INTEL'S SPINNERS will surely be rubbing their hands in glee at the latest news to come out of Crytek - ahead of the demo of Crysis, due to land tomorrow. Crytek's man in charge has revealed that a quad-core processor is top of his list of essential upgrades.

Cervat Yerli, who seems to spend more time talking to the press than actually working on finishing the game, revealed that, on most systems, Crysis is likely to be CPU bound. "If [your system is] balanced, we are more CPU bound than GPU, " he told Shacknews. "Multi-core will be beneficial in the experience, particularly in faster but also smoother framerates... We recommend quad core over higher clock."

It's like a press release that writes itself, isn't it?

The game also supports operating under 64-bit Vista, and we are told that more memory - more than 4 gigs, that is, if you're counting - will "yield quicker loading times." We pretty sure that, for the moment, most people will be content to keep a few extra hundred quid in their pockets and wait a few extra seconds.

As for the ongoing DX9 v DX10 shenanigans, Yerli reckons that DX10 in single player will only provide mere graphical niceties, whereas in multiplayer the more advanced graphics and rendering will allow for a truly next-generation gaming experience that actually affects how you play. The proof of the pudding, then, will be in the playing. µ