How am I gonna get in to PC games?

[chuckman1]

So I've decided I really want to get in to PC gaming and have kind of started my collection.
I've got most of the classic crpg's (fallout,planescape,etc) and I purchased Valve complete pack a while back but I'm on a laptop with GMA 950.
So if I wanna play anything from this millennium I'm gonna have 2 build a brand new pc.
But my questions go further than hardware (although that would be appreciated let's say $500 is the absolute max although if less is an option do tell) I'm not looking for something great but I want to be at least competent enough to run everything at least 30 fps preferably 60.

But my question goes deeper.
How do I truly "get in"?
What games should I get to startoff, how do I get in to the modding scene, etc.

 

[Alexnader]

$500 is too low for say... awesome stuff like Battlefield 3. You won't be able to get the fabled "Awesum PC graphics" or much of that side of PC gaming. Most likely not even bog standard graphics or even low graphics for some games. Edit: Apparently making acceptable PCs is cheap as shit now, good. That's one interesting side-affect the console market has had on PCs.

You will still however get awesome indie games, awesome older games etc which are another side of PC gaming.

As for getting into mods buying valve games was a good start, there's a tonne of mods (some are even good!) for Half Life etc. (I.e. The Stanley Parable). If you want to actually start making mods... well that's a whole other can of worms and I'd suggest finding a game you like and actually having ideas on how to make it better BEFORE saying "I want to make a mod".

Other games that are very "PC" include the Battlefield franchise, pretty much all real time strategy etc. I also recommend you take a look at http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ which is dedicated to PC gaming news and current affairs.

If you don't have the disposable income for the drooling over water cooled, overclocked whatsits and a million frames per second I'd recommend going for indie games like Bastion, Minecraft, Terraria etc. That's an easy way to fill out your "PC Cred". I do feel kind've dirt saying this, almost like I'm advising someone on how to be a hipster. But whatever, if you want quintessential PC there's a huge variety of stuff out there that falls under "PC gaming".

 

[Zarmi]

What the fuck? Since when did it suddenly become a ritual to be a PC gamer?

1) You buy a PC.
2) You game on the PC.
3) ????
4) PROFIT!

There are no certain games you NEED to be a PC gamer. The only problem regarding PCs is that you usually need to lay down some hard cash in order to get a PC you won't have to upgrade within the next two years (If you got a steady income with money to put on the side for stuff like this, it's preferrable to go this way, getting a med-spec PC, and just upgrade it as you need to.)

It depends what you want to do. Do you want to game Battlefield 3 on max settings? Do you want to play Starcraft 2 on medium settings? A good idea is to find a game you REALLY want to play (preferrably a newer one) and just see what specs it needs, then go from there.
However, you will probably need to go above the $500 if you want to avoid upgrading within a year.

As for a final note; You don't "get into" PC gaming. You just game on a PC. It's not different from a console, other than it allows you some more options, and overall better control in your games. The only thing I can think of "getting into" regarding gaming in general is the Esport scene, otherwise it's piece of cake. The hardest part will probably be to tailor up a good PC without spending too much money, but it's generally better to overdo it than underdo it, if you ask me.

 

[chuckman1]

$500 is too low for say... awesome stuff like Battlefield 3. You won't be able to get the fabled "Awesum PC graphics" or much of that side of PC gaming. Most likely not even bog standard graphics or even low graphics for some games.

You will still however get awesome indie games, awesome older games etc which are another side of PC gaming.

As for getting into mods buying valve games was a good start, there's a tonne of mods (some are even good!) for Half Life etc. (I.e. The Stanley Parable). If you want to actually start making mods... well that's a whole other can of worms and I'd suggest finding a game you like and actually having ideas on how to make it better BEFORE saying "I want to make a mod".

Other games that are very "PC" include the Battlefield franchise, pretty much all real time strategy etc. I also recommend you take a look at http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ which is dedicated to PC gaming news and current affairs.

If you don't have the disposable income for the drooling over water cooled, overclocked whatsits and a million frames per second I'd recommend going for indie games like Bastion, Minecraft, Terraria etc. That's an easy way to fill out your "PC Cred". I do feel kind've dirt saying this, almost like I'm advising someone on how to be a hipster. But whatever, if you want quintessential PC there's a huge variety of stuff out there that falls under "PC gaming".

Just to give you an idea on why I want to upgrade, I can't run minecraft.
I don't have hardware t&l.
God my card is pathetic.
Do you have any tips on making games run faster on this piece of crap?
I get like 5 fps in half life 2 minimum settings.

 

[Kathinka]

with a 500$ pc you can play most of todays games on rather good settings. don't forget, half a decade old console (that weren't that powerfull when they were new) can do it! you won't be able to crank everything to ultra on very demanding games, but everything of the last few years you can easily play maxed out.

i don't know the exact prices in the colonies, but over here with that kind of budged i would go for something like this:

Phenom II X4 955 - 90
colling unit comes with cpu - 0
gigabyte GA 870A - 70
4 gb corsair xms 3 (ddr3 1600) - 35
Gigabyte GTX 460 superclocked - 150
onboard soundcard - 0
some generic 50 buck harddrive, maybe seagate 7200, has one terrabyte - 50
sony dvd burner of your choice - 20
generic case, cooltec evolution CT-K3 works - 35
sharkoon SHA550 (not the most powerfull, but it will do) - 50

there, you are at 500 bucks, and roughly 7-8 times more powerfull than an xbox 360. more than enough to play battlefield 3 with very nice settings. consoles are in no way cheaper than pc's, it's an age old lie console fanboys tell over and over again. the price to assamble a rig of the power of an xbox360 is laughably low. you don't need to be a rich snob to get a very decent gaming pc.

 

[Normandyfoxtrot]

I got mine for 800 after my five year old video card and as long as I keep AA down to 2 or 4 I can run most things even released this year with the rest of the stettings maxed. Though admittedly I need to go out and pony up for a new power supply and video card my poor old 8500 is just ancient.

 

[Ruwrak]

But my question goes deeper.
How do I truly "get in"?
What games should I get to startoff, how do I get in to the modding scene, etc.

Modding isn't really a core thing about the PC. Lots of people play games without mods. Then again some people mod the crap out of games. Myself, I like my games vintage style and unburdened.

However, once you have your rig set up (should not have to be -that- expensive really.) I reccomend downloading a digital platform like steam (and reluctantly I say Origin, but that's another story.) and check out the specials depending on your flavour of games. Generally on wednesday you find a discount and over the weekend.

I hear rumours that steam will soon have a THQ discount week so keep your eyes peeled. And describe what you understand under 'truly get in' the pc gaming world.
In my eyes, it's as easy as getting a pc, installing some games and start beeing a smartass on forums telling people how to get into pc gaming.

Oh wait, did I just mock myself?
In all seriousness. Good games to start with: (according to me anyway)

Half life 2 (Episode 1, 2 and if it ever is released episode 3)
Command & Conquer series (and im also referring to Red Alert 2, old as it is, it's still fun.)
If you're into horror 3ps, Deadspace I & II
If you like freeroaming 'figure it out yourself' games, Elder scrolls.
Some serious dead fun, Saints Row I (and actually I'd prefer Saints Row II over I. And soon Saints Row the Third).
What might be fun as well is Assassins Creed II, or soon Revelations.
And of course plants vs zombies because the indiegamer market needs to be fed as well.

 

[Alexnader]

What the fuck? Since when did it suddenly become a ritual to be a PC gamer?

1) You buy a PC.
2) You game on the PC.
3) ????
4) PROFIT!

There are no certain games you NEED to be a PC gamer. The only problem regarding PCs is that you usually need to lay down some hard cash in order to get a PC you won't have to upgrade within the next two years (If you got a steady income with money to put on the side for stuff like this, it's preferrable to go this way, getting a med-spec PC, and just upgrade it as you need to.)

It depends what you want to do. Do you want to game Battlefield 3 on max settings? Do you want to play Starcraft 2 on medium settings? A good idea is to find a game you REALLY want to play (preferrably a newer one) and just see what specs it needs, then go from there.
However, you will probably need to go above the $500 if you want to avoid upgrading within a year.

As for a final note; You don't "get into" PC gaming. You just game on a PC. It's not different from a console, other than it allows you some more options, and overall better control in your games. The only thing I can think of "getting into" regarding gaming in general is the Esport scene, otherwise it's piece of cake. The hardest part will probably be to tailor up a good PC without spending too much money, but it's generally better to overdo it than underdo it, if you ask me.

I'm forever amazed at how cheap it is nowadays. And by nowadays I mean now as opposed to like 5 years ago or so.

 

[Zarmi]

I'm forever amazed at how cheap it is nowadays. And by nowadays I mean now as opposed to like 5 years ago or so.

It really depends what you want to achieve. If you want to constantly stay up to date and play everything at max settings, then it quickly becomes expensive as f-. But yes, building a standard PC is much cheaper in 2011 than it was just back in 2006-7. Not that many years, but a big difference. However, it still comes down to what you want.

 

[number2301]

with a 500$ pc you can play most of todays games on rather good settings. don't forget, half a decade old console (that weren't that powerfull when they were new) can do it! you won't be able to crank everything to ultra on very demanding games, but everything of the last few years you can easily play maxed out.

i don't know the exact prices in the colonies, but over here with that kind of budged i would go for something like this:

Phenom II X4 955 - 90
colling unit comes with cpu - 0
gigabyte GA 870A - 70
4 gb corsair xms 3 (ddr3 1600) - 35
Gigabyte GTX 460 superclocked - 150
onboard soundcard - 0
some generic 50 buck harddrive, maybe seagate 7200, has one terrabyte - 50
sony dvd burner of your choice - 20
generic case, cooltec evolution CT-K3 works - 35
sharkoon SHA550 (not the most powerfull, but it will do) - 50

there, you are at 500 bucks, and roughly 7-8 times more powerfull than an xbox 360. more than enough to play battlefield 3 with very nice settings. consoles are in no way cheaper than pc's, it's an age old lie console fanboys tell over and over again. the price to assamble a rig of the power of an xbox360 is laughably low. you don't need to be a rich snob to get a very decent gaming pc.

Seeing as he's already got a PC, you can cut the DVD player, case and HDD from that list. Maybe use the extra cash to bump up the CPU and motherboard to something LGA1155 based, like a cheap Core i3. That'd run better than the Phenom (or at least not far off) and give an upgrade path to Ivy Bridge.

 

[Kathinka]

with a 500$ pc you can play most of todays games on rather good settings. don't forget, half a decade old console (that weren't that powerfull when they were new) can do it! you won't be able to crank everything to ultra on very demanding games, but everything of the last few years you can easily play maxed out.

i don't know the exact prices in the colonies, but over here with that kind of budged i would go for something like this:

Phenom II X4 955 - 90
colling unit comes with cpu - 0
gigabyte GA 870A - 70
4 gb corsair xms 3 (ddr3 1600) - 35
Gigabyte GTX 460 superclocked - 150
onboard soundcard - 0
some generic 50 buck harddrive, maybe seagate 7200, has one terrabyte - 50
sony dvd burner of your choice - 20
generic case, cooltec evolution CT-K3 works - 35
sharkoon SHA550 (not the most powerfull, but it will do) - 50

there, you are at 500 bucks, and roughly 7-8 times more powerfull than an xbox 360. more than enough to play battlefield 3 with very nice settings. consoles are in no way cheaper than pc's, it's an age old lie console fanboys tell over and over again. the price to assamble a rig of the power of an xbox360 is laughably low. you don't need to be a rich snob to get a very decent gaming pc.

Seeing as he's already got a PC, you can cut the DVD player, case and HDD from that list. Maybe use the extra cash to bump up the CPU and motherboard to something LGA1155 based, like a cheap Core i3. That'd run better than the Phenom (or at least not far off) and give an upgrade path to Ivy Bridge.

very good idea, though as i understood his current pc is a laptop, so that is probably not an option. could be that i misread that though.

 

[Joccaren]

Really, all you need to do is play PC games. However, if your looking to play PC classics, or PC exclusives, then that is easier. And Rigs, D/W about them too much. A reasonable one that is 6 years old ATM is still better than most consoles and will run anything on Max (Exception: BF3) just fine.

Some things you might want to try:
Blizzard games. PC classic company. Real time strategies that really have lasted about 10 years, Dungeon crawlers still semi-popular today, and the worlds most popular MMO.
Getting a mid-high end Rig. Unless you find your parts on sale locally, will cost more than $500, but will be able to perform Oh so well.
Modding. Blizzard Modding engines are really good to get into this with, especially the WC3 one. SC2 is... confusing. Especially at the start. WC3 is that user friendly its not funny, and there are tons of dedicated tutorials for it. If you want to get into coding modding, that will take some work, but will allow you to mod other games easier, and come up with far better results (Arguably). Might also pay to know how to 3-D model for modding.
Overclock. Once you get a good rig, some good cooling, and a PSU that gives you more Watts than you need, overclocking can be somewhat entertaining, seeing how fast you can get your processor to go. I've currently got mine to 5.3Ghz, but it overheats, even with liquid cooling. I'm gonna get better graphics cards, then go for more OCing.
And last, but not least: Bragging about being part of the PC Gaming Master Race. Really, its stupid, and pointless, and ridiculous, but if you do it elsewhere it is good for a laugh.

 

[Plazmatic]

$500 is too low for say... awesome stuff like Battlefield 3. You won't be able to get the fabled "Awesum PC graphics" or much of that side of PC gaming. Most likely not even bog standard graphics or even low graphics for some games.

your an idiot, my computer has 4gigs ddr3, and a ATI radeon 5770 with 1gig mem and IT could run battlefield 3 at the maximum graphics (i was in both alpha and beta) and my computer IN TOTAL cost me $400.

 

[kebab4you]

People have given plenty of tips about hardware already so I will just recommend some games to you[footnote]However I recent the message that you need to play X game to be qualified as a pc gamer, that´s just silly[/footnote], you didn't mention any genre you liked so just gonna take some personal favourites:
RTS:
Any total war game(preferred Rome or Shogun).
Civilization 3 & 5
Dwarf fortress
Dungeons of Dreadmor
Europa Universalise 3
FPS:
Team fortress 2
STALKER - Shadow of Chernobyl
Left4dead 1
Adventure:
Bastion
Terraria
LIMBO

 

[xvbones]

But my question goes deeper.
How do I truly "get in"?
What games should I get to startoff, how do I get in to the modding scene, etc.

you get the ones you like playing.

you get into the modding scene by going to the boards of the games you like playing and then talking to other modders.

this is not rocket surgery.

(Get the Witcher Enhanced Edition.
And Heroes of Might and Magic. Any of the ones in the series will do. Do not play Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, it is balls.)

 

[Handbag1992]

What the fuck? Since when did it suddenly become a ritual to be a PC gamer?

Your saying you didn't perform the blood ritual and devote your life to Valve?
Poor heathen, soon Episode 3 will come to earth and rapture the faithful into FPS heaven, while the non-believers will be stuck on earth, with no games installed and no steam connection ever available.

 

[Stall]

Just build a PC and play games that look interesting. PC gaming isn't this fucking mystical, magical deep thing... it's just video games. Build a computer, buy games, and play them. Bam. You've gotten into PC gaming. You see people talk about an old PC game that looks cool? Buy it on gog. There you go. It's that easy.

Someone posted a really solid build for 500 dollars. PC hardware is at an all time low in cost, and all time high in power. Follow that build, and you'll easily be able to play most games coming out this generation. The advantageous thing about AMD is that they're awesome about backwards compatibility of their sockets, so you'll easily be able to upgrade your computer in a few years should you feel the need.