CPU portion of the Steam Hardware Survey. 73.35% surveyed have 2 or more CPU cores.

Did the people who are complaining try to consider that maybe Bioware is posting minimum specs at which the game would actually be playable, instead of posting the specs that are just enough to make the game run?

Hopefully they're just bucking the trend and posting specs how they should be done.  That is to say, 'Recommended' should allow a solid framerate with every setting on highest.  'Minimum' should allow a solid framerate with every setting on lowest.

Vista has always been shit for game performance and it's good that they recognise that.  Sub that Quad for a Duo and I'm sure you'll still end up with a better looking game than the 360.

These requirements are LOW, except for the Pentium 4 exclusion (which I've noticed in only the most recent titles).  The 360 and PS3 have nice CPUs, and it seems to be harder for developers to scale down on the CPU side, so it makes sense.

Looks like this is one game I couldn't play on my PC even if I wanted to.

What the eff did you expect? Get a better computer, if it means that much to you. Do you realize how old Pentium 4s are? How outdated that tech is? There's a reason for dual core processors; to offload different tasks onto different cores simultaneously. Doing both tasks at once on a single processor means multiple passes to calculate means lower framerate.

The age of single core processors is over, as far as gaming. There's always the possibility that it will run on a computer without one, assuming the rest of your specs are okay, but that's somewhat doubtful, considering the game was probably built around the necessity of at least two cores.

Do you know how cheap you can build a decent dual or even quad core system these days? Especially if you're willing to go the AMD route. Yes, you do have to upgrade your PC every now and then if you want to keep playing the latest games. That's been true since the dawn of PC gaming. That, along with piracy, is what caused the shift in attention over to consoles. If you really don't want to upgrade, then wait for the console port. Yes, it is supposedly coming.

It's a shame that they never list "high settings" even until now. Right now my system tops all those specs except the CPU.. currently a 2.0 dual core. Recommended settings are nothing, it actually means the stuff that allows the game to run fine without experiencing alot of lag. It's basically not "recommend settings" friendly if one is to set it on high with shaders and anti aliasing.

I got a new computer abut a month ago so no worries!

But they should have support for older stuff, although if the game honestly wont run on anything older then I suppose they have no reason to support it but whatever... maybe the statistics show most people have newer chips?

What's with all this Pentium talk ?? People still have that in their gaming PCs ?

@Scieran: Buy a decent heatsink and overclock that dual core, it will make a diffrence.   I think this game will run well on dual core CPUs too, since that's what most PC gamers have in their system, and Bioware would not ignore that fact.

You guys complain? 
I haven't upgraded my computer for three years now and I almost meet the required specs. 

Good luck playing it with the minimum specs.

Lol have you seen the specs for "Blade and Soul"?
 
I can't seem to find them, but one of them is "24 inch monitor".

Pentium 4's are 9 years old, and not even in production right now. Core2Duo's are already 3 years old.
I have a over 2 year old computer, and I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to run the game with near-max details at my native resolution.
 
Complaining about system requirements has it's limits. Remember the times when games started using 3D acceleration and you where in deep brown substances if you didn't have a Voodoo? Or when a better processor actually mattered when playing games, and you would upgrade your Pentium 200 to a Pentium 233?
PC games today, aside from a few exceptions, are actually very easygoing on the requirements as to not alienate the audience and decrease the group of potential customers, prime example being that to date there is only 1 DirectX 10 exclusive game (Stormrise), because hardly anyone has Vista (compared to XP).
3 years ago we had a pretty significant upgrade in computer power, and although I'm far from thinking it's of the same magnitude as the 3D accelerators I just mentioned, there are certainly some parallels so the people that have a 6 year old computer... time for an upgrade. That's just how PC gaming was, is, and probably will be.

" Good luck playing it with the minimum specs. "

You said almost required, not almost recommended... Required specs = minimum specs... Same difference.
 
If you meant almost recommended, great for you.

" You said almost required, not almost recommended... Required specs = minimum specs... I just used a different word... "

The reccomended specs are lower than the specs of  a PC I built 3 years ago. I don't think you chumps have anything to complain about.

" The reccomended specs are lower than the specs of  a PC I built 3 years ago. I don't think you chumps have anything to complain about. "

You know, there are at least three ways to alleviate this problem: A. Get a better computer. B: Get the Console Version and accept that there will be some sacrifices made. C: Don't buy the game.
 
I think I will be going with B.

Because obviously the problem I mention in the OP doesn't include your B choice as part of the problem acknowledging it's what many people would do, and isn't also irrelevant to A, considering I personally do have a capable PC. So, you know, you could read the topics you reply to.

 
Someday we'll all laugh about these requirements.  Someday in the future when they make computers that can actually play this.

"

 
Someday we'll all laugh about these requirements.  Someday in the future when they make computers that can actually play this.

"

Haha, looks like I am not getting this for my PC!! The 20 GB file size is also extreme. 360 version for me, I guess.

" Haha, looks like I am not getting this for my PC!! The 20 GB file size is also extreme. 360 version for me, I guess. "

This thread reminds me of when the Battlefield 2 system requirements were revealed.

Great, I'll have no problems then :P