How graphically good is PC gaming now?

[iamrcb]

I've been out of PC gaming for a long long time (10 yrs+) due to a stint in consoles (no newer than a Wii).

Can anyone recommend some online videos or downloads that will show me the sort of graphics level that a £700 to £1000 machine is up to now

I've got a crap laptop, so no playable demos!

Thanks

[Altrezia]

Compared to a Wii, it'll blow you away!

http://www.gametrailers.com < check the PC section on there.

[iamrcb]

Altrezia said:

Compared to a Wii, it'll blow you away!

http://www.gametrailers.com < check the PC section on there.

thanks, i'll check it out. I've seen some PS3 XBOX stuff and was very impressed.

[chriswright]

Crysis

[Asterix]

I splashed out on a new top end, off the shelf, PC and Crisis Warhead is pretty damn impressive - as above.

[iamrcb]

it must be my machine but the videos are pretty jerky.

still a long long way from photo realism though

any particular games I should check out to really see how far things have come?

[iamrcb]

chriswright said:

Crysis

i've heard that this is the game that really pushes the limits of affordable technology, i just need to find some good videos of the live action.

[GG89]

chriswright said:

Crysis

Amazing.

[AlfaFoxtrot]

Photorealistic graphics are still a way off!! Developers have been putting effort into more realistic physics and so on recently as well, which IMO makes the game a lot more involving/fun.

[Flat_Steve]

Bloody amazing.

[Graebob]

How much would it cost to rig up a PC that could run that though? I've never been able to justify the expense, I'll stick to my 200 quid ring of death machine thanks

[AlfaFoxtrot]

Graebob said:

How much would it cost to rig up a PC that could run that though? I've never been able to justify the expense, I'll stick to my 200 quid ring of death machine thanks

I bought the components and put togther a pc that would run Crysis for about £350, but probably with everything on medium. To play the latest games at the highest graphics settings needs the fastest cards and processors, which can be several hundred each. £1000 would definitely get you a very fast machine though.

[SlipStream77]

I thought Far Cry 2 had some good graphics. The lighting effects in particular.

[Daston]

My pc runs crysis on full settings, I would say it would cost you £500 to build now however it was much much more than that when the game was released.

quick fraps (not good quality though)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v232/godaston/?a...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v232/godaston/?a...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v232/godaston/?a...

Edited by Daston on Friday 10th April 00:50

[Ian Davidson]

Are stills what it's about though?

Smoothness is the key. It's something consoles have always been great at. Reliability and consistency in processing speed.

For what it's worth, I don't think PC's are worth buying for graphics alone. But gameplay/simulation, can't be beaten for online play with PC's. rFactor, for example wipes the floor for simulation and online game-play compared with it's console rivals.

I got my PC built for £60 and it runs rFactor on the lowest graphics settings fine!

[superkartracer]

We'll just purchased the Cry2 SDK, the above stuff is nothing compared to the new features, really is stunning.

Would post some shots but under NDA

It runs on cheaper cards faster now, but you still need DX10 etc

S

[Daston]

Ian Davidson said:

Are stills what it's about though?

Smoothness is the key. It's something consoles have always been great at. Reliability and consistency in processing speed.

For what it's worth, I don't think PC's are worth buying for graphics alone. But gameplay/simulation, can't be beaten for online play with PC's. rFactor, for example wipes the floor for simulation and online game-play compared with it's console rivals.

I got my PC built for £60 and it runs rFactor on the lowest graphics settings fine!

You are joking right?? Consoles run at 30fps and some times much less (I have seen both 360 and PS3 games drop to almost slide show frames) In full settings crysis runs at an average of 60 - 70fps