Star Trek Online system requirements revealed
Filed under: New titles, News items, Star Trek Online
It looks like most people won't have a whole lot to worry about when it comes to the system requirements for Star Trek Online, unless of course you couldn't play Champions Online. Actually, that's a pretty good measuring stick in one way, since both games run on the Cryptic engine. Although, there is a useful rule of thumb when considering performance.
The lower your display resolution, the higher your graphics settings. Or in other words, if you're running a laptop and float somewhere between the minimum and recommended specs then it's likely your game will look rather good. Why? Most laptop displays have native resolutions lower than what you'll get on a 21 inch desktop monitor. If you are running a desktop and find yourself wondering what your most important upgrade is when preparing for an upcoming game, the answer is usually a new videocard.
Find the full system requirements after the jump.
The lower your display resolution, the higher your graphics settings. Or in other words, if you're running a laptop and float somewhere between the minimum and recommended specs then it's likely your game will look rather good. Why? Most laptop displays have native resolutions lower than what you'll get on a 21 inch desktop monitor. If you are running a desktop and find yourself wondering what your most important upgrade is when preparing for an upcoming game, the answer is usually a new videocard.
Find the full system requirements after the jump.
System Requirements
- OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz or AMD Athlon X2 3800+
- Memory: 1GB RAM
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 / ATI Radeon X1800 / Intel HD Graphics
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
- DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
- HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
- Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
- Disc: 6X DVD-ROM
Recommended System Configuration
- OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
- CPU: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon X2 5600+
- Memory: 2GB RAM+
- Video: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 3850+
- Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
- DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
- HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
- Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
- Disc: 6X DVD-ROM




















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Marix said on 12:33PM 11-11-2009
Yeah, if your lagging badly during a raid it was always my last resort to lower my resolution, it looked horrible but it lagged less.
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Tankenstein said on 2:03PM 11-11-2009
this would be the answer if the Cryptic engine actually pinged the video card much, it really relies heavily on CPU power.
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UltimateQ said on 12:36PM 11-11-2009
Sweeet!
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Arkanaloth said on 12:37PM 11-11-2009
should be fine.. my proc is a Athlon X2 5200 I believe, have to check when I get home, but I just ordered a shiny new Radeon 5770 to replace my failing Nvidia 9500GT.
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Crying Reaper said on 1:05PM 11-11-2009
Cool looks like my Dell M1530 will be able to handle this game pretty well. Can't wait for it to come out.
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SgtBaker said on 1:05PM 11-11-2009
> Most laptop displays have native resolutions lower than what you'll get on a 21
> inch desktop monitor.
I'm sorry, but what?
Care to explain what a "native resolution" is and why it's relevant to desktop monitor size?
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Aaron said on 1:16PM 11-11-2009
Native resolution is essentially the actual number of physical pixels in an LCD screen and is therefore the resolution at which an LCD monitor looks its best. Larger LCDs tend to have more pixels and thus a higher resolution. More detailed information can be found in the wikipedia article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_resolution
Jimbo said on 1:37PM 11-11-2009
Are you being serious? I'll assume you are... The native resolution of a monitor is the physical, fixed resolution that monitor uses. This doesn't apply for CRT monitors so I suppose you could have been making a smartass remark. Anyway, to use any other resolution, the monitor has to scale and it causes distortion. That means it's best to use the native resolution of your monitor for your desktop and also for games.
Larger monitors would naturally have a larger surface, therefore a higher resolution with more pixels, etc. Smaller laptop monitors would have less, and they also tend to have different aspect ratios.
Nick said on 1:25PM 11-11-2009
The "native resolution" is for LCD displays. All LCD displays have a native resolution that is referring to the fixed resolution of the panel. Essentially, an LCD panel has a fixed number of pixels and cannot display more or less pixels than that. A CRT monitor can change resolutions while an LCD has to scale the image to "change resolutions" causing a loss of image quality.
Most widescreen laptops (and LCD monitors up to 19") are set to 1440x900 or so now, while a larger LCD monitors (24"+) are 1920×1200. Most 22" monitors are set to 1680 x 1050.
All LCD displays list a maximum resolution, that is usually the native resolution.
Vulturion said on 1:47PM 11-11-2009
Oh crumpets (< word substitute); I must have been in denial - didn't realise that Star Trek would be running on the same engine and most likely the same US location as Champions.
Champions ran like a dog on my above-spec machine through every stage of beta, and from forums and reviews it seems folk in the same predicament have expereicned the same since launch - no way will Star Trek be playable on this PC either then.
Well at least it's one fewer game to watch for... : |
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dudemanjac said on 2:48PM 11-11-2009
what specs are your machine that youo have any trouble running CO? I have it cranked and the only time i see a hint of trouble is when i turn on the silly outline thing.
Speaking of CO, I've finally hit Lemuria and see know hint of this rubberbanding I heard ppl cry about. Did they fix it?
CCon99 said on 3:35PM 11-11-2009
Lemuria rubberbanding isn't as bad as it was a month ago, because there aren't as many people playing the game now. I was in Lemuria last night with an alt and there was only 1 instance available with only 6-10 people in it, so the rubberbanding was pretty minimal.
Vulturion said on 5:29AM 11-12-2009
I'm running with 4GB and graphical splendor, but my processor is a core2 quad and vista (have Windows7 but had to undo upgrade as broadband provider hardware simply isn't compatible) - I suspect the bigger factor though is that I'm slightly off the beaten track in the North of the UK.
I'm sure my machine can handle the engine (though I've heard theories that fewer cores works best for CO), but playing any technically-demanding MMO long-distance can be unpredictable for me.
I did spend a few beta sessions purely trying every tweak on the forums, but the Cryptic engine evidently just isn't a fit for some folks.
Neurotic said on 3:37PM 11-11-2009
I had no trouble with CO on a Q6600, nvidia 9600 GT and 2GB good ram. What interests me most in system spec though is the HDD space. I'm not suire if I'll be able to buy STO frmo the shops, so I'm hoping for a digital download, and from knowing it's 8GB base install, I can plan when/if I'm going to download the client.
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J.P. said on 4:19PM 11-11-2009
Pretty reasonable. So far so good, I'm happy I'll be able to run this /w no hiccups.
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Jay said on 6:29PM 11-11-2009
Hmm, still more asteroids.
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John said on 9:27PM 11-11-2009
I'm so excited for this I just pee'd myself a little...YIPEEE!!!
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