May 04 2011

Minimum Hardware Requirements <> Good User Experience

Here’s a quick tip for tonight.

For as long as I can remember, software has come with two sets of hardware specifications on the box (or in a blurb of text somewhere for downloaded software) one being the recommended hardware specifications and the other being the minimum hardware specifications. These two sets of specifications are distinct and it is important to understand the various impacts to the user experience if you don’t meet one or both of these thresholds.

Firstly, the recommended hardware specification is, as you would expect, the recommended level to obtain the intended user experience. Software designers might set out with an idea of the sort of hardware configuration they aim to develop against or conversely they develop the software and find out what hardware configuration works best. Either way, if your computer meets or exceeds the recommended specification then you should expect to use the software as it was intended and with few to no glitches such as stuttering, unresponsiveness and slow window refreshing.

The minimum hardware specification is a different kettle of fish and can vary in its intended meaning. For some software it can mean that the prescribed hardware configuration provides the lowest level of acceptable user experience. Whilst not ideal, the software will work but you can expect the software to be slow in its general usage and some functions may heavily utilise the resources available in the system. Another popular meaning (particularly with operating systems) is that the minimum hardware specifications sets the minimum threshold to actually use the software. If you hardware does not meet that threshold then you cannot use the software, full stop.

You can see that your mileage can significantly vary

So when you are checking out new software make sure you check the hardware specifications and don’t bank on a system that scrapes in to meet the minimum specifications to make light work of it (or even at all).

Boydo

My name is Boyd and I’m a Service Management Specialist with a knack for operational data gathering, transformation, analysis and reporting.

In 2012, I obtained my Masters of Science in Information Technology through the University of New South Wales @ The Australia Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).

I was also part of an online community known as the Panasonic Insider Crew in the capacity of “Insider Guru” for Panasonic Australia where I interacted with other tech enthusiasts and find out more about Panasonic's latest gadgets.

I love technology, gadgets, and the Internet and maintain a keen interest in these areas locally, nationally, and globally. I hope by sharing my views on these topics that people will receive an honest point of view from someone with a genuine interest in these topics.

I have also written and edited articles for Neowin - you can check out my articles over @ https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/boyd_chan

I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

1 comment

  1. I generally get the feeling that minimum system requirements are a thing of the past. I don’t have the fastest laptop around, but can’t recall a time recently where I had problems with meeting the minimum system requirements.

    I guess for people who don’t update their computers every few years may have an issue, especially with games.

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