Compiling minimum & recommended system requirements for EB: post PC specs!

[Tellos Athenaios]

I'm working on an overhaul of the currently very outdated guide to install EB (for those who don't know: the link in my signature) and part of it will feature an attempt at establishing a solid list of specs for both 'smooth' and '[bare] minimum'. I will likely not take one sample as the final list, but rather take whatever consistent/average specs return the "minimal" and "smooth" results.

Of course, using only my own experience on one PC will not make for a reliable yardstick, so I'd like to ask you to post your PC specs too. The easiest way to grab your system specs from any Windows machine would be to use the Run dialog and run "dxdiag" (without quotes).

Since both "smooth" and "bare minimum" are rather ill-defined ways to measure system performance (so much depends on what you were/are used to), please include estimates like in the following example:

1. System specifications:
   
   • CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5200+ (64bit, dual core @ 2.6Ghz)
   • RAM: 2GB DDR2
   • Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon X1650 Pro
   • OS: Windows Vista 32bit
   • Monitor resolution: 1440x900.
2. RTW settings:
   
   • I've simply upped all the graphics settings to the max the RTW screen will allow me.
3. Ballpark figures:
   
   • Turns take: 1-3 minutes.
   • Loading game: 5-7 minutes.
   • Loading saves: ~ 1 minute.
   • Loading battles: idem.
   • Loading the campaign map: idem.
   • Activating the script: 2-5 seconds.
   • Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, no noticeable delays when moving the view on the campaign map
   • Navigating on the battle map: likewise.
   • Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): fast, smooth -- no artefacts, no arbitrary pause while the game works out what to render.
   • Stability: good, can resume RTW from screensavers, can leave RTW running for at least 5 hours on end without causing CTD's. However, random CTD's have a noticeable higher chance of ocurring if I do that.
   • Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): no problems, can easily switch back and forth, but a switch takes 1-2 seconds.
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
   
   • None.
5. EB rating: 'smooth'.

Personally, I'd call this smooth for the simple reason that "yes, you'll see a noticeable peformance hit on EB, but not that it's like that everywhere you go and in fact most of the time it will not trouble you at all (on the campaign or battle map)". If you don't agree don't hesitate to post a line of reasoning why that doesn't merit the name "smooth", and if possible include 'targets' for a smooth system to meet so as to understand you better.

[desert]

System Specs: Pentium D 2.8 Ghz
RAM: 2 GB
VGA: Nvidia GeForce 6200 Se Turbocache
OS: Windows XP Professional 5.1.
Monitor Resolution: Dunno. How can you tell?

RTW Settings: Most settings maxed out, except for a couple, and Antialiasing set to low, and some others. Unit sizes Huge.
I'd just like to point out that Antialiasing makes the game incredibly ugly.

Stuff: Turns: 30 - 90 seconds.
Loading game: 2 - 4 minutes.
Loading saves: 10 - 30 seconds
Campaign Map navigation: Smooth, except during winter, which is sometimes sluggish. Also, maybe randolmylly I duont lknow.
Battle Map: Usually good FPS until 4000-6000 men. Grass always slows down FPS no matter what. Tall grass rapes my eyes.
Stability: Great. CTDs don't come often, almost always after a battle if they do, other stuff fine.

PS: Shouldn't Battle Map performance be included as well????

Rating: Could be better. I wish my graphics card and CPU weren't so old and crappy

[Dayve]

Windows XP Home
Intel dual core, 2.4ghz
2gb RAM
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 video card

Everything on EB is set to highest, including AA, smoke/dust, shadows and unit sizes are huge.

Turns take around 30 seconds
Loading game takes around 1 minute
Loading saves takes 15-20 seconds
Loading battles around 15-25 seconds
Loading campaign map - 10 or 15 seconds
Activating script - instant to 1 second
Navigating campaign map - jittery when using arrows on keyboard, smooth when using mouse (oddity?)
Stability - Perfect, apart from the usual EB CTD's.
Running background programs - -ne switch doesn't work at all, it just behaves the same as if tab out.

EB rating - fandabulous.

[Tellos Athenaios]

System Specs: Pentium D 2.8 Ghz
RAM: 2 GB
VGA: Nvidia GeForce 6200 Se Turbocache
OS: Windows XP Professional 5.1.
Monitor Resolution: Dunno. How can you tell?

Through the RTW options menu: the video setting cover both Campaign and Battle resolutions.

PS: Shouldn't Battle Map performance be included as well????

Thanks, done. (Altough that's where EB and RTW aren't all that different as far as system requirements/performance go; it's telling enough if you know wether or not you can move around it smoothly.)

[Aemilius Paulus]

1. System specifications:

* CPU: AMD Athlon X2 3800+ (64bit) - 2.0 GHz
* RAM:960 MB
* Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
* OS: Windows XP 32bit
* Monitor resolution: ?

2. RTW settings:

* The highest possible in every category. I play on Large Unit Size though. Mainly because anything less than 80 men in an average infantry unit is too little and 160 men in an average infantry unit with 240 men in a large infantry unit is simply too much for those narrow streets in the siege battles, which are the most common type

3. Ballpark figures:

* Turns take: no more than 1 minute with EB v1.1, script enabled and no mods
* Loading game: 4-8 minutes.
* Loading saves: ~ 1 minute.
* Activating the script: 2-10 seconds.
* Navigating on the campaign map: smooth except when viewing the northern regions (mostly Germania) with all of those trees.
* Navigating on the battle map: very smooth
* Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): very choppy, freezing up for as much as 10 seconds at times.
* Stability: Perfect. I almost never have any CTDs and I keep EB running for as much as a week straight. The only ones I get are all of the same type: my graphics card gets stuck
* Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): no problems, can easily switch back and forth, but a switch takes 10-30 seconds.

4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)

* For some reason, my EB began running exceptionally fast after a month of use. I guess my computer just got used to it . Anyway, my turns are incredibly fast, and my battle performance is splendid. All this on a really crappy desktop. I simply don't know why my performance is so fast! I frequently heard other people complain about slow performance on computers many times better than mine.

5. EB rating: 'smooth'.


I just bought a 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Hardrive, and 3 GHz custom-built desktop for $400 USD though, and I have not had time to try it out yet as I still lack a monitor for it. I guess I'll use it for Empires:TW .

[Tellos Athenaios]

Nobody who has a less powerful PC then? (I am particularly interested in the minimum requirements.)

[Strategos Alexandros]

System specs:
CPU: Dell inspiron I6400 (Laptop)
RAM: 504MB
Processor: Intel T1350 1.86 GHz
OS: Windows XP home edition
Monitor resolution: 1024 x 768

RTW settings: Unit size large and unit detail high. Everything else low or lowest.

Ballpark figures:
Turns take: 3-15 minutes
Loading game: 5-15 minutes
Loading saves: 2-8 minutes
Loading battles: Up to 7 minutes for field battles, 2-10 minutes for sieges.
Loading campaign map: 1-3 minutes
Activating script: Up to 30 seconds
Navigating battles: Sometimes choppy, almost unplayable in sieges with epic walls
Navigating campaign map: Some lag, not too bad
Transitioning to/from cutscenes: about a 5 second wait.
Stability: Very good except for if I alt+tab out and back in.
Running other programs in the background: Makes all games run very slowly.
Other stuff: If left running for over 3-5 hours then heavy lag occurs.

Oddities: If I get up to do something while the game is loading it can load up to three times as fast as normal, particularly in sally battles.

EB rating: Well, I've never played it on another computer but it seems to run OK outside large siege battles.

[||Lz3||]

1-System especifications (Laptop)

• CPU Name:Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2050 @ 1.60GHz
• Ram: 2048 Mbytes DDR2
• Graphics card: Mobile Intel(R) 945 Express Chipset Family (total crap)
• OS: Windows XP 32bit
• Monitor resolution: 1280x724

2-RTW settings

• Highest in almost everything, lowest vegetation, no antialising, no detailed shadows, no glints, smoke enabled, and most important, large unit size (my laptop can't handle huge sizes)

3-Ballpark figures (I however, use alex.exe wich makes loading times at least twice as fast)

• Turns take:35 secs
• Loading game: 1 min
• Loading saves: 45 secs
• Activating the script: 1 secs?
• Navigating in the campaign map: More or less, a little slow compared to vanilla
• Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): Smoth, most of the times.
• Stability: As good as EB can get
• Running background programs : seems to work, however I don't suggest having background programs, otherwise EB perfomance decreases)

4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)

• None

5-EB rating: Semi-smoth (more smoth than bare)

[XSamatan]

1. System specifications:
* CPU: Quad Q6600@2.40GHz
* RAM: 4GB DDR2
* Graphics Card: GF 8800GT
* OS: Windows Vista 32bit
* Monitor resolution: 1680x1050.
2. RTW settings:
* I've simply upped all the graphics settings to the max the RTW screen will allow me.
3. Ballpark figures:
* Turns take: 25sec.
* Loading game: 2 minutes.
* Loading saves: 15 sec.
* Loading battles: 20sec.
* Loading the campaign map: 20sec.
* Activating the script: no time.
* Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, no noticeable delays when moving the view on the campaign map
* Navigating on the battle map: likewise.
* Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): fast, smooth -- no artefacts, no arbitrary pause while the game works out what to render.
* Stability: good, can resume RTW from screensavers
* Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): no problems, can easily switch back and forth, switching immediately.
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
* virtual memory at 16 GB.
5. EB rating: very good'.

[Mediolanicus]

1. System specifications:
   
   • CPU: Pentium III 2.5Ghz
   • RAM: 512MB
   • Graphics Card: Ati Radeon 9200
   • OS: Windows XP home edition
   • Monitor resolution: 1024 x 768
2. RTW settings:
   
   • Shadows off, vegitation and building detail on medium, AA on and all the rest at their highest.
3. Ballpark figures:
   
   • Turns take: 1-3 minutes.
   • Loading game: 10-15 minutes.
   • Loading saves: 2 minutes.
   • Loading battles: 2-3 minutes.
   • Loading the campaign map: 1-2 minutes.
   • Activating the script: ~30 seconds.
   • Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, sometimes a bit slow but I think the reason for that is the RTW memory leak and not EB.
   • Navigating on the battle map: smooth, but large seige battles can become very slow.
   • Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): without pause, even in large seiges.
   • Stability: good, can resume RTW from screensavers. I never had a CTD from EB, except a save game gone corrupt. After 2.5 hours play the game gets choppy, but again I suspect the RTW memory leak.
   • Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): That would be a big problem for me, so I don't do that.
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
   
   • Moving a unit out of a city and back in after you moved a ship/diplomat/spy to its maximum movement range to counter yet another memory leak.
     Before I read this thread EB crashed every time while loading. Then I tried Roma Surrectum and it was the same story, but there they had this thread and now I can play EB fairly good!
5. EB rating: could be much better, but I manage.

[^RaGe^]

1. System specifications:
   
   • CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 3GHz
   • RAM: 2GB DDR2 800MHz
   • Graphics Card: nVidia 8800GT 512MB
   • OS: Windows Vista 32bit
   • Monitor resolution: 1680x1050.
2. RTW settings:
   
   • Maxed, 4x AA, 8x AF
3. Ballpark figures:
   
   • Turns take: 20 seconds.
   • Loading game: 1 minute.
   • Loading saves: 20 seconds.
   • Loading battles: 20 seconds.
   • Loading the campaign map: 30 seconds.
   • Activating the script: 0,1 seconds.
   • Navigating on the campaign map: Smooth
   • Navigating on the battle map: Very smooth
   • Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): Very fast
   • Stability: Excellent
   • Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): No problems
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
   
   • None.
5. EB rating: 'great'.

Edit: List making is hard.
Edit2: Sorry, my estimates were bit wrong. Now they should be correct (I used a stopwatch).

[teh1337tim]

1. System specifications:
   
   • CPU: Intel Quad Core Extreme Q9650
   • RAM: 8GB DDR3
   • Graphics Card: EVGA Nvidia 9800GX2 (sli= quad sli)
   • OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit
   • Monitor resolution: Max
2. RTW settings:
   
   • Max on every possible option
3. Ballpark figures:
   
   • Turns take: 30seconds-1.2 minutes.
   • Loading game: 2-3 minutes.
   • Loading saves: ~ 30s-1 minute.
   • Loading battles: 1-2 mins
   • Loading the campaign map: 1-2 mins
   • Activating the script: 2-5 seconds.
   • Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, very nice no lag at all
   • Navigating on the battle map: same as above.
   • Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): fast, smooth -- no pausing or lagging when it happens
   • Stability: very good, can run 4 other games at the same time all at high resolution and can still play EB/rtw at max when i want to
   • Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): no problems at all, can switch to any game or program in a couple of seconds
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
   
   • None.
5. EB rating: very smooth

I personally think that the bare minimal for EB is what the vanilla rtw + a lilo more minimal is
At least a pentium 3 processor
ATI radeon 9000+
Nvidia FX 5200 + (anything with shader 2.0 support)
512mb +
and settings that equal their video setup of the respective owners

[desert]

Hey tim, can you play a 15,000 man custom battle with no lag?

[^RaGe^]

Nice system teh1337tim, but how come your loading times are so long compared to mine? Your PC should be able to beat mine hands down.

[||Lz3||]

whooaa that's a hell of a computer, may I ask how much did it cost you?

[teh1337tim]

well to answer you rage,
if you have a dual core or single core with a higher clock speed than 2.8, you will load faster than me since RTW was never designed for quad core nor dual core (hence my slower times)
plus i usually have crysis or call of duty WaW or 4 minimized :)

to desert
yes i tired with max factioons on 15-20k
But it took nearly half my system up and crashed my anti virus and Explorer.exe
id say i get a 50/50 chance of CTD when i get up that high (its the rtw engine)

to lz3
It costed me about $3700-$4000 (counting tax and shipping etc) im rounding it up here
Its really meant for hardcore first person shooters at max (way more demanding than rts games)
Another plus is i live in california and near a lot of suppliers and makers of Intel / nvidia parts etc so i can just forget the retail option and buy it direct cutting bout 20-27% of the regular retail price off

If you went all retail with my setup, prepare to break 8000USD as my graphic setup alone is almost a thousand, CPU is more than $1250, memory is 1x2gb OXC and corsair ddr3-1333mhz overclocked at over $200 and hard drive and other add ons count $2000+ on retail markets (sum estimates)

[desert]

I just went to a custom PC site and made a PC with a 1000 watt power supply, liquid cooling, a 3.2 Ghz 9770 Quadcore, some kind of expensive motherboard, 8 GB DDR-2 RAM, 2 TB hard drive, 2 Nvidia GeForce 280s, expensive speakers, keyboard, and mouse, the most expensive sound card in the options list, and Windows XP for less than 5000 USD.

Making it myself would cost me half that. So....

[teh1337tim]

oh... ic ic
well considering the recent price ups and drops i might be a little outdated
ill edit my post to reflect that

btw.. when i got mine , the GTX260s series werent out yet
so the 9800gx2's were about $500'sish and all
electronics become outdated fast...and prices drop, remember that desert
haha anyways, ya i doubt anyone would build a system like mine just to play RTS games unless they're seriosuly hardcore players

IMO lets get back on topic

I really do think theyre isnt a minimal or recommended system requirement unless a generalization due to the fact, there could be thousands of different setups which might not even work for each other due to programs memory types, cpu types, set ups resolutions.. too much to
But id give a generlization


Recommended specs-
CPU-Intel Petnium 4 @ 2.8GHZ (or celeron D at 2.4ghz) Or Equivilant AMD processors
Memory- 1gb memory (with 2gb recommended for vista users)
Harddrive- 8gb of free harddrive space
Graphic chips - Nvidia 6200+ or ATI Radeon 9800Pro+

Minimal specs- Intel Petnium 4 Willamette(Or petnium 3)- 1.8ghz or AMD equivalant processors
Memory- 256MB with Windows XP (512mb with Windows Vista)
Hard Drive-8GB of free hard drive space
Graphic chips- Nvidia FX 5200+ or ATI Radeon 9000+

[Ibrahim]

allrighty:
I used Rages list presenting format, so It should flow like his (diff info though)

System specifications:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 3GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR2
Graphics Card: nVidia 8600M
OS: Windows XP 32-bit
Monitor resolution: 1200x800. (I can get it up to 2048 x 1536 without trouble)
RTW settings:
highest unit detail, highest effects, glints on, smoke & dust on, medium vegetation, low grass and buildings, 8x AA, 8x AF
Ballpark figures:
Turns take: 10-15 seconds.
Loading game: ~1.5 minute.
Loading saves: ~40 seconds.
Loading battles: ~30 seconds.
Loading the campaign map: ~30 seconds.
Activating the script: instant.
Navigating on the campaign map: perfect
Navigating on the battle map: smooth (occasional kinks)
Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): instant (but I usually turn mine off anyways-they're a pain.)
Stability: perfect
Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): No ptrouble
System oddities: random CTD's caused by the computer (not EB), this wierd buzzsaw sound when playing a CD (kinked CD port-not serious though). Otherwise, none.
EB rating: perfect.
laptoop bought for 1299$

[johnhughthom]

System specifications:
CPU: AMD Athlon X2 5000+
RAM: 1GB DDR2
Graphics Card: Radeon X1300
OS: Windows XP
Monitor resolution: 1280x1024.
RTW settings:
Everything on high, no anti-aliasing(for AAR purposes rather than performance), huge unit size
Ballpark figures:
Turns take: up to 1 minutes.
Loading game: 2 minutes.
Loading saves: up to 1 minute.
Loading battles: never tried it.
Loading the campaign map: ?
Activating the script: 1 second.
Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, rarely have noticeable delays when moving the view on the campaign map.
Navigating on the battle map: likewise.
Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): turned off (personal preference rather than performance related).
Stability: good, high chance of crashes after three hours or more than two battles in quick succesion.
Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): Don't really know
System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance): None.
EB rating: 'smooth'.

[Berg-i-dum]

1. System specifications:
* CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2600+
* RAM: 1 GB DDR1
* Graphics Card: Radeon 9600 XT
* OS: Windows XP
* Monitor resolution: 1440x900.
2. RTW settings:
*All Maximum, except AA disabled, Large Units. I could get more perfomance and stability reducing settings but I prefer the best grafics than better perfomance
3. Ballpark figures:
* Turns take: 50 sec- 1:30 min
* Loading game: 5-7 minutes.
* Loading saves: 1-2 minutes.
* Loading battles: 2-5 min
* Loading the campaign map: idem.
* Activating the script: 5 seconds.
* Navigating on the campaign map: not really good but good enough to play it
* Navigating on the battle map: It depends on the number of units. From smooth to even 5-10 FPS.
* Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): fast, no problems.
* Stability: In the begining of my current campaign pretty good but not good lately, since I advanced in campaign I get some CTDs in battles, loading or even during battles, when there are more than about 2100 units there are high posibilities of CTD
* Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): yeah, I can use then without many problems with the loading times, about a half a minute in change.
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
* None.
5. EB rating: not good lately (persistent CTDs in large battles, more than 2100 units)

EDIT: I noticed your advice about wait some minutes between consecutive battles and after an epic battle and it really seems to solve most of the CTDs. So this makes a good rating now. Only one strange CTD during battle couldnt be solved. An old computer like mine can handle EB with highest settings without many problems.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Are there any more people who don't rate EB at least 'smooth'?

[Vinnite]

System specifications:
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz
RAM: 1GB DDR
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce4 MX 440-SE
OS: Windows XP 32bit
Monitor resolution: 1024x768 (32bit)

RTW settings:
Unit size huge, everything else minimum or turned off. I could turn up the battle-map detail slightly if I wanted to sacrifice my huge units (but I don't). Turning up strat map detail in any way would instantly result in slow scrolling.

Ballpark figures:
Turns take: 1 minute
Loading game: 3-4 minutes
Loading saves: 1-2 minutes
Loading battles: <1 minute
Loading the campaign map: 1-2 minutes
Activating the script: 1-2 seconds
Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, but only because the detail/shadows etc are at their lowest
Navigating on the battle map: so much sprites! But smooth.
Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): generally fast and smooth

Stability: Very good, but I don't push it. Generally I only play for 1-2 hours at a time (not because I'm afraid the computer will die, just because I tend to lose interest), I never run anything else at the same time and I terminate all unnecessary processes with the Task Manager before I play.

Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): Don't know, because I never risk it. Would probably end in tears if I did.
System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance): None

EB rating: Very smooth - worth the price of low settings.

I should also mention that I used to run EB with even less RAM (256MB!!!) and it was painfully slow. Buying more RAM made a HUGE difference.

V.

PS. Yes, I am saving up for a new system. Max settings, here I come.

[||Lz3||]

Are there any more people who don't rate EB at least 'smooth'?

There was this guy who had an AAR who could not play but on normal unit sizes, with lowest graphical settings... I think he was Lysimachos... or something, he had a Seleukid AAR, maybe we could... ask him, though I bealive he posted his specs once...

[iamphet]

Athlon 64 3200+
2GB DDR2
GeForce 8600GT 256MB
Windows XP SP3 Pro x86
Campaign map resolution: 1280x1024, battle: 1024x768 without AA but almost all details maxed, huge unit size.
Start time: 2-3 min, game loading time: 1min, AI turn take about 1min.

Campaign map performance: no problems, battle: minor lags during full stack vs. full stack battles. Had to lower battle map resolution to 1024x768 for EB 1.0, thinking of changing it back to 1280x1024 since battles seem much smoother now.

[V.T. Marvin]

Desktop computer:
1. System specifications:
* CPU: Athlon A64 3000+ 64-bit
* RAM: 2GB DDR (400 MHz)
* Graphics Card: ASUS EAX800XL, 256MB DDR3
* OS: Windows XP Proffessional, 32bit
* Monitor resolution: 1024x768
2. RTW settings:
* Unit size: Huge
* Unit Detail: Highest (EB units deserve nothing less than that!)
* Other settings on medium, shadows and reflections OFF, anti-aliasing 2x
3. Ballpark figures:
* Turns take: 60-80 seconds
* Loading game: 3-4 minutes
* Loading saves: 60-80 seconds
* Loading battles: 50-70 seconds
* Loading the campaign map: 40-60 seconds
* Activating the script: 1-2 seconds.
* Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, no noticeable delays
* Navigating on the battle map: smooth, no noticeable delays
* Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): fast, smooth
* Stability: good, random CTD's after battles (waiting until the music plays out helps a lot)
* Running other programs in the background: only FRAPS/Howie´s Quick Screen Capture, other programs and useless processes are turned off to free resources
5. EB rating: 'smooth'. Compared to other computers I am pleasantly surprised that my "not-exactly-high-end" copes with RTW/EB rather well. It seems that CA had done a good job in optimizing the game for the average hardware of those days. I believe that this might be good example of the lowest recommendable configuration where the game runs fine and looks good.


Laptop: ACER Aspire 5930G
1. System specifications:
* CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo P7350, 2 GHz
* RAM: 3GB DDR2
* Graphics Card: GeForce 9600M GT, 512 MB DDR3
* OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit
* Monitor resolution: 1280 x 800
2. RTW settings:
* All the graphics settings to the maximum
3. Ballpark figures:
* Turns take: 20-30 seconds
* Loading game: 2-3 minutes
* Loading saves: less than 1 minute
* Loading battles: less than 1 minute
* Loading the campaign map: less than 1 minute
* Activating the script: 1 second
* Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, fast
* Navigating on the battle map: smooth, fast
* Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): smooth, fast
* Stability: excellent - about 20 hours into EB 1.2 campaign and NOT A SINGLE CTD YET
* Running other programs in the background: have not tried it yet
5. EB rating: 'smooth and fast'. The new laptop is much stronger than the 3 years old desktop computer and EB feels much better on that. However, the biggest difference is in the AI turn time and the eye-candy. Loading times are comparable: I suspect the slower HDD (and maybe Vista) to be a factor here.

[Yyrkoon]

CPU: Intel Pentium M 2.00 GHz
RAM: 2 GB (I used to run it on 1, but it's much smoother on 2)
Video: Intel Integrated 128.0 MB video card
OS: XP Media
Resolution: 1280 x 800

EB Settings:

Unit Size: Large (Huge is too unwieldy + it can cause performance issues)
Most details set to medium for smooth playability

Load Times:

Opening EB: 2-4 minutes
New Game: 3-5 minutes
Load Game: 1 minute
turns: 30 - 60 seconds
cutscenes: some trouble occasionally
script: 2 seconds
Smooth battles except the occasional slowdown for an event (i.e. death, cutscene)
Campaign map is smooth with no noticeable lag.

[blank]

Specs:

CPU: Intel C2D OC @ 3,2 GHz
Graphics: Nvidia 8800GT
RAM: 2GB
OS: Windows XP Pro
Res: 1280x960

Settings: everything on max

Performance: fast and smooth (don't know actual load times)

[The Celtic Viking]

1. System specifications:
   
   • CPU: Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.4 GHz
   • RAM: 1GB
   • Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce 6800
   • OS: Windows XP Professional
   • Monitor resolution: 1280x1024.
2. RTW settings:
   
   • All maxed on huge.
3. Ballpark figures:
   
   • Turns take: ~1 minute.
   • Loading game: ~3 minutes.
   • Loading saves: ~ 1 minute.
   • Loading battles: ~ 1 minute
   • Loading the campaign map: ~ 1 minute
   • Activating the script: 1 second
   • Navigating on the campaign map: smooth, except the first second after the first time a save is loaded after the game has started up.
   • Navigating on the battle map: smooth.
   • Transitioning to/from event cut scenes (general fallen, etc.): fast, smooth -- no artefacts, no arbitrary pause while the game works out what to render.
   • Stability: good.
   • Running other programs in the background (using the -ne switch): no problem at all, the switch is immediate.
4. System oddities (inexplicable settings which improve system stability/performance)
   
   • None.
5. EB rating: 'smooth'.

[||Lz3||]

I need a new laptop