Assassin’s Creed PC specs match Crysis

By Stevie Smith Jan 23, 2008, 7:47 GMT

Assassin\'s Creed rivals Crysis in the PC specifications stakes. Credit: Ubisoft

Crytek’s hulking first-person behemoth Crysis might still be sending shivers of fear through PCs across the globe, thanks to its hardware-busting specifications list that has even seen review outlets struggling to upgrade sufficiently, but it now finds itself facing a genuine performance rival.

Although Ubisoft’s sprawling third-person epic Assassin’s Creed runs without any serious issues on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, it would appear that PC gamers hoping to fully enjoy the adventures of master assassin Altair will first need to think about investing in better hardware.

Specifically, Windows XP and Vista owners should be armed with a minimum of 2GB of RAM (3GB recommended) as well as a 2.6GHz Intel Pentium D CPU as basic (with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz or better recommended). DirectX10 is, of course, a prerequisite, while use of an Xbox 360 controller is also advised.

Here’s the Assassin’s Creed requirement list in full:

Supported OS: Windows XP/Vista (only)
Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better recommended)
RAM: 2GB (3GB recommended)
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 10.0-compliant video card or DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher (512MB video card recommended)
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 compliant sound card (5.1 sound card recommended)
DirectX Version: DirectX 10.0 libraries (included on disc)
DVD-ROM: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive
Hard Drive Space: 12GB
Peripherals Supported: Keyboard, mouse, optional controller (Xbox 360 Controller for Windows recommended). Supported Video Cards at Time of Release: ATI RADEON X1300-1950 / HD 2000 / 3000 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6600-6800 / 7 / 8 / 9 series

Laptop versions of these cards may work but are NOT supported. These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game.

NOTICE: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some disc and virtual drives.

The issue that might leave some console gamers scratching their heads in this instance is, if Assassin’s Creed PC rivals Crysis PC in specification requirements, but Assassin’s Creed runs fine on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3… then why is bringing Crysis to home console platforms seemingly such a chore for Crytek?

PC experts should feel free to explain all in the comments section.