PC Gaming Is it worth it?

[chipsgravy]

I recently got a graphics card for my computer. I thought it would be fun to try some PC games like Trackmania Sunrise, HL2 and Farcry. Little did I know how much faff was involved just to get them to run. I think I have spent more time trying to coax the best performance from my machine rather than playing the games. I was just wondering if anyone else thought like me that PC gaming just isn't worth the hassle. I'm gonna get the XB versions of HL2 and Farcry. Shame about Trackmania as its a cracking game. Guess I'll have to put up with faff for that one.

[Zanza]

faff.? Sounds like you might be having some kind of problem. For me, getting halflife 2 running was very easy; I litteraly just installed it, changed several settings in-game (resolution, detail, etc.), then several minuites later I was playing.

[Richard.John]

Some had horrendous probs with HL2, but for me it worked just fine. Stuttered a bit at first but I turned down the textures, made a few tweaks and it was generally smooth.
I love the consoles for the plug and play aspect but PCs have their place in gaming as well.

I don't subscribe to the snobbish attitude that many PC gamers seem to have, regarding their console cousins. Many of these bores just deride every console purely because it is just that, a 'kiddies console' (in their eyes of course). I own HL2 and the Halos and I know which I would rather play, if trapped on a desert island, and it doesn't involve Gordon.

[chipsgravy]

Yea your right I'm having problems. Theres so much can go wrong. Drivers, Patches, Hardware compatibility. I can't see how this much frustration could ever be called fun. The worse thing is I just seem to be chucking money at the problem constantly. I'm sure if you have an uber computer then all this is easy however for normal folks that just want to play good games a console is definatley where its at.

Not sure what to do now. Cut my losses or carry on.

[wod]

whats the spec of your pc as to get games to run properly you need decent hardware but nothing over the top like some with sli setups

[chipsgravy]

Hi I'm not sure how much detail you need.
I have:
AOpen MX46-533GN Motherboard
2.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
512 Megabytes Installed Memory
283.94 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
NVIDIA GeForce 6600
Also put in a 550w Antec trupower PSU just in case that was the problem.

Although its not top of the range it should perform adequately without glitching, freezing, restarting and generally frustrating the hell out of me.

[wod]

have you tried a clean install of windows and installed latest direct x and drivers for vga etc

its also the games that your trying to play as some like a lot of ram and graphics card

[Daniel]

have you tried a clean install of windows and installed latest direct x and drivers for vga etc

This is exactly the kind of 'solution' that killed pc gaming for me.

If it isnt patches, glitches, configs and lazy engines demanding overpriced upgrades, then it's drivers, windows screw ups and fresh installs. Wasn't so bad when i was a student and had hours to kill, but like the original poster said - you spend more time dicking about on config screens than playing the games. This is made all the more annoying by the fact you've spent ??? for the pleasure.

[marcus]

faff.? Sounds like you might be having some kind of problem. For me, getting halflife 2 running was very easy; I litteraly just installed it, changed several settings in-game (resolution, detail, etc.), then several minuites later I was playing.

Same for me, and 99% of the games I run are as simple as that. Apart from occasional patches of course. Other than minor setting changes I dont find PC gaming to be a hassle at all, that said, I no longer play online which is a different kettle of fish entirely.

[Zanza]

Infact if your just getting into this kinda scene, I could imagine it can be quite overwhelming; updating drivers, graphics settings, and tweeking stuff here and their, these are all things I had to do when I got a new graphics card. Once youve figured out the best settings tho, its normaly smooth sailing as you can use the same settings on most games, and they will run just as well.

This is exactly the kind of 'solution' that killed pc gaming for me.

If it isnt patches, glitches, configs and lazy engines demanding overpriced upgrades, then it's drivers, windows screw ups and fresh installs. Wasn't so bad when i was a student and had hours to kill, but like the original poster said - you spend more time dicking about on config screens than playing the games. This is made all the more annoying by the fact you've spent ??? for the pleasure.

PC gaming seems quite temprimental at times, I know alot of people who have problems, and I have experienced it myself on afew occasions. When the only option left is a format you feel really bummed, especialy if the pc is not just for gaming andis also used for student/work stuff and hosting your entire music collection.

[AlwaysAce]

its only difficult if your trying to run the latest games on a system that can only just about handle it.

the reality is that unless you can afford to keep a constant stream of upgrades coming in every 6 months or so, then pc gaming really isn't worth it.

for those that can afford...........its heaven!!!

doom 3 was painful when i saw it for the first time running on an inadequate system.

as far as running games they couldnt really be more simple: install, patch, play!!!

[kernow]

big gay disco lights and stupid heatsinks killed pc gaming for me.

that, and its like the MAX POWER of computing. pc mags with birds in? hahaha

[womblingfree]

I've not played a PC game for over five years except Mame. I don't miss it at all.

Give me a sofa and a TV any day.

[PeteJ]

The difficulty of running games also put me off PC gaming for several years (although this site also pushed me, 'forcing' me into buying every console), however earlier this year I bought a nicely spec'ed machine and haven't regretted it at all. I've barely touched any of my consoles since!

I only tend to play guild wars and WoW, mind. Trackmania Sunrise didn't hold my attention for long (far too hard!).

[Daniel]

Give me a sofa and a TV any day.

My thoughts exactly.

Always Ace described pc gaming as simply install, patch and play.

In my expreience i'd say that was pretty deceptive. It's more like:

install and the game doesnt work - 30 minutes wasted and pissed off
restart and give it another go - 5 minutes wasted
search internet for patch and dl - 20 minutes gone if patch is even out yet
install patch and restart pc - 10 minutes gone
game works so now configure it - 10 minutes

variations include:
graphics card incompatible, spend ?200 and 60 minutes installing new one
new patch ****ed up saved games, smash random objects on desk in anger
patch requires fresh install because you've got some mods running
whole thing screwed so format hard drive and lose everything

But having gone from being a poor pc-gaming student to being pretty well off and finally able to constantly upgrade without worrying, i find that i value my free time a little higher than being an unpaid beta tester for bug-ridden games.