Date: May 15th, 2013 2:06 PM Author: Big Maroon Field
It will play them, but not well. Graphics card will limit you to lower resolutions/quality. You need to drop $500 on graphics card alone to play at even a somewhat pedestrian 1920x1080.
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:38 PM Author: Big Maroon Field
Not flame.
First, games 2-3 years from now (as OP is considering) will require at least 2x the graphics horsepower. Second, even looking at current games, you need a ~GTX670 to maintain 60fps at 1920x1080 without turning down the graphics settings:
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:42 PM Author: outnumbered floppy indian lodge wrinkle
spending 500 on a graphics card at this point in time is useless for almost everybody. the difference between high and ultra high on bioshock is essentially non existent. and when the time comes that something like the 660 cant play a new game on medium, he can just spend another 200 to get whatever the mid level card is 2-3 years from now, and he still comes out ahead.
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:59 PM Author: Brindle garrison
Why do you believe this? Nowadays you can easily still play today's games with old computers. This isn't 1998-2003 anymore when games were pushing the limits of hardware. I think a lot of games are intentionally built with older computers in mind just so they can maximize the market for the games.
Date: May 15th, 2013 3:07 PM Author: Big Maroon Field
Of course you can play them. The question was play them well. If you don't care about graphics quality then don't spend a lot on a graphics card.
But to me, the graphics add a lot and I'm willing to pay, especially in games like Skyrim and Bioshock.
If you played Skyrim on some low/medium setting back in the day and recently upgraded your system, fire it back up on Ultra + high res texture pack. It really does change the experience, IMO.
Date: May 15th, 2013 3:12 PM Author: Brindle garrison
Meh I've always been a power user more concerned about gameplay than graphics. Even if my card can handle it (which normally it can) I will often turn off all the special effects because they make the game harder to play (less field of vision, can trick you, etc.).
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:23 PM Author: outnumbered floppy indian lodge wrinkle
eh, you can get close. nvidia 660 graphics (200) + decent i7 processor (250ish) + mobo/fan/powersupply/case (200-250 for some combos) + hard drive (75) + ram (50) brings you around 800. also going to need keyboard and mouse, so you can tack on another 50 there, and another 50 if you want a bluray/dve drive. so youre at 900ish. another 130 or so for a decent cheap monitor. obviously if you have a disk drive or peripherals lying around you can do it for 800.
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:33 PM Author: outnumbered floppy indian lodge wrinkle
gtx 660 for 200. anything less is not worth getting a gaming computer. 660 will let you play on high but not on ultra high, and is the best youll get without jumping to the 400 dollar range.
and yeah, as other guy said, dont worry about dual cards.
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:38 PM Author: outnumbered floppy indian lodge wrinkle
i assume you mean dual core cpus? no. quad core or duo core is worth it. at the very least make sure youre getting the latest generation of intel processors (ivy bridge) if you go the intel route. in your scenario you probably wont be bottlenecking with the cpu whether you go with i5 or i7...
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:36 PM Author: Bat-shit-crazy smoky parlor
dual cards isn't something you want to do unless you know what are you doing. modern single cards are more than powerful enough at the price-points you will be at.
Date: May 15th, 2013 2:56 PM Author: soul-stirring personal credit line
OP don't go cheap on the power supply. Buy at least a corsair for $45 if you aren't shelling out for a seasonic. You don't want to fry your $800 computer because you tried to save $20 on a psu.