Call of Duty: Black Ops II PC specs revealed

Still running Windows XP? You won’t be running CODBLOPS2.

Tarryn van der BylSeptember 3, 2012

The PC requirements for Call of Duty: Black Ops II are in, and Windows XP is out. If you’re one of those people still using Windows XP for some reason, think of the OS as being so classified, it just no longer exists on any official record. You’re like the real black ops.

For everybody else then (except stalwart Windows 3.11 users like my dad – I wish I was joking), the minimum PC specs are:

OS: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz or AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz
Memory: 2GB for 32-bit OS or 4GB for 64-bit OS
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 3870 512 MB

Windows XP has apparently been dumped due to the game’s engine using DX11 instead of DX9 on PC.

“Performance has been a top priority for Black Ops II PC from day one and we have achieved significant improvements,” goes the PR blurb. “We’ve improved the way the engine handles multiple threads. Additionally, we moved the engine from DX9 to DX11. The DX11 API is leaner than DX9 and requires less CPU time to do the same amount of work. It is important to point out that this benefits the entire range of supported GPUs, not just DX11 hardware. We have also added more ‘quality vs performance’ options than ever before so you can customize your experience to either run faster or to satisfy your taste in eye candy.”

Of course, that’s not going to stop everybody complaining that the game is ugly when it launches in November, but that’s just part of the PC Gaming Experience™.