What are the average system requirements to play the latest games?

[Guest]

As of 2011 what are the average system requirements to play the latest games on standard, mainstream, default or medium settings- (They are all the same.)
AND max settings (Recommended system requirements.)
We're talking 30 fps minimum.

What are your opinions?

What should be the minimum specifications and recommended specifications of this age's gaming PC.

This is NOT meant to be future proof it should be just to play this age's games

The minimum requirements are to get 30 fps on default settings. (According to my research)
The recommended requirements are to get 30+ fps on high settings or max settings or 60 fps on the default settings.

The default are usually medium with the exception of games that set the default settings according to your graphics accelerator.

 

[Guest]

System requirements increase all the time and I may build a PC but my current 4-year prebuilt HP old computer has like 10% of the strength of todays computers, and how long did the 1156 socket last two years? I'm scared to take the risk of PC gaming but what encourages me is that I do other things than gaming, like video editing and I'm learning programming and 3-D animation (Blender); game development, anyways, according to experts Moore's Law ends around 2015, I'm 14 years old so I can wait till I'm 20 lol and stick to consoles- PS3 in my case for now and my current Pentium D system- I downloaded a sample animation ready for rendering but not yet rendered of course I didn;t finish rendering it but I calculated that it would take a literal week 24\7 to render a 10-45 minute clip depending on the details in each frame, thats like 168 hours on full CPU load!





But I looked at your computer signature thing and noticed
that your graphics card is two weak compared to your CPU, you need CrossfireX or SLi or something considering your great overclocks on everything, go GTX 580 SLi or 6970 (careful, the 6990 is right around the corner, it's waiting for you to buy a 6970 so that it can be released and sell twice... lol) CrossfireX; you would have the highest end most powerful personal computer, the latest everything.

 

[Psychoteddy]

It's very subjective. It all depends on what you expect out of your gaming experience and a few other things. I would say that minimum specs for most games are:

Core 2 Duo E8600
4 GB RAM
nVidia GT240

This would let you play most current games on at least medium settings at 1080p resolution with playable (25+ FPS) framerates. This machine is by no means capable of running games on all high at 1080p, you will have to sacrifice screen resolution in order to accomplish this. Also, forget about AA/AF with this setup.

 

[Guest]

Who me? I'm waiting for the 560 to be released so i can grab 2 for SLI

Nice! thats the way to go, there was something wrong with that picture lol, how much did your whole system cost including the graphics cards you will buy?

 

[Tamz_msc]

It depends on what game you are considering, resolution and a lot of other factors.
But the minimum by today's standards means having at least a modern dual core CPU and 2 GB RAM( less RAM might cause problems in some games).The minimum requirement for the Graphics card depends on the resolution but the least I'd go for is a HD 4650/ 4670/5570/ 5550 GDDR5 and similar cards.

 

[misfit14]

^ +1

 

[varis]

System requirements increase all the time and I may build a PC but my current 4-year prebuilt HP old computer has like 10% of the strength of todays computers, and how long did the 1156 socket last two years? I'm scared to take the risk of PC gaming but what encourages me is that I do other things than gaming, like video editing and I'm learning programming and 3-D animation (Blender); game development, anyways, according to experts Moore's Law ends around 2015, I'm 14 years old so I can wait till I'm 20 lol and stick to consoles- PS3 in my case for now and my current Pentium D system- I downloaded a sample animation ready for rendering but not yet rendered of course I didn;t finish rendering it but I calculated that it would take a literal week 24\7 to render a 10-45 minute clip depending on the details in each frame, thats like 168 hours on full CPU load!

Do you want to learn technical skills? It sounds a lot like you have interests beyond just playing the few most popular games of the time. Just get a PC!

PC hardware is already obsolete when you take it out of the store, architectures are supposed to last only as long as it takes to push a better generation to the market. But systems do have a lifespan and depending on the level of the original spec and the age of the system they can do different things. I'm used to my main gaming systems lasting maybe 2 years in the intended use after purchase - but the cycle is probably getting longer nowadays, as games don't have to push the graphics/hardware envelope that much to be new and interesting. Later in the lifecycle there's things like retro gaming - just recently I was running some PC games that were released in 1992 and 1996, and they were rather enjoyable. Sure graphics do age but good game design lasts longer! Also, you can just install Linux on the old puter and use that to learn A LOT about computers.

You can get a good idea of what is considered a low-end or a mid-end gaming system by taking a look at one of the buyer's guides for one. Anandtech, Tom's and other tech sites put those out at a rather regular basis. If you have a guide that's fairly new and has a system that sounds nice, you can just go out and buy the same parts (or something very similar). These forums have very nice sticky threads that contain a lot of well-organized information for homebuilders. And asking questions on the forums is often a very good way to get forward. Of course it can help even more if you know someone you can discuss it through and who can help you build the system.

 

[king smp]

^ +1 good post
As a 40 year old who has been gaming since the home console Atari Pong games then 80s home computers and older consoles (sega genesis,super nintendo etc) I find myself only a "light gamer" nowadays.
I do enjoy BioShock 2 occasionally and some Crysis Warhead but I have trouble grasping the need to game on super HD res screens at ultra high settings.
I was thinking about it and I guess somebody that at one time thought Zaxxon was cutting edge graphics that playing Crysis Warhead at 1280x1024 mainstream settings looks good to me LOL.
So the young folk who have grown up with Xbox 360s and Playstation 3 they need
more to think it is really cool.
I just read that Kinect is being supported on Windows PCs so that should be interesting but in the last ten years I havent seen the same leap in game advancement than in in prior decades.
I thought Fable with the character growth changing with the decisions made was a nice touch.
I also thought when Halo first came out that it was a good improvement on FPS but most games I see seem like the same game engines with different skins.
But with Kinect and 3D monitors the next major improvement is around the corner.
But tech like Kinect/3D don't substitute for innovative ideas and out of the box thinking in game design.
It seems like today designers are in kind of a rut.
If somebody out there who can point out a game that is truly original and groundbreaking please let me know.
I might for old times sake go out and buy it

 

[plznote]

You can get a very nice build for $1000.
There is no need to spend more.

 

[Helltech]

If somebody out there who can point out a game that is truly original and groundbreaking please let me know.

Mine....craft.

=D

 

[king smp]

look at videos for minecraft - perfect example of gameplay more important than pretty graphics.
I have seen building tools/weapons in early Resident Evil and RPGs.
I would love to see something that blows me away like in the Ole Days.
I remember when Zaxxon 3d, Dragons Lair Laserdisc game, Duke Nuke Em came out and were awesome (maybe it was just youth?)
I read about Kinect being used by creating an avatar and interacting online with other users (too bad M$ wont allow porn usage of Kinect LOL)
Also referring to Fable and decisions in game affecting character developement need to be explored.
How about a game where the littlest decision you make will affect your character and gameplay.
With primitive forms of A.I. being used in games combined with decision-changing gameplay plus Kinect and 3D there has to be more than fragging zombies/cyborgs/aliens.
Just something off ot the top of my head would be a real life based game in modern setting where you start off as young guy dealing with gangs and the decisions can affect how other AI characters treat you,how you look etc and you can
end up being a gang leader or police officer or bum etc while using the Kinect for battle and body language.
No aliens just real life scenarios in real life settings
Call it "Reality Gaming"

 

[king smp]

Mine....craft.

=D

Just wanted to say really sick rig you got BUT Vista 64...really?

 

[Guest]

Do you want to learn technical skills? It sounds a lot like you have interests beyond just playing the few most popular games of the time. Just get a PC!

PC hardware is already obsolete when you take it out of the store, architectures are supposed to last only as long as it takes to push a better generation to the market. But systems do have a lifespan and depending on the level of the original spec and the age of the system they can do different things. I'm used to my main gaming systems lasting maybe 2 years in the intended use after purchase - but the cycle is probably getting longer nowadays, as games don't have to push the graphics/hardware envelope that much to be new and interesting. Later in the lifecycle there's things like retro gaming - just recently I was running some PC games that were released in 1992 and 1996, and they were rather enjoyable. Sure graphics do age but good game design lasts longer! Also, you can just install Linux on the old puter and use that to learn A LOT about computers.

You can get a good idea of what is considered a low-end or a mid-end gaming system by taking a look at one of the buyer's guides for one. Anandtech, Tom's and other tech sites put those out at a rather regular basis. If you have a guide that's fairly new and has a system that sounds nice, you can just go out and buy the same parts (or something very similar). These forums have very nice sticky threads that contain a lot of well-organized information for homebuilders. And asking questions on the forums is often a very good way to get forward. Of course it can help even more if you know someone you can discuss it through and who can help you build the system.

haha, I have a 2001 Toshiba laptop, it's so fun screw it up reintall random OSs, I tried Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Puppy and run starcraft 1 at max settings on it's ATI radeon mobility M6.

 

[Guest]

About a really original game, I'd say starcraft 1, the classic version is out now in stores.

As for building a PC, I'm a 14 year old with $80. I live in the UAE where computer parts are expensive.

What does ^ +1 mean?

 

[misfit14]

About a really original game, I'd say starcraft 1, the classic version is out now in stores.

As for building a PC, I'm a 14 year old with $80. I live in the UAE where computer parts are expensive.

What does ^ +1 mean?

^ +1 means that the person agrees with the post right above this one and wants to reiterate what was previously stated by someone else without having to type in a similar reply. It is just a way of saying, "What he (or she) said."

Got it? =)