My Gaming Blog

[spockmaster]

Mitch, look at the history of the jumps. Atari to Nintendo was astronomical. Nintendo to SNES and Genesis, equally astronomical. SNES to N64, Playstation 1, all huge jumps. Playstation 1 to PS2, pretty damn big, but a little less impactful. PS2 to PS3, decently big jump. PS3 to PS4, slight jump.

If we were doing those parabolas that I remember from 10th grade, the curve is eventually going to stop approaching the axis and will level out. The returns have slowly diminished with each passing system. There may be new concepts in terms of having people actually be a part of the game, in which graphics are irrelevant, it's just reality.

The PC hardware bell curve seems to be leveling out a bit, i.e. your box isnt obsolete every 12 months. Hell, my old socket-754 Athlon 64 still runs, and runs win7. Not well, I grant you, but my friend's sister was using it (mostly for wow) up until she got a new pc recently. ive still got it sitting around here somewhere...

 

[Mitchrapp]

I remember when I bought my first PC - a new 386, it had 100MB hard drive 2MB of ram. Trident memory. $1400. First thing I upgraded to a bigger HD - 350MB. It cost over 400 bucks, can you imagine :nod:

Within the next 6-9 months not only did they have a couple more higher 386 models but a bunch of 486 models. And that was just the beginning..every week they had something new. I felt like my 386 was outdated the day I got it..

Is definitely slowed down..I built a box a few months ago I plan to keep for years and years. And of course they're much cheaper now. For the same $1400 I can build a premo machine.

Now they just need some point and click games..

 

[dubbsco]

I built a custom pc about 7 years ago, I upgraded the card (today, it is mid to low level), and I still get what I need from it. I used to be a big PC gamer, but I've steered towards consoles. I will build another one someday, but I have enough to keep me happy.

 

[Mitchrapp]

I built a custom pc about 7 years ago, I upgraded the card (today, it is mid to low level), and I still get what I need from it. I used to be a big PC gamer, but I've steered towards consoles. I will build another one someday, but I have enough to keep me happy.

When it comes to games I've steered towards consoles myself. Not completely but it's getting there..

 

[spockmaster]

I built a Q6600 system in 2007 that lasted me till last fall (and probably would have lasted longer had my motherboard not started to fail, and if the mobo had been able to support a decent overclock on the processor.) I replaced it with an octacore system that I hope lasts me at least as long, barring incremental upgrades like a new gfx card, etc.

Ive basically abandoned consoles. Aside from old games on my ps2 and pokemon on my DS, I play all my games on PC. I have a ps3, but its sitting in the closet unused because it stopped reading discs last year. I doubt ill end up buying any of the newer consoles. Im just not much of a fan of console gaming.

 

[sggatecl]

Built my PC in 2008. Intel quad core with SLI'd GTX 260s. Have only replaced a power supply and the peripherals in 6 years, plan on riding it out until something important fails. It plays every game I want (Odin bless Steam) so there's no reason to upgrade.

Wish I could say that about consoles. The list of new games available for my PS3 keeps shrinking, I honestly haven't played a PS3 game in about 6 months. Just use it for streaming Amazon Prime occasionally.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Built my PC in 2008. Intel quad core with SLI'd GTX 260s. Have only replaced a power supply and the peripherals in 6 years, plan on riding it out until something important fails. It plays every game I want (Odin bless Steam) so there's no reason to upgrade.

Wish I could say that about consoles. The list of new games available for my PS3 keeps shrinking, I honestly haven't played a PS3 game in about 6 months. Just use it for streaming Amazon Prime occasionally.

I was that way with my PS4, for awhile they had nothing I wanted..it's finally starting to pick up and will even more the next year. I'm also a Prime user and I use it quite a bit.

 

[Gulo Blue]

The list of new games available for my PS3 keeps shrinking, I honestly haven't played a PS3 game in about 6 months.

I never seem to have that problem; I just keep falling behind. For PS3 I have Resident Evil 6 and a Final Fantasy game sitting there...still waiting to get played. Assassins Creed Black Flag for Wii U is unopened. Okami and Boom Blox for Wii I never played. Heck, I even have Metroid Prime 2, Viewtiful Joe, and some Metal Gear Solid game for Gamecube that I never got around to. I'm probably not thinking of a few others.

 

[dubbsco]

For me, I always bite off more than I can chew. I honestly have like 15 games from the PS3 that I intended on playing, but just could not commit myself to it. Ni no Nuni, Darksiders 2, Rayman, Dragon's Dogma, etc... I just recently finished Dark Souls 2. Poured about 60 hours into it, and it sapped me of every ounce of strength I had lol.

I just picked up a Wii U. I have made a strong effort to get back to why games are fun. I am really enjoying just being a kid again with Mario Kart. Looking forward to Smash Bros and the lineup.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Damn man. I buy a game to play. One game at a time..until it's finished.

I'm not sure I could find Mario Kart fun, lol. Secret #1: If I game is snapping you of every strength you have, stop.

:cheers:

 

[jdeb]

Here is a HTPC build that can play any game out there. This build is running Linux Ubuntu 14.04 with XBMC 13.1 Gotham. I sold it yesterday. The guy had a strict budget of $1100.00. This came in at $1100.00. My cost was just under 800. It was built with Steam OS in mind but the Beta is just not ready for him. He is big into online gaming with other Linux users.

Intel Pentium G3220 Haswell Dual-Core 3.0GHz

ASUS H81I-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel H81 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BA1339

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW120G3B5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) For OS and apps

WD BLACK SERIES WD1003FZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive for storage

LITE-ON DVD Burner Slim

VCOM VC-SLIMDVD Power+SATA Cable for Slim DVD

EVGA 02G-P4-3753-KR G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 750 Ti Superclocked 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card

SeaSonic SS-350SFE 350W SFX12V V3.1 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - OEM

SilverStone Sugo Series SG05BB-LITE Black SECC / Plastic Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case with 2 x USB3.0 ports (Black)

Logitech K400 (920-003070) Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard

Logitech F710 (940-000117) Wireless Gamepad

I have built this guy and his family many machines over the years. He still has a working, running, Slackware Box I built for him in 1999. His kids use it for school work and games. It is a Pentium 2 - 450, ASUS P2B-S motherboard, 256 MB of RAM, 18GB SCSI drive and a Diamond Viper V550 16MB Riva TNT video card. Still has the original Sea Sonic 300W PSU. This thing was ultra high end in the day. As I recall, I did change most if not all the caps. Man have motherboards changed.

 

[sggatecl]

Slightly off topic but since you brought it up jdeb, what are your first impressions of the SteamOS?

 

[Thumb]

Why pay $1100 and get a cheap CPU?

 

[jdeb]

Slightly off topic but since you brought it up jdeb, what are your first impressions of the SteamOS?

Very comprehensive but maybe biting off a liitle more than they can handle. I have devoted many hours. It is easy to use but still relies on Windows to stream. I am working on making the install easier but my code style is getting some rejection. My advanced kernal knowledge can be reaching... GPU drivers are lacking stability but they don't want my help there. It will be the console of the future, just behind the hype.

 

[jdeb]

Why pay $1100 and get a cheap CPU?

Strict budget. That is an excellent CPU. It may be cheap but it performs admirable with the configuration. Almost went with AMD but the customer uses too many single v threaded applications, thus the reasoning behind the Haswell.

 

[Thumb]

Strict budget. That is an excellent CPU. It may be cheap but it performs admirable with the configuration. Almost went with AMD but the customer uses too many single v threaded applications, thus the reasoning behind the Haswell.

Oh, well I just wondered. I could never see anyone paying $1100 for a gaming rig that only has 2 cores and a 3mb L3 cache.

Personally, the CPU is the last thing I'd skimp on to save dough, but to each his own.

also apologies to the OP, not meaning to threadjack.

 

[jdeb]

Oh, well I just wondered. I could never see anyone paying $1100 for a gaming rig that only has 2 cores and a 3mb L3 cache.

Personally, the CPU is the last thing I'd skimp on to save dough, but to each his own.

also apologies to the OP, not meaning to threadjack.

Most games a dual core is plenty and he is not into any of the Crysis type games. Keep in mind the cost of the SSD and input devices tack on a couple hundred. He is using it to stream movies, play DVD's, and internet TV. The original build in mind was an 800.00 but he decided to upgrade to a SSD and stick it in his entertainment center.

I don't think we are thread jacking, he is promoting his game blog and it is very relevant to his OP. It probably gives him some good ideas to write about in his well written blog.

Andrew brings up some great points about what is missing in games. It's all about graphics and less about story. As for hardware, it is far ahead to meet the demands so when people build a PC gaming box, the GPU has to meet the requirements of the game. Heck, you have to be careful your CPU does not bottleneck some of these games. I was not aware about the trophy thing (not a gamer) but I can see his point. I know that many Linux users are into the Indie games and they typically do not require huge amounts of horse power. When I played games back in the day, they were the likes of the original Duke Nukem, Doom, Final Fantasy, Myst, Unreal, Grim Fandango, etc. It was the operating system that turned me off, I never liked Windows. So, mostly played Dos games. Of those games mentioned, there were well thought story lines, challenge, and satisfying accomplishment. Funny thing is, my grand kids love to play those old PC games and love the story line's. My 7 year old grand son flip flops between the Wii and my old Dos box.

 

[spockmaster]

I should get a dos emulator working properly, I have a hankering to play Tie Fighter and STTNG: A Final Unity. I have a win95 one set up so i can play Lode Runner.

 

[jdeb]

I should get a dos emulator working properly, I have a hankering to play Tie Fighter and STTNG: A Final Unity. I have a win95 one set up so i can play Lode Runner.

DOSBOX works well. Lots of documentation on it as well.

 

[Mitchrapp]

If you like any point and click, like Grim Fandango, ScummVM .. good emulator. Can get the needed data files throughout the web. Can even be used on a tablet.