GameSpot's C&C 3 Hardware Performance Guide

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GameSpot have posted a Command & Conquer 3 Hardware Performance Guide. Testing various combinations of hardware to see how well C&C 3 holds up on a low end system compared to how well it runs on high end system. They have tested basically everything for you including Game Settings, Image Quality Comparison, Video Cards, CPU and Memory. Here is some of the article to get you started.

 

We tested Command & Conquer 3 on an eight-player skirmish map called the Rocktagon. Using a 30-second FRAPs run, we replayed the invasion and destruction of an enemy base using an array of Nod forces. Our final results are the average of three runs.

 

Don't be surprised if you see some very low results, as Command & Conquer 3 has a frame rate cap of 30 frames per second. From what we can tell, the game seems to base the simulation speed off of how many frames are rendered. Ideally, you'd want to maintain a constant frame rate of 30, but we found that the game is more than playable at a decent pace in the low 20s. Once you dip into the low teens, though, the game becomes unbearably slow, and effectively turns into an RTS without the real-time aspect.

 

Game Settings

You don’t need much of a computer to run Command & Conquer 3 well, but you’re still going to have dial down a few settings if your computer isn’t on the bleeding edge.

 

Graphics

Command & Conquer 3 looks great and doesn’t require the latest and greatest in terms of GPU power. We tested out 16 cards to help you narrow down your search.

 

CPU

Command & Conquer 3 doesn't ask for much in terms of processing power if you've got an Intel Core 2. But if you're putting along on a low clock speed Athlon 64 or Pentium 4 you might want to move up to something a little quicker.

 

Memory

The game requires 512MB of RAM, but we recommend you get a bit more. To find the sweet spot, we tested the game out with 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, and even 4GB of system memory.

More GameSpot's Command & Conquer 3 Hardware Performance Guide can be found right here.