Anyone else getting left behind with the engine improvements?

[Dude902]

For me I started falling behind in upgrading my computer since Left 4 Dead was released. I could originally run everything in the Orange Box with just about maxed settings.

In L4D I had lag when I was zoomed-in with the hunting rifle and was forced to lower my shader quality. Then TF2 added mountains of content and gradually became more difficult for my computer to run (though I've read some work has been done in optimizing since I've last played with LOD models and other things). In L4D2 I had to play at settings even less than what I played L4D1 with.

Now, in Portal 2 there's dynamic lighting and god-knows-what added to the engine, and since it's a standalone product unlike Portal 1, there'll be a lot more detail in the game. I'm worried my computer won't be able to keep up.

How are the rest of you doing in keeping up? I assume lots of you will be running at maximum (or beyond) settings, but there are others who share my predicament, right?

[Tumdace]

Gotta keep up with the times if you wanna game on a PC.

Running a Sandy Bridge here, so ill be able to max it out.

[striderjg]

If computer is falling behind, time to look into a upgrade path. This is actually one and only one area that I think I thank consoles for. It seems games aren't pushing the hardware edge as much as they use too. Upgrades seem to be lasting me a lot longer. I could be wrong but way it seems to me. As for how my primary rig is fairing, pretty well Even the secondary computer in the house can run a lot of modern games respectably.

[smash]

I've got a quad core, DX11 system, so I'm good to go.

Have you seen the hardware stats lately? At least 50% of the survery takers have DX10-capable systems and at least a dual core CPU. It's time to upgrade if you don't have that at least.

[slipperywhenwet]

I'm beyond fine for Portal 2.

I COULD use a CPU upgrade, but I'm fine for now.

[shawnhollern]

OP, post your specs, maybe we can help you find some cheap upgrades.

[jimmysmitty]

Originally Posted by Tumdace

Gotta keep up with the times if you wanna game on a PC.

Running a Sandy Bridge here, so ill be able to max it out.

Don't necessarily need SB to max it out. Anyone with at least a Q6600 or Phenom II quad core and a HD4K or G200 series should still be able to max it out.

As for the OP, thats the purpose of Source. To be extremley modular. They can add features when needed or not add any at all.

If you machine is 5 years old and are running a dual core, its not too expensive to upgrade to a quad core and a newer GPU.

Hell a HD5770 should max Portal 2 out nicley.

In fact, as much as I want to upgrade my system, I will probably wait until VALVe releases a new game engine. I have yet to find a game I cannot max out that I play.

[Mad_Cow]

My laptop is a little weak in the video area so I'm not sure how it'll handle Portal 2 at least I have the desktop to fall back on if needed.

[yourworldonfire]

my computer i use is a minimum requirement ♥♥♥♥♥! I will be playing the PC version of Portal 2 at my friends house on MY 32 inch LCD tv... that will be for co op. PS3 will be my first time play through of single player

[Sifer2]

I was behind when Left 4 Dead 2 came out. Just couldn't get it to run smoothly so I upgraded. I imagine i'll be good until the next consoles release in a few years. You really don't need dual cards an all that. Since most games these days are console ports or PC exclusive games that are still not really pushing anyone's rig. Honestly unless you want to max out Battlefield 3 what reason is their to have an uber rig these days?

My computer can very barely run minecraft with minimum settings, let alone anything else. i got this computer for £200 ($320 i think) 3 years ago and never upgraded since.

[Kyorisu]

Originally Posted by yourworldonfire

my computer i use is a minimum requirement ♥♥♥♥♥! I will be playing the PC version of Portal 2 at my friends house on MY 32 inch LCD tv... that will be for co op. PS3 will be my first time play through of single player

Mmm huge pixels. I'd hope that TV is set at the right distance and you don't do what morons do with TVs on their desks.

Originally Posted by dance1211

My computer can very barely run minecraft with minimum settings, let alone anything else. i got this computer for £200 ($320 i think) 3 years ago and never upgraded since.

Minecraft is very performance intensive for what it is. I blame notch for being a ♥♥♥♥ and abusing glclear.

[Donutter²]

Originally Posted by dance1211

My computer can very barely run minecraft with minimum settings, let alone anything else. i got this computer for £200 ($320 i think) 3 years ago and never upgraded since.

how long ago? and what kind of hardware?

I built my current rig last year on a budget for £400.

C2D E6850 3.0ghz
HD 5770
4GB Hyper-X ram
750w PSU
Windows 7 ultimate 64bit

My only regret is buying a cheap case because my PSU has the fan hole on the bottom so it draws the warm air coming off the CPU making ambient temps a bit higher than usual. But I can run games at very good settings, my only other issue is the fan noise from the HD5770.

[Dude902]

Originally Posted by shawnhollern

OP, post your specs, maybe we can help you find some cheap upgrades.

My computer is a Dell (I know, "Dell" ) Workstation Precision 670 with some parts changed around.

• CPU - Dual Intel Xeons 3.0ghz (two separate processors unlike most computers, and each is about equivalent to a Pentium 4)
• GPU - Nvidia 7900GS
• RAM - 3.0 GBs

Those are its main specs for gaming. Just about the only thing I can change is the graphics card, and my CPUs will probably bottleneck anything much better than what I already have. I have considered getting one if it's within the ~$100 price range, at least to try it out and then return it if there is indeed a severe bottleneck.

Either way I'm sure I can run Portal 2, just at lower settings than I would like. I find the little details which require higher settings to be an important part of the experience in a Valve game.

[Boff]

My computer recently updated itself from a living breathing System to a Dead Paperweight just in time for Portal2

Motherboard has onboard kaput capacity.
CPU 0Ghz
GPU highly capable of showing black or Blue screen of Death.
RAM 0 GBs