What is a PC gamer to do?
Monday, May 1, 2006 by Island Dog | Discussion: Personal Computing
I am a PC gamer. I admit it. I play Battlefield 2 and right now there is no game better than this. I built my computer about 2 years ago, and at that time it could handle any game you put at it. I put a Radeon 9800 pro graphics card, which was the best at the time, and it does a good job at Battlefield 2 which is very demanding. I have a 2.8ghz Intel CPU and about a gig of RAM.
I downloaded the new demo for Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. http://www.ghostrecon.com/us/
I could only run it on a low setting to play, and the graphics at that setting are a disappointment to what the game is capable of. There are many new PC games coming out this year that I am excited about, but I just hate the thought of upgrading again. I have been looking into the "midrange" gaming cards, but their reviews show performance less than my card performs at now. I really wanted to use the money to buy another Mac to replace my desktop as my primary machine, but I think my gaming might get in the way of that.
Now I have been playing with the idea of buying an Xbox 360, or waiting until the PS3 comes out. Although I will probably end up buying both systems, I don't think either one can replace games on the PC. So back to the original question.....what is a PC gamer to do?
Reply #2 Monday, May 1, 2006 10:01 AM
I've had mine 2 1/2 years, P4 2.66, 768Mb RAM, GeForce FX-5900. It does ok (UT2004 goes at 70-100 fps depending on the map), but not with the latest games.
So this Friday, I'll be toying with my new Athlon 4400+, 2Gb RAM, 2x GeForce 7600GT in Sli. That should play the new stuff quite well... 
Reply #3 Monday, May 1, 2006 2:04 PM
Reply #4 Monday, May 1, 2006 7:09 PM
Reply #5 Monday, May 1, 2006 10:51 PM
| Every major upgrade I've done has been inspired by a game I wanted to play on my computer from GPL in 1997 to GTR a year or so ago. |
Much the same for me....though it was GP3 and GP4 ....and by the time GTR came along I could handle that one quite well [which is good because it has to be one of the best driving sims ever]...
Reply #6 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 1:41 AM
| I have lost track of what graphic cards are "in" now. |
That would be GeForce 7900GTX and Radeon X1900XTX, both will make a huge dent in your wallet From what I've seen, in some games, even with a FX-60, both these cards can be processor bound. That's why I went for the 7600GT which is currently the best midrange card by a long way. Put two 7600GTs together and (at 1280x1024) they out-strip any single card on most games for about £100 less.
Reply #7 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 1:47 AM
Reply #8 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 2:35 AM
Reply #9 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 6:41 AM
The other problem is my board is AGP, and most of the newer cards are PCI express. I don't know if I should just find an AGP card, or update the mobo too.
Reply #10 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 6:47 AM
Awww....go for it! You know you want to!
Reply #11 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 6:48 AM
Reply #12 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 7:32 AM
But now I have an aging P4 3GHz (the proc is about 3 years old now) and a slower MB. So the choice was either about $350 for the new card, or about $1400 for a new system with PCIe. Card was a no-brainer. Maybe next year I'll get a new box.
Reply #13 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 8:08 AM
| Much the same for me....though it was GP3 and GP4 |
this was the same for me too. GP4 (with the new 2005 cars and tracks upgrade) and fifa 06.
but now i'm so fed up with having to upgrade all the time i've just got my self an XBOX last week to play games i will only play GP4 on the computer cos i've got a FF wheel and it great (the best game ever)
Reply #14 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 8:41 AM
| i will only play GP4 on the computer cos i've got a FF wheel and it great (the best game ever) |
Do yourself a favour.....try GTR...the 'addon' scope is almost limitless.
From an F1 around Bathurst to a V8 Supercar around Monaco.....even an Aston DBR9 around Isle Of Man....limitless...
Reply #15 Tuesday, May 2, 2006 8:57 AM
| Do yourself a favour.....try GTR...the 'addon' scope is almost limitless. From an F1 around Bathurst to a V8 Supercar around Monaco.....even an Aston DBR9 around Isle Of Man....limitless... |
Will Do Jafo.
Reply #16 Wednesday, May 3, 2006 9:26 PM
Great. Now I can't find a board with PCI-express with a 478 socket.
Reply #17 Wednesday, May 3, 2006 9:57 PM
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Reply #1 Monday, May 1, 2006 9:16 AM
It's a back-and-forth, one year the consoles are winning, the next the PCs are. My preference stays with the PC because I prefer the control scheme over the console (I hate thumbsticks) and you have more options overall on the PC. It allows indie games, which take risks on gameplay and do interesting things devs can't afford on console titles that cost umpteenbajillion dollars to complete.