GameBanshee Forums

With all of this I'm sure you're wondering "When can I get it?" No, actually your first thought is more likely "Can my PC handle it?" The minimum system requirements being quoted online are fairly significant - a 2GHz PC with 1GB of memory and a decent video card with at least 128MB of memory, as well as a DVD drive and nearly 5GB of free hard disk space. A 3GHz PC with a 256MB video card is recommended. The only concern for most gamers at the lower end is the 1GB of memory - but given that there are no loading zones this shouldn't be a surprise - where do you expect the game to store all of that stuff?! Also, despite the fact that the picture of the box says 'CD-ROM', the game will ship on a DVD.


From Gothic 3 preview

Hi there,

I play it on a Pentium 4 - 2.6 GHZ, with a minimum of ram and video card (1 GB RAM, 128 MB Videocard, Shader 1.4) and with the lowest video setting the performance of the game is nearly good. With higher detail it's nearly unplayable.

Best wishes
Keltoi

The official system requirements

Okay, I managed to track down the official system requirements for Gothic 3. According to Gothic 3's [url="http://gothic3.aspyr.com/"]official site[/url], Piranha Bytes just sent the updated information to Aspyr (publisher). You can find it [url="http://gothic3.aspyr.com/default/news/9"]here[/url]. I just noticed this when I was browsing the internet searching for the official system requirements. You can find it at Aspyr's website [url="http://www.aspyr.com/product/game_specs/54"]here[/url]. Here's the system requirements in full, according to Aspyr's website:

Gothic 3
Platforms: PC
Genre: RPG
ESRB: Teen
PC Release Date: November 2006
MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

* 3D Hardware Accelerator Card Required – 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 128 MB with latest drivers
* Windows XP
* DirectX 9.0c
* Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 3200+
* 512 MB RAM
* 4.6 GB free hard disk space
* DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
* Windows XP compatible mouse and keyboard with latest drivers
* 4X DVD-ROM drive

This product does not support Windows 95/98/ME/2000 or NT.
RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

* Intel Pentium D 3.0 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 4000+
* 256 MB 3D Hardware Accelerator Card
* 1 GB RAM

Notice: Some 3D accelerator cards with the chipset listed here may not be compatible with the 3D acceleration features utilized by Gothic 3. Please refer to your hardware manufacturer for 100% DirectX compatibility.

SUPPORTED CHIPSETS:

ATI Radeon 9800
ATI Radeon X300
ATI Radeon X550
ATI Radeon X600
ATI Radeon X700
ATI Radeon X850
ATI Radeon X1300
ATI Radeon X1600
ATI Radeon X1800
ATI Radeon X1900
nVidia Geforce PCX 5900
nVidia Geforce FX 5950
nVidia Geforce 6200
nVidia Geforce 6500
nVidia Geforce 6600
nVidia Geforce 6800
nVidia Geforce 7300
nVidia Geforce 7800
nVidia Geforce 7900

Notice: Mobile and integrated video chipsets are not supported.

YAY! That means I can not run it, but I'm close!

Hmm, hopefully Nvidia's prices will have gone down by the time I get money again (Mid february). Next financial aid check, new computer stuff and if possible, a whole new system altogether. I HATE this compaq so much.

Hi DesR85,

I wonder if the requirements are different in the US-version of the game?

Written on the Box of my german version are the following requirements:

Minimum:

Windows 2000/XP/XP64, 1024 MB RAM, Intel Pentium 4 / AMD CPU 2 GHz or similar, Videocard: Direct3D compatible Videocard with minimum 128MB and Shader Model 1.4

Recommanded:

Windows 2000/XP/XP64, 1.5 GB RAM, Intel Pentium 4 / AMD CPU 3 GHz or similar, Videocard: ATI X1600 or better, GeForce 6800 or better, minimum 256MB,

Other:
4.6 GB free HD-space, DirectX 9.0c (included), DirectX 8.1 compatible soundcard, DVD-Drive.

Perhaps, as I said, it varies between the versions but thats the first-hand-Information printed on the Box and also written in the german JoWood-Forum.

Best wishes
Keltoi

Keltoi wrote: I wonder if the requirements are different in the US-version of the game?

Yes, it is the US version of the game. By the way, why is the system requirements for the German version differ greatly from the US version?

Would my system be good for Gothic 3? I mean is it playable, and would it be worth buying it (for me)?

ASUS K8N
AMD Athlon 3000+ 2.0 GHz
512 MB DDR-RAM Kingston
ASUS V9999GT 256MB 256-bit (GeForce 6800GT)

And is there a demo to download somewhere?

It said Athlon 64 3200 so I doubt your computer would be able to run it. Sorry. About the demo, as far as I know, I don't think there is one yet, or they (Piranha Bytes) won't make one.

Supported Chipsets

Hi;
I got an Ati Radeon 9550 video card, but I saw earlier on this thread that the minimum supported chipset for the Ati cards is the 9800. So I don't know if this means that my video card can't support the game and I can't play the game.
However the Ati Radeon 9550 has got 256 mb , and it is 9.0c compatible.

pushkanak wrote:Hi;
I got an Ati Radeon 9550 video card, but I saw earlier on this thread that the minimum supported chipset for the Ati cards is the 9800. So I don't know if this means that my video card can't support the game and I can't play the game.
However the Ati Radeon 9550 has got 256 mb , and it is 9.0c compatible.

But the card isn't supported. I'd suggest you give Aspyr Studios' tech support a call to confirm this, however I don't think it will run well on your machine.

I've borrowed Gothic 3 from my friend, and yes, I can run it. That's it: RUN it. Even on low details, the game ran so slow I could barely turn my character around 360. So it's absolutely unplayable. Here are my system specs again:
ASUS K8N
AMD Athlon 3000+ 2.0 GHz
512 MB DDR-RAM Kingston
ASUS V9999GT 256MB 256-bit (GeForce 6800GT)

Btw, the friend that borrowed me his copy of Gothic 3 said it also ran very choppy on his PC (P4 3Ghz, 1.5 GB RAM, GeForce 7600) on medium details. Apparently, the game is extremely demanding and unoptimized. I can get Oblivion running at some 24 fps in most outdoor areas at medium details, just for comparison.

C-K'R[PhoEniX] wrote:I've borrowed Gothic 3 from my friend, and yes, I can run it. That's it: RUN it. Even on low details, the game ran so slow I could barely turn my character around 360. So it's absolutely unplayable. Here are my system specs again:
ASUS K8N
AMD Athlon 3000+ 2.0 GHz
512 MB DDR-RAM Kingston
ASUS V9999GT 256MB 256-bit (GeForce 6800GT)

Base system requirements are 512 MB RAM, so you just meet that. Which means, per modern marketing techniques, that you certainly can run it. It just proceeds with all the velocity of an approaching glacier.

I'd seriously suggest a RAM upgrade, in any case. Many games require as much or more than 512 MB RAM to run these days, and I regret to say I can't see this trend reversing itself anytime soon.

Yeah I know RAM's definitely my problem, and that I could really use some more, but still, when I bought this pc a few years ago it was really good for any game (especially it's graphic card); all of a sudden, it's old and barely runs some games. I've made a decision not to support those unoptimized new games, so I'll just try to take what my pc offers me and tweak. It's not that I can't update my pc hardware, I don't want to. Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape:Torment and other old games deserve to be played more than any hyped new ones. Why can't all the games nowadays have that pretty and optimized graphics like Half Life 2 or Fable:TLC? Because they want more of my (our) money, that's why. It'd take a damn good game to pull me out of Kuldahar, Atkathla and Sigil and make me spend more money on my computer . Just my opinion.

P.S. I'm just a big fan of Gothic 1&2, so naturally I was aggravated that my pc can't play Gothic 3, so sorry for this (a bit angry) post .

fable wrote: I'd seriously suggest a RAM upgrade, in any case. Many games require as much or more than 512 MB RAM to run these days, and I regret to say I can't see this trend reversing itself anytime soon.

I think I'd better do the same. I have 512MB and believe me, there are some stuttering problems when I played the Gothic 3 demo (oddly enough, my demo's version is v1.9.25825.0. I have no idea if this is the v1.09 of the game). I'll try this demo on a friend's computer (since he has 1GB of memory and his computer specs are roughly similar to mine) and see whether the stuttering problem still persist.

C-K'R[PhoEniX] wrote: Why can't all the games nowadays have that pretty and optimized graphics like Half Life 2 or Fable:TLC?

I agree. The Source engine for Half-Life 2 is one of the most flexible graphics engine I ever come across. Works for both low-end and high-end machines and it still looks good even when all the settings are turned down. Pity few games use this engine. Only 2 games I know uses this engine and that is Vampires: The Masquerade and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Anyway, enough of me saying something off-topic.