Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

I guess I need to stop thinking of Steam Machines as gaming rigs and instead as Valve consoles.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

I haven't been into PC gaming since the early 2000s, but I am thinking about getting into it again. I have a lot of questions.

1) Is it easy to connect a PC to an HDTV? Is it just as easy as plugging in an HDMI cable from the graphics card to the TV and nothing more?

2) Do PC games have 5.1 audio? Is HDMI from the graphics card enough or do I need a good sound card or anything else?

3) I really don't want to spend much more than $600. Is this reasonable for a decent gaming PC? I don't need a mouse, keyboard, or OS since I already have those. I don't need a monitor since I will be using my existing TV. I just need the computer itself.

4) I am looking at both the Geforce 960 and 970. The 980 seems a bit overkill for my needs since I don't need higher resolutions than 1080p. Is the 960 good enough? I'm just worried it won't be as future-proof as the 970.

5) How difficult is it to build your own PC? I have never built a PC. I consider my technical knowledge to be average at best. I know there are pre-built PCs (like those upcoming Steam machines), but I would prefer to save money and build it myself.

6) I don't know much about the difference between HDD and SSD. From what I understand, the biggest difference is that SSD is much faster. Is SSD really that much better than HDD? On my budget, I don't know if I could afford a decent sized SSD. With how big game installs are nowadays, a tiny SSD wouldn't really get me very far.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

1) Yes.

2) Some games have 5.1 audio. All you need is a graphics card to get 5.1 or stereo audio (depending on the game) from your HDMI. Sound cards are a waste of money.

3) It depends. If you want to run games on medium settings (and have no intention of going beyond 1080p) there are plenty of economical options available near your price range.

4) Really depends on how hard you want to push your system. I am running an AMD 7850 and it works great for even demanding games like The Witcher 2 or Crisis 3. However, I am not maxing out settings and only play in 1080p.

5) It seems daunting at first but it's very easy. Either watch some tutorial videos on Youtube or have a buddy help you with your first build. You'll be upgrading that build or building a new one from scratch in no time.

6) I use an SSD as my boot drive and an HDD as my main storage. There are plenty of fast HDDs that are good for gaming (like the WD Black Series). The only benefit of an SSD for gaming is super fast load times but the space limitation and price makes it negligible IMO.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Yes
4) Yes
5) Easy
6) Yes

I have a GeForce GTX 760 and haven't run into a game I've had problems with yet, though I also haven't tried the latest Assassin's Creed.

The rest of my setup:
Core i5 3570k (k = unlocked, which I haven't touched, so you probably don't need that feature)
128gb ssd main / 2tb hdd secondary
16gb ram (it was 8gb until recently, I found an extra 8 laying around).
Z77A-G45 motherboard which was like $100.
Case/PSU combo pack I bought.
Zotac GTX 760

In all, it wasn't terribly expensive and runs everything I throw at it so far.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

What settings do you use on most games and what framerate do you get?

1080p is fine with me. I don't foresee myself being a higher res TV anytime soon. By the time I buy a new TV, my PC will most certainly be obsolete by then anyway.

I don't necessarily care about maxing everything out. I just want something that is at least a little better than the PS4/XOne. If I can get near 60 fps at 1080p on med-high settings I will be happy.

The PC I am looking to maybe build is the one listed here under the "Great" row for $631.

Thanks for your help guys.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Yes, 1080p at 60 fps is pretty doable for most games with that kind of hardware.

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Depending on how tight you are with the budget, the only thing i'd worry about on the specs for "Great" is the i3 CPU, as I personally think moving to a quad core i5 will provide a lot more longevity and performance.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

At 1080p I get 30 - 60 fps depending on the game (I usually aim for 45 or higher FPS and usually get it) on High or Ultra settings. I normally just follow nVidia's recommendations.

Oh yeah, stuff has gotten easier these days and Nvidia and ATI have programs that automatically pick out the best performance / quality trade-off as per the developers recommendations. For example, they recommend Ultra everything, 1080p, and 4x MSAA (form of anti-aliasing) for Battlefield 4, which runs very smoothly on here though I haven't actually looked at the FPS on that one. Assassin's Creed: Black Flag usually ran in the 40s maxed/1080p as long as AA wasn't cranked up on the ship sequences (there are a lot of lines to anti-aliasize on those sequences), the console counter parts stuck at 30 even. And again, this is the 760, not the 960.

I'm a nerd for framerate, but only in the sense that I want to play my game at the intended speed with no hiccups whatsoever. And I've been very happy with the results thus far.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Yeah, that is something I definitely want to upgrade on that build. Dual core is pretty old now. Even the PS4/XOne are more than dual core.

Another question I just thought of is regarding a controller. I think the Xbox 360 controller works with most modern games, is that correct? I think the Xbox One controller does too, right? Which controller is better? I'm not sure of how different they are. I think the One has a different d-pad and bumpers/triggers, but that's all I know.

That's another thing that has puzzled me is the name of the new Xbox. Why in the heck is it called Xbox One? It should be Xbox Three.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Because Microsoft marketing is stupid, and since the XBox 2 was called the XBox 360, naming it the XBox Three would have been confusing. Or something. :p

As far as controllers, I use the 360 controller on my PC and it works excellent with just about any game that supports it which is most ports these days (right down to the on screen buttons in the config matching that of the 360). As an owner of an XBox One as well, the One controller ergonomics are a bit different, namely with the triggers and bumpers like you said. I'm not sure if either is necessarily better, probably depends on feel and whatever you get used to and personal preference. It's kind of a push for me, probably couldn't go wrong with either one.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Yeah, I use the Xbox 360 controller as well (and prefer it to the Xbox One controller). The Xbox One was supposed to be named as an "All-in-One" entertainment console, I don't think they tested it with gamers though :lol:

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Did they ever add wireless support for the Xbox One controller on PC? Because last I read it doesn't recognize the wireless 360 adapter for PC.

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An adapter was announced recently, no idea when it will be actually released though. Apparently this year.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/28928...ndows-pcs.html

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Awesome. I hope it's backwards compatible with the 360 controller since its wireless adaptor has become harder to find.

I recently had to replace mine when a modem (heavier than it looks) fell on the USB plug of the wireless adapter. I was able to fix it but the resulting fit was too snug for my liking (I was afraid the strain would gradually break the USB port).

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

They sell a lot of knock off receivers for the X360 controller (ie: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...4487-_-Product )

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Apparently they have the Pi 2 streaming nVidia's Limelight now:

http://www.pcgamer.com/turning-the-r...-streaming-pc/

That's an awesome use for the little $35 Pi 2. I hope Valve will follow.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NagoUwsrBLQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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If I get a streaming box, I'll probably just wait for Steam Link in November.

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Don't expect it to be lag free or compression artifact free even with a wired connection. I know Nvidia claimed their solution will be lag free, but frankly, they are full of shit, it's been their M.O. for many years now.

I tried the Steam streaming stuff a few months ago with Borderlands and noticed lots of compression artifacts and a small amount of lag, and this was with a wired gigabit connection.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

I don't buy that any sort of streaming will ever be lag free.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

It won't be, you can't even go from a game console to certain TVs without lag.

Acceptable lag is another thing, while I don't think "streaming" will ever be good for CoD fiends, it works great for single player games.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

I think "acceptable lag" is going to be something that varies not only from game to game but player to player. Personally for any fast paced game, any lag is unacceptable for me, and only for some RTS/TBS games would possibly a minimal amount of lag be tolerable.

Rich, have you tried any of the streaming solutions? I'm no CoD fiend, but I found the lag when I tried Borderlands to be unbearable. Like I said, something like a strategy game might not be so bad, but anything remotely fast paced is going to be very noticeable. The compression artifacts was another huge flaw, but I bet that gets better (and probably has already improved greatly).

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

I only tried DmC so I can't comment but it was plenty responsive. I agree there was a degradation in video quality though that was unacceptable as a final product, especially when OnLive was just as responsive with better video. Alas that was a first gen beta for Steam, I'm going to try the nVidia solution this weekend.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Glad to see some more non-Star Wars LucasArts titles show up on GoG.com like Loom, Indiana Jones, Dig, and Outlaws. Hope more adventure games come.

http://www.gog.com/news/more_classic..._now_on_gogcom

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Disney seems much more willing to license out the back catalog. The only one I don't expect to show up any time soon is Day of the Tentacle, since Double Fine is working on a remastered version of that game.

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And Zack MaKracken!

Loom and The Dig were already on Steam though.

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I honestly just want Curse of Monkey Island :(

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Yeah, there's a bundle with both Indiana Jones, Loom, and The Dig for $10. It's been there for quite awhile.

Edit: these last few posts have reminded me that I have both Monkey Island SEs and have yet to play them. Need to get on it!

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

OOTP 16 comes out officially on (3-23-15). People who pre-ordered, its available today(3-20-15). Its a MLB Licensed(first time ever for OOTP) baseball slim game.

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I'm sure it's not the alpha/beta that people wanted from me, but if anyone is interested in Heroes of the Storm I have a few beta keys for anyone who wants them :p

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Dunno why I can't get the embed to work but here's a video of GTAV on PC at 60fps.

<iframe src="http://www.rockstargames.com/videoplayer?id=11267&locale=en_us" allowFullScreen style="width:640px; height:360px; border:none;"><!-- --></iframe>

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Ugh that's not how this works. Cinematics in games should stay at the set appropriate FPS they were designed for. 60 fps benefits gameplay, that entire trailer showed clips that were supposed to play out movie style and now it just looks like they have Motion Compensation turned on a 240hz TV.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Not at all. Motion interpolation looks very different. I honestly don't get the stogy aversion to higher frame rates. Heck, games with a more "cinematic" frame rate during cutscenes are at 30fps. So it doesn't have that "magic" look of 24fps anyway. And lets not forget that 24fps has never been an aesthetic. It's just the least amount of frames per second filmmakers could use without totally ruining the sense of motion. It was an economical decision rather than an artistic decision.

It's honestly stupid when a game plays at 60fps but the cutscenes play at 30fps. I'm so glad MGS:GZ allows everything to stay at 60fps.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Actually it was more a complaint that they showed cinematics instead of actual gameplay. It looks like interpolation to me and it just looks unnatural, 24 fps may have been about budget but it's a good look.

So essentially, I just wanted actual gameplay footage instead of in-engine videos as the demonstration of how excellent 60 fps is.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

That complaint I can understand. I'm sure they'll release a 60 fps gameplay video next. They probably used the cinematics since they are flashier and show the difference more.

I find nothing unnatural in the look at all. I think it's just a case that people are so used to 24 fps (and going back further, to 3:2 pull down) that anything higher throws them off initially.

To me, it should just be another tool in the filmmaker's arsenal. No sense in relying on 24 fps for every feature.

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Silky smooth 24 fps...

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Haha, to note I would never, ever want to play a game at that framerate, Ryse on the Xbox One was just pitiful when it hit that.

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

The History of Looking Glass - http://www.polygon.com/2015/4/6/8285...-glass-history

An excellent read if you're a PC Gamer from the 90's and familiar with their work like Thief and System Shock. A lot of the developers went on to make some amazing things.

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Great read. I never could get into System Shock much, but that might be because my system wasn't good enough to run the game well (typical for Origin Systems games back in the day). Ultima Underworld, however, was fantastic.

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Accurate representation of multi core support on current games.

http://img-9gag-ftw.9cache.com/photo...xz_700b_v1.jpg

Re: PC Gaming Thread
 

Soooo, GTA V was finally released on PC. Anyone pick it up?

I was hesitent due to my aging rig, but I caved and bought it yesterday. I heard it was well optimized, but holy shit is it really well optimized! My comp isn't bad, 2600k, 8GB ram, SLI GTX 570s, but those GPUs have only 1.2 GB of VRAM which is a bottleneck these days. Still I messed with the settings and was able to turn up everything pretty high with the exception of texture quality which I left normal. Looked amazing and ran perfectly, consistent framerates the whole time. I also just learned I can turn off the "limit settings" think and boost the texture res if I want, so I'm going to try that tonight. Should be able to do high or very high textures, apparently, according to GeForce Experience optimized settings.

Loving the first person mode as well. I've always wanted to play GTA V this way and it's really a much more intense and visceral experience.