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What's the performance of the average Gaming PC?
- Thread starter Gowans
- Start date
For that, you first need to answer what an average gaming PC is. Can we really go by Steam surveys? Do the 100s of thousands of people who only play Counterstrike, TF2 or Dota 2 matter as much for a metric like this as those that play a larger variety? Should the performance estimate be weighted by hours played or the size of the library?
Aye it really depends on the owner of the PC. With the sudden growth of emergent markets, on steam, from Brazil and Russia I'd bet that the average is set fairly low. For example you might find the average for a 'PC Gamer' in the UK is a rig consisting of parts from 2010 but in Eastern Europe or Brazil you might find that they PC dates back to 2004 and is still running on XP.
I think a steam survey is as good as anything , if not it would probably skew higher getting rid if the web games and integrated graphics guys.
Anyway those are prob the best and most resent stats around
but what do the numbers mean in real world understandable experiences?
(Resolution, image quality, fps etc.)
Anyway those are prob the best and most resent stats around
but what do the numbers mean in real world understandable experiences?
(Resolution, image quality, fps etc.)
I actually agree with this. I played TF2 for a really long time on low settings on my old school laptop, and that was the only reason I had Steam. I really don't think cases like this should be put in the category of "gaming PC" just because that PC played a game.
Not every PC gamers run current-gen games at 1400p/120fps, what's your point ?
diggmcbadass
Member
Steam hw stats state that of all graphic cards, "27.33% are DX10, 44.97% are DX11". I would claim that anyone not running dx10 or higher do not have a gaming pc and probably are not interested in new releases unless it is of their specific niche game (think football manager, cs.) That puts at least 28% of steam users well outside the gamer pc branch entirely.
I'm just trying to understand what the average PC games performance would look like. That's all.
Terbinator
Member
The equivalent of a Core i3 and a 5770 is the most popular on Steam IIRC.
But you are playing video games. On a PC.
As stated earlier I have no idea if you can find relevant data on that, aside from the Steam survey.
However I stand by the comment that the "average" gaming PC must be less powerful than the next-gen consoles. As a whole the PC will have some catching up to do but it's the same with everything : you get what you pay for.
In this case every PC is a gaming PC, and the distinction is meaningless?
The classic association of the gaming PC refers to a PC specifically made to play games, not just a PC that could play games (because every computer, from the oldest to the newest, has such potential, even if that's not its intended use).
The better question to ask is, what's the average gaming PC look like in price range X? And that's an answer the NeoGAF Gaming PC thread can answer for you.
To expand on my earlier point, I think doing a flat average over all PCs that might be used to play games is not very useful. I'd think about it more like this (greatly simplified):
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of 400 million or more, then the average performance is similar to PS3/360 level.
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of 40 million, then the average performance is 4x PS3/360.
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of 4 million, then the average performance is PS4 level.
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of 400 million or more, then the average performance is similar to PS3/360 level.
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of 40 million, then the average performance is 4x PS3/360.
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of 4 million, then the average performance is PS4 level.
What does that mean for performance is modern games?
(I'm no good with numbers)
goign by youtube videos it would run rysis 3 medium 1280x720 30fps on average
Brill thanks, that's a good start, pretty decent considering the range a PC gaming can cover.
The Nature Roy
Member
I have what I would consider an aging, mid-range gaming PC (i5 2500k, GTX 570, 12 GB RAM).
The vast majority of games I've bought the past couple of years have been AAA console ports. I almost always get 1080p, 60fps, with some AA and vsync.
A notable exception is Crysis 3, and for that I get 1080p, locked 30fps, some AA, and vsync. And it's glorious -- what I'm seeing on my PC w/Crysis 3 would not have looked out of place or outclassed if shown during the PS4 conference.
HolyBaikal
Banned
You have a low opinion of an incredibly powerful rig.
That's a really good way to put things
Madrugador
Member
Wow, only 11.56% of Windows Steam users use Google Chrome.
Edit: Ok, this was in 2010.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Users on Steam represent a small fraction of the world PC population.
I bet if you average it out, it would come out to dual to borderline single core CPU's with onboard graphics and 1-2GB of memory. You can account the grandmas and younger kids who just get on for facebook or bingo or whatever they like to do on PC.
The enthusiast is definitely in the minority with every year seeing miniscule gains but I do think the baseline is going up as we continue to have older HW die out.
So if we have people with 486 DX2's out there and they are somehow still using Windows 98 then those PC's will die at some point. Even if folks upgrade to prefab Walmart PC's, they should at least have dual core.
By that nature, I suspect than in around 5-10 years we will see a minimum baseline of dual core and maybe the equivalent of a 8800gt for graphics even if onboard.
It's kind of interesting if you ponder it.
Terbinator
Member
But the gaming population?
Same thing came to mind, they do represent quite a large portion of the "core" gaming community.
The Nature Roy
Member
It's an excellent rig. That said, I bought it on a budget (well, $1k or so at the time, and I'm guessing everything or their equivalents could be had for less now), and there are certainly much, much more powerful gaming rigs out there.
Edit: And I merely meant 'aging' due to the fact that I don't think it's future proofed for the next-gen of consoles, which will likely outperform it somewhat (even though the raw horsepower might be fairly similar). If that's the case, I could see myself doing the same thing I did this past generation -- game primarily on consoles again for a few years until PCs are once again leagues ahead, and then upgrade my rig and shift back to PC gaming primarily.
That's the thing with PC gaming. Whatever you currently have, you always want more.
Thanks.
You could of course extend it.
If you think of PC gaming as a platform with a user base of the 40 most prolific posters in our high-res screenshot thread, then the average performance is 2-3x PS4 level
I feel like this is historically true, but over the past few years, unless you are into triple monitor setups or insane about IQ, it hasn't really been the case.
I would personally say a average gaming PC can be described as whatever can currently be built with a certain amount of money. I'd say the average probably spent on a gaming PC is around $800-$1000 and I'm not talking about pre-built.
This also wouldn't include the operating system, monitor or accessories.
This also wouldn't include the operating system, monitor or accessories.
SturokBGD
Member
In my experience in the last couple of decades of PC gaming, there's this skewed perception that every PC gamer has the high-end stuff because it's the heavy enthusiasts that are most often talking about it.
Interesting that the most popular card currently on the Steam survey charts is the Intel HD Graphics 3000! I guess that's because of the sheer volume of people playing CS, Dota2 etc.
Interesting that the most popular card currently on the Steam survey charts is the Intel HD Graphics 3000! I guess that's because of the sheer volume of people playing CS, Dota2 etc.
But that would be much faster than the average gaming PC currently in use, except by the most prolific PC gamers. It would already be faster than the next-gen consoles.
While it's true that not all gamers are on Steam, I would imagine their userbase provides a pretty good general "slice" of gamers, and is probably more or less indicative of gamers as a whole. Probably more than enough to get a good idea of an "average" gamer PC.
What does the 5770 equate to in NVidia language?
What does the 5770 equate to in NVidia language?
I think this is mostly a function of Intel having exactly 3 models of GPU in current circulation, while both AMD and NVIDIA have dozens.
Of course it would, but when you talk about the average gaming PC you have to talk about the average gaming PC being built right now.
For instance my computer cost me $1000 to build but I wouldn't consider it a modern average gaming PC and it's also not nearly worth the $1000 anymore.
I'd say at the current time this is a pretty good guesstimation. In a couple years however the 4 million user base will increase due to games requiring a bit more power. Tons of people (including myself with my current GPU) haven't had a reason to upgrade.
Terbinator
Member
About a GTS 450, give or take.
crazy monkey
Banned
pick a laptop with price range of 300-500 from best buy that is what general public spends.
Gaming PC, that is not one.
Gaming PC or gaming PC?
I reckon an average user does not have a PC built for gaming specifically. I reckon quite many PC gamers don't have PCs built for gaming specifically.
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
2 360s duct taped together
partyphone
Banned
They'll be less powerful at first but then even crappy Intel integrated graphics will be better in a few years. It's how this song and dance always goes. well, except this time Intel actually cares about 3D graphics performance.
I agree, the default of "that's better on PC" should be clear that's it depends, that's the line of thought that got me interested in understanding what is the 'average' experiences for PC gamers.
Yep, it will be even more true when new GPU series come out next year. 760Ti should be equivalent to 680 and that will be around 300$ GPU.
You know a PC was bought for gaming when the person spent more on their GPU then their CPU. (not including professional graphics cards as those are not for gaming)
The steam stats are a horrible indication. 3 of the most played games take nothing to run, 2 of them are free (Dota 2, TF2) and the other one is extremely old and very cheap to buy (CS). I have 2 younger cousins (Kindergarten and gr5) who found steam on their own and both played TF2, one on an iMac and the other on a Dell laptop his dad formerly used solely for business.
The steam stats are a horrible indication. 3 of the most played games take nothing to run, 2 of them are free (Dota 2, TF2) and the other one is extremely old and very cheap to buy (CS). I have 2 younger cousins (Kindergarten and gr5) who found steam on their own and both played TF2, one on an iMac and the other on a Dell laptop his dad formerly used solely for business.
When someone says average sports car I'm not thinking Toyota Camry.
A+ Post. This hit the nail right on the head.