Everquest Next and Everquest Landmark are the duo of new AAA MMOs on the horizon. Landmark’s specs were just released and it’s got some players up in a worry about how to get their system in line with the game. One thing about “minimum specs” is that portions of it isn’t locked into stone. It’s important that we understand that, so if your processor isn’t good enough or your video card isn’t good enough, the game may still run, it just won’t run good.

There is literally usually only one hard fast rule, and that’s the operation system. Due to the way DirectX works, if it calls for a newer operating system, then it uses that version of DirectX, and isn’t backwards compatible. Landmark takes an interesting route of requiring Windows 7, which means that it could require some compnoent of DX11 that is native to Windows 7, however it’s important to note that Windows Vista now has an update for DX11. So don’t give out hope yet! The game could still run unless a kill switch is added or it uses something that is Windows 7 exclusive.

Now for upgrading your system! I’m going to go line by line with the minimum requirements and give a budget options and a high end option for parts that you can buy to switch out to claim victory.

Operating System

This is easy, buy a copy of Windows. An OEM copy, it is currently $99.00.

Windows 7 OEM - $99
Windows 8 OEM - $99
Windows Student - $69.99

You can also get an upgrade for $120 to retain all of your current data, in addition, do note that you have to choose between 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. To my knowledge, most modern processors are 64-bit, but you may want to double check (google how can I tell if I have a 64-bit processor).

Processor

You need an i5 dual core or higher, for this we’ll go between the expensive and not so expensive option. You *may* need a new motherboard, depending on what motherboard you have. Check compatability. If you’re upgrading your processor and have little knowledge of computers - let an expert do it or just buy a new PC. i5 dual cores came out around 2009, so you should be fine.

I’m a bit concerned though about the oddity of them not mentioning which bridge or version of the i5 processor. There are current i3 processors that are insanely above the previous i5s, but what I’m going to do is not mention them just to keep with the spirit / letter of what is written.

Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell - $200 ($150 if you have a Microcenter near you)

Memory

Go to Newegg or any memory outlet, enter your PC specifications, buy what is recommended.

Hard Drive

If you really have to buy a new hard drive, check this one out.

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card

You’ll need at least of gig of video ram and at least a 4890 or a GTX 275. Recommending video cards is like opening a keg of worms, angry drunk worms.

Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 - $160

Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB - $200

Asus Radeon HD 7750 1GB - $100ish

Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB - $430

That should get you through somehow.

Due to Bitcoin mining, some video cards are becoming harder and harder to find.

Sound Card

Don’t buy a sound card. If your motherboard can handle the processing load then it can handle the audio or buy a USB headset if it’s a super duper insane big deal.

Internet

Well, the Internet is a tough one. Go upgrade it, if you want to. I don’t believe 10Mbit is a real requirement because most of America suffers under a 6Mbit DSL cap. Local DSL even here in Atlanta only goes up to 6Mbit, sometimes you can snag 12, while cable goes into the 100s.

Anyway, if you don’t have 6Mbit and since Landmark has to download so much stuff, you might want to upgrade.

Alright, so I hope this helps you figure out what you can do to get your computer ready for Landmark. If you have any tech questions, email them to me at [email protected]


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EverQuest Next Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

About The Author

Get in the bush with David "Xerin" Piner as he leverages his spectacular insanity to ask the serious questions such as is Master Yi and Illidan the same person? What's for dinner? What are ways to elevate your gaming experience? David's column, Respawn, is updated near daily with some of the coolest things you'll read online, while David tackles ways to improve the game experience across the board with various hype guides to cool games.

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