Crystal Dynamics reveals hardware requirements for Tomb Raider

Crystal Dynamics has revealed the system requirements for the PC version of the highly anticipated reboot of Tomb Raider. The company claims that the PC version of Tomb Raider has been extensively optimised to heighten the gameplay experience with the goal of taking advantage of the platform. Some of the enhanced features include full integration with Steamworks, increased detail tessellation, improved SSAO and post-filter effects, and very high resolution textures, shadows and cloths.

Here are the minimum system requirements for running Tomb Raider on the PC:

• Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista, 7, 8 (32bit/64bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics card with 512MB Video RAM: AMD Radeon HD 2600 XT or Nvidia 8600 onwards
• Dual-core CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 2.1GHz (4050+) or Intel Core2 Duo 1.86 GHz (E6300) onwards
• 1GB Memory (2GB on Vista)

Here are the recommended specifications to run Tomb Raider on the PC:

• Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8
• DirectX 11 graphics card with 1GB Video RAM: AMD Radeon HD 4870 or nVidia GTX 480 onwards
• Quad-core CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 565 or Intel Core i5-750 onwards
• 4GB Memory

“AMD Graphics and Crystal Dynamics have partnered to capture the realism of one of video gaming’s most iconic characters, Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider franchise,” said Matt Skynner, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, AMD Graphics. “By leveraging the power of AMD Radeon and Graphics Core Next, Lara and her environment have come to life like never before.”

Additionally, for PCs that are capable, the game will support AMD HD3D and AMD Eyefinity technologies, the latter of which allows up to six simultaneous displays off a single graphics card.

The PC version seems to be getting a considerable upgrade over the console versions

The game’s enhanced features on the PC version include:

• Full integration with Steamworks to offer cloud storage for saves, multiplayer matchmaking, achievements, as well as automatic updates and new content.
• Support for Steam Big Picture Mode.
• Configurable mouse and keyboard support.
• Gamepad support.

On the higher-end graphics side, the improvements are:

• Very high resolution textures with up to 16x the amount of data
• Detail Tessellation to enhance the detail on many surfaces in the game
• Higher quality shadows
• High quality depth of field with near-blur
• Tessellation algorithms used to smooth out geometry
• Improved cloth, SSAO, quality wetness effects, and post-filter effects.
• LOD quality is adjustable for better quality on higher-end machines.

Improvements to the lower-end graphics include support for Windows XP as well as a lot of scalability options to suit a range of machines.

According to a press release, the PC version of Tomb Raider has been developed in tandem between Crystal Dynamics and long-time partner Nixxes—a collaboration that has spanned over a dozen PC titles and dates back fifteen years.

Jurjen Katsman, Director of Nixxes stated, “The team at Crystal intended to make the game of their careers and we are extremely proud of the part we have played in the project’s development.”

Darrell Gallagher, Studio Head of Crystal Dynamics said, “With over a decade of experience working alongside AMD and Nixxes at Crystal Dynamics alone, we had rock solid partners on board to create a superb Tomb Raider experience for PC gamers around the world. At Crystal we approach each of our projects with the sole intention of creating the best possible consumer experience for that format, and we are proud to have worked alongside two great partners who hold the very same values.”

Tomb Raider will be will be available on March 5 for the PC, Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.