XKCD?s ?Cutting edge? (http://xkcd.com/606/) sums it up pretty well. Buy sensible, play sensible, don?t splurge. Before I come across as the world?s most boring computer gamer ever, I?ll defend myself by saying I?ve always admired those pursuers of new technology, those with their GTX580 video cards and their i7s, they must get all the women.
There are, of course, two sides to the upgrade debate. First of all, I?d like to make it clear that I have nothing against people using the newest components for whatever reason. Their commitment and passion for technology is to be lauded, if for no other reason than to not alienate them from the very group they seek to impress by telling all of us that they own the most powerful computer rig in the world. However, I?d like to make it clear unless you have a serious need, and I mean need, to have a chip that can protein fold, game, render video, boil an egg and edit music all at once whilst reminding you that your personal life isn?t all it could be and that you haven?t washed in two days, you are better off with something less than a 580GTX.
But, I?m on a Dell that I bought years ago. *Single* core Pentium 4, running 2GB of RAM, and, in this fast moving world, a positively antiquated 8400GS (Second Release). I?m running stock cooling, the onboard HDD is 80GB and I haven?t even considered (dared) OCing. To many of you, the system sounds outdated, a museum centrepiece of old hardware. Let?s be honest here, it is, all of the components have been superseded in the market by better versions several times over. But what can it actually do? Well right now, I?m running a PDF reader, Steam, Firefox, Ventrilo and my trusty MS word, I?m also half-watching a TV show on my second monitor. In a few minutes, I?ll probably log onto CS: Source with my friends as we fail miserably yet again take the match by storm. This system got me through Deus Ex, CS1.6, Oblivion and Fallout 3 without a peep, Civilization IV and Sins of a Solar Empire weren?t even blips on the radar. Mass Effect was when it started chopping a bit, but it was still playable. Until an NVIDIA graphics driver problem caused Mass Effect 2 to suffer a CTD at a certain point in the game, even Bioware?s flagship RPG was doable (If anyone knows what happens after you blow up the core of the reaper ship, spoiler alert, feel free to write me a poetic epic). Now however, my system has reached the end of it?s development. Whilst my Steam friends are casually running (to my eyes) recent and cutting edge games such as GTA IV, Dragon Age or whatever lunatic code from CryTek that?s been sold as a game lately, I?m ?stuck?.
Or am I? I?ve had thousands of honestly enjoyable hours gaming, whether it?s in the only MMO I?d admit to playing in such a public space, Guild Wars, or trying to outwit a machine in a game of strategy in Civilization 4, I?m stuck in a nice place. Hell, I?m ?stuck? with a completed copy of Portal 2. It?s like discovering that you?re lost in a really nice place of the world. It?s not like there?s a dearth of good titles that people like me on older systems can run, and I?d go so far as to say that the games I?ve most enjoyed have been low demand games. The original Myst was one, as well as Planescape: Torment and AudioSurf is the most recent title I can think of, but honestly, who would truly seek to have top specs for games such as Crysis and Black Ops over actually having fun? Isn?t that what gaming is all about? Managing to lose yourself in a world where you can have fun? Shiny graphics and processes that require insane levels of power aside, what are we playing for? Feel free to reply in the internet manner, loud, with caps lock and with every apostrophe in the wrong place, but I?d genuinely like to know why you game and what?s more important to you and why you play. If you are someone who?s gone from an obsolete system like mine to a shiny new rig please let me know if there?s a real sense of improvement in your total gaming experience.
However, a small caveat, this article was written about a month ago, since then, I?ve ordered, and am about to take delivery of a new system. A *Shiny* new system. Expect a followup article soon =D.
There are, of course, two sides to the upgrade debate. First of all, I?d like to make it clear that I have nothing against people using the newest components for whatever reason. Their commitment and passion for technology is to be lauded, if for no other reason than to not alienate them from the very group they seek to impress by telling all of us that they own the most powerful computer rig in the world. However, I?d like to make it clear unless you have a serious need, and I mean need, to have a chip that can protein fold, game, render video, boil an egg and edit music all at once whilst reminding you that your personal life isn?t all it could be and that you haven?t washed in two days, you are better off with something less than a 580GTX.
But, I?m on a Dell that I bought years ago. *Single* core Pentium 4, running 2GB of RAM, and, in this fast moving world, a positively antiquated 8400GS (Second Release). I?m running stock cooling, the onboard HDD is 80GB and I haven?t even considered (dared) OCing. To many of you, the system sounds outdated, a museum centrepiece of old hardware. Let?s be honest here, it is, all of the components have been superseded in the market by better versions several times over. But what can it actually do? Well right now, I?m running a PDF reader, Steam, Firefox, Ventrilo and my trusty MS word, I?m also half-watching a TV show on my second monitor. In a few minutes, I?ll probably log onto CS: Source with my friends as we fail miserably yet again take the match by storm. This system got me through Deus Ex, CS1.6, Oblivion and Fallout 3 without a peep, Civilization IV and Sins of a Solar Empire weren?t even blips on the radar. Mass Effect was when it started chopping a bit, but it was still playable. Until an NVIDIA graphics driver problem caused Mass Effect 2 to suffer a CTD at a certain point in the game, even Bioware?s flagship RPG was doable (If anyone knows what happens after you blow up the core of the reaper ship, spoiler alert, feel free to write me a poetic epic). Now however, my system has reached the end of it?s development. Whilst my Steam friends are casually running (to my eyes) recent and cutting edge games such as GTA IV, Dragon Age or whatever lunatic code from CryTek that?s been sold as a game lately, I?m ?stuck?.
Or am I? I?ve had thousands of honestly enjoyable hours gaming, whether it?s in the only MMO I?d admit to playing in such a public space, Guild Wars, or trying to outwit a machine in a game of strategy in Civilization 4, I?m stuck in a nice place. Hell, I?m ?stuck? with a completed copy of Portal 2. It?s like discovering that you?re lost in a really nice place of the world. It?s not like there?s a dearth of good titles that people like me on older systems can run, and I?d go so far as to say that the games I?ve most enjoyed have been low demand games. The original Myst was one, as well as Planescape: Torment and AudioSurf is the most recent title I can think of, but honestly, who would truly seek to have top specs for games such as Crysis and Black Ops over actually having fun? Isn?t that what gaming is all about? Managing to lose yourself in a world where you can have fun? Shiny graphics and processes that require insane levels of power aside, what are we playing for? Feel free to reply in the internet manner, loud, with caps lock and with every apostrophe in the wrong place, but I?d genuinely like to know why you game and what?s more important to you and why you play. If you are someone who?s gone from an obsolete system like mine to a shiny new rig please let me know if there?s a real sense of improvement in your total gaming experience.
However, a small caveat, this article was written about a month ago, since then, I?ve ordered, and am about to take delivery of a new system. A *Shiny* new system. Expect a followup article soon =D.
