Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 minimum PC specs revealed, Windows XP not supported

Treyarch has revealed the minimum PC specs for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and it's not good news for Windows XP users.

The developer stressed that they have “tested extensively on a variety of hardware” and the fact that the studio is “very confident in the performance even at the minimum specs”.

Despite utilizing the same engine as the sequel's predecessor, Treyarch states that players will notice “significant improvements” in terms of performance.

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.

Black Ops II PC features enhanced lighting, shadows, antialiasing, bloom, depth of field, ambient occlusion, and other enhanced effects that are still in the works. And the game can run at higher resolutions and higher framerates on the PC.

Players should note that there’s no frame rate cap included from the get go; you'll have to set it yourself. The minimum system specs for the shooter, meanwhile, is below.

• 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
  

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is due for a worldwide release on November 13, 2012.