Good games for a aging rig
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Return to castle Wolfenstein - W.W.2 shooter with zombies,demons and Ubersoldaten(supersoldiers-experimental freaks)
Of course they are, you are asking for "good games for an old rig."[Gavo said:
Could wait until december and get GTA4 on PC. Fallout 3 is worth trying as well, and hopefully there is a PC demo of mirrors edge somewhere.
Although you can technically still upgrade your GPU, you might be better off just waiting until you are ready for a PCI motherboard / system upgrade.
I wouldn't pay the $30 price premium for AGP (just checked AGP vs PCI-E on pricegrabber), which is inferior in virtually every way compared to PCI. It's also a dead-end architecture, so even if you can snag, say, the 3850 AGP, you're just prolonging the inevitable death of your rig.
Better just stick with what you currently have for now, I say. Besides, if you can run the Orange Box at high / very high settings at 1400x900, that doesn't mean more recent games will look like poo on your rig (although they will look like poo compared to a high-end rig, of course!); at worst, recent games should look no worse than the graphics you are experiencing with the Orange Box today.
Games-wise, have you tried "The Ship"? It's available on Steam and all I can say is it's "different" from your average run-and-gun FPS; I've never had to take baths in my shooters before! Since it's based on the Source engine (and available on Steam for USD19.99), running the game should be smooth sailing for your rig.
Also, check out this site for some "Good ol' Games": http://www.gog.com/en/search/sort/genre/shooter
Happy fragging!
I wouldn't pay the $30 price premium for AGP (just checked AGP vs PCI-E on pricegrabber), which is inferior in virtually every way compared to PCI. It's also a dead-end architecture, so even if you can snag, say, the 3850 AGP, you're just prolonging the inevitable death of your rig.
Better just stick with what you currently have for now, I say. Besides, if you can run the Orange Box at high / very high settings at 1400x900, that doesn't mean more recent games will look like poo on your rig (although they will look like poo compared to a high-end rig, of course!); at worst, recent games should look no worse than the graphics you are experiencing with the Orange Box today.
Games-wise, have you tried "The Ship"? It's available on Steam and all I can say is it's "different" from your average run-and-gun FPS; I've never had to take baths in my shooters before! Since it's based on the Source engine (and available on Steam for USD19.99), running the game should be smooth sailing for your rig.
Also, check out this site for some "Good ol' Games": http://www.gog.com/en/search/sort/genre/shooter
Happy fragging!
You could go as far as try Far Cry 2 in a low resolution and detail level. I have an old rig too and I can play this game.
It really depends on what you would call "crap". I mean, I would personally recommend Giants: Citizen Kabuto [http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/giants_citizen_kabuto] with it's Geforce 3 patch. Extremely fun game, hilarious as it quirky.
Other FPSs I'd be happy with would even include Quake [http://store.steampowered.com/app/2310/]. I love the oldschool games, and sadly, this is why it is hard answering your questions.
Other FPSs I'd be happy with would even include Quake [http://store.steampowered.com/app/2310/]. I love the oldschool games, and sadly, this is why it is hard answering your questions.
Actually as "inferior" as it supposedly is, we have only recently started to reach the max bandwidth AGP was limited to.crimsondynamics said:
If it wasn't for marketing spiel, or SL-i, AGP could've lasted a couple more years. Right up to now infact, as given by ATI's continual support for it even on their latest chipsets. However I do agree that it will prolong the death of the PC, but when I compare a $30 premium to a $120 motherboard and I would always take the premium.
You are right that AGP could have lasted more years; as you rightly point out, it's still available today. But it's obsolete.
I dislike being an early adopter (Pay a premium for "beta-testing" hardware? No thanks.) but I also don't like to keep my gaming rig on "life support", which is why if I were in the OP's shoes I'd be content with games and graphics on par with the Source engine (which in my opinion still holds up well despite its age) for now and upgrade both the mainboard and graphics card when he is ready.
Personally, I went with PCI-Express once I saw the prices for graphics cards cost the same for both types of slots - and could justify the expense.
Regarding the $30:$120 premium, I understand what you are saying, but if I buy a new AGP card and want to upgrade to PCI-Express later on, I will have to buy a new graphics card and a new mainboard; that makes:
- 1 AGP=$130
- 1 PCI-E=$100
- 1 Motherboard=$120
However, if I upgrade both systems now, the following scenario is possible:
- 1 PCI-E=$100
- 1 Motherboard =$120
- 1 Upgrade PCI-E=$100 (since the new model will cost the same as what the old model costs)
I still save those 30 dollars. Not much I know, but still.
These are just different approaches to upgrading - pay less now but more later, or vice-versa. Better to bite the bullet and upgrade the lot, I say, but of course our personal preferences - and wallet - may not always be in agreement.
I dislike being an early adopter (Pay a premium for "beta-testing" hardware? No thanks.) but I also don't like to keep my gaming rig on "life support", which is why if I were in the OP's shoes I'd be content with games and graphics on par with the Source engine (which in my opinion still holds up well despite its age) for now and upgrade both the mainboard and graphics card when he is ready.
Personally, I went with PCI-Express once I saw the prices for graphics cards cost the same for both types of slots - and could justify the expense.
Regarding the $30:$120 premium, I understand what you are saying, but if I buy a new AGP card and want to upgrade to PCI-Express later on, I will have to buy a new graphics card and a new mainboard; that makes:
- 1 AGP=$130
- 1 PCI-E=$100
- 1 Motherboard=$120
However, if I upgrade both systems now, the following scenario is possible:
- 1 PCI-E=$100
- 1 Motherboard =$120
- 1 Upgrade PCI-E=$100 (since the new model will cost the same as what the old model costs)
I still save those 30 dollars. Not much I know, but still.
These are just different approaches to upgrading - pay less now but more later, or vice-versa. Better to bite the bullet and upgrade the lot, I say, but of course our personal preferences - and wallet - may not always be in agreement.
Bullet time in Max Payne rocked.
I don't know what your tolerance for old / crappy graphics are, but:
SWAT4 - amazing tactical shooter
No One Lives Forever 1 & 2 - very witty and charming FPSs
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - not a FPS (it's 3rd-person), but a great game and the coop mode is hard to beat
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay - the PC version holds up nicely even today in my opinion
I don't know what your tolerance for old / crappy graphics are, but:
SWAT4 - amazing tactical shooter
No One Lives Forever 1 & 2 - very witty and charming FPSs
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - not a FPS (it's 3rd-person), but a great game and the coop mode is hard to beat
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher's Bay - the PC version holds up nicely even today in my opinion
I managed to get FO3 running on a similar system, but with an x1800XT GFX card. Played in a 1024x768 window with everything set to around medium, no AA/AF, and was getting 40fps.[Gavo said:
So, you should be able to run it, probably in a window, with lowest settings. It probably wouldn't look very nice, mind. Enemies would see you for several minutes before you see them
Unfortunately there's no such thing as a Fallout3 demo (for the Bethesda release, at least. Black Isle released a demo before they closed it.) so it wouldn't be possible to check via that. I recommend borrowing a copy from a friend if you know one that has it and checking to see if you can run it.
Not Blazing Angels 2. On my computer which is failry equivalent to yours, it ran at about 7fps at best with everything set to minimum, and fullscreen/windowed was not an option.
