Old Dog, New Tricks

P

PPBart

Member
I haven't paid much attention to computer games in many years -- but in the spirit of "teaching an old dog (I'm 65) new tricks" I would like to try gaming again, if for no other reason than to maybe understand a little better what my grandkids are doing. So, a couple of questions...

What would be a good game to start with? I think I would enjoy one of the "shooter" games, probably not interested in team actions (yet).

My current system is spelled out in signature. Is it at least minimally adequate for some current popular games? Where would I benefit most from upgrading?

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
What kind of games did you play 'back in the day', or what games do your grandkids play?

Also, do you have a dedicated video card in your system or are using the onboard iGPU?
 
Hi PPBart. Adding a dedicated GPU would be the best thing to do if you want to get into gaming. Depending on your budget and current PSU, we can help you find the right upgrade for what you want.

I would start with Team Fortress 2. It is free to play on Steam, it has a pretty active community of players and has practice mode against bots for you to learn how to play without jumping right into multiplayer.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/440/?snr=1_7_15__13
 
TF2 can be run on mostly any machine, but with a Gfx upgrade, counter strike global offensive, and half life 2 are pretty cool.

For single player, as an intro, bonderlands is a good series
 
beers said:
What kind of games did you play 'back in the day', or what games do your grandkids play?...
Click to expand...

Back in the day? Wow, hard to even remember -- Flight Simulator was fun for a long time. Also a road racing game, don't remember name. Tetris was another favorite.

Grandson (12 yrs old) is big into Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Halo, similar.

My system does not currently have a dedicated video card. I assumed that would be a priority upgrade, so I'm open to suggestions.
 
You PSU wattage leaves quite a bit of room to expand from the integrated graphics..

There's many cards out there and my current favorite series for entry to mid level is the Radeon R9 270X. Similarly priced is the Nvidia GTX 760.

At this price range of high $100's to the low $200's the GTX 760 wins.

Move down to the low $100's and the match is fair. The GTX 750ti outperforms the R7 260X on newer DirectX10 based games but on DirectX9 games, the 260X does much better.

Essentially older games will run better on the 260X but being up to standards, Nvidia wins. AMD plans to release the new 300 series but they won't be ready for a while.

Just my input. You've got a decent build and it has potential in my opinion.
 
GTX 760 are in the low 200s, while an r9 270x is around 150. Its more of a competitor to the GTX 750TI, around 140.

I suggest an r9 280 if your budget can support it
 
Welcome to cf, and more importantly gaming :D

Firstly if you are not so sure you will stick with gaming or don't plan on routinely getting the latest and greatest games, or if you aren't too bothered about playing games at the highest settings, you can spend much less than the guys suggested and still get a good card second hand from eBay or the likes.

Secondly, open a steam account. Now is the perfect time because there are winter sales until 2nd January, you will be able to get a lot of great games for not a lot of money.

Thirdly, don't be so quick to dismiss online play!! Find a game you like and then find a community (or clan) that plays it. Gaming with friends is much more fun than alone, and it is perfect for senior gamers too. There is a clan that I used to play with that only accepted players 40+, oldest member was in their 80's. A microphone is recommended for this to speak with your new found friends.

Finally, check out Twitch.tv. People can stream games they play as they play them. It may be confusing what is going on at first, but could give you a good idea on the sorts of games you might like
 
I like the older games; Ghost Recon, battlefield 2, Command And Conquer Generals Zero hour, (Can't play multiplayer without using C&C Online's hack.) World At War, Call Of Duty, Call Of Duty Black Ops, Battlefield Bad Company 2, FS2004 (My FS install is around 45 GB.)
 
I'm surprised no one has recommended Minecraft. It doesn't require a high end graphics card so it will probably play fine on your computer as-is.

Some people don't like the graphics because everything is literally a block but overall the game is very fun because it is wide open as to what you can do.

https://minecraft.net/
 
Play F.E.A.R. on Halloween. LOL Or the World At War zombie mod. Nazi zombies are freaking scary!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0w0C-9jrjM

nazi-zombies.jpg
 
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