Win7 Hardware Recommendations

Internet & Office Use

Our Training PC, having the following resources, are quite responsive when running Win7 Pro and using browser, email or office software

• 3 Gig, single-core CPU
• 2 GB dual-channel DDR RAM
• 160 GB SATA hard disk drive
• 64 MB graphics "card"

Any new desktop or laptop PC is likely to have better resources than the above

Netbooks, sold with Win7 Starter, typically have the following resources

• 1.6 Gig, single-core CPU
• 1 GB dual-channel DDR RAM
• 160 GB SATA hard disk drive

Graphics & Gaming

It suggested that anyone looking to run recent release PC games be mindful that they will often require much better than minimum system specifications.

For Windows 7 & 8.1 users, it is suggested to run the 64 bit version of the operating system and have at least 8 Meg of RAM available.

Be aware that the 32 bit version can only utilise up to 3.5 Meg of RAM, which some newer games will not work with reliably, and which may lead to regular system crashes during game play. However be mindful that the 64 bit version will require new drivers for all connected hardware devices and therefore may prove a problem with older peripherals.

In addition to a well performing PC, it is likely you will need a relatively recent & powerful graphics card with at least 1GB of video RAM. Higher screen resolutions and larger monitors will typically require faster video cards with even more video memory.

Most laptops are often poor performers with PC games as they typically have lower performance built-in video cards which may also share system memory.

Rpeters15:59, 30 August 2012 (EST)