When I first got my games on Steam, I was worried about my Laptop's ability to run them, since I was using a Nvidia 525M with only 1.5GB (also I have an i7 and 8GB RAM). But, most games said in their system reqs that 512mb would be fine, so I went ahead and bought a few titles. Just Cause 2? 15-20fps on low. TF2? no more than 10 on low. CS:Go? 15 fps on low, even less online. Mind you, I had updated my drivers, so clearly something about these games is not liking my GPU. From then on, I've been extremely cautious when buying games, because I've already easily wasted $50+ on ones that my computer SHOULD be able to run but CAN'T. My only current experience with 'downloading' games is for ones that I have on CD already, but the CD is so damaged that it won't install, which to me is okay, since I did pay money for the game years before. Hypothetically, is there any moral high ground for doing this purely to see whether the game will even run, if you delete it after you test it out?
Poll: What if I'm testing whether or not it will run?
- Thread starter yankeesniper57
- Start date
It's 2013 and Try Before You Buy technology is available to customers. If publishers don't like us having that sort of consumer security they can take a leap. How's that for moral high ground?
The fact that you even have to ask whether or not it is ok to see if a game works on your system demonstrates just how absurd the situation is. It took years for developers to actually list recommended specs on their software rather than just the minimum, which was usually a generous interpretation.
In my limited experience growing up with a x486 proccesor, you could generally return games that your system could not handle. Does steam have a refund system for incompatible software?
In my limited experience growing up with a x486 proccesor, you could generally return games that your system could not handle. Does steam have a refund system for incompatible software?
Nope, and I even met the recommended specs in most cases. There's no returning broken games in Steam-land. I actually pushed through The Walking Dead (Telltale) at the most awful fps possible with hideous mouse lag, just to experience the dialogue. Hotline Miami was one game that I stole AFTER I bought, because an update on Steam made the game run at half speed. I had to use that less updated copy to even finish the game, although a whopping year later my Steam copy finally fixed itself. Not even just for my computer, but when a PC game or port is so poorly optimized that you get 10-15 fps on low, the game is basically unplayable and has been a waste of money (which I'm not made of).Comocat said:
Yeah, but 'try before you buy' isn't gonna win over people who abhor pirating games. I'm using my current situation to show how the 2013 market can be beneficial to the consumer without stepping on any moral or legal toes.ticklefist said:
What settings are you running those games on? You can't just turn on the game, throw it on max, and expect things to run smoothly. You might meet the system requirements, but that doesn't mean it'll run without a hitch. You've got to set it to match your hardware. Not only that, gaming laptops aren't exactly powerhouses and lack the stability of a desktop. You've got a mid-range chip.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-525M.43889.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-525M.43889.0.html
Low, like I stated in the OP. I went down from max and tested each level. I know it's only a mid-range chip, which is why I assumed games, for which I exceeded quite nicely the system reqs, would at least get usable frames on low. Not the case, apparently.Dead Century said:
Yea that's pretty common. Other that REALLLLY old titles that you can't actually buy from a distributor anymore, I don't really see the point of stealing games. No multiplayer is a big negative, which is a lot of the reasons I even play games. Also, it's usually just a big hassle and a big risk.Zhukov said:
The problem is there's more to a graphic card than just the amount of vRAM it has. I'm currently running a Geforce GTX 560 Ti, (for those of you wondering why I'm running such an old card, it's cause I'm saving up for a new modern system), which has 1GB. That's the same as my previous two cards, a Radeon HD 5770 and 5450, but the 560 Ti was newer and is more powerful. You can slap as much RAM as you want on a graphics card, but that's merely where it stores the textures before blasting them to your screen. It has nothing to do with how powerful your card actually is.yankeesniper57 said:
Here's a few rules to remember about graphics cards
1) Laptop cards are ALWAYS weaker than their number equivalent on the desktop side, in one way or another.
2) When buying a computer that comes with a discrete graphics card, ALWAYS look up benchmarks before buying.
3) The first number in the GPU's name is the generation number for that brand (Nvidia/AMD) and the other numbers are the model number. The lower those other numbers are, the weaker the card is. Lower numbered cards are typically used for media playback, and their low price point makes them excellent for Home Theatre PCs.
What I do is try to find a game with similar specs to what I want to run that has a free demo. It's a rough estimate, but if it chugs, you'll know that you may to probably won't be able to play that game.
This will teach you to do research. First, you laptop is not in any way a gaming laptop. The ram and processor are fine for it, but the Graphics card is woefully inadequate. Next time, make sure, for Nvidia cards that the second number is at least 5 or higher. For ATI/AMD cards it's roughly the same, but there's a world of difference between a 500 and a 700. I run a Radeon 7770 and hit 60 plus FPS on TF2, but JC2 takes a bit more, but it's still easily playable on medium.
The graphics card you got is entry level for computers in general, not even for gaming.
This will teach you to do research. First, you laptop is not in any way a gaming laptop. The ram and processor are fine for it, but the Graphics card is woefully inadequate. Next time, make sure, for Nvidia cards that the second number is at least 5 or higher. For ATI/AMD cards it's roughly the same, but there's a world of difference between a 500 and a 700. I run a Radeon 7770 and hit 60 plus FPS on TF2, but JC2 takes a bit more, but it's still easily playable on medium.
The graphics card you got is entry level for computers in general, not even for gaming.
Nope, it's still illegal and if you want to do it then don't try to do it morally. All the talk of is it okay to morally pirate games is just to make you feel better about doing something you know is wrong. Since if you didn't think it's wrong why would you hesitate and ask?
However my own morals say it's okay, but mine are pretty flaky so I wouldn't trust them to be upstanding and good. I've had similar issues with what happened with you and Steam so I crack all my games after buying them.
However my own morals say it's okay, but mine are pretty flaky so I wouldn't trust them to be upstanding and good. I've had similar issues with what happened with you and Steam so I crack all my games after buying them.
But I can run games with higher specs with no problem, poor optimization for my PC is the issue here. My card works fine with most games (Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2), but others are just unplayable. I don't know what I could compare any game to, since ones with similar/higher reqs get better performance. I've really just resorted to playing old games that i still have on disc. And with my card, I know it's not great, but I should be getting better than 10 fps on low for a game like TF2. When I looked online, it seemed like my specific model of PC (xps 15z) was just poorly configured, and I'll just have to deal with it.WouldYouKindly said:
Yeah, this.Zhukov said:
If you can restrain yourself from actually playing through the whole game (and then not buying) rather than just trying the first 20 mins to see if it's laggy, then I'd view it as ok.
I wouldn't do it myself though, because I probably wouldn't have that level of self discipline!
Heh, yeah, I could just see myself doing that.OneCatch said:
"Weeeeell... maybe I'll just test for a little bit longer. Y'know, make sure the end credits aren't going to be too hard on my old graphics card."
...
"Okay, that was fun. I'll pay for it... tomorrow. Yeah, yeah. Tomorrow."
100% ok *morally*, legally it's still illegal.
My views on piracy are pretty much summed up in this image:
Basically, if you pirate a game, it runs, and you enjoy it, you should buy it or it's wrong to pirate.
Captcha: good as gold
Indeed he is captcha.
My views on piracy are pretty much summed up in this image:
Basically, if you pirate a game, it runs, and you enjoy it, you should buy it or it's wrong to pirate.
Captcha: good as gold
Indeed he is captcha.
Wait, so you can run Far Cry 3, but not TF2 ?yankeesniper57 said:
How long have you had this laptop ? Have you kept up with drivers/updates ? Run CCleaner every once in a while, as well as defrag the hard drive ?
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com
This can be useful to get a handle on requirements, but I haven't used it enough to be 100% confident in it.
And be careful with any games ported from consoles, some massive optimization problems.
Make sure the laptop is using the actual graphics card, rather than the CPU's integrated graphics. Most laptops with a dedicated graphics card will run the integrated graphics chip by default, and switch over to the dedicated one when a game is launched.
Depending on your GPU drivers, this sometimes needs a manual push to work. You should be able to edit the options in your nVidia control panel.
Depending on your GPU drivers, this sometimes needs a manual push to work. You should be able to edit the options in your nVidia control panel.
I'm pretty tech savvy, so yeah, I'm aware of that. Already done that.ZCAB said:
I tested worms rev., and it worked, so I pre-ordered clan wars to get it as well as rev. tested rise of the triad, and it ran like balls, so i deleted it and moved on.cloroxbb said: