Right after announcing the release of the DLC for Dragon Age II, Bioware has released the system requirements for the game as well. You can pre-order the game now, doing so will get you a Dragon Age II Bioware Signature Edition. The pack will include The Exiled Prince DLC Pack, the game’s soundtrack and an in-game digital armory featuring a list of weapons. This offer will hold till January 11 after which the DLC will cost you $7 or 560 Microsoft Points.

Dragon Age II is set for release on March 8, 2011 in the US and March 11, 2011 in the UK. The game will find its way on PC, PS3 and the Xbox 360. It features support for DirectX 11 which is really awesome.

Recommended Specifications For Dragon Age II:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz Processor or equivalent
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 Triple core 2.8 GHz or equivalent
RAM: 2GB (4 GB Vista and Windows 7)
Video: ATI 3850 512 MB or greater
Video: NVIDIA 8800GTS 512 MB or greater
DirectX 11: ATI 5850 or greater
DirectX 11: NVIDIA 460 or greater

Minimum Specifications For Dragon Age II:

OS: Windows XP with SP3
OS: Windows Vista with SP2
OS: Windows 7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo (or equivalent) running at 1.8 GHz or greater
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 (or equivalent) running at 1.8 GHz or greater
RAM: 1 GB (1.5 GB Vista and Windows 7)
Video: Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256 MB
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS 256 MB cards
Disc Drive: DVD ROM drive required
Hard Drive: 7 GB
Sound: Direct X 9.0c Compatible Sound Card Windows Experience Index: 4.5

http://www.gamemunition.com/news/dragon-age-ii-system-requirements-revealed/

Is it just me or is that minimum less than the original?

yup it's just you, except for the HDD requirement. Kinda weird because the PC gameplay they showed didn't look any better than the original. 

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 1.4 GHz/AMD Athlon64 X2 @ 1.8 GHz
Memory: 1 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB Free
Video Memory: 128 MB (nVidia GeForce 6600/ATI Radeon X850)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c
Keyboard & Mouse
DVD Rom Drive

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz)/AMD Phenom II X3 720 (2.8 GHz)
Memory: 2 GB
Hard Drive: 20 GB Free
Video Memory: 512 MB (nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS/ATI Radeon HD 3850)
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 10
Keyboard & Mouse