4 ms·

This seems like that useless definition of "need" that completely discards any real standards for the sake of an argument. A 200 dollar computer at best is goin

This seems like that useless definition of "need" that completely discards any real standards for the sake of an argument. A 200 dollar computer at best is going to let you play low demand indie games and things with garbage mode settings for running on potatoes.

ruthmarx 2y ago
> A 200 dollar computer at best is going to let you play low demand indie games and things with garbage mode settings for running on potatoes. That's not true. I still regularly use an old Dell Latitude from almost 15 years ago sometimes - it cost under $150. I can do everything I need on it, even compile Firefox. I can't run most new AAA games, but can play a bunch of FPS games from about up until when it came out. It still plays CSGO just fine, for example. The real advances in performance the last decade has been in GPU performance, not general performance.
- rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
  What settings do you play CSGO on? And is it just CSGO or can you play Counterstrike 2?
  - ruthmarx 2y ago
    Low to be fair, it depends how hot the laptop gets, but usual around 800x600 or 1024x768 and everything low quality. Not great compared to modern hardware, but not as useless as you were suggesting either. Can't play CS2 because of it needing DirectX12 and the last driver for the video card not supporting it. I've wondered if it would work on Linux since DirectX isn't a factor but haven't tried yet.
dangrossman 2y ago
$200 on eBay will get you a used laptop with a Core i7, 16GB RAM and SSD; essentially the same specs as my year-old $1000+ laptop, other than having a newer generation CPU. It'll play many brand new games at 720p or better and acceptable framerates. I still use an original Microsoft Surface Pro pretty often, and can barely tell the difference between using it and that year-old PC for web browsing, document editing, and tablet-style gaming. The Surface Pro came out in 2013.
- rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
  Would you say that your laptop can get 120fps on non-minimal settings while playing the current Call of Duty? What about Grand Theft Auto V or Overwatch?
  - dangrossman 2y ago
    I don't get 120fps on non-minimal settings with a PlayStation or Xbox, yet 150+ million people do all their gaming on those consoles (including almost half of Overwatch's player base according to some polls). That's not the test.
    - rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
      Would you say you can get 60fps on non-minimal settings on the current call of duty then?
      - sulandor 2y ago
        probably not, and you know, because aaa-shooters are typically made for push the boundaries. the point was that most things are playable and the list is only getting longer
        genewitch 2y ago
        the ratio of "playable" to "unplayable" vis a vis FPS or any other measure is around 10000000:1, and that grows even if you never upgrade the hardware. Lots of indie games run fine on old hardware - it's just not that demanding. Sure a plurality of the 10mm will be shovelware or otherwise bad, but do we have to play FFXVII? COD MWII BOIII WW2?
        rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
        You don't but lots of gamers want to and the idea that a $200 machine is somehow going to service them is absurd. Hence my original point that the idea a $200 machine will do everything you "need" seems like a stretch unless your needs are well below what's typical for someone who plays video games.

ruthmarx 2y ago

> A 200 dollar computer at best is going to let you play low demand indie games and things with garbage mode settings for running on potatoes. That's not true. I still regularly use an old Dell Latitude from almost 15 years ago sometimes - it cost under $150. I can do everything I need on it, even compile Firefox. I can't run most new AAA games, but can play a bunch of FPS games from about up until when it came out. It still plays CSGO just fine, for example. The real advances in performance the last decade has been in GPU performance, not general performance.

rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
What settings do you play CSGO on? And is it just CSGO or can you play Counterstrike 2?
- ruthmarx 2y ago
  Low to be fair, it depends how hot the laptop gets, but usual around 800x600 or 1024x768 and everything low quality. Not great compared to modern hardware, but not as useless as you were suggesting either. Can't play CS2 because of it needing DirectX12 and the last driver for the video card not supporting it. I've wondered if it would work on Linux since DirectX isn't a factor but haven't tried yet.

dangrossman 2y ago

$200 on eBay will get you a used laptop with a Core i7, 16GB RAM and SSD; essentially the same specs as my year-old $1000+ laptop, other than having a newer generation CPU. It'll play many brand new games at 720p or better and acceptable framerates. I still use an original Microsoft Surface Pro pretty often, and can barely tell the difference between using it and that year-old PC for web browsing, document editing, and tablet-style gaming. The Surface Pro came out in 2013.

rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
Would you say that your laptop can get 120fps on non-minimal settings while playing the current Call of Duty? What about Grand Theft Auto V or Overwatch?
- dangrossman 2y ago
  I don't get 120fps on non-minimal settings with a PlayStation or Xbox, yet 150+ million people do all their gaming on those consoles (including almost half of Overwatch's player base according to some polls). That's not the test.
  - rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
    Would you say you can get 60fps on non-minimal settings on the current call of duty then?
    - sulandor 2y ago
      probably not, and you know, because aaa-shooters are typically made for push the boundaries. the point was that most things are playable and the list is only getting longer
      - genewitch 2y ago
        the ratio of "playable" to "unplayable" vis a vis FPS or any other measure is around 10000000:1, and that grows even if you never upgrade the hardware. Lots of indie games run fine on old hardware - it's just not that demanding. Sure a plurality of the 10mm will be shovelware or otherwise bad, but do we have to play FFXVII? COD MWII BOIII WW2?
        rdujdjsjehy 2y ago
        You don't but lots of gamers want to and the idea that a $200 machine is somehow going to service them is absurd. Hence my original point that the idea a $200 machine will do everything you "need" seems like a stretch unless your needs are well below what's typical for someone who plays video games.