What can (should) I play?

I recently replaced my Dell Dimension XPS T700r (so old now!), with a very shwanky hp TouchSmart IQ506.

It's been a long time since I played any real video games on a computer. I used to play a lot... I loved the Thief Series, EA's NHL series, American McGee's Alice, Star Wars games, Medal of Honor, etc. Then I got an orginal XBOX. Then I got a Wii. The only bad thing about the Wii was the lack of super-dooper games with nice graphics and whatnot. Plus, no real hockey (yes, I'm Canadian). It never occurred to me that I coule be using my new machine to play games! My only trouble is, I'm so far out of looking at specs, I'm a bit unsure now of what my limits are. I'm not sure how something like a Core 2 Duo stacks up against a single processor number.

So, here's my specs...

• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor @ 2.16GHz
• 4 GB RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS
• 64-bit operating system

I can't wait to play NHL '09 when it comes out next month.

Can I play Assassin's Creed? Egad, I'd love to. It looks like, on Wikipedia's page, I may not be able to? Please say it ain't so...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin's_creed#PC_version

What about a game like Crysis? It looks good. I'm sure I should be able to handle Spore. What else is good in the last year or so even? What's great right now? Dish, dish!

Thanks!

 

Ask the Game-o-meter. It knows all.

 

Thanks!
That's awesome.

But... now I'm uber-bummed! That's right. Uber. Bummed.
It seems like everything else is checking out for me BUT the video card? What the heck!? It says my video card needs a memory of 512MB and mine only has a memory of 256MB?

It looks like I can't play any of these games... Crysis, Assassin's Creed, etc. Is this so? I don't suppose the memory on the card is upgradeable is it? Would I really have to upgrade the video card on this new computer just to play one of these games?

A lil' advice on my situation?

 

OK.
So I just got my reply from hp.
The video card in my computer isn't upgradeable.

They said if I lowered graphics settings, though, games could still be playable.

With my setup, and the specs for the aformentioned games, is this so?
Would my games still look good, or would they be crap?

 

What you want to look for in the Game-o-meter is where on the scale your system falls. if you are above the site's minimum requirements (not the game publisher's!), then you will be fine. If you are above the game publisher's recommended specs but not above the site's, you will still do okay.

However.

Having done PC gaming since the first Fallout game came out, I'll tell you this: The difference between an average PC game and a good one, is that the good one is still enjoyable when you have turned down the graphics settings. What makes it fun is the gameplay and immersion factor, not the amount of anti-aliasing and soft shadows you can see.

If you could either link to the meter results, or take a screen shot and attach to your next post, I'd get a better idea of what we have to work with here.

 

Thanks so much for all your help so far! Here's the link for my test on Assassin's Creed. I hope the page loads with my results.
Basically, it says my hardware is too new or rare to get a real rating. What it shows on the bottom, though, is that my video card has a memory of 256MB, and the game (as most seem to) requires 512MB.
I wonder if i could run this smoothly (and still have it look good) and still enjoy the game?

http://www.yougamers.com/gameometer/10247/?sysInfoId=1281223

 

It won't show me where on the scale your system is, but it did list all the recommended upgrades, which gives me an idea of what you have. From what I can tell, your graphics card does pass the publisher's minimum requirements.

At this point, my suggestion would be to download, install, and play the demo for Crysis. You can get it here. It will give you a starting point and basis of comparison.

EDIT:
Oh, and if we want to get into detail, download Everest and get all the info possible on your graphics card/chipset, and then post them here.

 

Wow... 1.8 GB download for a demo! Much bigger than when I was last into PC gaming. I wonder how it'll work out when I try to use it...

I tried using Everest, but I don't think I got what you needed in terms of info on my video card. I posted the name up there, but I don't know what other info you'd like. :confused

Anyway, I guess I'll let this demo download tonight and I'll try it out after work tomorrow.

Wish me luck!

Thanks!

 

If it gave you the driver version/number, that's what I was after. In addition to that, under "Motherboard", Everest will give you your chipset info, and under "Display" it will tell you PCI / AGP Video... chipset and Video info, please.

Being on a laptop is a bit of a handicap when gaming... on the other hand, that chipset is DirectX 10 capable, and you should be able to run games on at least low settings. Pleas post back with results and outcome of the Crysis demo. If it is at all possible to play games on your system, we'll make it happen!

 

Well... I loaded the Crysis demo. I started a level.
It was preeeeeetty un-awe-inspiring. Choppy in many spots. Action slowed some things down. It did work (with nearly everything set on low, and a lower resolution on the screen), but it wasn't super-smooth.

I imagine Assassin's Creed is probably the same.

I might try out a simpler one, like Spore, but I may just wait 'til it comes out on the Wii. I'll have to wait a while to see what EA's specs are for NHL 2009.

I used Everest to get my driver version/number and the chipset / video info, but those screens came up blank (at least the chipset and video... I didn't know where the driver version/number was).

Looks like my attempt to spring back into PC gaming and get excited about fun & fancy games has be thwomped. At least I know!

Thanks again!

 

Try playing it in windowed mode, instead of full-screen, sometimes that makes a big difference, strangely enough.

I assumed you set everything not just low, but to the lowest possible?

And yes, Assassin's Creed will be the same, if not worse. In that game you have to render a randomly moving crowd... it was originally built for a PS3 processor, and that shows.

If you win the lottery and decide you want to build/buy a gaming system, start a thread in the hardware forum and we'll get you set up with components and good deals. Gaming on a budget s not as hard as it sounds.

 

Crysis? That makes the IBM super computers cry. Try something recent without all the graphical focus. I recommend Supreme Commander.

The minimum requirements are not always the real minimums. I have played Freelancer, with the following minimum specs: 128MB RAM, 600Mhz Processor, 16MB video card.

On a computer with these specs: 80MB RAM, 200Mhz Processor, 16MB video card.

It's not recommended, but it can be done.