The problem with technology...

[Becoming Insane]

...is that if, for example, you just got a spiffy new game for the holidays but can't play it due to your graphics card being a pile of suck, by the time you go out and buy a new one (or a new computer, if you're smart) there's already a better version. This happened to me on two occasions. I currently own two of the best games "EVAR" (or so I've been told): Portal and SPORE, but I can't play them. Portal seems to dislike my computer because I have antivirus software protection, and SPORE won't run because my graphics card is the aforementioned pile of suck. At this rate, I won't be able to play these games until I go to college, and by then, BETTER games will be out.

Has anyone else run into this problem (or a similar one)?

 

[Ace of Spades]

This might be a bit off-topic, but who told you that Spore was one of the best games evar? I liked it personally, but practically everyone else in the world thought it was horrible. Now, back on-topic. I had this problem when I still played PC games, and the only thing you can do is upgrade your graphics card. It'll cost a good chunk of money, but Portal is worth it.

 

[Stringytank]

This might be a bit off-topic, but who told you that Spore was one of the best games evar? I liked it personally, but practically everyone else in the world thought it was horrible.

The reason most people say it is shit is mainly because of the hype. E3 and trailers got our hopes up, but the game was just alright.

 

[Becoming Insane]

This might be a bit off-topic, but who told you that Spore was one of the best games evar? I liked it personally, but practically everyone else in the world thought it was horrible. Now, back on-topic. I had this problem when I still played PC games, and the only thing you can do is upgrade your graphics card. It'll cost a good chunk of money, but Portal is worth it.

Like I said, I haven't had the chance to play it yet, so I can't say whether or not it's good. I've just heard many, many good things about it. And how much is a good graphics card?

 

[Ace of Spades]

This might be a bit off-topic, but who told you that Spore was one of the best games evar? I liked it personally, but practically everyone else in the world thought it was horrible. Now, back on-topic. I had this problem when I still played PC games, and the only thing you can do is upgrade your graphics card. It'll cost a good chunk of money, but Portal is worth it.

Like I said, I haven't had the chance to play it yet, so I can't say whether or not it's good. I've just heard many, many good things about it. And how much is a good graphics card?

Varies depending on the card, but my friend sold me a decent one for $40. Look on Newegg.com You'll find some good stuff.

 

[darkless]

Would it not serve you better to, oh i don't know check the requirements of the games before you buy them?

 

[Rednog]

This might be a bit off-topic, but who told you that Spore was one of the best games evar? I liked it personally, but practically everyone else in the world thought it was horrible. Now, back on-topic. I had this problem when I still played PC games, and the only thing you can do is upgrade your graphics card. It'll cost a good chunk of money, but Portal is worth it.

Like I said, I haven't had the chance to play it yet, so I can't say whether or not it's good. I've just heard many, many good things about it. And how much is a good graphics card?

Varies depending on the card, but my friend sold me a decent one for $40. Look on Newegg.com You'll find some good stuff.

I don't think that an upgrade to the card alone is going to help him, from what it sounds like he has a pretty generic pc (not intended for gaming), I mean my 8 year old desktop that was built for gaming can still handle portal with low settings. It would be like sticking a racecar engine into a junker and praying you make it out of the drive way and down the street before the whole car falls apart.

 

[Ace of Spades]

This might be a bit off-topic, but who told you that Spore was one of the best games evar? I liked it personally, but practically everyone else in the world thought it was horrible. Now, back on-topic. I had this problem when I still played PC games, and the only thing you can do is upgrade your graphics card. It'll cost a good chunk of money, but Portal is worth it.

Like I said, I haven't had the chance to play it yet, so I can't say whether or not it's good. I've just heard many, many good things about it. And how much is a good graphics card?

Varies depending on the card, but my friend sold me a decent one for $40. Look on Newegg.com You'll find some good stuff.

I don't think that an upgrade to the card alone is going to help him, from what it sounds like he has a pretty generic pc (not intended for gaming), I mean my 8 year old desktop that was built for gaming can still handle portal with low settings. It would be like sticking a racecar engine into a junker and praying you make it out of the drive way and down the street before the whole car falls apart.

I managed to get away with that for a while when I first started upgrading my PC, but you make a good point.

 

[Veylon]

Erm... Why is this a "problem" with technology? If I go to the store and buy a light bulb that doesn't fit in my socket, I don't get to complain about the "problem" with electrical engineering. It's simply that I bought something that doesn't fit with what I have. As did you. Learn about System Requirements and do better next time.

 

[Hookman]

I also got Portal but when I tried it at first it wouldnt work. After I tried again I actually managed to switch it on only to find it freezing every 10 seconds because I had the nerve to try and play the game.

 

[defcon 1]

Welcome to the world of PC gaming. you're going to have to sink a lot of money into a machine in order to run a lot of those games at high settings. In the world of technology you either evolve or you suffer. I think this problem has been blown a bit out of proportion. I disagree with the many PC gamers who think they have to upgrade their hardware every single generation. Less than a year ago I had a machine with an Athlon64 3200+, 8800GTS, and 2GB of memory. I could run all of the games I had including the "shiniest" games of that year(except Stalker and Crysis) I had at maximum settings with a smooth framerate on a 1280x1024. It's really whiny when people complain about games requiring bleeding edge hardware to really enjoy. Whaaah! I can't afford a PC with the power of a thousand suns, boo-hoo!

I personally wish technology would move faster. We don't have realistic lighting, shading, animation, special effects, etc. I'm starting to see the curse of the Uncanny Valley so I for one would like to see what the other side of the valley holds.

 

[rossatdi]

Buy a console. I use my laptop for retro gaming (still totally rock a Total Annihilation battle from time to time) and my console for the new flash thing.

 

[Novajam]

Well, I guess you could warp it as a disadvantage, but that's if you absolutely must have your games at the very top settings. If you make a good decision, a graphics card could last many years, so long as you're content with some slightly dampened particle effects in two years or so. They don't become obsolete the second something new comes out.