Games for a New Rig

[FaustianBargain]

I'm currently assembling my first PC to replace my (slightly dated) laptop and was wondering what games will really shine on it. It will consist of:

Phenom II x2 555 Black Edition @ 3.2 GHz
4 GB 1600 DDR3
Radeon HD 5770 1GB
250 GB WD Caviar Blue 7200 RPM

Starcraft 2 and ME 2 will be migrating to this computer where I'm sure they'll run a lot better and I'm thinking of getting DA:O, STALKER: Call of Pripyat, and/or one of the Total War games. But now I open this virtual suggestion box to you all to see what other games will sparkle on my new machine.

I realize the GPU makes it a less-than-impressive build but I'm not really planning on playing any schnazzy new FPS titles.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Hey, don't knock a 5770... It's nothing to sneeze at if you actually have a limit to your budget. XD - (I guess it's outdated by PC standards though)

In all seriousness though, I built a PC about a year ago with specs pretty close to this, and I haven't really found anything that runs badly on it yet. (Though I'm sure you could find something if you used high resolution monitors. Or god forbid, tried running 3 2560x1600 monitors on it in an Eyefinity configuration... Speaking of which, I run a lot of games on 2 monitors at 1280x1024 (eg 2560x1024). It's a bit awkward using 2 monitors like this, but it performs well enough.)

But as to something that will specifically show it off? That's a tough one.

(probably because I don't know that many seriously demanding games. DirectX 11 benchmarks are fun to stare at for a few minutes though. XD - Try 3dMark 11 and the uniengine 'heaven' benchmark if you find that kind of stuff interesting.)

 

[Fenring]

You're dissing the 5770, WHICH IS 100% AWESOME!!! yet you have a dual core. HMMMMMM?!?!

Crysis original will run well, as will Crysis 2, Metro 2033 is rad, AvP will look nice, but it sucks as a game, I always thought World in Conflict was pretty good for testing stuff. You're going to be CPU limited a lot of the time (depending on screen res) so some cool RTSs to check stuff would be like Dawn of War 2, Civ V, SC2, other games...

Also Far Cry 2, Trine.

Now it's time for the real question: Can it run Minecraft?

 

[Wolfram23]

OP: Just a thought, since you don't mention it. Make sure your mobo is AM3 so that you have a lot of CPU upgrade options. AMD is great for that, and their sockets are generally backwards compatible.

And the 5770 is fine at less than 1080p. Hell even 1080p it's ok. It's much more powerful than a PS3 or Xbox

Anyway, there's tons of games just start browsing the Steam library under whatever genres you like lol.

 

[Daveeo]

Mirrors edge,BiA: hells highway,overlord 2. Just some random examples!

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Make sure your mobo is AM3 so that you have a lot of CPU upgrade options. AMD is great for that, and their sockets are generally backwards compatible.

AM3+ (the bulldozer socket) won't be, AMD have already said that, so the upgrade options will stay maxed out at the Phenom II X6 CPUs (nothing to sneeze at, mind).

yet you have a dual core.

Wouldn't be too sure of that. The Phenom II X2 555BE is 4 core CPU with 2 cores disabled but very easily reenabled (some motherboards come with 'hidden' core unlocking features as standard). Also, seeing as the RAM is 1600 (Phenom IIs run 1333 natively), I'd guess the OP is planning a little tinkering.

Come to think of it, HD 5770s OC really well, too.

 

[HapexIndustries]

I recently upgraded to a system not unlike yours. Good choices so far, though I think STALKER will be a little disappointing. Here's some stuff I tried out:

Total War: Empire and Medieval 2 (both were pretty impressive)
Crysis (pretty but the pop-in on some cards totally ruins it)
Bulletstorm (gorgeous and runs perfectly on highest settings)
Amnesia: the Dark Descent (same)
Sacred 2 (damn pretty for a Diablo clone)
Civilization 5 (pretty and has damn high reqs)
X3 (maybe the prettiest space game out there, impressive as hell)
Dawn of War 2 (pretty cool when your system doesn't stutter with all the crap blowing up)

Please keep in mind I make no value judgment on these games; indeed several of them I didn't like much (Civ5, you failed me) or barely played (X3, you are hard as all hell) but they do a decent job of showing off your system.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I recently upgraded to a system not unlike yours. Good choices so far, though I think STALKER will be a little disappointing. Here's some stuff I tried out:

Total War: Empire and Medieval 2 (both were pretty impressive)
Crysis (pretty but the pop-in on some cards totally ruins it)
Bulletstorm (gorgeous and runs perfectly on highest settings)
Amnesia: the Dark Descent (same)
Sacred 2 (damn pretty for a Diablo clone)
Civilization 5 (pretty and has damn high reqs)
X3 (maybe the prettiest space game out there, impressive as hell)
Dawn of War 2 (pretty cool when your system doesn't stutter with all the crap blowing up)

Please keep in mind I make no value judgment on these games; indeed several of them I didn't like much (Civ5, you failed me) or barely played (X3, you are hard as all hell) but they do a decent job of showing off your system.

Oh yeah... X3 is insane. I finished the story, but after playing it for about 3 months. (probably at least 200 hours), I have little to show for it compared to what the game taunts you with. (I own 5 factories, about a dozen small ships, and an Orca, which is a Station transporter, and costs about 30 million fully equipped. )

The thing is, getting anywhere in X3 is basically a lesson in economics. If you want an introduction to what capitalism is about, it's a pretty good one. XD

 

[Super Toast]

snip

I suggest going with this CPU instead.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

Also, a bit more RAM wouldn't go amiss. Good luck!

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well nothing really pushed graphics beyond Crysis, so just pick up anything new, probably best to pick the things you like

 

[FaustianBargain]

yet you have a dual core.

Wouldn't be too sure of that. The Phenom II X2 555BE is 4 core CPU with 2 cores disabled but very easily reenabled (some motherboards come with 'hidden' core unlocking features as standard). Also, seeing as the RAM is 1600 (Phenom IIs run 1333 natively), I'd guess the OP is planning a little tinkering.

Come to think of it, HD 5770s OC really well, too.

I was planning on unlocking the two extra cores (thanks AMD!) and hopefully tightening up the timings on the RAM. Won't OC anything for now.

I recently upgraded to a system not unlike yours. Good choices so far, though I think STALKER will be a little disappointing. Here's some stuff I tried out:

lil snip

Please keep in mind I make no value judgment on these games; indeed several of them I didn't like much (Civ5, you failed me) or barely played (X3, you are hard as all hell) but they do a decent job of showing off your system.

Just peeked at the X3 wiki article and it definitely has my interest. Sounds like the cinematic quality of Homeworld 2 meets the sandbox-y-ness of Freelancer, can't beat that.

 

[Fenring]

yet you have a dual core.

Wouldn't be too sure of that. The Phenom II X2 555BE is 4 core CPU with 2 cores disabled but very easily reenabled (some motherboards come with 'hidden' core unlocking features as standard). Also, seeing as the RAM is 1600 (Phenom IIs run 1333 natively), I'd guess the OP is planning a little tinkering.

That isn't a sure thing. The two other cores may just not work or some other thing. Some Phenom IIs will work, but quite a few won't.

 

[Astalano]

Oh god prepare for giant list of games to play which may or may not answer the question of this thread:

* Amnesia: The Dark Descent

* Anno 1404

* Arma 2

* Baldur's Gate series

* Battlefield series

* Borderlands

* Braid

* Civilization series

* Company of Heroes

* Cryostasis

* Crysis series

* Darksiders

* Day of Defeat

* Dead Space 1 + 2

* Deus Ex

* Diablo 2

* Dragon Age: Origins

* FEAR

* Fallout (1, 2 and New Vegas)

* Geometry Wars

* Gothic 2 Gold

* Guild Wars

* Half-Life series

* Jedi Knight series

* King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame

* Knights of The Old Republic series

* Lord of The Rings Online

* Machinarium

* Mass Effect series

* Mount & Blade series

* Penumbra series

* Plants vs Zombies

* Portal

* Psychonauts

* Red Orchestra

* Revenge of the Titans

* Rift

* Risen

* Sins of a Solar Empire

* Sniper Elite

* Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Pripyat

* Starcraft 2

* Stronghold

* Team Fortress 2

* Thief series

* Torchlight

* Trine

* Total War series

* Dawn of War series

* Wings of Prey

* The Witcher

 

[xxcloud417xx]

Metro 2033.

PC Benchmark. Hands down best DX 11 Benchmark there is right now. And a great game too.

And it's not the GPU that makes it less impressive... I would say the dual core is what's doing it for me right now... No offense.