Becoming a pc gamer

[LightningBanks]

The last year have been quite an adventurous month for me when it comes to games. I decided to download steam and purchase half life 1 for my quality challenged laptop. It worked well. I then decided to re-install call of duty 1. That also worked

But then I started becoming more modern. A free weekend for killing floor came out, so i gave it a try. It worked on the lowest settings possible, but even then I realised the zombies moved alot slower on my game then my friends and the people I played with online, which made lag. Then i got tf2, and that dosent work at all on the lowest settings.

So ive decided to buy a new desktop computer to replace my laptop. BUT Ive decided to get one that can run these games and any more I buy.

So heres my question to you? How much would a computer that can run games at a fair level cost? I dont really want everything at max settings or anything crazy like that, I just want one that can run games like tf2 and kf at normal settings (so I dont have to fuss about with them) and the normal speed for the game. I havent got a budget, its the more it is the longer I have to wait.

Also, what graphics card would you reccomend?

 

[Layz92]

I would recommend an NVIDIA card, probably a 1 gig graphics card so you can run some future releases (though a 512mb can run a fair whack of games an minimum). You can probably get an acceptable computer from 700-1000 dollars (aus dollars).

 

[John47]

The last year have been quite an adventurous month for me when it comes to games. I decided to download steam and purchase half life 1 for my quality challenged laptop. It worked well. I then decided to re-install call of duty 1. That also worked

But then I started becoming more modern. A free weekend for killing floor came out, so i gave it a try. It worked on the lowest settings possible, but even then I realised the zombies moved alot slower on my game then my friends and the people I played with online, which made lag. Then i got tf2, and that dosent work at all on the lowest settings.

So ive decided to buy a new desktop computer to replace my laptop. BUT Ive decided to get one that can run these games and any more I buy.

So heres my question to you? How much would a computer that can run games at a fair level cost? I dont really want everything at max settings or anything crazy like that, I just want one that can run games like tf2 and kf at normal settings (so I dont have to fuss about with them) and the normal speed for the game. I havent got a budget, its the more it is the longer I have to wait.

Also, what graphics card would you reccomend?

it's not worth it trying to make a computer to run the MOST modern games because it will run the most modern games without lag for about 4 months

 

[minarri]

One of the tricky things about PC gaming is that system requirements skyrocket seemingly every time another game is released. I know you said you only want to run some older games at decent settings, but my recommendation is to just get higher-end hardware so you can postpone the inevitable upgrade runaround.

 

[FactualSquirrel]

Well I bought a from the store laptop for £500 (it says you live in Britain), and that works perfectly well for me for TF2 on regular settings, Oblivion, haven't tried Crysis though.

 

[veloper]

The last year have been quite an adventurous month for me when it comes to games. I decided to download steam and purchase half life 1 for my quality challenged laptop. It worked well. I then decided to re-install call of duty 1. That also worked

But then I started becoming more modern. A free weekend for killing floor came out, so i gave it a try. It worked on the lowest settings possible, but even then I realised the zombies moved alot slower on my game then my friends and the people I played with online, which made lag. Then i got tf2, and that dosent work at all on the lowest settings.

So ive decided to buy a new desktop computer to replace my laptop. BUT Ive decided to get one that can run these games and any more I buy.

So heres my question to you? How much would a computer that can run games at a fair level cost? I dont really want everything at max settings or anything crazy like that, I just want one that can run games like tf2 and kf at normal settings (so I dont have to fuss about with them) and the normal speed for the game. I havent got a budget, its the more it is the longer I have to wait.

Also, what graphics card would you reccomend?

Go to a forum for hardware enthousiasts instead. You'll get fewer stupid answers and less poor advice. Try anandtech or xbitlabs or something.

 

[LightningBanks]

The last year have been quite an adventurous month for me when it comes to games. I decided to download steam and purchase half life 1 for my quality challenged laptop. It worked well. I then decided to re-install call of duty 1. That also worked

But then I started becoming more modern. A free weekend for killing floor came out, so i gave it a try. It worked on the lowest settings possible, but even then I realised the zombies moved alot slower on my game then my friends and the people I played with online, which made lag. Then i got tf2, and that dosent work at all on the lowest settings.

So ive decided to buy a new desktop computer to replace my laptop. BUT Ive decided to get one that can run these games and any more I buy.

So heres my question to you? How much would a computer that can run games at a fair level cost? I dont really want everything at max settings or anything crazy like that, I just want one that can run games like tf2 and kf at normal settings (so I dont have to fuss about with them) and the normal speed for the game. I havent got a budget, its the more it is the longer I have to wait.

Also, what graphics card would you reccomend?

it's not worth it trying to make a computer to run the MOST modern games because it will run the most modern games without lag for about 4 months

Im more going to use my computer for valve games (tf2,l4d) games on multiple systems Ill probably buy on ps3 (9/10)

 

[Woodsey]

One of the tricky things about PC gaming is that system requirements skyrocket seemingly every time another game is released. I know you said you only want to run some older games at decent settings, but my recommendation is to just get higher-end hardware so you can postpone the inevitable upgrade runaround.

Not really; quad cores have been around for a fair amount of time now and they're only just starting to be a recommend system req. Graphics cards are still pretty lax when it comes to minimum and recommended too.

 

[mento 2425]

i've got an alienware aurora coming in the mail right now for about 15 hundred bucks, i tried not to push it but it still isn't cheap.

 

[PurpleSky]

I used Ati x800 for a long time,everything that didn't require a 3.0 pixel shader ( latest games do ) at minimum specs went just great,but last month it died on me, and I bought a HD9600GT (i think is the main name) which runs everything to great settings so far.So I would recommend that,it's about 100 dollars.

Also,welcome, please feel free to enjoy the complementary modding and private servers.

Even the old graphics card would run Killing Floor and TF2 for me.

 

[Ophiuchus]

My computer is a heap of shit - £300 with a monitor included, from PC World three years ago - but it can run Fallout 3 and Oblivion perfectly on maximum settings since I put a new graphics card in (NVIDIA GeForce 9600, cost something in the region of £80 about 18 months ago). Half-Life 2 demo runs perfectly so I can only imagine the full game would be fine too... so yeah, it doesn't have to be a massive financial outlay unless you're planning to play something that requires some sort of super-powered computer from the year 2058.

 

[LightningBanks]

Im also open to future upgrading (buying a better graphics card 2 years down the line) or other things like that

 

[ESCAPIST DELETE THIS ACCOUNT]

Yay more PC Gamers

 

[LightningBanks]

Yay more PC Gamers

Too right, If could get a pc which guaranteed pure awesomness for a long time, I would glady sell all my consoles for it

Dam consoles cant work their way out of a paperbag

 

[Lizmichi]

I have an HP gaming computer I got for college, yea I know funny how that worked out for me the PC gamer; anyway, it was a graduation gift from my grandmother. The cost for the laptop was 1200 US dollars... Yes I can say I can play a game with ease and not have to worry about lag and I can play it on the highest setting but then things get slow. As Layz92 said go with a NVIDIA card. That what I have and it's never had any issue, also add on the fact my laptop is almost 3 years old and that's pretty damn good. You don't need to get a monster like I have for gaming, it's the graphics card you need to worry about.

 

[ESCAPIST DELETE THIS ACCOUNT]

Yay more PC Gamers

Too right, If could get a pc which guaranteed pure awesomness for a long time, I would glady sell all my consoles for it

Dam consoles cant work their way out of a paperbag

You should i sold all my consoles and havent regreted it once.

 

[LightningBanks]

Yay more PC Gamers

Too right, If could get a pc which guaranteed pure awesomness for a long time, I would glady sell all my consoles for it

Dam consoles cant work their way out of a paperbag

You should i sold all my consoles and havent regreted it once.

I probably will do that in the end, im thinking of keeping my 360, mainly because it has a hole in the tope (due to a repair) so ill get about £10 for it.

 

[Danny Ocean]

i've got an alienware aurora coming in the mail right now for about 15 hundred bucks, i tried not to push it but it still isn't cheap.

Bad!

Alienware is well known as overpriced. Shopping around for the win!

Here's some example specs for you, if you're prepared to make it yourself (It's really not hard):

Case- What all the bit slot into.
Mobo- Motherboard- what all the bits plug into.
CPU- Central Processing Unit, the brain.
RAM- Random Access Memory, Like short-term memory in a person.
GPU- Graphics card, plug your TV/monitor into this.
CPU Cooling- CPUs get very hot, and need their own dedicated fan and heatsink most of the time. This is that.
PSU- Power supply unit, turns the AC power from the mains into DC power for components.
HDD- Hard disk Drive, this is like long-term memory in a person. All applications are stored on here.
OpD- Optical Drive, what the disks go into.
Scrd- Sound card. Most motherboards have onboard sound, but sounds cards tend to provide higher quality acoustics.

All prices are in pounds sterling.

Case- Silverstone PS02B Precision-- 39
MoBo- Gigabyte Ga-h55m-udh2-- 80
CPU- Intel Pentium G6950-- 75
RAM- 4gb Corsair XMS PC3-10666-- 100
GPU- Gigabyte HD5770 1gb- 131
CPU cooling- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2-- 17
PSU- Corsair CX400W- 35
HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 320GB-- 35
OpD- Samsung SH-D162D-- 12

Case- Xigmatek Utgard-- 62
Mobo- Gigabyte GA p55m ud2-- 85
CPU- Intel Core i5-750-- 150
RAM- Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800-- 100
GPU- Asus Radeon HDh5850 1gb-- 230
CPU Cooling- Gelid Tranquillo-- 24
PSU- Antec TruePower New TP-650-- 100
HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB-- 50
OpD- Samsung SH-D162D-- 12
Scrd- Asus Xonar DX-- 58

I'll add more over time.

 

[LightningBanks]

i've got an alienware aurora coming in the mail right now for about 15 hundred bucks, i tried not to push it but it still isn't cheap.

Bad!

Alienware is well known as overpriced. Shopping around for the win!

Here's some example specs for you, if you're prepared to make it yourself (It's really not hard):

Case- What all the bit slot into.
Mobo- Motherboard- what all the bits plug into.
CPU- Central Processing Unit, the brain.
RAM- Random Access Memory, Like short-term memory in a person.
GPU- Graphics card, plug your TV/monitor into this.
CPU Cooling- CPUs get very hot, and need their own dedicated fan and heatsink most of the time. This is that.
PSU- Power supply unit, turns the AC power from the mains into DC power for components.
HDD- Hard disk Drive, this is like long-term memory in a person. All applications are stored on here.
OpD- Optical Drive, what the disks go into.
Scrd- Sound card. Most motherboards have onboard sound, but sounds cards tend to provide higher quality acoustics.

All prices are in pounds sterling.

Case- Silverstone PS02B Precision-- 39
MoBo- Gigabyte Ga-h55m-udh2-- 80
CPU- Intel Pentium G6950-- 75
RAM- 4gb Corsair XMS PC3-10666-- 100
GPU- Gigabyte HD5770 1gb- 131
CPU cooling- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2-- 17
PSU- Corsair CX400W- 35
HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 320GB-- 35
OpD- Samsung SH-D162D-- 12

Case- Xigmatek Utgard-- 62
Mobo- Gigabyte GA p55m ud2-- 85
CPU- Intel Core i5-750-- 150
RAM- Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800-- 100
GPU- Asus Radeon HDh5850 1gb-- 230
CPU Cooling- Gelid Tranquillo-- 24
PSU- Antec TruePower New TP-650-- 100
HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB-- 50
OpD- Samsung SH-D162D-- 12
Scrd- Asus Xonar DX-- 58

I'll add more over time.

Thanks for this, I might give it a try.

 

[Delusibeta]

I managed to get a Dell laptop (!) with a Core i5 (a base clock rate of 2.4 Ghz) and an ATi 5650 for about £700. Chews through TF2 for breakfast, and does well in the Just Cause 2 and Mafia 2 demos on high (if you ignore the benchmarks). You could probably get similar performance out of a basebox for £500.