Upgrading your PC just for a game!?GIMMICK!

Hello all,

I just wanted to make a thread to talk about upgrading your PC. I know it's part of PC gaming and I have done it but never really just for a particular game.

Is it a sly marketing move just like McDonalds has to sell cheeseburgers? Let's look at the game Crysis. Will you be upgrading just to play this PC title, or will you just say no to buying it and refuse to upgrade just for a game and because the companies are setting you up to buy the newest latest graphics cards and hardware.

Do you feel the need to always have the latest graphics card and the fastest PC that can handle the latest games?

I fall into these things all the time but sometimes need a wakeup call to snap out of it. Why do we feel the need to keep up with the joneses? The PC I have now has always took every game I have thrown at it and then some..no problems. I recently got into the Crysis beta and won't say much about it because of NDA but I will say my PC was not able to handle what I threw at it this time.

If you have the money to constantly upgrade...more power to you and i'm jealous! lol

I really think the market has gotten out of hand from bundling games with graphics cards to only testing PC games on Monster/Uber machines...but I guess thats the world of technology. PC gaming might be becoming a exclusive club that only rich people can afford...no wonder a big increase in the console markethas happened.

Iwill post more as it comes to me. Please do not make this a flame war and discuss intelligently.

At the end of the day all pc games are still scalable. The reason why your computer isn't handling everything Crysis is throwing at it is because its a beta. Not all the coding has been optimised yet. Also you may simply be trying to bite off more than you can chew. Accept you don't have the latest and greatest, drop your rez to 1024x768 and have a long hard look at the anti-aliasing, trilinear filtering, advanced shading, etc, etc, etc.

By the time Crysis launches you will be able to play it on lower spec machines, but companies will ALWAYS push the envelope to the cutting edge as it is such a competitive market out there ESPECIALLY with next gen consoles. Its not a sales gimmick forcing you to buy the latest hardware... they want to get everything out of today's hardware and beyond to make it better than the game that came out last month, and still stand up to games coming out next month, or 6 months down the line... they won't make money otherwise (or as much as they'd like). Its all about profit.

And no I don't upgrade my PC for a specific game... I usually build one every 2 years so I'm at the top for awhile, before sliding into the abysmal hell of slideshow framerates. I however DID break this pattern when it came to DX10 however. Yes I'm using Vista, and its a small price to pay to take advantage of everything DX10 has to offer. And yes I did upgrade to DX10 for modern games that have arrived, and some that are yet to come.

It depends on the game. For example...I chose to upgrade my computer to play Starcraft II when it arrives, as well as the following:

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Crysis
Bioshock
FEAR
Call of Duty 4
Hellgate London

Those are just a few games that are easily worth the upgrade.

i usally just buy a new one i feel when ever i updgrade my computer it never turns out quite how i need it to be i only do this when i feel my computer is really behind on technolgy right now my computer can handle most of the new games out there but i feel ill be picking a new one up soon cause of all the Games For Windows stuff that i need vista for

i still have my old computer its more of the family computer now

I upgrade when i get sick of what my computer can do.

For example, last year, my very first pc couldnt even handle halo pc and was struggling with games like guild wars and dawn of war. So, i gave it a bit of an upgrade, and all was good... until oblivion showed up. However, that was the only problem out of any games from last year, and imo the game isnt really worth playing if its not looking nice, so i didnt mind.

I got sick of my graphics card in april this year, because it fried itself and died. I couldnt believe my luck, since now i had absolutely no excuse NOT to get an 8800 gts, and so i did.

I consistantly got sick of my computer not being able to multitask (it had a single core amd athlon 4000+ in it), im somewhat impatient with technology so i tend to do many things at once on my pc. Hence, i upgraded to a intel core 2 q6600 when the price went down by a huge amount. Now, the only upgrades ill do next year will be another 2gb of ram, maybe change my vista to 64 bit to use it properly, and get another hard drive (i love hard drives, i buy a new one every year!). I should be set for the next year and a half, maybe struggling a little by the end of the 2nd year, so im happy.

So overall, i havent really upgraded for any games in particular, just because i like doing it, and i have half decent reasons. Its just incidental that crysis and ut3 and stuff are coming out this year... i swear... :P

There are lots of games coming out , which will make upgrading worth it.

also crysis beta is just a beta, it is not optimised vey much. crytek has been spending lots of time on optimizing the final game. their confidence in this can be judged by the fact that the are releasing the demo so early.

Gimmick? No, not for upgrading your PC. If you want a gimmick you should see what....I'm not going off on a tangent here.

As for PC games, the companies that make them like to try and take advantage of the newest stuff out there to make their product look the best that it can. And as long as technology keeps improving, so will the games. If you want to keep up with PC gaming right now, eventually you will have to upgrade your computer or buy a new one all together.

Myself, I'm waiting a while still before I even bother with Vista. No games out there run only on DX10 that I know of, or at least any games that I want to play.

I've got a new processor that I can install and I've got room on my mother board for going SLI with 8800GTS (640 MB) video cards if I want and my MB can handle up to 4GB DDR2 memory.....

But right now, everything I play runs fine with my AMD 64 X2 3800+, (1) 8800GTS 640 MB and my 2GB memory.12-18 months down the road when I really want to kick things into gear, I'll pick up another 8800GTS and I'll get 4GB in memory and I'll have my new processor installed by then (5600+) and then quite possibly, I'll pick up Vista if I feel it's absolutely required.

People choose to upgrade their PCs, no one is forcing you. If you want to play games at the top notch settings - then yes, you'd probably have to upgrade your PC every 6-8 months. General rule of thumb, get a well made PC and it should last you a good 2-3 years before you need to worry about upgrading for something better.

i dont upgrade my PC just for one game. i do update it when games become unplayable by my own standards. however the upgrades i make then affect every game i buy for my PC.

i didnt get this rig (see sig) just for crysis (hell at the time i wasnt that interested in it). i got it for games like supreme commander, hellgate london and the witcher. my previous rig, a laptop with a mobility radeon 9600 64MB in it, just wouldnt be up to the job (its nearly 4 years old so owes me nothing). i intend to get a truck load of games for this PC over the years. its not just a crysis box.

I dont really care to upgrade my PC for anything. Instead, I will buy a brand new computer and get good enough hardware to make the computer last at least three or four years. By the time three years come around, it would be pointless for me to upgrade my computer. I just buy another one with everything inside with updated hardware.

Another thing to add. There is no way I will spend $2000 on a pc just for one game. I will buy a new computer to play all of the latest games at high quality settings. If there was one single game for the PC that is worth getting a pc for, I will just get an xbox 360.

as much as i would like to play crysis on a top of the line pc, i will not upgade now.

I personaly think a dual core 2.8ghz is not worth the upgrade compaire to my 3ghz hyperthread.

the only benefit would be to have a new motherboard with sata2, faster front side buss, faster memory and a hugelly fast new gpu.

so for less than the price of all that crap, i've decided to get a xbox360, a wii and a ps3. + some games. lol

when the cpu reaches at least 5ghz with 4 cores, no shared cache and two data busses, i'll get a new pc.

i upgraded for NWN 2. loving it now though. games im buying this next month: Orange box (fro TF 2 and b/c im intrigued by Portal); Crysis; the new jagged edge type game........

i bought my new pc specifically for upgradability. I put an E6320 in which i can later swap out for a quad core b/c i made SURE they my mobo supported 1333 fsb. and i expect by the time i need a new gpu ill either add a second 8800 gts or ill just replace it. and I'm watching the prices on my OCZ ram b/c i plan on getting 2 more sticks as soon it hits a price i like.

my last computer was a dell and couldnt be upgraded.... i had to replace it. . . btw this week im buying a new mouse for gaming......

By your logic we'd still have games in 2D then or what? or very low graphics doom clones? Fact is, some companies have to push the bar, if it isnt done, then nothing progresses.PC360Wii

What he said! Also, upgrading is what makes PC gaming fun, and why we are PC gamers- not console or mac.

All of my computer upgrades have revolved around specific games...

I upgraded my p5-120mhz cpu to a k6 333mhz cpu when I first got Half-life.

I upgraded to a k6 700mhz with a geforce 256 so I could play CS without any lag.

I upgraded k6 1.4ghz with a geforce 3 to play Everquest.

I upgraded to an AMD64 3000+ with a geforce 6800gt to play CS:S and HL2.

I upgraded to an AMD64 X2 5600+ with a geforce 8800gtx to play Crysis and HL2:ep2.

Just because I upgraded for specific games, doesn't mean that I only use those upgrades on those games. I play tons of games and upgrading helps all games. But to get off my wallet there has to be an amazing game coming out that requires a new PC.

I upgrade for the fun of it. LOL

No really I mean it... ;)

I've upgraded for one game in the past. But usually its the first in a "new generation" of games and it pays for many other games too.

PC gaming is a hobby not a gimmick.

I never upgrade for a single game, and have no interest in having the latest tech. I'm usually almost a year behind in games anyway just because there is too much games and too little time. As long as I can play on my screen's native res with a smooth framerate and decent settings I'm happy, and when I no longer can, then I'll upgrade a bit.

Upgrading is fun imo, it's fun to hunt for the parts that give you the best bang for the buck, and it's even better when you get the parts and can max out all your old games, you will literally see them under a new light.

LOL talk only for yourself.. recently i sold my PC parts i had 8800gts and 2 gb etc etc got cheaper parts just to browse around because there wasnt any good game to play... my 8800gts was rotting there while i was playing poker and no games... but now World Conflict got a 9.5 insta classic, Bioshock 9.0, Crysis, Tabula Rasa, Gears of War, Assasin Creeds, hellgate london, HL2 EPISODE 2, TEAM FORTRESS 2, Quake Wars!!! i have a freaking list !!i mean i wont have time to play all those games !!! infact i should skip college this year hahahahaha. And your going to tell me u got to upgrade just because of crysis? Crysis is like third in my list of games.

The 600$ im going to spend in a 2900XT, 1gb more of ram and a PSU are worth it even if i had the upgrades only until december

The only thing that worries me is my social life and my girlfriend breaking up with me because she thinks i love more games than her... hahahahhahahaha

If ur smart when u upgrade u just have to do it every 12 months 12 monthsago i had amd2 4000, 7900gto and 2gb ddr1 and i could play every goddamn game in high right now im going to buy 2900 XT i have core2duo e6600 2gb ddr2 and i bet that will be enough to play every game that comes out in high...

Also u gotta learn to be smart and now when is the right time to upgrade and when is the right time to sell ur parts, i try to sell my parts when they are still high end and i just add a few dollars and get the newest generation... some ppl are cheap and they never upgrade their PCs so when they are going to upgrade after 2 years their parts are worth shiet... and in the end for being cheap they end spending more money....

Long ago when I was in high school and the p2s had JUST come out, I convinced my father we needed one if he was going to be able to play online poker to its fullest extent. So, well, I guess he upgraded solely for a particular game ;)

Me, well, everything in my rig is more than enough for current games (Pentium D 3.0ghz, 2gb, etc. etc) but I still have a 6800 vid card that is pretty crappy for these days (my computer is a Dell XPS 600 that was part of a university graduation gift from the folks about a year and a half ago, so I had no say over it's components - gotta say, they could have done much worse!) but games like Bioshock, Oblivion, and NWN2 still look beautiful (at least nice enough for me - I'm more into gameplay) and run smoothly.

So, I'd have to say that I don't have to be on the bleeding edge (like I said the 6800 is pretty weak these days, but it suits my needs quite well so far) but if I find I can't play a game I've bought on at least medium settings and need to drop to min-med for smooth play, then I probably would upgrade. I wouldn't upgrade pre-emptively, though.

i dont upgrade my PC just for one game. i do update it when games become unplayable by my own standards. however the upgrades i make then affect every game i buy for my PC.

i didnt get this rig (see sig) just for crysis (hell at the time i wasnt that interested in it). i got it for games like supreme commander, hellgate london and the witcher. my previous rig, a laptop with a mobility radeon 9600 64MB in it, just wouldnt be up to the job (its nearly 4 years old so owes me nothing). i intend to get a truck load of games for this PC over the years. its not just a crysis box.

osan0

What the He11 is the difference between pc upgrading for one game or buying a sonsole for one game?? If its a gimmik go play gameboy