Is it worth playing on minimum settings?

[TheWhiteRapper]

So I'm thinking about getting into PC gaming (PC master race, mod support, yada yada not the point of the thread), and I have a fairly shitty computer. Not sure on the exact specs, but it only has 2GBs of RAM and is a $500 Toshiba, so I doubt I'd be playing any games on a higher setting than the lowest. So I ask all the PC gamers out there, is it worth playing games like Starcraft 2, Rift, SWTOR(best guess0, maybe Wow, TF2, and other good PC games if I have to play them on the lowest setting? Will this only affect graphics or will it hamper framerate and the overall experience in addition. Also as a SMALL sidetopic, do any of you know if Rift is any good?

 

[Katana314]

The only PC component worth discussing is the graphics card. You need to find out what that is before you can get a good impression.

But yes, many PC games can still be enjoyable on low settings. Still, for many of them even then you get a low framerate and it's not so fun.

 

[Inkidu]

No, not on minimum. You don't have to have the supercomputer from hell, but when it comes down to it it's cheaper buying a console than to get a gaming PC to play a game on minimum settings.

 

[Qizx]

I run most of my games near the low end of the spectrum even though my computer has a pretty good graphics card, for this sole reason: lag. In the middle of a heated starcraft battle I can't even lag for a second. So I just get rid of the whole possibility and play with low settings. The games are still very enjoyable to me.

 

[The Red Spy]

Depends, would you rather play with minimalised graphics or not at all? This is a personal decision, seeing as you'll be the one playing the games, why not answer your own question instead of being so indecisive?

On a side note, have you even checked your rig is capable of handling the games? It's not just RAM that you need.

Lower settings = bigger frame rate.

Without basic hardware requirements = no frame rate.

 

[Woodsey]

Lower settings = bigger frame rate.

And yeah, as long as you don't mind fairly ugly games.

 

[Zantos]

The game should be able to hold up on more than it's graphics. If the framerate starts dropping it'll be annoying to hell, but still playable.

 

[Euhan01]

Aslong as the game is good, then it should be fine on lowest setting. Try and see what your computer can handle in terms on number of players/unit on screen as this will also have a large affect on how well the game runs.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Depends what you are playing it for...if it's to look at the shiny graphics, then maybe not. If you are playing for the story, should be ok.

 

[Trolldor]

So I'm thinking about getting into PC gaming (PC master race, mod support, yada yada not the point of the thread), and I have a fairly shitty computer. Not sure on the exact specs, but it only has 2GBs of RAM and is a $500 Toshiba, so I doubt I'd be playing any games on a higher setting than the lowest. So I ask all the PC gamers out there, is it worth playing games like Starcraft 2, Rift, SWTOR(best guess0, maybe Wow, TF2, and other good PC games if I have to play them on the lowest setting? Will this only affect graphics or will it hamper framerate and the overall experience in addition. Also as a SMALL sidetopic, do any of you know if Rift is any good?

I played Bulletstorm on minimum settings - absolute minimum - and I still thought it looked fantastic.

 

[cpnichol]

It largely depends on what game you are playing and just how shitty your computer is.

2Gb of RAM should be plenty for gaming provided you aren't running loads of other stuff in the background. But you have an out of date or some rubbish on board GFX card it could make a lot of games unplayable or just outright not work. Playing on the lowest settings can obviously help but it can effect the frame rate too and once that gets down to a certain level it's not really going to be worth playing.

I'd recommend you find out what your computer specs are and then compare it to the minimum requirements for some games you are interested in. There is a lot of older games that are still worth playing, so you might find Crysis 2 laughs at your computer but you'd be able to play CS 1.6 easily.

 

[SuperNova221]

Games generally have quite a large focus on visuals for building atompspehere and bringing authenticity to the game world, amongst other methods. So it will devalue the experience of some games. However, if it is a good game, it will be held up by its other qualities instead. Black and white films for example, I've seen many of those that are much more enjoyable that new films using elaborate animation techniques and the 3d effect.

In terms of gameplay, as long as the FPS is high enough, lower quality visuals will not have any effect.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

I don't actually mind graphics, sure if games look amazing that's a great bonus, but I played through Dragon Age: Origins 5 times on console and I din't have any complaints about the graphics at all. So in short, yes.

Unless the minimum causes massive frame rate issues, I hate frame rate issues...

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Switch Screen Resolutions to minimum. It makes things blurrier, but I'd rather play a decent looking game slightly blurry than a sharp looking game with minimum textures.

 

[Lagslayer]

I play WoW with mostly the lowest setting and it doesn't bother me much (probably because I'm not a big graphics nut). My view distance and object distance are turned all the way up so I can see stuff further than 30 yards in front of me, and particle density is up all the way so I can more easily identify which spells are being cast. Everything else is just gravy that'll kill my framerate.

 

[Dyme]

So I ask all the PC gamers out there, is it worth playing games like Starcraft 2, Rift, SWTOR(best guess0, maybe Wow, TF2, and other good PC games if I have to play them on the lowest setting? Will this only affect graphics or will it hamper framerate and the overall experience in addition.

Depends on which kind of gamer you are. Most good/pro Starcraft 2 players play on low-medium settings, because everythings seems a little bit clearer. Personally I used to play at high SC2 graphics, but turned it down to lowest and liked it much more (less shiny distractions, you will play faster and be more accurate, I promise). Besides, the lower the graphics are the more likely you are going to have high/stable fps.
For WoW or Rift you need an okayish computer in my opinion. Standing in a crowded capital might result in severe FPS drops otherwise.

Also as a SMALL sidetopic, do any of you know if Rift is any good?

Rift was free to play for one weekend. Tried it, the rifts looked quite fun the first two times, but it also looks like a giant farming fest. No one likes farming. Other than that it seemed like a less polished version of WoW gameplay-wise.

 

[DugMachine]

I'm not much into PC gaming for the reason that its hella expensive. I can play TF2 on fairly low settings with about 40 frames. Kinda blows but graphics mean nothing to me as long as I can still tell wtf is going on and it runs smoothly.

NOW if i'm playing a game because I want to see the purrty graphics i'll go to my friends house who has this super awesome mega ultra super computer and i'll play there.

 

[Trolldor]

Most games I can play on 'max' by turning off anti-alias, vsync and particles. Models, world detail, textures etc. can all go up to 11 and this is with a now... four year old computer.

Sorry. Laptop.

So it isn't even as good as a four year old desktop.

 

[MetallicaRulez0]

As someone who played WoW on low settings with an onboard graphics processor for about 18 months, it isn't something I'd recommend to anyone, for any game. I got so damn frustrated with it at times.

If you have a high tolerance for frustration and don't expect to be able to play at your full potential, then go for it.