I had mentioned this before in my post regarding how the game would run on my current system; an HP pavilion laptop zd8000. I am surprisingly impressed with how well the game runs, even though I have tweaked my video card by overclocking it a bit, my ati mobility radeon x600 video card hasn’t failed to flex its’ muscles. Out of curiosity I wanted to find out the bare minimum system requirement for LotRO. They are:
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 1.8Ghz or equivalent
Video: 64MB NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
OS: Windows XP
RAM: 512 MB
Disk Space: 7 GB available
Internet: 56kbps Modem
Optical Drive: 2x DVD-ROM
I understand this is what they would call the bare minimum requirements and the game would have to be run with the lowest possible settings available. Note they didn’t mention a soundcard, possibly that is a no-brainer, but without that you wouldn’t have any sound…Also, if you were to play this online game over a dial-up connection the quality of game play would more than likely be diminished considerably. I am thankful my PC is above the cutoff, but I know the visual quality could be so much better.
Here are the recommended system requirements:
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8Ghz or equivalent
Video: 128 MB NVIDIA GeForce FX 6800 or ATI Radeon X850
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
OS: Windows XP / Vista
RAM: 1 GB
Disk Space: 10 GB available
Internet: Broadband DSL / Cable
Optical Drive: 2x DVD-ROM
I know there are some gamers out there who have the available funds and desire to sport the biggest, baddest gaming machine with the latest hardware. I think that is great, good for them, if I could afford it I would like to have the latest video card and best of everything too. Then there are the rest of us, the casual gamers who enjoy playing video games but don’t lose sleep because we don’t have the best computer available. We also probably can’t afford to buy a new computer every year, maybe not even every couple years, so then the inevitable task to find economical upgrades to at least stay in the middle of the game is where we end up.
The dilemma that has been around as long as computer gaming. I have a computer that meets the minimum system requirements, but, I could have a computer that exceeds the requirements and lets me see all the game in its entire magnificent splendor. The could part of this statement has a lot of limiting factors. First would be if the funds are available, second would be the need, such as a fault component, another major factor for gamers who are married would be the spouse. For those of you out there who are married to a woman who is a gamer I envy you, really I do. My wife is great, don’t get me wrong, but when it comes to gaming, we are complete opposites. It has been years, but we have met on common ground so to speak. We don’t get into arguments about my hobby. But, then she doesn’t understand why I feel I need a completely new computer every 2 years either. It doesn’t matter how much I try to explain it to her, it is a never-ending ordeal.
So, my question for you gamers out there is, how do you decide when you need a new computer? Do you just wait 2 years and start shopping around? Do you have to ask permission to spend money on your hobby? Or do you simply do what you want when you want? I am curious to see how the rest of the world deals with this.
I play LoTR online as well. My husband and I run seperate PCs and seperate accounts. We recently upgraded our graphics cards to 256 and our RAM to 1 GB. We could run the game before on a lowly 64 graphic card and only 512 of RAM. But why? LOL. We usually upgrade our PCs as they are outdated. We bought new computers when Earth and Beyond came out and upgraded when EVE came out. We tweak as needed. We will have to buy new PCs or at least motherboards next since our bus speed will not exceed much over 1GB of RAM.
Hi there, just came upon this post and your blog in general.
Well, I’m about the cheapest gamer you will ever meet! Before I spend money on gaming, I really consider how much additional fun it will bring to me first. For instance, I have played EQ2 for about 4 or 5 months stretched over a year and a half. I still haven’t bought any of the expansions, basically due to cost but also the principle. I don’t believe a game that charges around $15 a month SHOULD charge for additional content. I just think $15 a month is ENOUGH! They should continue to create and improve on content cause thats what will keep me paying the monthly fee!
Which leads me to where I am now. I am on a break from eq2 right now, as well as computer gaming in general, but I have choices to make when i get back. Having come into eq2 long after its launch, I never really had to buy the game. When i joined, it only cost $5 to join in, over the $15 monthly fee. While I definitely do like the game alot, at this point, I’m not sure its worth putting in the $40 to get up to date with the expansions. Up to this point, I haven’t run out of the content from the original game. If I keep playing I will of course. Also, it would also be nice to be playing in the areas where most of the players are, as everyone gravitates to the newer zones. So I can pay $40 to get up to date with eq2, a game thats several years old or pay less than that to join the much newer LOTRO, which looks very competitive to eq2. I was in the open beta so I do know how beautiful it looks. Definitely looks better than the original content of eq2 and i suspect looks better than even the newer zones of eq2, just based on the greater efficiency of the LOTRO engine compared to the incredibly inefficient eq2 engine.
But oops, you were talking hardware, sorry to go in a different direction. With hardware I’m the same way. Its not even about whether I have the money or not. I still want to get something that is a great bang for the buck. I will be building a new gaming computer sometime soon and have been pouring over reviews and comparisons to find the right sweet spot for me. I might even hold out for some months for the dx10 hardware to mature a bit, but I’m not so sure I can wait that long!
Hi, I’m probaly not one of the cheaper gamers. First of all, I would like to apologize for my English, I’m from the Netherlands and we’re learning the language at school, so it’s not perfect, but i’m giving it my best shot. Anyways, I’m not a cheap gamer, I’m always afraid that I can’t play a game perfectly, I wish I could play LOTRO at Ultimate graphics, but I know I can’t at this moment. So, at this very moment, I’m looking for a new videocard, this one is now like 2 years old. I was thinking of building it in my own, but I’m not sure yet. So, to answer your question, I’m looking what the requirements are for (example) LOTRO, then I’m checking my own system, what got my system to offer, than I’m thinking about a new videocard and last but not least, I’m checking the shops to see if there is any videocard that is perfect for the game. That’s how I shop, and if I buy a game and my system does not require the minimal requirements. THAN it’s time for a new computer. So, until LOTRO requires a 3.0 ghz computer, until than’I'm keeping this one.
I dont really, have a set date on buying a new computers, just when they get really outdated. I had this really old Emachines for over 4 years. It had 512 RAM and a really bad graphics card, but I still managed to play WoW on it with really no problem besides it looking kinda bad. It has been 4 years so now is the time for an upgrade. I am getting LotRO in a week or two, so Im going to order this gaming laptop that has 2Gigs of ram and a pretty good graphics card. Thats just amazing how technology can grow so fast. A little ole laptop can beat a 4 year old machine.
Theres my 2 cents!
Peace!!!! Go Jacksonville Jaguars!
Hi i was reading the req for lotro im really interested and will probably buy it it looks amasing and captures my imagination especially after reading the book. Anyway i noticed that many video cards have distinctively different model names that vary greatly. soon i am buying a dell laptop with 1gig RAM (maybe 2gig if i get upgrade) 90 gig memory and an:
Integrated Intel® Graphic Media Accelerator X3100
video card i was wondering if that matches the:
“64MB NVIDIA GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500″
mentioned above in the recomended section.
So is it worth me spending £20 more for 2gig ram or is 1 gig fine and is that video card compatable for ‘Lord of the Rings Online’
Sorry for the delay in response to your question, I would highly recommend upgrading your video card to at least 128mb…trust me the better your video card the better the game will play, get 2gb of ram if possible also.
Domo- if you are getting an integrated graphics card, you are going to be selling yourself very short gaming wise. You might be better off spending the money on a graphics card upgrade over a RAM upgrade. Of course both would be ideal, but possibly expensive.
Check this out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-cards,1942.html
I highly recommend the nVidia 8800 GT. They are about $180, I’m running just one, and I can play LOTRO on “Ultra High” settings. The only time I end up turning the graphics down just a teeny bit is when I’m in a fellowship (and monsterplay, when I turn em down a whole lot).
If I play world of warcraft and my comp runs smooth as a babys behind will it be able to run LOTR? not sure about the differences between the two games pc req wise. Thanks
The differences between Lotro and WoW are quite big. Lorto graphic requirements are much bigger than WoW’s seeming childish, and to be honest, getting old graphics. this E-Tool will help you see if your machine can run Lorto.
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest
Hello.
How much will this game use per month. Memory to playing time. Im looking to get a wireless usb which min will run at 500kbps at best 3.6Mbps with 7Gb per month. How much playing time would I get? I have 512mb graphics card, 2Gb Ram at 3.6Ghz.
What would you expect before i sign my life away with the usb net?
HI there
Im a mobile gamer so to speak I game off of a laptop.
I got into MMO’s through a friend that bought be SWG( switch ran great)
then off to Vanguard I loved the graphics but my computer was at minium and wasnt as fun. Ive had this laptop for over 2 years and would love to upgrade, but being married and with kids well my gamin suffers. Im on WoW cause it better suits my laptop but seom the sepec on LOTRO my laptop meets Recomened specs.
Funny Vanguard requires higher specs then LOTRO yet LOTRO looks just as great go figure.
SO for me I have to make sure my wife gets something of value before I can get yes another gamin laptop.
SYueQG hi nice site thx http://peace.com
why does every1 make this into a blog this game looks sucky
Hey, ive been looking into getting into a new RPG, and when LOTRO was released, i was in no doubt that my computer couldnt run it. a year later from then, i hit the stage im at now, bored with my computer’s limited use for gaming, and was unsure about what i could do to upgrade it, as i will not be buying a new one for atleast a year. i have already upgraded my ram from 500mb to 2gb, and found a really nice tool to use, which will show you the specs you computer has, and if you have the specs to run almost any game (select from drop down menu) i used this tool, and for most of the games i havnt yet tried, notably the newer ones, my Video card or graphics card lageed in performance, and failed. heres a link to that website – http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest
Anyway, useing the website, i found that my graphics card couldnt handle Lotro, so ive orderd a nice new 256mb model, which will give me much more gaming freedom.
hope the website helps you, as much as it has, and still is, helping me.