Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pc and gaming

Help me find a laptop that will play the games I've been missing out on

el chupa nibre — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:37:22 -0800

I'm in the market for a new computer, and I'd like to find one that can handle some of the RTS and city building games I've missed out on in the past 5 or so years. I'm on a budget and I don't really understand computer hardware requirements. Can you help? -My budget is around $600

-The games I'd like to play are Tropico 3, Anno 1404, Crusader Kings 2, and possibly Minecraft

-Besides these games, the only things I'd be doing is word processing and internet browsing

-I'd prefer that it didn't run Windows 8.

Does such a laptop exist? I'm definitely open to purchasing used/refurbished. Thank you Metafilter!

Help me get back into computer games!

EatMyHat — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 02:42:52 -0800

Computer games advice please! I want to get back into playing computer games after a long hiatus (since the mid 90s!!) so I need your advice. If I buy game CDs on Ebay/Amazon or the like, how do I tell if they are legit or bootleg copies? I want to stay away from shady business! Why are sites like Steam and Good Old Games so cheap? Are they scams? What does a subscription service actually mean?

Power computing for less $$$

Happydaz — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:12:52 -0800

What's the best way to buy a gaming computer for less than $500? Should I be buying components and putting it together on my own, or just waiting for the best deal on a prebuilt system? And what websites should I be using to price things? I have a six-year-old laptop. I want something that runs Starcraft 2, LOL, TF2, Civ 4/5 on the higher graphic settings. I obviously can't afford something top-end on my price range, and that's fine. Basically, I want to put a box together that has the best 2010-2011 technology that 2012 money can buy.

This computer is somewhat representative of what I'm looking for, but looking at the reviews the company seems to have lackluster tech support and shoddy components. I can probably put together a system on my own, if it's cheaper, but I have no idea the best way to price components or to even figure out what I should be looking for. Oh, and if it matters, I'd prefer Windows 7 instead of Windows 8, although it's not a big deal.

(Basically, I want an updated answer to the question in this thread, except with relevant 2012 websites, pricing, and specs :-)

Gaming on a microPC

OldReliable — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 06:02:02 -0800

Will this computer run Armed Assault 2 so I can play Day-Z? Also, how do I install windows on a machine with no CD Drive? I don't have a working PC.

I need a special snowflake game recommendation!

kbanas — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:51:40 -0800

Diablo is starting to wear a little thin. I need a game. I need some suggestions. I'm feeling a little... world war-ish. Please read on for my snowflake game requirements. I've been reading through William Shirer's excellent Rise and Fall of the Third Reich lately. What a great read! It's making me want to play something... World War 2-ish.

Requirements!

A) I have trouble finding value in older games that lack a certain graphical polish, so, unless it's a hum-dinger, I'd like something made in the last 3 - 5 years at the outside. PC only, please.

B) A FPS is fine, I guess - and feel free to suggest them! But all this talk in the book about Axis and Ally troop movements and strategy and so on have me kind of champing at the bit for something with a little more "high level" view of the military campaign.

RTS? Sure. Turn-based? Sure. I'm down with that. Some wacky hybrid I've never heard of before? I'm done with that.

C) I guess that's it. CIV 5 kind of scratched the itch a little, but it seems so dumbed down that it gets kind of boring after awhile, and also is not specifically a WW2 game at all.

So, I'm taking any and all comers for WW2 PC games of all shapes and sizes that might scratch the same itch as I get when reading through this book about the various military machinations of the world powers on the board at that time - from grunt in the trenches all the way out to the "big picture"...

Help me out!

First-time Online PC Order

chrono_rabbit — Thu, 31 May 2012 13:00:10 -0800

Pleases help finalize my mid-range PC Desktop. Earlier this month I asked for advice about a new PC.

After looking around online for ideas, I decided that I'd probably purchase 2012 Paladin E from Ibuypower.com

2012 Paladin E

1 x Case ( NZXT Source 210 Gaming Case - Black )
1 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion ( iBUYPOWER Internal USB Expansion System )
1 x Processor ( Intel® Core™ i5-3570K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i5-3570K )
1 x Processor Cooling ( Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1155] - Standard 120mm Fan )
1 x Memory ( 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Kingston HyperX )
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 1GB - FREE Upgrade to GTX 560 Ti EVGA Superclocked - Single Card )
1 x Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by AMD or NVIDIA )
1 x Motherboard ( [SLI] ASUS Sabertooth Z77 -- 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16, 4x USB 3.0 )
1 x Power Supply ( 750 Watt - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 - Free Upgrade to 850 Watt Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2 ($20 Savings) )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
1 x Data Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
1 x Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
1 x Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
1 x Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
1 x Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit )

---

=$1366 +70$ SH

I think this set-up looks fine for my general use. I'm still undecided about the Video Card, but I think it should work fine with my plans. However, if there's something strange or odd about my choices any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

What is THE BEST, most creative, most moving story & character-based PC game you've ever played?

Calicatt — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:59:22 -0800

What is THE BEST, most creative, most moving story & character-based PC game you've ever played? I've just finished playing Mass Effect 3 and after a few days of being obsessed with indoctrination theory, I think it's time to move on.

I'm looking for something where you *care* about the characters, and where you're faced with moral dilemmas to which there is no "right" answer, preferably where the storyline is non linear and based on your choices.

--spoilers below--

I want to cry like I did when Mordin dies. I want to be surprised like I was when the platform sunk into the pit of fire in Portal. I want to eavesdrop on NPC's conversations. I want a story...with an ending! Skyrim is great, but I got bored with the endlessness of it, and the flatness of the characters (LYDIA, STOP swearing to carry my burdens! omfg)

--no more spoilers--

My favorite games, loosely ranked:

-Dragon Age: Origin (DAII is a bastard console spawn, imho, but don't get me started)
-Mass Effect 1,2,3
-Portal
-The Quest for Glory series (ignoring the 90s graphics)
-The King's Quest series (ditto about the graphics)
-Plants v. Zombies (ok, I have a weakness for really good puzzle/ tower defense games with a lot of personality)

Further info:
*I'm considering the witcher or the witcher 2. Thoughts?
*I liked Assassin's creed, but it plays like much more of a console game and my computer had a hard time with the graphics for some reason.
*Neverwinter nights didn't do it for me. Not sure why. Maybe just the old-school graphics. I've been spoiled. :)

Thanks!

I was ahead of the gaming tech curve once, but now I don't get it. What can I play?

longtime_lurker — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:27:06 -0800

I don't get PC game requirements; I seem to have a mental block on the issue, and I don't think I'm going to get it. I've never had one of those fancy "video card" things. HL2 and Portal work great on my laptop, Bio-shock is sluggish to the point where its playable but I won't bother. What games that were state-of-the-art at the time, but are now older, can I play? I'm running a midpriced laptop with Windows 7 from '10, Without knowing anything else, is it possible to ID games that are great and will function well? What are they?

I'm told that even HL2-contemporary GTA games, for example, are beyond me? Or this Mass Effect thing that people seem to like a lot? What would I need to upgrade to for them to work? Would I need a desktop? A fancy expensive one, or a cheap low grade one?

If I'm not giving enough info, what specific steps would I have to take to provide the numbers that would let you answer these questions?

Help me buy a custom gaming PC

nurgle — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:54:31 -0800

What are some good, reliable, up-to-date websites that discuss buying and building a budget gaming PC? I'm looking to spend $700 give or take to build my own gaming rig. I know there are multitudes of websites, monthly youtube videos, magazines, etc. that offer up their own solutions/suggestions/recipes for custom gaming rigs... but since there are so many of them i'm not sure where to find a truly reliable source. Are there any websites that really stick out in terms of this sort of thing? Forums, hardware reviews, articles etc. would be awesome.

Thanks!

Help me build the quietest gaming desktop system, pro favor.

6spd — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:30:13 -0800

Help me build the quietest gaming desktop system, pro favor. I'd like to build a gaming desktop that can handle Diablo III, games like COD, BF3, etc on a single monitor.

I'm not looking for an insane setup that can play the craziest, latest games on the highest settings on 10 monitors. No, I just want to play games like Modern Warfare and D3 on their highest settings.

So, that being said, I've identified Puget Systems as selling silent desktops as well as liquid-cooled desktops. It seems, though, that their silent desktops are more quiet than the liquid-cooled ones. Also, they're a bit pricey, which is to be expected.

So, how much should I expect to spend for a system wherein:
a) I buy each component myself and build the PC from scratch (this includes sound deadening materials, etc)

OR

b) I pay a premium and purchase a pre-built one from Puget Systems and the likes.

I'm looking to spend less than $1,500 total (including a monitor).

Recommend a gaming laptop

Mwongozi — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 09:05:16 -0800

What gaming laptop won't rip me off? I want a laptop that's powerful enough to run Skyrim at at least 30fps, on High. (Bonus points for Ultra, but not necessary I suppose.)

Assuming a budget of about US$1200, and assuming I want a laptop that is actually portable (so preferably smaller than 17"), what should I buy? (Despite my usual location, I'm currently in the USA.)

More generically, general advice on laptop gaming specs (CPUs, graphics cards...) is also appreciated.

(From my searching, similar questions have been asked before but not for over a year, and hardware has moved on a bit...)

I want to kill zombies in higher resolution

extramundane — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:02:39 -0800

Getting a gaming rig -- advice? I'm thinking about replacing this crappy desktop that I have (Dell 530s, with a NVIDIA 9400GT video card and a pathetic PSU) with a better gaming computer. However, I'm not a huge gamer or anything -- just L4D2 and the Sims3, occasionally TF2. I'd like to run L4D2 at med or high settings at a higher resolution than now (currently I think I can run it without lag at 1280x800, medium).

I've configured a setup on CyperPowerPC, but I'm not sure if the hardware suits my needs or not (I'm blindly choosing specs, at this point):

Case: CoolerMaster Elite 430 Mid-Tower Gaming Case with Side Panel Window
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
Noise Reduction Technology: None
CPU: AMD Phenom™II X4 965 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant
Motherboard: * [CrossFireX] GigaByte GA-970A-D3 AMD 970 Socket AM3+ ATX Mainboard w/ On/Off Charge, 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe X16, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Kingston HyperX)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Power Supply Upgrade: 600 Watts - XtremeGear Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
Hard Drive: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

OS is Windows7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Other than that, I will be using this desktop for the usual web browsing, watching movies, playing music, etc.

I checked out some older threads, but I want to get some thoughts on hardware that's currently out there. I doubt I will be getting into any of the newer games, so a super high-end video card isn't necessary. No real budget at this point, but under $800 would be nice.

Any upgrades/changes that need to be made? General advice? Thanks!

Looking for good PC gaming headphones

Nelsormensch — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:57:55 -0800

What are some good PC gaming headphones in the $50-75 range (and available in Canada)? My old reliable Sennheisers are finally giving up the ghost, so I need to find a replacement pair. Looking to spend in the $50-75 range.

I don't need bass that will rattle my teeth to dust or silent-as-the-grave noise cancelling. I just a sturdy, reliable set of headphones that are comfortable to wear for an hour or two at a time. A mic would be great, but if an absolutely awesome set is without, I can make do with an external mic.

Ideally I can order them in Canada without paying absurd international shipping. I'm going to be in Seattle this weekend though, so if there's a US retail shop that has something awesome, I can likely swing by. Thanks!

Pow! Freowwww! Games to test out my new rig with?

rebent — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:15:13 -0800

I got a new PC a few months ago. I like to think that it's a good build, but I never play any games on it anyway besides minecraft because I already had an Xbox and there's nothing coming out until christmas. What are some games/demos I can get (for free) that I can try on it to really get a sense of how good of a gaming rig it is - and if I should start buying PC games, or stick to xbox games? also feel free to suggest any PC-only titles I may have missed in the past 5 years

What is the difference between these two PC graphics cards?

T.D. Strange — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:06:14 -0800

What is the difference between these two PC graphics cards? Crossfire setup question inside. I recently built a new desktop PC for primary use as a gaming machine. It's running this graphics card: XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB.

If I were to install a second card in crossfire mode, what is the difference between that one and this one: XFX HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit ? As far as I can tell, the only difference is that the second one has two fans?

I'm not sure that I want to spend the extra money to upgrade, but I think I'd rather go ahead and do it sooner rather than wait and possibly have difficulty finding the same model card in a year or 18 months How closely should the two cards in a crossfire setup match? Should they be the EXACT same model, or is the same base design close enough?

If I read one more pointless post about Atlus' "Catherine" or somebody's controller mod....

Vorteks — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:08:16 -0800

Looking for an RSS feed of just the right amount of video game news. I'm having a hard time finding a good source for video game news. It seems that almost all sites either have way too many posts about unimportant things, or they miss covering lesser-known games, or both.

I'd like to hear about pretty much every game that comes out for every system (Wii, DS, XBox 360, PSP, PS3, PC, iOS, Android, etc). A lot of the time minor games seem to slip through the cracks with nobody covering them. At the same time, sites are flooded with dozens of posts every day that cover trivial minutia. I don't have time to read 300+ posts per week.

The ideal news source would provide the following sort of coverage:

Major announcements - ie. "Nintendo announces new console"

Before release, 1-3 preview posts leading up to a game - Maybe an initial announcement followed by a detailed preview article and/or trailer at a later date. But not a new article 3 times per week for each fact they can glean.

After release, a detailed review with a trustworthy score - Of course scores will always be subjective, but some sites/reviewers seem to have not even really played the game, or sell their reviews to the highest bidder.

Occasional continued coverage of major developments - Civilization 5 has a patch that adds hotseat multiplayer? Portal 2 is getting free DLC? Ok, that's good to know.
Other very high profile news

At the same time, I want to avoid sites that have an avalanche of this sort of news:

"We got 2 new screenshots of an upcoming game! We've added them to the 97 we already showed you."

"Voice actor for famous character admits they've never played the game. We interview them anyway."

"Check out this fanart we copied-and-pasted off DeviantArt!"

"You know what would be cool? If someone remade [classic game]. Please?"

"Man proposes to girlfriend using Mario or something."

"We still don't know much about the plot of [game], but a bad translation of blurry cell phone picture of a Japanese happy meal toy provides a hint!"

TLDR:

I want to find a game news source with an RSS feed that I can read in Google Reader, covers all games and systems well, and avoids minutia and news that is irrelevant to purchase decisions. Ideally this news source would have 50 posts per week or less on average.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I know I might not get exactly what I'm looking for, but a best-match would be appreciated. Thanks!

Buying a PC online

Rinku — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:40:55 -0800

How do you get a good deal on a pre-built PC online? My parents are getting a computer for my younger brother for Christmas. He's been asking for a desktop PC for gaming and schoolwork. Their budget is about 1000$, including monitor and keyboard/mouse. They've told me they're planning on just walking into best buy and choosing something in their price range. I have a feeling they could get a significantly better deal online, but I've never bought a computer online before so I don't know what to recommend.

I know that building your own computer is very much the hip thing, but I don't think my parents would trust my brother to build his own computer - they'd rather buy something that's already put together.

I'm a generally computer-literate, but my parents are less so and we're both longtime mac users. So, do you have any tips for buying a gaming PC online? What are things to avoid, or to look for? Buying a PC, there are a lot of different brands available - Acer, HP, Dell, and so on - what are the differences between them, if any? What online retailers have you had good experiences with? I've bought hard drives from newegg before, and had a good experience, but how are they with whole PCs?

I know similar questions have been asked before, but it seems like the technology that's out there is always changing. Thanks for your help.

Give me a game!

kbanas — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:53:23 -0800

I'm looking for some PC game recommendations. I guess I'll settle for X Box 360 and PS3 recommendations as well. I know a variation on this question has been asked many times before, but I have a fairly specific requirements. I realized after playing Dragon Age that I really, really, really love the kind of turn-based/real-time mechanic at play in the game. I use the term "turn-based" pretty loosely here. I know it's not exactly that.

For those who haven't played it - you move around and interact in real-time, but you can also "pause" the game and queue movements for your party. This is great during combat, when things can get frenzied. You can pause the action and issue commands to your party members.

I get a little frantic sometimes during action, so I really got a lot of enjoyment out of slowing everything down and being able to focus on tactical elements.

I also really like the VATS system in Fallout 3 / New Vegas for the same reason.

I think Mass Effect 2 also has something similar, although it's been awhile since I picked that one up.

While playing a game like Supreme Commander or Dawn of War 2 I often wish and beg and plead for a similar gameplay mechanic. DoW2 in particular - those 4 squads can be tough to manage in the heat of combat.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for games - of any genre, really (although you can see from above what games I like) - that use the kind of mechanic I'm talking about? I just finished Fallout: New Vegas, so I'm itching for a new (or old) title.

Can this computer be sufficiently upgraded to take over the world?

jbickers — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:12:59 -0800

I have this computer. Will I ever be able to play Civilization V on it? I downloaded the demo on Steam, and while it technically ran, it was a chore to play - reaaaallly slow screen redraws, lag on clicks, etc. I'm not up to date on under-the-hood PC stuff, so I don't know if a new video card would make it a smooth-as-butter experience, or if the dual core thing forever stymies this machine as a gaming box. Would a killer video card do the trick, and if so, which one should I get?

I'm Game!

DisreputableDog — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:51:12 -0800

Help a mostly non-gamer find fun and satisfying PC games to play. So far, the extent of my PC gaming experience is pretty small. I've played Age of Empires, some sort of dinosaur hunter game I don't remember now, Spore, and WoW.

(I've also played various online Flash games such as Runescape, Shaiya, Facebook games (which always annoyed me after a while), and Aether, which is my favorite so far due to art and relaxing floaty dreamlike quality.)

So what would you recommend that I either buy or borrow and start playing? I'm willing to try a "shooter" but prefer it not be an exhausting first experience involving hour long battles, like Halo or some such.

I also very much enjoy the art of the game, which can be anything from extremely detailed or black and white abstract, but above all, I'd like to enjoy the experience.

So throw out your favorite PC (Windows 7, but working on getting XP also) games or what you think a beginner style gamer should try, and why. (Also, I don't have days and days to spend on leveling, so please keep that in mind)

I'm tired of my computer protecting me from the horror of gaming

umberto — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:29:56 -0800

Windows 7 and StarForce have teamed up to keep me from playing games. Help! Got a new Dell laptop year and a half back. Windows Vista. Worked fine. Dad picked up a couple of Win 7 upgrades and it seemed like a good idea. Except for gaming. Neither of my Tiger Wood's versions will work, Steam blows up, so I can't play HL or Portal, and it all seems to be something to do with StarForce drivers. I don't even know where they came from.

I have tried to unload them, erase them, use special tools on them. Searching around finds a lot of people complaining about this...in 2006, with Win XP but not lately. All I really want is to play HL and Portal and Tiger Woods. That is the extent of my gaming. And none of them work. Is this ineradicable? Or terminally incompatible? I miss me my Tiger Woods! Is it me? I don't want no consoles, I'm a geezer, dammit.

Help me build a new PC

Vindaloo — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:10:27 -0800

I've decided to buy a new PC, mostly because I want to upgrade before the next WoW expansion. I've been reading a bit a Tom's Hardware, and done some research elsewhere, but I have to say that the dazzling array of options before me is a little overwhelming. I am hoping for some pointers on what I should buy, my overall budget is <$1,000. I plan on using the PC to run Windows 7, Warcraft, and play movies on my (future) HDTV. Some questions:

Should I go with Intel or AMD?
Duo, Quad, or X3?
How much RAM, and what speed?
1 GPU or several in Crossfire? (HD 5850 seems a clear favourite, but do I need more than 1?)
Do I need to buy a seperate sound card like I did in 2004?
How much power do I need?

Please help!

How much PC security will I really need?

woot — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:29:48 -0800

I'm about to receive a desktop computer (Windows 7 Pro) that I am going to use *solely* for playing an online game. Do I need any additional security or virus protection programs aside from what comes with Windows 7? I'm a Mac person and fairly comfortable with managing security for my network with MacOS, but I'm not very familiar with PC security aside from OMG YOUR COMPUTER WILL BE PROBED AND INFECTED WITHIN 2 MINUTES OF GOING ONLINE THE FIRST TIME!!!111

This is going to be a dedicated gaming rig, initially for LoTRO. I plan to be pretty careful -- I won't put any "personal" info on the machine at all: no email accounts, no documents, no web browsing aside from what I need to do to get software updates. The PC will be connected to a network with other Macs, though, and depending how I set things up, may have to join over a wireless network with WPA. I might also install other game apps (such as WoW with authenticator) in the future.

My specific questions are these (but please tell me what I'm missing):

1) Is the Windows 7 built-in firewall sufficient to protect the computer from bad things (assuming fairly good security discipline practices)?
2) I *will* have to run a browser for Windows and game software updates -- is cranking IE's security settings to the max enough?
3) Do I need to change any settings on my Time Capsule wireless router?
4) Do I need to change any settings on my other Macs to protect my them?
5) Should I set up a special segregated network for this PC so that it can't see or get to the other Macs? (Bonus points if you can find me instructions.)

Please forgive me if I sound a little paranoid, but I just don't want to be that person who comes home one day to find her network merrily hawking herb@l V1@gr4.

Help with buying a new mid-range windows gaming PC?

cortex — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:37:45 -0800

I'm looking at purchasing a new PC for gaming, wanting to spend between $1000 and $1500 total, would prefer not to put it together myself, and am waaaay out of the loop on hardware at this point, particularly graphic cards. I've been pricing out desktop builds from some of the major manufacturers this morning and I'm realizing that while I'm comfortable making some basic price/performance calls as far as CPU and memory, I'm completely out of touch with the GPU market and need some guidance.

I'd like to be able to play current releases without flinching, at crisp resolutions. I'll be happy with non-distracting performance: 30fps is great, 60fps is not something I'm going to care about so much.

I'd rather just buy a box from someone and have done with it than do much work myself inside the case, but as far as buying my own GPU to install in an otherwise standard box that's certainly not outside my comfort zone.

Looking at Dell's builds for both their normal beefy desktop line and their Alienware stuff, it seems like a lot of the latter is Ooh, Shiny packaging. I don't need a pretty box. But options for GPUs are pretty slim on non-gamer boxes, which has me wondering if going in that direction for a reasonably bullshit-free desktop build and then slotting in my own card is the smarter move.

Any specific advice on targeting a good-enough-for-current-games (biggies on my list include Dragon Age now, Mass Effect 2 and Diablo 3 when they drop, for example) GPU on the saner side of the price/performance break? Any particular good deals/providers for a solid out-of-the-box system in my price range?

How build a gaming pc that doesn't use much power when doing office work?

Pres — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:40:53 -0800

I want to build a pc with a powerful display adaptor for gaming, but that doesn't waste energy when I'm just doing office work. Any suggestions on how to do this? (multiple adaptors? software?)