PC Specification

[Deleted User]

w00519772 wrote: »

I was a keen gamer when I was in my teens and early twenties (I am now 34). I had a Nintendo 64; Sega Master System; GameBoy; Amstrad 64K etc.

I want to start gaming again. I believe I have three choices:

1) PC
2) PS4
3) XBox

I spent £1,200 on a PC about five years ago. Here is the specification:

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 950 @ 3.07 GHZ
RAM: 6 GB
Type: 64 Bit
Monitor: BENQ G925HDA (Analog). With a VGA to DVI converter.
Display Adapter: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series
Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC
Operating System: Windows 10
BIOS: American MegaTrends Inc 0502 16/11/2010

Will this specification be able to cope with cutting edge games? Do I need to upgrade any of the components e.g. motherboard and graphics card?

Upgrade monitor and GPU and if possible get an SSD a 256 Samsung 850 60 quid
Then when you can get some more money get yourselves a bundle eg motherbored,CPU & RAM.. then just keep upgrading bit as the years go on...

unholyangel

OP have a look here:
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri

Will tell you what settings you should be able to play games under on your current rig.

I'd also say upgrade the RAM. If you're a serious gamer, I'd say 16gb minimum. If you're more casual then 8gb should be more than enough.

you can check out how your graphics card and cpu rank against more modern ones here:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php


Just to note btw that some games seem to be aiming too high. I think it was one of the CODs (possibly blops 3) where the minimum spec was unreasonable high - to the point where basically you needed one of the top 50 ranked graphics cards in order to meet the minimum spec!

Cisco001

unholyangel wrote: »

OP have a look here:
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri


I'd also say upgrade the RAM. If you're a serious gamer, I'd say 16gb minimum. If you're more casual then 8gb should be more than enough.

I7 920 are with triple channel, not dual.
probably get 3 x 2GB from ebay to make it 12GB.

If he is serious gamer, he should upgrade to new CPU, Mobo with DDR4

Cycrow

While a CPU upgrade is nice, its not really required. Most games arn't cpu dependant.

while alot of newer games are now using more CPU that before, so they still run well on older generation cpus. And the i7 9xx series are still pretty good for games.

DDR4 makes no real difference for gaming over DDR3. I only recently moved from an i7 930, and it was still a very capable cpu for gaming. I did have 12gb rather than 6gb. Only reason i switched was because the motherboard failed

w00519772

Cycrow wrote: »

For the Tv the easiest would be to simply plug it into the PC directly
Otherwise you can get wireless hdmi connection, its not streaming exactly, it just replaces a direct cable, and they're not cheap

for streaming to a tv you need a separate box on the tv, like the steam link

I have looked into streaming and I have found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NZXT-DOKO-PC-Network-Streaming-Device-HDMI-1080p-30fps-Stream-50-80ms-Low-Lat-/252205070620?hash=item3ab897f91c:g:ggkAAOSwxN5WZz27

Is this device suitable for streaming cutting edge games wirelessly? If I have the PC in a beddroom upstairs and the TV in the lounge then will this work (the device states it is 30 fps). I guess I do not need a new monitor if I stream to my TV?

Cycrow

Personally i would use the Steam Link instead. Its cheaper, and hooks up directly with steam. Where most of your games will probably be

http://store.steampowered.com/app/353380

w00519772

Cisco001 wrote: »

If you don't want to spend a lot, could go for mid range GTX 960 / R9 380, if you play with 1920 × 1080.

BTW, your monitor is a bit old...

Do I need a new graphics card? Please see the following link: http://www.amd.com/en-gb/products/graphics/desktop/6000/6850#


It says: "Outstanding performance and spectacular image quality for the most demanding gamer"

Cycrow

the HD6850 was a high end card when it was released, but its now a number of generations behind, and the newer cards are better. Its not bad, but it may struggle with some of the newer games.

the GTX960 would be an improvement, but if you are going to switch from the 6850, i would go for the GTX970 instead which will give a noticeable improvement

w00519772

I have two further questions:

1) If I am going to use my HDTV then I guess that I do not need to change the monitor?
2) How do you compare processes (also graphic cards) that are not the same model? For example, please see the recommended requirements for Grand Theft Auto v: http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/grand-theft-auto-v/12455/?p=r An intel core i3 is specified. I have an I7, which is superior to an I3. However, there are newer I3s i.e. I3s that are newer than my I7. How would you compare my I7 to the I3?

Nilrem

If the TV is a reasonable one then no you shouldn't need to change the monitor if you're willing/able to use the TV (make sure it does 60fps, they should all do).

If you're comparing different generations of processor IIRC the system specs will state both the generation and speed.
As long as it meets or exceeds those you should be ok.

An I7 will quite likely always beat an I3 at the same speed until Intel move over to a new naming system, as the I3 is from memory dual core whilst I5 and I7 are quad core and whilst there are minor improvements in different generations of the CPU's the ones that would really make a difference would tend to result in a completely new name.

For example with the Pentium series you had the P1, P2, P3, P4, Celeron, Celeron 2 and things like "P4 dual core", then you had the "Core2" series which were completely new chips..