- Core 2 Duo processor
- 2-4GB RAM(however I recommend you upgrade to 4GB RAM if you have just 2GB, it'll cost ₹1000-2000 depending on the brand of RAM)
- Integrated graphics or something really low end like GT 210
I'm assuming that you have somewhat comparable specs in your laptop
because most laptops don't last more than 3-4 years. So if you bought your
laptop in last 5-6 years then it will have atleast a dual core processor
and 4GB RAM(2GB RAM if it was bought for less than ₹20,000).
So here are some nice games that you can play on your El-Cheapo PC,
starting with some popular games that all the veteran gamers played on their
first low end PC.
Note: If I mention a series, I'll discuss the system requirement of the latest one in the series, if you can run the latest one, you can also run the previous ones.
GTA Vice City and Liberty City
Here are the minimum requirements to play these games
GTA Vice City minimum system requirement
- Pentium 3 Processor(yes the original pentium 3 with just 800MHz speed(
- 128MB RAM
- 32MB DirectX 9 compatible graphics
- 1.5GB free HDD space
GTA Liberty City(Episodes from Liberty City) minimum system requirement
- Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz or Athlon X2 2.4GHz
- 1GB RAM for windows XP or 1.5GB RAM for Vista
- 256MB DirectX 9 compatible graphics
- 16GB free HDD space
PS : you might also be able to run GTA IV.
Need For Speed Most Wanted (2005)
If you are into racing games then it was one of the most popular racing
game from last decade. It is "The NFS", I think it the most played NFS game
in India. You can guess the popularity of this game by the fact that people
were still playing it and there was a competition for this game in the
college Tech Fest when I was doing my MCA(2015-2018). Also you will be able
to play all the NFS games released before 2005.
Need for Speed Most Wanted minimum system requirement
- 1.4GHz or faster processor
- 256MB RAM
- 32MB DirectX(DX) 9 compatible graphics
- 3GB free HDD space
PS : you might also be able to run some of the later NFS games like NFS
RUN.
Max Payne 1 and 2
Well the Max Payne series may not be as popular as GTA or NFS but it was
fairly popular. So if you're looking for a shooting game then you might be
interested in this series. The third game is very demanding(graphics wise,
it requires GTS 450 level power) compared to first two, so if you don't own
a decent PC, don't waste your data downloading Max Payne 3, just play the
first two.
Max Payne minimum system requirement
- 450MHz processor
- 96MB RAM
- 16MB DX 8 compatible graphics
Max Payne 2 minimum system requirement
- Pentium 3 or newer or AMD equivalent
- 256MB RAM
- 32MB DX9 compatible graphics
- 1.7GB HDD space
IGI 1 and 2
If you find someone in India who have played only 4-5 PC games in his/her
entire life, IGI will probably be there in the list. Even some of my
batchmates played only IGI their entire life. So this game doesn't need any
more introduction. And this is also a shooting game.
Project IGI(IGI 1) minimum system requirement
You won't even find the minimum system requirement for this game, but if
you have a working PC, you can play it.
Project IGI 2: Covert Strike minimum system requirement
- Pentium 3 or better or AMD equivalent
- 128MB RAM
- 32MB DX 8.1 compatible graphics
- 1.9GB HDD space
Counter Strike 1.6, Condition Zero, Global Offensive
Ok this one is the odd one in the bunch. Counter Strike is not really a
single player game(it is a multi-player shooter) but you can play it alone.
So if you're stuck in hostel or in a flat with friends in the city where you
work, then you can play it with your friends. All the Counter Strike games
are playable on low end PC, so I'll mention the requirements of the latest
game only(plus CS GO is free). All the remaining ones will definitely run on
your PC.
Counter Strike Global Offensive(CS GO) minimum system requirement
- Core 2 Duo or AMD equivalent
- 2GB RAM
- 256MB DX 9 compatible graphics
- 15GB HDD space
FIFA 08, 10
EA Sports releases one FIFA game every year. They are more or less same
with graphics change and some minor game mechanics changes. However FIFA 15
or newer games will require a fairly decent PC. So I'll just mention the
system requirement of FIFA 14. If you haven't guess the game genre by name
then it is a sports game(football/soccer to be more specific).
FIFA 14 minimum system requirement
- 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo or AMD equivalent
- 2GB RAM
- 256MB DX 9 compatible graphics
- 8-10GB HDD space
Age of Empires 1, 2, 3
If you are into strategy games then Age of Empires series is my personal
favorite. Games like Clash of Clans are inspired from this. First two of the
series have fairly low system requirement. So once again, I'll share the
requirements for just the latest one in the series.
Age of Empires 3 minimum system requirement
- Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz or AMD equivalent
- 2GB RAM
- 64MB DX 9 compatible graphics
- 12GB HDD space
Half-Life 2
It is one of the the highest rated PC games of all time. It makes into the
top 10 of most "best pc games of all time" lists. Even Counter Strike was
actually part of the this game, but later Counter Strike was launched as a
standalone game.
Half-Life 2 minimum system requirement
- 1.2GHz processor
- 256MB RAM
- DX 7 level graphics
Call of Duty 1, 2, 3, 4
Call of Duty does not need an introduction. It is so popular that when the
mobile version was about to launch, many people thought it can rival PUBG
Mobile.
Once again I'll mention the requirements for the highest requirement
one.
Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare minimum system requirement
Pentium 4 or AMD equivalent
- 512MB RAM
- 128MB DX9 supported graphics
- 8GB HDD Space
PS: you might also be able to play Modern Warfare 2, 3, Black Ops 1, 2 and
Ghosts.
Hitman 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Hitman series is also my favorite one. It is a stealth shooter game, so if
you're not into stealth, do not try this. System requirement of the Hitman
games changed drastically, so you can only play upto 5th game(Hitman
Absolution) on low end PC. This series doesn't have 1, 2, 3.... in the name
so if you're interested here are the names in order of release dates
- Hitman: Codename 47
- Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
- Hitman Contracts
- Hitman: Blood Money
- Hitman: Absolution
Hitman Absolution minimum system requirement
- 2.4GHz dual processor
- 2GB RAM
- 512MB DX 10 compatible graphics
- 24GB HDD space
Assassin's Creed 1, 2, 3
Hitman might be my personal favorite but most people prefer Assassin's
Creed in stealth genre. Assassin's creed games use traditional
weapons(knife, sword, bow, etc). So if you're into guns, then this series is
not for you. The 3rd game in the series is the last one that I'll consider
playable on low end PC as newer ones require a proper gaming PC.
Assassin's Creed III minimum system requirement
- 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo E8200 or equivalent
- 2GB RAM
- 512MB DX10 compatible graphics
- 17GB HDD space
Far Cry 1, 2, 3
Far Cry series is also one of the most popular video game series. Among
these three, Far Cry 3 is pushing the low spec limits. So if you don't have
atleast 4GB RAM and a dedicated graphics(or HD 600 series integrated Intel
Graphics), I wouldn't recommending trying it. I'll share the requirements
for Far Cry 3 but part 1 and 2 will run fine with 1 or 2GB RAM.
Far Cry 3 minimum system requirement
- Core 2 Duo E6700 or better
- 2GB RAM for Windows XP, 4GB RAM for Vista, 7, 8 and 10
- 512MB DX10 or DX9c compatible graphics
- 15GB HDD space
Total Overdose
If you like open world games like GTA then you'll definitely like this one
too. Infact, I personally prefer this over GTA Vice City.
Total Overdose Minimum system requirement
- Pentium 4 or better
- 256MB RAM
- 32MB DX9 compatible graphics
- 2GB HDD space(360MB if you have the physical copy)
Freedom Fighters
This one might not make to top 10 lists anywhere but it had very positive
reception. Maybe it had something to do with IGI vibes you'll get from
it.
Freedom Fighters minimum system requirement
- Pentium 3 or better
- 128MB RAM
- 32MB DX8.1 or higher compatible graphics
- 600MB HDD space
Tomb Raider(2013 and previous releases)
I don't think Tomb Raider series needs any introduction. Lara Croft was
childhood crush of most 90s gamers.
Don't get worried by the pretty screenshot above, it can run fine with just 2GB RAM and intgrated graphics.
Tomb Raider 2013 minimum system requirement
- 2GHz dual core processor
- 1GB RAM(Win XP) or 2GB RAM(Vista/Win 7)
- DirectX 9 compatible graphics
- 12GB storage
I'm ending the list here but I'll add more titles later when I remember
more games. So it'll be the second dynamic post of my blog. If you didn't
see a low end game that you liked in this list, do let me know in the
comments.
Postal 2
I was a little reluctant to include this game in the list as it is not exactly for kids. But if you are an adult then you gotta try it once. But you should know that this game can go so violent that some people might have nightmares. And if you are not affected by violent games then you might fall off your chair laughing at some things you can do in it.
Once again, this game is extremely violent so I wouldn't recommend it to kids.
Postal 2 minimum system requirement
- Pentium 3 1133MHz or Athlon 733MHz Processor
- 128MB RAM
- 32MB Graphics memory
- 1.2GB Storage space
Dead Space 1, 2, 3
Dead space series is set in the future and as the name suggests, you fight in spaceships and bases set in alien planets. It is a corridor style shooter(like Doom, Quake) so if you're a fan of that style, you'll definitely love it.
Dead Space 3 minimum system requirements
- 2.8GHz or equivalent processor
- 1GB RAM(XP), 2GB RAM(Vista and later)
- 256MB DX9 compatible GPU
- 10GB storage space
Return to castle Wolfenstein and Wolfenstein(2009)
Wolfenstein series may not be as popular as GTA or COD series but all the games so far have positive reception. Unfortunately after Wolfenstein(2009), all the games require a pretty decent gaming PC to run.
Wolfenstein(2009) minimum system requirement
- Pentium 4 or better
- 1GB RAM
- 256MB DX9.0c supported GPU
- 8GB storage space
Splinter Cell series
Splinter Cell series is based on Tom Clancy's novels. Tom Clancy's is also a branding used by Ubisoft for games inspired by novels written by Tom Clancy. There are over 40 games released so far under Tom Clancy's branding and most of them are really great games.
The latest game in the Splinter Cell series may struggle to run smoothly on older integrated graphics but rest of them should run fine.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist minimum system requirements
- Core 2 Duo E6400 or better
- 2GB RAM
- 512MB DX10 compatible GPU
- 25GB Storage space
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Awesome... Thanks
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