Hi again Elton (all),
I'd like to clarify the word "mainstream PC". The "mainstream" we refer to, is "mainstream gaming PCs" not "mainstream office PCs" (the SSM2007 is a game, remember?)
Today, "mainstream gaming PC or laptop" usually means:
- Dual Core CPU 2GHz or 2.2GHz for laptops (AMD or Intel, preferably Intel)
- 1-2GB RAM (2GB is better) (or 1GB for laptops)
- 78XX 256MB and up. (or 128MB for laptops)
- XP or Vista (not Windows 98, ME, Linux or Mac).
The mainstream gaming PCs are usually more powerful than regular office PCs. If a PC runs Office or any office-related application well, it does not mean that it will run games - especially simulators - well.
In the SSM2007 context that means that if you have an older-technology gaming PC or "office" PC, you may need to compromise on graphical features, etc. Please also note that a newly-bought PC is not necessarily a "mainstream gaming machine" as it may contain many old-technology or cheap components (that's why you paid so little for it <g>).
Remember, modern dual core CPUs run faster and cooler than the most powerful Pentium 4 of 1.5 years ago. You may still be able to buy cheap Pentium 4D (dual) but that is by no means "Core 2 Duo" which contains many architectural changes that makes it the fastest today, GHz by GHz. New dual core AMD 64 X2 CPUs are usually 20-30% slower than Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs so take that into consideration as well.
On the other hand, you really don't need a 4GHz monster with 8800GTX 700MB and 4GB RAM to run it at full speed.
Our reference system is a modest Core 2 Duo 6400, 2GB RAM, 7800GT 256MB, 500GB SATA1 HD, Win XP Pro SP2, and nothing is overclocked. We have in excess of 50fps SUSTAINED with all options maxed up, in the most demanding situations and no stutters at all.
We also have enough reserve resources to add more features without going below these values on this type of PC in the foreseeable future, also considering the new features that we plan for the free future patches <scoop>.
/Admin
