Buyin a new PC - what games should I get?

At the moment I have an ancient pc (I'm still using a CRT monitor!). Fortunately, my tax refund check is supposed to be coming this week and I plan on using some of it to buy a new, fairly capable pc (this one).

Since my current pc is so old, I've been really out of the loop as far as pc gaming goes. I would like you guys' opinions on what games I should look at getting. I'm interested in anything made since 2005. I'm not really able to play too many FPSs because I get Doom-sick.

What I'm looking at:

GTAIV, Burnout Paradise, Mass Effect, Gears of War, Dead Space, Oblivion, Bioshock, Fallout 3.

EDIT:

adding to my list by suggestion : Left4Dead, The Witcher, TF2, Assassin's Creed, Supreme Commander, Empire Total War, Divine Divinity, CoD4, Empire: Total War

I already own NeverWinter Nights, KOTOR (for XBox), Fallout 1 & 2, Diablo II, Starcraft, and WoW (stopped playing WoW years ago - monthly fee was killing me and I decided I needed my life back).

U Pretty much Listed the best.What I also Like are:

Devil may cry 4

Last Remnant

Left 4 Dead

Guitar hero

Mirrors Edge

Company of heroes

World in conflict

Definitely check out Team Fortress 2 and FEAR 2 as well.

Also, is there any way to make that 4850 a 4870? The 4850 may not be up to the task with a few of the newer titles.

is there any way to make that 4850 a 4870? The 4850 may not be up to the task with a few of the newer titles.

Jazz559

Definitely check out Team Fortress 2 and FEAR 2 as well.

Also, is there any way to make that 4850 a 4870? The 4850 may not be up to the task with a few of the newer titles.

Jazz559

Empire Total war ( When they fix the bugs, those really kill the game)

Left 4 dead

TF2

Mass effect

and put SC2 and D3 on preorder.

i think a 4850 is fine...IMaBIOHAZARD

Ah, good. I hope so. It's taken enough effort already to convince my wife to let me spend as much as I am. (If I was wanting to spend that much money on clothes for her, then there wouldn't have been a problem...) :D

Team Fortress 2

Half-Life 2 + Episodes

Portal

Crysis

Call Of Duty 4

Battlefield 2

GTA 4

Unreal Tournament 3

Left 4 Dead

World In Conflict

Assassin's Creed

Counter-Strike Source

Fallout 3

Mass Effect

[QUOTE="IMaBIOHAZARD"]i think a 4850 is fine...gonzalezj1

Ah, good. I hope so. It's taken enough effort already to convince my wife to let me spend as much as I am. (If I was wanting to spend that much money on clothes for her, then there wouldn't have been a problem...) :D

Definitely check out Team Fortress 2 and FEAR 2 as well.

Also, is there any way to make that 4850 a 4870? The 4850 may not be up to the task with a few of the newer titles.

Jazz559

Tried Sins of A Solar Empire?

Don't bother with GTA IV. The PC version is a bad joke.

kotor, witcher, mass effect, orange box, bioshock

these are the best games i have installed on my computer

mine is quite similar to yours

dawn of war 2

men of war

empires total war

dead space

brothers in arm: hells highway

portal

CoD4

rainbow 6: vegas (only get 2 if you REALLY dig 1)

painkiller (if you do not already have a copy)

command & conquer 3 + kanes wrath

[QUOTE="Jazz559"]

Definitely check out Team Fortress 2 and FEAR 2 as well.

Also, is there any way to make that 4850 a 4870? The 4850 may not be up to the task with a few of the newer titles.

adamosmaki

i run crysis warhead maxed out 1680x1050 on my 4850

First off welcome to pc gaming bud! Its great fun!

1. Team Fortress2 - Best online shooter imo

2. Crysis/Crysis Warhead - Best singleplayer fps in awhile, amazing gameplay and fantastic graphics

3. The Witcher - great story, cool characters and good atmosphere

4. Empire Total War - Just pure awesome game, end of story

5. Left4Dead - A good game to play with your buds!

6. Company Of Heroes - really good rts

7. Age Of Empire series - another really good rts series

8. Fallout1/2/Neverwinter NIghts1/2 - two classic old school rpgs that are better then fallout3 imo - NWN 1 and 2 are both two great rpgs

9. Divine Divinity and DIablo2 - DD is a better singleplayer experience, while DIablo2 is an online masterpeice with friends. Get both for cheap now adays

10. Mirrors Edge, Call of Duty WAW/Call fo Duty 4, Battlefield2 and Unreal2k4/Unreal3

11. KOTOR/Mass Effect/Baldurs Gate/Sins Of A Solar Empire

12. Elderscrolls series (Try Daggerfall,Arena or Morrowind... because Oblivion is the worst of the series)

13. Starcraft/Dawn Of War 2

Older games worth checking out (though might be hard to find = Wizardry rpg series, Arx Fatalis, Dune2 (my fav rts of all time)

I notice some of you guys really dislike Oblivion and Fallout 3. I understand that they don't really hold up next to what the older games in the series did, but I feel as though I should play them because they're kind of like a gaming cultural phenomenon and I'd feel like I'd be missing out. I at least want to try them out.

Get GTA 4 for either the 360 or the PS3 if you have them. I heard it wasn't so good on the computer.

And company of heroes is really good.

I would suggest computer games as the console games do not work very well on a computer......

I notice some of you guys really dislike Oblivion and Fallout 3. I understand that they don't really hold up next to what the older games in the series did, but I feel as though I should play them because they're kind of like a gaming cultural phenomenon and I'd feel like I'd be missing out. I at least want to try them out.

gonzalezj1

You should get Oblivion Game of the Year edition, especially if you really dig those types of games. If you like games like Balder's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Ice Wind Dale, Mass Effect, and Star Wars KOTOR, you'll definitely like Oblivion.

Oblivion and Fallout 3 are made by the same company, but I would go with Oblivion, even though Fallout 3 is newer. Oblivion has more to it.

You would be missing out, some people really do just gripe about things for no reason. I have a hunch you would like Oblivion if you liked Moorowind.

Personally, I don't like that type of game. I hated Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, as well as KOTOR and Moorowind, that's why I say "If you like that type of game, you might like it." The games are similar and that's why I mentioned them.

If you have a PS3 or 360, you could always rent it for that system and try it out to see if you like it. Otherwise, you'll have to risk either buying it or not buying it.

I feel the need to warn the OP about Dell's horrible power supplies (for that particular desktop series). That video card might be somewhat adequate now, but you're going to want something way more powerful in the near future, and your PSU is going to limit you severely.If you insist on buying a Dell (and I personally have nothing against Dell) then for virtually the same amount of change, you can buy an XPS 625, which has a 750 watt power supply, meaning that in two years you'll still be able to buy a really great video card.

Also, I've just discovered that Dell, right now, is having a Spring Sale on XPS machines. The sales are 24 hours long, and they're only taking place this week. I urge the OP not to buy that system but to buy an XPS 625, 630, or even a 730X instead. I can assure you that the sale going on right now at Dell will have substantially greater deals than anything that's being offered at a local store. Dell might be trying to get rid of some stock here.

Trust me. The power supply is very important. If you buy a system with a 750 watt power supply then you're going to be able to significantly upgrade your PC two years from now. I've been down this road myself with Dell. I replaced my previous DELL just last month with an amazing machine from Alienware - this time out I made certain to buy a system with a 1000 watt power supply, since my previous system had a 350 watt PSU and was completely un-upgradable.

And by the way, that system does have a Core i7 in it, but what's the point if you can't upgrade the GPU - no point at all. I would seriously take a look at the XPS 625 or the 630. Every day this week, visit the Dell website. It's almost a certainty that they're going to offer something pretty incredible.

EDIT: I've just visited Dell's website. O.P. are you even aware that for virtually the same amount of money you can buy an XPS 630 with a 750 watt power supply and an 8800gt SLI setup. Guy, that 8800 sli setup is going to blow away the graphics card on that rig you linked us to (and those games that you want to play are going to run much much better on the 630). The 750 watt power supply means that you'll be able to easily upgrade your system two years from now. And all of this is BEFORE the sale. If Dell puts a 630 setup on sale then you'll really be missing out.

I would buy STALKER Clear Sky

Counter Strike

GTA 4 (a bit of a hassle to install)

Mass Effect

Far Cry 2

Fable 1

COD 4