14 DAY TRIAL // The last few weeks saw the reveal of some pretty steep hardware requirements for upcoming games, like Assassin's Creed Unity or Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, while already-released games surprised with their quite demanding features, like Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
More specifically, both Assassin's Creed Unity and Advanced Warfare require some relatively new processors, such as the Intel Core i5 2500K, not to mention a lot of hard drive space, of over 50GB.
However, the most interesting aspects relate to memory and graphics cards. Both games need at least 6GB of RAM and it's unclear if PCs with 4GB will be able to run the two titles, provided they close all the applications in the background.
It's also possible that some games, like Advanced Warfare, will have a hardware check to prevent it from running on computers with less than 6GB. Last year's Call of Duty: Ghosts had a similar restriction, but it was soon removed by developer Infinity Ward, after a backlash from fans.
Better graphics cards are becoming mandatory
Besides having lots of RAM, which isn't that big of an issue considering the price of new memory modules, PC gamers are also required by these upcoming titles to have pretty new graphics cards with a lot of VRAM.
Unity needs at least an Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 or AMD Radeon HD 7970 with 2GB of memory. Advanced Warfare is a bit less demanding, requiring an Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 or AMD Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB of VRAM. Ideally, Ubisoft wants an Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 with 3GB, while Activision desires a GTX 760 with 4GB.
For quite a while, PC gamers have demanded that titles for their platform cast away the shackles of the PS3 or Xbox 360, and now that the PS4 and Xbox One have resulted in an increase of requirements, they shouldn't be too surprised.
Don't upgrade your GPU just yet
However, it's worth noting that, at least right now, an upgrade in terms of graphics cards isn't the best option, as some components are still relatively expensive or not that worth it, at least for now.
Nvidia's GeForce GTX 980 and 970 versions have just gone on sale and currently reign supreme in terms of performance. Unfortunately, both have around 4GB of VRAM as standard, and as games like Shadow of Mordor require even more video memory, like 6GB, they aren't enough to future proof your build.
AMD is still keeping its cards close to its chest, but it's possible that at least 6GB will be standard on the new cards.
Play the waiting game
For now, the best strategy, at least for me, is to stick to my current build, endure playing a few games on not the best quality, and wait it out in terms of a full computer upgrade. It's going to be interesting to see what requirements next year's games will have on the PC.
What are your plans concerning your PC configuration? Are you going to upgrade components right now or are you just sticking to your existing rig until new hardware appears or existing high-end gear drops in price? Share your strategy by leaving a component below.