This is a pretty swish new addition to NVIDIA's popular nZone gaming website, they've just launched the "System Requirements Lab" which is essentially an interactive service that allows you to select one of many popular PC gaming titles from a list, in which it then automatically detects all your system's hardware/software specs and works out if you're in for a pleasant experience or a choppy troublesome one.

The official announcement supporting its launch resides here, or you may just prefer to head straight over to the lab and give it a whirl!

SANTA CLARA, CA-APRIL 24, 2006-Buying PC games got a lot easier for consumers who have surfed to http://www.nzone.com, a NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA)-designed Web portal for gamers, and used the site's "System Requirements Lab", a special Web-based tool that allows them to check the hardware configuration of their PC and see if they have the necessary hardware to unleash a gaming experience that is rich in visuals and strong on performance.

On average, consumers are using the Systems Requirement Lab to conduct approximately 15,000 tests per day to determine their hardware compatibility against an extensive list of software titles including such hardware-intensive games as Tomb Raider:Legend and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. By being able to check on their hardware status before they buy the game, consumers can make educated purchasing decisions, which helps to reduce the rate of software returns that plague both online and brick and mortar retailers.