Help me find good games that justify better GPUs

[tyl998]

I have SLI 460 rig. What games are NOT overkill for me playing at 1920x1080 single monitor? Crysis I know. What else? I think I don't have max FPS for AvP, but I dunno how to check my FPS. Can anyone help? Is there a console command to show my FPS?

 

[KevinH]

Every one of the so-called gpu pushing games listed are complete and utter trash except Crysis which is just kind of boring.

 

[notty22]

I have SLI 460 rig. What games are NOT overkill for me playing at 1920x1080 single monitor? Crysis I know. What else? I think I don't have max FPS for AvP, but I dunno how to check my FPS. Can anyone help? Is there a console command to show my FPS?

MSI After Burner has some great options with OSD- on screen display.
Any of the sensors you activate in the monitoring tab, you can then show OSD, using 2 video cards, I like to show gpu load for each and my FPS-temperature. I occasionally show clock speed to verify whether I need to disable power management in that particular game profile.
There is a manual at msi web site for the program.

 

[tyl998]

Cool! So it'll have a small display box overlaying any applications I have running? I wonder if I can feed the info to the display on my keyboard. My G15 Logitech keyboard as its own display box and I have it set to displaying CPU and RAM usage currently.

 

[notty22]

Cool! So it'll have a small display box overlaying any applications I have running? I wonder if I can feed the info to the display on my keyboard. My G15 Logitech keyboard as its own display box and I have it set to displaying CPU and RAM usage currently.

Yes there is a option to check any monitoring sensor to OSD and/or your keyboard display

 

[Juncar]

Every one of the so-called gpu pushing games listed are complete and utter trash except Crysis which is just kind of boring.

Agreed here, I still have my Radeon 4770, probably will last me till at least 28 nm GPU comes, will have to see if there are any new games worth upgrading for.

 

[toyota]

Crysis, Metro2033, Stalker ClearSky, Alien vs Predator, MafiaII

These games I suggest only because they can be cranked up to put a hurting on even the highest end cards today. There are surely some I've missed.

in most of those games its only two or three settings that make them demanding. I ran Clear Sky on nearly all max DX10 setting with just SSAO and sun shadows turned down a bit and no AA. I can run Alien vs Predator without the DX11 tessellation and advanced shadows on max settings at 60fps with a gtx260. Mafia 2 also stays around 60fps on highest settings without AA or physx. even Metro 2033 plays smooth on DX10 high settings without AA. heck I put it on very high half way through the game to see how sluggish it would be and never went back to high. Crysis is even playable for the most part on very high settings without AA especially Warhead where you can run in DX9 for enthusiast(very high).

 

[notty22]

Kinect sells one million units in 10 days

Nvidia needs to 'invent' something similar- adapt it to a couple games, mate it with a new line of their cards, market it (thats key), and bring some new gamers to the PC.

Microsoft has announced its hands-free motion controller Kinect just broke the 1 million units sold milestone. Not bad for an Xbox 360 accessory that costs almost as much as the console itself. The $150 camera device landed on U.S. store shelves just ten days ago and Europe on November 10, while a launch in Asia and Japan is scheduled for later this month. According to the company, by the holiday season, Kinect will be available in 60,000 retailers in 38 countries and it is already on pace to break the five million mark by the end of the year. Seems like motion control is here to stay.

For now Kinect is aimed mostly at the mass market with titles such as Kinect Adventure and Dance Central. However, Microsoft recently announced that the next Star Wars and Forza games due for release later in 2011 will both be fully Kinect-compatible. Hardcore gamers can also look forward to some motion-controlled chainsaw action in a new version of Gears of War coming straight from Epic Games, according to an IGN source.

 

[Teizo]

Crysis : hmm. I was able to play it so-so on an 8800 GT. A 460 is probably enough to run it on high without anti-aliasing.

It does OK for me @ 2xAA on Enthusiast settings. Granted I'm not getting much over 25-30 fps, and sometimes less...but the game is still playable. 4xAA drops me down to the teens and stutters too much.

@ OP - I am getting 45-60 fps in BFBC2 maxed out at 1920x1080 with 16xAA and 16xAF, though granted anything over 4xAA @ that res is a bit overkill of course. I tried it just for the heck of it and was surprised to see it do so well. You should be able to at least run 4xAA very playable, that is unless you have to have 60 FPS in order to be happy.

 

[Troll Trolling]

Wanting to buy a better GPU should't be a reason to find games.
Finding games "should" be a reason for wanting to buy a better GPU.

That is the reptile part of the human's brain working, gentlemen.

 

[dust]

Wanting to buy a better GPU should't be a reason to find games.
Finding games "should" be a reason for wanting to buy a better GPU.

That is the reptile part of the human's brain working, gentlemen.

You're right but there's the fungus part of the brain which contains the pride to own/brag in front of the world issue.

 

[nyker96]

I think you can get to max most games at 1920 rez, it's not very taxing, maybe you can't do metro 2033/crysis series but this 1920 isn't too much for a 460/1gb. however, if you playing say the multiple monitor feature from ati for instance, then a powerful setup is really needed, probably Xfire etc. but with this said, you don't know how many taxing dx11 games of the future will come along, so no hurt if you got a 470/480/580 etc.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Wanting to buy a better GPU should't be a reason to find games.
Finding games "should" be a reason for wanting to buy a better GPU.

That is the reptile part of the human's brain working, gentlemen.

truth right there, and best advice of this thread

 

[SHAQ]

I've been using my 2nd 470 for SLI supersampling in older games. Modern Warfare looks pretty sweet with absolutely no jaggies and added ambient occlusion. I think there are 4-5 games that actually need the SLI itself for good framerates and have already been mentioned. But next year will be one of the best ever for PC gaming(like 2004) so I think you will want another 460 for them.

 

[happy medium]

But next year will be one of the best ever for PC gaming(like 2004)

Why do you say this?

 

[SHAQ]

Why do you say this?

Read the list at ebgames.com Deus Ex, Diablo 3(maybe)SC2 expansion, Rage,Crysis 2,BF3, next CoD. There are many many more.

Edit: Add these to the above

Dead Space 2
Test Drive Unlimited 2
Shogun 2:Total War
Brink(may or may not be good)
Duke Nukem Forever(yes really)
Portal 2
AC:Brotherhood
Ghost Recon Future Soldier(may or may not be good)
Homefront(may or may not be good)
Dragon Age 2
Witcher 2
Fear 3
Max Payne 3(may or may not be good)

More will be listed as we get to next year.

 

[taltamir]

Dead Space 2 - another uninspired uncreative derivative from EA...

Test Drive Unlimited 2 - Who actually plays racing games? For that matters, who plays deer hunting, fishing, and horse racing games...

Shogun 2:Total War - really not my cup of tea, but if it is yours then enjoy.

Brink(may or may not be good) - with how games are going, its safest to assume bad so that on the off chance it is good, you will be pleasantly surprised... and with 9/10 games coming out broken (show stopping bugs) and less than half fixed via patches, even a good in theory game can be a disappointment.

Duke Nukem Forever(yes really) - That game has been "coming out next year" for 11 years now, and even if it does come out, I doubt it will be anything amazing... I am a huge fan of duke nukem though... so even a mediocre duke nukem game will satisfy me a lot.

Portal 2 - Nice, good chances of it being as awesome as the first, which was awesome... also good chance of it being as short as the first... but I bet it will be really satisfying 6 hours.

AC:Brotherhood - AC is getting somewhat recycled, and the DRM is murder... but it also stands a good chance to be a winner.

Ghost Recon Future Soldier(may or may not be good) - see comment about brink.

Homefront(may or may not be good) - see comment about brink.

Dragon Age 2 - Dragon age was one of the most amazing interactive movies coupled with one of the shittiest game-plays I have seen in a long while. Dragon Age 2 looks to be more of the same... and frankly I have neither the time nor patience to GRIND for 5 hours for 10 minutes of excellent interactive movie.

Witcher 2 - While the chauvinism was gimmicky and admittedly fun, the gameplay was weak and I never managed to bring myself to finish the first one... And I bet the engrish would be as horrible as the first one (although they did fix it up in the special edition)

Fear 3 - Yet another boring sequel.

Max Payne 3(may or may not be good) - see brink.


All in all, one game to really get excited about (portal) but will be painfully short, and a handful of "maybe" with a "big chance of fail" on those maybes... and as I said, 9/10 games are released broken, and most are never fixed.

 

[busydude]

Test Drive Unlimited 2 - Who actually plays racing games?

Hmm, a lot of them do. The number of racing games being released every year should be an indication.

 

[nitromullet]

This thread is going to show how WEAK the gaming scene is in terms of graphics, thanks to consoles.

Agreed

I simply cannot find or justify ANY game worthy of a PC/GPU upgrade right now.

I'm running 4870 and I'm fine with it, sure it doesn't push MANY games to the max...but I'm fine with that. Just waiting for that next graphics leap which doesn't seem to be coming AT ALL.

You can't really make the argument that consoles are killing PC graphics development AND that you're fine with playing PC games at lower than max settings. Your acceptance of lower quality graphics in exchange for a less expensive gaming rig is that exact same trade off that console gamers have made.

The leap that you are waiting for will never come if everyone just sits on their two year old hardware and lower settings as needed to make newer games playable.

in most of those games its only two or three settings that make them demanding. I ran Clear Sky on nearly all max DX10 setting with just SSAO and sun shadows turned down a bit and no AA. I can run Alien vs Predator without the DX11 tessellation and advanced shadows on max settings at 60fps with a gtx260. Mafia 2 also stays around 60fps on highest settings without AA or physx. even Metro 2033 plays smooth on DX10 high settings without AA. heck I put it on very high half way through the game to see how sluggish it would be and never went back to high. Crysis is even playable for the most part on very high settings without AA especially Warhead where you can run in DX9 for enthusiast(very high).

Further to my point above, higher resolutions (like, higher than 1280x720), higher quality textures, max settings, DX10, DX11, gpu PhysX, and higher AA options are some of the differentiators between the PC and consoles. You can't argue that consoles are slowing down tech or that there are no games out that take advantage of high end hardware when you don't even take full advantage of the current PC exclusive tech available to you.

Note that I'm not faulting anyone for the financial trade-offs they've made because we all have to make choices that work for us. What I'm saying is that you cannot equate yourself being happy with mid level settings in games on mid range hardware as being the same as there are no games out that can take advantage of higher end hardware.

 

[nenforcer]

How about Lost Planet 2 for PC?

I have 2 X 9800GT in SLI and the benchmark crashes in either DirectX9 or DirectX11 mode on my Vista machine.

The only game which runs in DX11 which I actually want to play is BF:BC2.

The new Medal of Honor (is this even DX11?)?

This is why I am waiting until well into next year when Rage, etc, is released before I upgrade.

 

[ioni]

Portal 2 - Nice, good chances of it being as awesome as the first, which was awesome... also good chance of it being as short as the first... but I bet it will be really satisfying 6 hours.

Portal 2 will be weak. It's just going to be the same game again except now Tag has been thrown in. No new ideas. Valve should have fleshed the game out fully the first time. And I bet you are right in that it will probably only be about 6 hours long. The only reason to play it will be for the humor. I know I'm going to wait until it's $5 like I did with The Orange Box.

Witcher 2 - While the chauvinism was gimmicky and admittedly fun, the gameplay was weak and I never managed to bring myself to finish the first one... And I bet the engrish would be as horrible as the first one (although they did fix it up in the special edition)

I wouldn't count out Witcher 2. I played the demo of The Witcher and didn't really like it. But based on the gameplay videos for 2, it is looking pretty to be pretty decent.

I hope Rage does come out next year. It looks pretty good. I wouldn't hold my breath on D3 or and SC2 expansion coming out next year. Would be nice though.

Dirt 3 is looking like a fun racer that will probably be pretty demanding.

 

[Matrices]

You're foolishly shortchanging The Witcher. With the Enhanced Edition, it was easily one of the best RPGs of the last few years. Yes, the combat was simplistic and there was the immaturity with "collecting" cards for women you slept with, but it's absurd to ignore everything else because of that. Great environments, decision-making that has a real impact on the storyline, and amazing music.

 

[happy medium]

You can't really make the argument that consoles are killing PC graphics

I thought Black ops (a brand new release) was gonna give me a reason to upgrade my overclocked hd5750 (@1600x1200). I played it some today @1600x1200 4xaa everything on high, and fraps was giving me 50 to 75 fps outdoors with all hell beaking loose.

Any games that stresseed my card (Crysis, Stalker ect. ect. ect.) I allready beat and is old.

MOst games today are not taxing my system. I know there are a few exceptions but not many.

 

[taltamir]

You're foolishly shortchanging The Witcher. With the Enhanced Edition, it was easily one of the best RPGs of the last few years. Yes, the combat was simplistic and there was the immaturity with "collecting" cards for women you slept with, but it's absurd to ignore everything else because of that. Great environments, decision-making that has a real impact on the storyline, and amazing music.

yea... all those things I liked... I even found a charm in playing a non celibate hero for once...
it was the MMO like gameplay that bored me so much that I couldn't finish it.

For those who don't know, the witcher is a game about a witch-man who has sex with every witch he encounters (and a bunch of non witches)... he also rarely kills demons for money...
The enhanced edition fixed the engrish and made it a significantly better game, but it still needed work. The graphics AND level designs were awesome though.

You can't really make the argument that consoles are killing PC graphics development AND that you're fine with playing PC games at lower than max settings. Your acceptance of lower quality graphics in exchange for a less expensive gaming rig is that exact same trade off that console gamers have made.

You make a good point, good thing I am not one who says consoles are killing the PC market... terrible gameplay, terrible DRM, very short games that are released further and further apart, and overemphasis of graphics (which is a big factor in the previous factors, except DRM) is certainly hurting it though.

The leap that you are waiting for will never come if everyone just sits on their two year old hardware and lower settings as needed to make newer games playable.

That I don't agree with... if good enough games are made people WILL buy better hardware. A game that sucks you in and makes you want to play more and more is the greatest incentive to upgrade the GPU, because you want to enjoy it even more. Boring, short games you place once for a few hours and maybe don't even finish? eh, not worth the money.

The PC might be amazingly superior in terms of ram, GPU, and CPU power... but the PC also has other critical advantages.
1. Everyone owns a PC, making it a capable gaming device is just a GPU upgrade away (which is cheaper than a console, proved that in other threads)
2. Can output to whatever you want. (TV, monitor, etc).
3. Can accept any type of input (mouse, keyboard, joystick, controller... I have an xbox360 controller for my PC... which I rarely use since keyboard and mouse are usually superior)
4. A non defective by design OS (for example, you can install codecs and play movies, or go online...)
5. You are not forced to buy duplicate hardware just to satisfy vendor lock-in (I already have ram, mobo, cpu, PSU, and GPU... but every console maker wants me to buy a new set, from them)
6. Games are cheaper because console maker isn't taking a cut.
7. Hardware is not vendor locked (MS detects and bans you if you use a non MS supplied HDD, enjoy overpriced, under-performing, and undersized drives)
8. You get the choice to trade off performance, resolution, and speed. (no, console games are NOT ideal in this regards, tons of console games stutter and have performance issues on their intended console and I would love to lower quality to improve speed... others are smooth as butter but with meh graphics and I wouldn't mind some jitter for higher quality)

Of course those are just in addition to the vastly superior hardware (and resulting graphics quality)...

 

[Habeed]

Every one of the so-called gpu pushing games listed are complete and utter trash except Crysis which is just kind of boring.

^This. Note the thread title. "Good games that justify a better GPU. I named some of the best games available for PCs that have excellent gameplay, and noted that older GPUs will run those games maxed out (except for AA) at 60 fps at 1920x1200.