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Help me GAF, I'm a PC gamer now

down 2 orth

down 2 orth

Member
So just after I woke up this morning I was gifted with a new gaming laptop.

I haven't been a PC gamer in 16 years, and I have no idea what to do. I have no idea what the stats mean, or where to start. Just finished putting the virus check on, and I will download steam soon.

Despite my ignorance, I'm a core gamer and I want to take full advantage of this. Any advice is absolutely appreciated!
 
Download this https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy and tell us what it says your specs are. (or just screenshot the results and post the results here)
When it comes to gaming, the most important thing you'll want to pay attention to is graphics card. If you look on a game's store page and don't see your graphics card listed, you can google [your graphics card] "benchmark comparison" and compare it to see where it stands next to a game's recommended specs.

In addition, its worth noting that a significant amount of Japanese games have overinflated recommended/minimum specs, so do not necessarily worry if you're interested in a Japanese game and its specs listed are higher than yours.

As for game stores, you did well to aim to download Steam. Steam is THE place to buy most PC games. Beyond that some other stores you might consider purchasing games from:
 
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Battlechili said:
Download this https://www.ccleaner.com/speccy and tell us what it says your specs are. (or just screenshot the results and post the results here)
When it comes to gaming, the most important thing you'll want to pay attention to is graphics card. If you look on a game's store page and don't see your graphics card listed, you can google [your graphics card] "benchmark comparison" and compare it to see where it stands next to a game's recommended specs.

In addition, its worth noting that a significant amount of Japanese games have overinflated recommended/minimum specs, so do not necessarily worry if you're interested in a Japanese game and its specs listed are higher than yours.
Click to expand...

It's an Asus GM501G
VRAM: 8GB
CPU: Intel I7-8750H/BGA
HDD: 1TB54R SSH8G+256G PCIE G3X4
ODD: WO ODD
RAM: DDR4 16G

I hope that makes sense.
 
Steam
Good Old Games

There you go. Every now and then you'll come across a Blizzard, Uplay, or Origin game, but Steam and GoG should cover 90% of your library.
 
I recommend just downloading some games and don't worry about any of the other "gamer" programs. You'll figure what you need as you go along.

On the other hand, if you want to dive into the deep end you might want to do a clean install of Windows from the get go to remove all the bloatware that comes with most new PCs.
 
down 2 orth said:
It's an Asus GM501G
VRAM: 8GB
CPU: Intel I7-8750H/BGA
HDD: 1TB54R SSH8G+256G PCIE G3X4
ODD: WO ODD
RAM: DDR4 16G
Click to expand...
Everything the lack of graphics card information. VRAM is too vague (although it does hint at it being a newer graphics card). Looking up the Asus GM501G....Your gaming laptop wouldn't happen to have a GTX 1070 listed anywhere by any chance, would it?
 
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down 2 orth said:
It's a GTX1070.
Click to expand...
Great news! That's more powerful than most graphics cards. Based on your laptop specs you should be able to run nearly everything at max settings. Even really fancy new games. And you should be set for the future for a good long while. The only graphics cards more powerful than what you have are the 1080, 1080 Ti, and the new RTX 2000 cards. And not only should you be able to play games at max settings, but you should be able to play games at a pretty high resolution too. 1080p absolutely. 1440p should be a safe bet. Some games at 4k even.
 
down 2 orth said:
It's an Asus GM501G
VRAM: 8GB
CPU: Intel I7-8750H/BGA
HDD: 1TB54R SSH8G+256G PCIE G3X4
ODD: WO ODD
RAM: DDR4 16G

I hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...

Looks like this one: https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ROG-Zephyrus-M-GM501/Tech-Specs/

GTX 1070M and a 1080p panel means you'll be able to play a huge number of games at very high to ultra settings, with maybe the exception of a few of the more recently released titles (which should play fine, but maybe not at a high framerate or ultra settings, etc).

Really good laptop you've got there, that thing looks sexy.
 
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down 2 orth said:
256G PCIE G3X4
Click to expand...
OH! One thing. This is an SSD. That means that it loads information WAY faster than your 1TB HDD. So basically, if you ever get a game you want to play that you REALLY want to avoiding loading times on, then installing it onto this SSD would be better than on your 1TB HDD.
 
Thanks for all the advice, very much appreciated. Next step will be to do some game shopping then.

Guynamedbilly said:
I recommend just downloading some games and don't worry about any of the other "gamer" programs. You'll figure what you need as you go along.

On the other hand, if you want to dive into the deep end you might want to do a clean install of Windows from the get go to remove all the bloatware that comes with most new PCs.
Click to expand...

Yeah I neutered some of the Windows spy stuff and deleted most of the crap that was installed with the computer. Will that be enough?

Battlechili said:
OH! One thing. This is an SSD. That means that it loads information WAY faster than your 1TB HDD. So basically, if you ever get a game you want to play that you REALLY want to avoiding loading times on, then installing it onto this SSD would be better than on your 1TB HDD.
Click to expand...

Ok I think I got it. I'll always have that option when I'm installing games?
 
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Battlechili said:
OH! One thing. This is an SSD. That means that it loads information WAY faster than your 1TB HDD. So basically, if you ever get a game you want to play that you REALLY want to avoiding loading times on, then installing it onto this SSD would be better than on your 1TB HDD.
Click to expand...

To add to the above Steam will allow you to swap games between drives, so you can move games to and from your SSD as necessary if you want (you can do so under the game properties>local files tab). You can add/create new Steam save locations under Settings>Downloads>Content Folders

If like me you like to keep games around then I recommend setting your initial Steam install folder on your HDD and then set up a game transfer folder on your SSD.
 
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down 2 orth said:
Thanks for all the advice, very much appreciated. Next step will be to do some game shopping then.



Yeah I neutered some of the Windows spy stuff and deleted most of the crap that was installed with the computer. Will that be enough?



Ok I think I got it. I'll always have that option when I'm installing games?
Click to expand...
That probably took care of most or all of it. I haven't used one of those models, so I don't know how scummy they are, but you can always do that later if it's a problem.

Since you are starting from scratch as far as games, it's a good idea to check out the Humble Bundle every so often. That's the cheapest way to get a bunch of games, you just have to look at what they offer and see if it's games you want.
 
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Do you plan to take the laptop out with you to game or is it going to act as a desktop? If it's the latter I'd get a decent monitor, mouse and keyboard.
 
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Ulysses 31 said:
Do you plan to take the laptop out with you to game or is it going to act as a desktop? If it's the latter I'd get a decent monitor, mouse and keyboard.
Click to expand...

Probably a bit of both, but mainly at home on my desk. I was also hooked up with a gaming mouse too, an ROG Gladius II Origin. I'm super excited to start using this stuff :)
 
down 2 orth said:
Probably a bit of both, but mainly at home on my desk. I was also hooked up with a gaming mouse too, an ROG Gladius II Origin. I'm super excited to start using this stuff :)
Click to expand...
Does your laptop come with nvidia's gsync?

If not, I'd get a 1080p gsync monitor and a xbox one pad.

Or if you have a tv, you can also use that for big screen gaming.
 
I always tend to play older games like

Killing time
Warcraft 2
descent 1 and 2
Master of Orion 2
Myst
Light house
Marathon games by Bunige

Most of these games you can just download for free now.
 
metareferential said:
Does your laptop come with nvidia's gsync?

If not, I'd get a 1080p gsync monitor and a xbox one pad.

Or if you have a tv, you can also use that for big screen gaming.
Click to expand...

How can you tell if it has gsync or not? I've got a nice big plasma screen that I've been using with my PSPro, so I'll buy whatever hardware that will let me hook my laptop up to it. I'm guessing I can't use my dualshocker though?

hecatomb said:
I always tend to play older games like

Killing time
Warcraft 2
descent 1 and 2
Master of Orion 2
Myst
Light house
Marathon games by Bunige

Most of these games you can just download for free now.
Click to expand...

Lol, yeah the classics, I'll check that out. Is there a go-to site that lists the best PC exclusives or multiplatform games which have the best interface on PC?
 
Ulysses 31 said:
Won't recommend him a mechanical keyboard? "lollipop_disappointed:
Click to expand...
Someone already did, but yes, of course he needs one
down 2 orth said:
How can you tell if it has gsync or not? I've got a nice big plasma screen that I've been using with my PSPro, so I'll buy whatever hardware that will let me hook my laptop up to it. I'm guessing I can't use my dualshocker though?
Click to expand...

It's usually well advertised, maybe there's a sticker on your laptop. Nvidia control panel has an option if your screen has gsync.

Yes, you can use your dualshock, it works great. Just download the official drivers, and Steam games will recognize it right away.
 
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metareferential said:
Someone already did, but yes, of course he needs one

It's usually well advertised, maybe there's a sticker on your laptop. Nvidia control panel has an option if your screen has gsync.

Yes, you can use your dualshock, it works great. Just download the official drivers, and Steam games will recognize it right away.
Click to expand...

Nice, that's great news that I can use my controllers. For Gsync, I'm guessing I don't have it, the only NVIDIA sticker I have just says GEFORCE GTX.

Kreydo said:
Install Steam and GoG only.

Go to https://www.nexusmods.com/games?

And discover Skyrim, New Vegas, and Witcher III on another level.
Modding in the whole point of PC gaming.
Click to expand...

Cool, yeah I haven't used mods before but I'd like to start. Thanks for the link.
 
Obligatory

EYhD.gif


Now that you've made the initial up-front investment in the hardware, you'll typically find the software is cheaper and runs better than it's console counterparts - in addition to having a much more diverse library than anything else out there.

Like - Overwatch is $12 on Humble Bundle this month which is an insane deal, especially since it'll come with 5-6 other games at the end of the month. If you're an Amazon Prime member, be sure and grab the monthly free games from Twitch. This month's Twitch games aren't that great, but there's usually a pretty good and diverse selection (and if you're already a Prime member, the price is right!). Also, you don't need to pay to play online - there isn't a PC equivalent to Xbox Live Gold or Playstation Plus.
 
jshackles said:
Obligatory

EYhD.gif


Now that you've made the initial up-front investment in the hardware, you'll typically find the software is cheaper and runs better than it's console counterparts - in addition to having a much more diverse library than anything else out there.

Like - Overwatch is $12 on Humble Bundle this month which is an insane deal, especially since it'll come with 5-6 other games at the end of the month. If you're an Amazon Prime member, be sure and grab the monthly free games from Twitch. This month's Twitch games aren't that great, but there's usually a pretty good and diverse selection (and if you're already a Prime member, the price is right!). Also, you don't need to pay to play online - there isn't a PC equivalent to Xbox Live Gold or Playstation Plus.
Click to expand...

Yeah not being forced to pay for the annual subscription is huge. PS Plus has been putting up better games lately, but they also upped the price and the whole concept is ridiculous to begin with. I'll keep my eye on humble but I've got some Steam store cash that I'm aching to spend atm. I'm downloading Path of Exile now, and I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on Pillars of Eternity complete edition and Cities: Skylines.
 
down 2 orth said:
Yeah not being forced to pay for the annual subscription is huge. PS Plus has been putting up better games lately, but they also upped the price and the whole concept is ridiculous to begin with. I'll keep my eye on humble but I've got some Steam store cash that I'm aching to spend atm. I'm downloading Path of Exile now, and I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on Pillars of Eternity complete edition and Cities: Skylines.
Click to expand...

Ah, the old PoE and PoE. Both great games. Cities, too.

Sounds like you're well on your way.
 
my main issue with PC gaming has been controllers. it has been very frustrating because sometimes Steam will update the games and they will no longer work with controllers and you have to use a third party thing.

i use old PS2 Dualshock controllers, plugged into a $10 USB PS2 controller adaptor. i use x360ce for almost everything i play on PC. there is a 32-bit and a 64-bit version, you just download it and put it in the .EXE folder and run as administrator. the first time it will tell you if it is the wrong version or not. once you run and configure your controller, it will automatically add controller support to the game.

PC games are mostly meant to work with K+M and not all have controller support (or they only support specific controllers). x360ce is a life saver!

Sub_Level said:
Steam
Good Old Games

There you go. Every now and then you'll come across a Blizzard, Uplay, or Origin game, but Steam and GoG should cover 90% of your library.
Click to expand...

GOG rules. i have used Steam for several years and recently when a new game comes out i look at GOG and it is for sale for $10 less or something. you can even buy Steam keys from GOG and now you just own a brand new Steam game for a discount.
 
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down 2 orth said:
I've got a nice big plasma screen that I've been using with my PSPro, so I'll buy whatever hardware that will let me hook my laptop up to it.
Click to expand...
You only need an HDMI cable to connect the Laptop to your TV. Windows will recognize the TV as a 2nd screen... the only thing you might have to do is check if the color range is set properly (full instead of limited color range - if it is set to limited you will notice right away, everything will look washed out).
4O2Y6Fr.png


And I'll have to 2nd Humble Bundle. Make yourself an account there and set up the Newsletter, so you don't miss any bundles (there have been PS4/Nintendo bundles in the past as well).
There is also this site: https://isthereanydeal.com which is something you should bookmark. It's a sales aggregator which tracks multiple (legit) stores, so you can always get the cheapest copies of the games you want (it also keeps track of past sales, so you can see if a current deal on a game is good or bad).

You might run into issues with your Dual Shock 4. It is only until recently that devs started to implement native support for the Sony gamepads (it happend around the time when Sony introduced PS Now on PC and official drivers for the Dual Shock) and Steam isn't always working well with them. You might have to invest into an Xbox One or 360 gamepad.
 
If you have any old DOS or Windows games from that time, there are installers that copy the content of the disk to your hard drive and play the games without issues. Did it with Gabriel Knight 1, Syndicate Wars, Toonstruck and Monkey Island 3. Scummvm is the best option.
Or you can grab a GOG installer if you own the game, to avoid any hassle
 
#Phonepunk# said:
my main issue with PC gaming has been controllers. it has been very frustrating because sometimes Steam will update the games and they will no longer work with controllers and you have to use a third party thing.

i use old PS2 Dualshock controllers, plugged into a $10 USB PS2 controller adaptor. i use x360ce for almost everything i play on PC. there is a 32-bit and a 64-bit version, you just download it and put it in the .EXE folder and run as administrator. the first time it will tell you if it is the wrong version or not. once you run and configure your controller, it will automatically add controller support to the game.

PC games are mostly meant to work with K+M and not all have controller support (or they only support specific controllers). x360ce is a life saver!



GOG rules. i have used Steam for several years and recently when a new game comes out i look at GOG and it is for sale for $10 less or something. you can even buy Steam keys from GOG and now you just own a brand new Steam game for a discount.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'm not at home but i'll give x360ce a try once I'm back.

Endless Fluff said:
You only need an HDMI cable to connect the Laptop to your TV. Windows will recognize the TV as a 2nd screen... the only thing you might have to do is check if the color range is set properly (full instead of limited color range - if it is set to limited you will notice right away, everything will look washed out).
4O2Y6Fr.png


And I'll have to 2nd Humble Bundle. Make yourself an account there and set up the Newsletter, so you don't miss any bundles (there have been PS4/Nintendo bundles in the past as well).
There is also this site: https://isthereanydeal.com which is something you should bookmark. It's a sales aggregator which tracks multiple (legit) stores, so you can always get the cheapest copies of the games you want (it also keeps track of past sales, so you can see if a current deal on a game is good or bad).

You might run into issues with your Dual Shock 4. It is only until recently that devs started to implement native support for the Sony gamepads (it happend around the time when Sony introduced PS Now on PC and official drivers for the Dual Shock) and Steam isn't always working well with them. You might have to invest into an Xbox One or 360 gamepad.
Click to expand...

My display settings area does not have the Output dynamic range options. Glad to know all I need is an HDMI cable though! Will check out GOG and all the sites mentioned in this thread as well.
 
I just want to put this out their as I gamed on laptops a lot. Be aware of your airflow and heat.

Laptops can get hot quick, avoid placing it on your lap unless you have a solid surface free from obstruction of the air vents.

Just my two cents.
 
down 2 orth said:
How can you tell if it has gsync or not? I've got a nice big plasma screen that I've been using with my PSPro, so I'll buy whatever hardware that will let me hook my laptop up to it. I'm guessing I can't use my dualshocker though?



Lol, yeah the classics, I'll check that out. Is there a go-to site that lists the best PC exclusives or multiplatform games which have the best interface on PC?
Click to expand...
I think theres emulators for old widows, and dos emulators to play older games.
 
#Phonepunk# said:
my main issue with PC gaming has been controllers. it has been very frustrating because sometimes Steam will update the games and they will no longer work with controllers and you have to use a third party thing.

i use old PS2 Dualshock controllers, plugged into a $10 USB PS2 controller adaptor. i use x360ce for almost everything i play on PC. there is a 32-bit and a 64-bit version, you just download it and put it in the .EXE folder and run as administrator. the first time it will tell you if it is the wrong version or not. once you run and configure your controller, it will automatically add controller support to the game.

PC games are mostly meant to work with K+M and not all have controller support (or they only support specific controllers). x360ce is a life saver!



GOG rules. i have used Steam for several years and recently when a new game comes out i look at GOG and it is for sale for $10 less or something. you can even buy Steam keys from GOG and now you just own a brand new Steam game for a discount.
Click to expand...

If you're not using an Xbox One pad on the PC, you're doing it wrong. It's just the reality of the situation. Almost everything is XInput. It is not worth the hassle of dealing with other controllers.
 
So in general, after I start a game, are the settings manually set to high, or should I set them myself? Are there any settings I shouldn't set too high?

dirthead said:
MAME. MAME.

MAME.

Seriously, MAME.

I barely even play contemporary games anymore.
Click to expand...

That looks interesting, where do you download the games for it?
 
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just google and download emulators, and then google roms for the games, I'm sure you are not allowed to post links for them though. Most sites will ban you for that.
 
As for optimizing games, most modern ones automatically check what your PC specs and for yours would almost certainly always be high. If you want to try optimizing some yourself though, some of the settings that usually hurt performance most are Shadows, Anti aliasing, and Reflections.

Resolution has a big impact if you go above 1080p, and there are some games that easily support resolution scaling, which basically means you can put more detail into a 1080p image than it would normally have. You can also do that directly through Nvidia's drivers. That's a real balancing act between performance and quality. I usually shoot for 1080p 60fps and bump up the quality as much as I can while keeping the fps above 60.
 
Guynamedbilly said:
As for optimizing games, most modern ones automatically check what your PC specs and for yours would almost certainly always be high. If you want to try optimizing some yourself though, some of the settings that usually hurt performance most are Shadows, Anti aliasing, and Reflections.

Resolution has a big impact if you go above 1080p, and there are some games that easily support resolution scaling, which basically means you can put more detail into a 1080p image than it would normally have. You can also do that directly through Nvidia's drivers. That's a real balancing act between performance and quality. I usually shoot for 1080p 60fps and bump up the quality as much as I can while keeping the fps above 60.
Click to expand...

Understood. Is there an easy way to measure a game's fps?
 
down 2 orth said:
Understood. Is there an easy way to measure a game's fps?
Click to expand...

If you're using Steam, there is an option to enable this. Settings -> In-Game -> In-game FPS Counter (set to anything other than "Off").
 
Keep in mind when you buy games from Steam you have the option to return them for a full refund for any reason if you've played less than 2 hours and owned it less than 2 weeks. It's one of my favorite things about PC gaming since I buy a lot more games this way knowing they are risk-free.

There's lots of custom modifications for PC games that add cool features like new levels, graphical enhancements, controller inputs, etc. Usually you just copy some files into your install directory to activate them.

Green Man Gaming usually sells new releases at a discount and they're often Steam codes.
 
Five question for you OP:
Do you like PC exclusive games like:
- Strategy (RTS, TBS, 4X, GS etc)
- CRPG (D:OS etc)
- Indies (2d platformer and many more)
- MS pc games (Recore etc)
- MMO (WOW, BDO etc)
- MOBA (LOL etc)
- CFPS (CSGO etc)

What you like more first person or third perspective?
Do you like play classic games via emulator or consoles?
Are you Graphic & frame rate or gameplay guy/gal?
Do you mind to tinker or just plug and play guy/gal?

If all/mainly your answer is no & right side of choices I suggest to sell your laptop before you invest in digital games which cannot be tradeable forever.
 
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Senhua said:
Five question for you OP:
Do you like PC exclusive games like:
- Strategy (RTS, TBS, 4X, GS etc)
- CRPG (D:OS etc)
- Indies (2d platformer and many more)
- MS pc games (Recore etc)
- MMO (WOW, BDO etc)
- MOBA (LOL etc)
- CFPS (CSGO etc)

What you like more first person or third perspective?
Do you like play classic games via emulator or consoles?
Are you Graphic & frame rate or gameplay guy/gal?
Do you mind to tinker or just plug and play guy/gal?

If all/mainly your answer is no & right side of choices I suggest to sell your laptop before you invest in digital games which cannot be tradeable forever.
Click to expand...

Uh, this is complete FUD. A higher end PC is a good gaming system regardless of the genre of games you play. It's not 1991. Every fighting game comes out for the PC now. If you have a high end PC there's literally no reason to bother with an Xbox.

The only thing that's not on PCs is the occasional Sony or Nintendo exclusive, which is what, 3 games a year at most? A better question is "Do you like kiddie Nintendo games? I suggest you sell your laptop."
 
dirthead said:
Uh, this is complete FUD. A higher end PC is a good gaming system regardless of the genre of games you play. It's not 1991. Every fighting game comes out for the PC now. If you have a high end PC there's literally no reason to bother with an Xbox.

The only thing that's not on PCs is the occasional Sony or Nintendo exclusive, which is what, 3 games a year at most? A better question is "Do you like kiddie Nintendo games? I suggest you sell your laptop."
Click to expand...
Sorry for me digital gaming is scam as long as the price 1:1 with the physical one and you cannot sell/lend your digital games to whoever you want.
You must always have a perfectly functioned PC if you want to access and play it, in this day and age if you willing to 100% gaming on budget PC (1080/60) outside exclusive you must:
- upgrading for GPU every 2-3 years
- upgrading your CPU and the rest every 5 years max
- tinkering all the bullshit (hardware and sofware) and shitty japanese port quality
 
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