Minimum System Requirements

OS: Windows 7 64-Bit / Windows 8 64-Bit
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHZ / AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHZ or better
RAM: 6 GB RAM
HDD: 40 GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 / ATI Radeon HD 5870 or better
Sound: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
DirectX: 11
Internet: Broadband Internet connection and Steam and Online Multiplayer

Recommended System Requirements

OS: Windows 7 64-Bit / Windows 8 64-Bit
CPU: Intel Core i5 – 680 @ 3.6GHz
RAM: 8 GB RAM
HDD : 40 GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 @ 4GB
Sound: DirectX compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX 11
Internet: Broadband connection and service required for Multiplayer Connectivity. Internet connection required for activation.

RAM requirements for this game are HARD CAPPED at requiring no less than 6GB of RAM on your system. As of now, there is a way to get around this issue! There is a fairly questionable download which can be found through torrents which removed the RAM limit. I am unable to link or suggest that you use this crack, but it is free and legal to download using the keywords Call.of.Duty.Ghosts.RAMfix.Crack.Only-3DM .

Actual System Requirements

OS: Windows 7 64-Bit / Windows 8 64-Bit
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHZ / AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHZ or better
RAM: 6 GB RAM / 2 GB RAM (Assuming you are going to crack the .exe file)
HDD: 26 GB HD space
Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 / ATI Radeon HD 5870 or better
Sound: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
DirectX: 11
Internet: Broadband Internet connection and Steam and Online Multiplayer

While the hardware specifications of a graphics card are important, the software involved in the production of the visuals is equally integral to performance. The software required for your computer to make use of the graphics card is called the Driver and when a popular game is released, companies will release an update which will enhance compatablity between the new game and their graphics cards.

Unfortuantly graphics cards are only supported for so long after their release until the software involved in the card becomes too far beyond the current requirements. Many people are currently using older, but still powerful videocards in the place of upgrading. While this is a good idea for the most part, depending on the age of the card, certain aspects may become uncompatable. In the case of Ghost, Direct X is the major factor.

Ghost needs DirectX 11 to function well, and many older cards do not support this function. This means that while your older card may be powerful enough to run the game, the way it is built does not support the new type of DirectX.

When a new game comes out it is important to update your graphics drivers to support the new game you wish to play, as it will run better once the new update is installed. Below are links for both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards driver updates. Please go to the link and download the update which fits your card.

Nvidia Experience Update Software Link[www.geforce.com]

AMD Graphics Detector Link[support.amd.com]

*** UPDATE ***

AMD has released a Beta Driver 13.11 b9 which can be downloaded here, it contains compatability fixes for Anti-aliasing.

[url]AMD 13.11 b9 Download[/url]


IMPORTANT NOTES

As of the release date of Call of Duty Ghosts, AMD has not released compatable drivers for the game. Please do still update your drivers, but know that until drivers are updated, you may experience reduced performance.

If anything goes wrong during an installation of Graphics Drivers, do not just leave it as is. First attempt to re-install the drivers. If they do not install correctly, you will need to install older versions of the drivers until you find one which is compatable and installs correctly.


AMD Graphics Cards

The Catalyst program which comes packaged with the drivers has a few features which involve lowering the voltage of your card to either make it cooler, quieter, or save more energy. Unfortuantly if the drivers are not fully compatable with a game, this can sometimes reduce performance. Try disabling these features to have your game run better.

As I do not have an AMD card, I cannot give instructions on how to do this, but I will be happy to post any that are left as a comment.

SLI/Crossfire

Being poorly optimized SLI and Crossfire give this game some issues. It is best to disable this until a patch is released as it can cause stuttering in your graphics.

This section is dedicated to partially explaining what features do what and how to adjust them. For overall pre-sets check the next two sections.

Resolution: The resolution of your screen, measured in pixels.

Display Mode: How the program is displayed on your computer. The options are Windowed, Windowed (No Border), and Fullscreen. Fullscreen is the most performance friendly. Windowed (No Border) allows ALT-TAB to move between windows. Windowed has a border around the game.

Aspect Ratio - This is the overall ratio of your monitor, meaning the difference between the length and the height of your screen. There are various options, and while auto is a decent option it is best that you set it yourself. Assuming you have a standard monitor, it should usually be 16-9.

Screen Refresh Rate - This depends on your monitor, being the number of times it will refresh over a period of time. Monitors with a higher refresh rate can display things more smoothly. 60 Hz or better is the optimal setting.

Sync Every Frame - This is the equivalent of VSync and prevents tearing and artifacts as well as stablizes framerate.

Image Quality - This Varies from VERY LOW to EXTRA. Higher looks better, and Extra will look FAR better than the rest due to the way that images are rendered in the game.

Depth of Field - This controls the blurring of other distances while looking at a set area. If you want a semi-realistic feel, choose yes, if you want no blur, choose no.

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion - This is a method of rendering which mimics light radiating off of surfaces when it hits. The various settings range from OFF/LOW to HBAO+. If you are having graphics issues, turn this off. If you want a nicer look, increase it until you begin to see negative effects.

Terrain Detail - ON/OFF - Controls the detail of the ground and background. Turn on for nicer graphics, off for performance. Major cause of lag due to using tesselation to make the textures look nicer.

Anisotropic Filtering - Increases/preserves details at extreme angles/odd views/distance. Turn on or up depending on how pretty you like, off if you need less lag.

Motion Blur - ON/OFF - Enables or Disables blur while turning or running. As you prefer.

Distortion - A neat visual effect, On for more pretty, off for performance.

Anti-Aliasaing - Ranges from OFF to 4x TXAA This feature can sharpen the graphics and remove negative visual effects, but takes a large toll on your graphics. Major cause of lag.

Shadows - ON/OFF - Shows shadows generated by the players and objects in the game. ON for pretty, OFF for less lag.

Texture Quality - Set this to MANUAL - allows altering of texture quality.

Texture Resolution - NORMAL/HIGH/EXTRA - Choose depending on needs for lag/pretty. Makes items more detailed.

Normal Map Resolution - LOW to EXTRA - adjust based on needs, once again up for more good looks, down for less lag.

Specular Map Resolution - Causes a good deal of strain on Graphics Cards - LOW to EXTRA depending on needs.

Water Map Resolution - LOW/HIGH - Adjusts the looks of water in the game. High is pretty, low is fast.

Many people complain about sloppy or bad graphics in this game. This is simply a case of a badly configured setup, which this section will fix.

Display Mode - Fullscreen

Resoluton - Your Monitor's Native Resolution

Advanced Settings

Aspect Ratio - 16:9 unless you own a non-standard shape monitor.

Screen Refresh Rate - 60 Hz or higher if your monitor can handle it.

Sync Every Frame - OFF

Image Quality - HIGH or EXTRA - depends on what your graphics can handle. EXTRA looks much better than HIGH

Depth of Field - ON

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion - HBAO+. If you are having graphics issues, turn this down.

Terrain Detail - ON - This can cause major strain on the graphics card, but looks nice.

Anisotropic Filtering - HIGH - Increases/preserves details at extreme angles/odd views/distance.

Motion Blur - ON

Distortion - ON - A neat visual effect, On for more pretty, off for performance.

Anti-Aliasaing - 4x TXAA - This feature can sharpen the graphics and remove negative visual effects, but takes a large toll on your graphics. Major cause of lag.

Shadows - ON - Shows shadows generated by the players and objects in the game. ON for pretty, OFF for less lag.

Texture Quality - Set this to MANUAL - allows altering of texture quality.

Texture Resolution - EXTRA - Choose depending on needs for lag/pretty. Makes items more detailed.

Normal Map Resolution - EXTRA - adjust based on needs, once again up for more good looks, down for less lag.

Specular Map Resolution - EXTRA or HIGH - Causes a good deal of strain on Graphics Cards

Water Map Resolution - HIGH - Adjusts the looks of water in the game. High is pretty, low is fast.

This section contains a list of settings to make your game run fastest. Increase items as per the first 'What Does What' section to increase graphics until you see a lowering of quality.


Display Mode - Fullscreen

Resoluton - Your Monitor's Native Resolution

Advanced Settings

Aspect Ratio - 4:3 unless you own a non-standard shape monitor.

Screen Refresh Rate - 60 Hz or higher if your monitor can handle it.

Sync Every Frame - OFF

Image Quality - LOW

Depth of Field - OFF

Screen Space Ambient Occlusion - OFF

Terrain Detail - OFF

Anisotropic Filtering - LOW

Motion Blur - OFF

Distortion - OFF

Anti-Aliasaing - OFF

Shadows - NO

Texture Quality - Set this to MANUAL - allows altering of texture quality.

Texture Resolution - LOW

Normal Map Resolution - LOW

Specular Map Resolution - LOW

Water Map Resolution - LOW

This section is dedicated to 3rd Party Fixes for various issues within the game.

FPS Unlocker

In Call of Duty: Ghosts the FPS (Frames Per Second) are capped at 60. Using a third party tool we are able to change the value at which the FPS is locked at. Below are two files, one sets the FPS cap to 125, the other to 250.

FPS Unlocker 125 FPS[mega.co.nz]

FPS Unlocker 250 FPS[mega.co.nz]


Instructions:

1. Download the FPS Changer of your choice.
2. Start your copy of Call of Duty: Ghosts.
3. Run the FPS Changer.
4. Enjoy


FOV Changer

In Call of Duty: Ghosts the default FOV (Field of Vision) setting is 65. This means that out of 360 degrees, you can see 65 degrees at a time. Many games have this set to 80-90 as this can be more comfortable to play with. Below is a link to a FOV changer which will allow you to set your FOV at will.

FOV Changer Link[mega.co.nz]

FOV Changer Alternate Download[www.dropbox.com]

Instructions:

1. Download the FOV Changer.
2. Start the FOV Changer.
3. Select your preferred FOV.
4. Press the Start Game button.
5. Enjoy!


IMPORTANT

*** UPDATES ***

November 11, 2013 Update

As of today, the FOV changer has been confirmed to be 100% non-bannable assuming you use a program that ONLY changes the FOV. Candice is checking with the team about the FPS Unlocker and will get back to us. Below is source/proof directly from IW's Candice's Twitter.




I have posted a link to a download of the NEW FOV Changer created by the author of the original MW3 FOV Changer as this one is likely to be more safe. This is the same author who was given permission to make/distribute a FOV Changer for MW3, so play on!

Some people will be concerned about the possibility of a ban when using either of these items. A ban is incredibly unlikely while using these tools for several reasons.

1. This game is not monitored for cheats by Steam, meaning that Steam is not involved at all. Steam will not ban anyone, and anything you do to get yourself banned will only affect your ability to go online, not your Steam Account.

2. Infinity Ward has not ever banned anyone for using the FOV changer. There are forum posts from MW3 where an Infinity Ward Rep states that they will not ban for the use of the changer on MW3.

3. When asked on Twitter about the FOV changer, the same rep noted that they have not banned in the past, but she will check to be 110%. We are still waiting on a response.

The Links below will provide all of this information from their original sources.

FOV Changer Twitter Response

MW3 Forums Response[community.callofduty.com]

This section includes a few extra items and tweaks which can be used in order to get the most out of your experience.

Mouse Acceleration Fix

Navigate to Steam\SteamApps\common\Call of Duty Ghosts\players2

Open config_mp.cfg. This can be viewed with your Notepad program.

Change seta r_elevatedPriority "1" to seta r_elevatedPriority "0".


Failed to Start Game - Unknown Error

This error is due to running the game on a Windows 32bit machine which does not have the capablity to reach 6GB of ram. To fix this, run a 64bit version of Windows, or refer to the various RAM fix Cracked EXE files.

DirectX Has Encountered Unrecoverable Error

This is due to DirectX being in some fashion incompatable with Ghosts. By navigating to the /CommonRedist/ folder and running the DirectXInstall.exe you can install a compatable verison.

The folder is located in your Steam/steamapps/common/CallofDuty Ghosts/ directory.

Multiplayer Lag Fix

For some reason, Infinity Ward has decided that 800 ping should be the cap for latency in potential matches. This is FAR too high and needs to be fixed.

Open the folder \Steam\steamapps\common\Call of Duty Ghosts\players2\ and open the MP configuration file.

Search for the line 'seta cl_maxPing “800' and change the 800 to a number which you find acceptable. This will slow your matchmaking, but will reduce lag by a huge amount. As for what number, I suggest anywhere between 200 and 400, or lower if you so choose. This will require some trial and error to get to a place where it feels right for you.


Menu Lag

Menu Lag can be caused by having too many friends on your Steam Friends List. Try setting your friends list to 'show offline'. To do this, click the dropdown arrow next to your name in a chat and select offline. Not always a 100% fix, but has worked for many people.

SLI and Screen Flickering

SLI is not fully supported in Ghosts. In order to fix flickering, set your SLI to single card mode.

Application Priority for Windows

In Windows, each active program has something called 'priority' which decides how important that program is and in what order computer resources, CPU and RAM in particular are allocated to it. Below is a video on how to alter the priority of a program in order to make a game or application run better.

Do note that it is not a good idea to set any program to REAL TIME priority, and HIGH should be the highest you set it to.



Mis-Information

Some people have been saying that the game only displays textures at 720p and no higher. This is entirely incorrect. The actual origin of this information comes from the fact that Xbox 360 and Xbox ONE will only be able to run the game in 720p UPSCALED which means that there will be no true 1080p for XBOX.

Xbox 360 - 720p - Upscaled
Xbox ONE - 720p - Upscaled
PS3 - 1080p - Upscaled
PS4 - 1080p - Native
PC - 4k + - Native

The PC version of this game will display as high as you give the game the ability to display. Assuming you output from your fancy 780 TI to a 4k Monitor, you could have extreme HD picture quality from this game. Please remember that your PC can only make the game look as good as your monitor can handle.

NOTE: For those of you who do not believe these settings regarding the upscaling, if the settings are left on Automatic such as Image Quality and Aspect Ratio, the game will attempt to upscale from a lower resolution in order to hit 60 FPS. For most systems, these settings are left on automatic and will result in upscaling. The PS4 has specific settings so it will avoid this issue, and the XBOX One will look much better than the 360 or PS3 due to the other settings which have been added.