Maximum PC article - "Average" PC

meltdown75

Lifer
Nov 17, 2004
37,548
7
81
Just browsing through an issue of Maximum PC © which I picked up from the store. Interesting little article about the Valve © survey results on the "average" PC config (pg.14) caught my eye. The results are kinda skewered and generalized, but they presented them in a nice little "Survey Says..." table: (results can be examined here --> www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html )

This is the table in the article:

"Survey Says..."
CPU - 2.0 - 2.3ghz (made by Intel) - (pretty useless to include this info IMHO since survey results almost 50/50)
RAM - 256-512MB
Video - Radeon 9800 series
OS - Windows XP
Net connection - 256Mb/s
Display Res: 1024 x 768, 16-bit
Preferred Optical: DVD-ROM
Free HD space - 10-20GB
Total HD Space - 70-80GB

Given these specs, do you consider your particular setup 'higher' or 'lower' than average? Yes I am bored :p
 

nater

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
3,135
0
0
3 ghz
1 gb dual channel ddr
ti4200 :eek:
XP Pro
t1
depends on the game
~120 free at the moment
440 total
 

EarthwormJim

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2003
3,239
0
76
Higher
3.6ghz
1gb dual channel ddr2
6800nu 256mb PCI-E
1600x1200 32-bit
Free space, ~320gb out of 420gb
Ah, now I know my E-Penis is larger than average.
 

Kelvrick

Lifer
Feb 14, 2001
18,422
5
81
I beat them everywhere but video card. GF4 TI4200 4EVA!! Well, maybe because I've been able to play all the new games well enough. Might upgrade in a few months. 640x480 in Doom3 still looks "decent." :)

amd barton @ 3200 speeds
gf4 ti4200
1gb pc3200
400gb total space
80gb free space
connection = 1.5mbit

1280x960 @ 32bit
 

BornStar

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2001
4,052
1
0
I'm well behind the curve with processor (AXP 1600+) and graphics (GeForce2 GTS) but everywhere else I'm ahead. It makes it difficult to respond because I feel those two areas are extremely important.
 

pennylane

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2002
6,077
1
0
Higher

Relevant parts:
A64 3200
1 GB RAM
GeForce 6800NU
1280x1024
200 gigs HD space (gonna upgrade that though)
 

konakona

Diamond Member
May 6, 2004
6,285
1
0
i wonder how they get by with 256mb of ram and a tiny hard drive. i hope most people in 256-512 bracket were close to 512mb.
 

Black88GTA

Diamond Member
Sep 9, 2003
3,430
0
0
Higher or equal - everything except video card.

I, too, am still using a 128MB GF4200ti. Been thinking about upgrading, but probably won't for a while.
 

TheBDB

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2002
3,176
0
0
That survey is horrible. For example, if you have 512 MB of RAM, do you choose the 256 - 512, or the 512 to 1GB option? :confused:
 

meltdown75

Lifer
Nov 17, 2004
37,548
7
81
Originally posted by: TheBDB
That survey is horrible. For example, if you have 512 MB of RAM, do you choose the 256 - 512, or the 512 to 1GB option? :confused:

hmm. yeah. i hear ya :confused:

edit: i guess you just have to factor in everything and pick higher or lower. it's a tough call sometimes.
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
"Survey Says..."
CPU - 1.8 GHz (Athlon XP 2200+)
RAM - 512MB
Video - GeForce2 MX 400
OS - Windows XP Professional
Net connection - 28.8 kbps
Display Res: 1280x1024, 32-bit
Preferred Optical: DVD+-R/RW
Free HD space - ~40 GB, not counting the 160 GB Maxtor drive that I haven't gotten around to taking out of my computer and RMAing
Total HD Space - 120 GB, not counting the Maxtor drive
 

Bv3

Senior member
Mar 9, 2000
802
0
0
That average matches my system exactly except for display resolution and HD space.
 

Ketteringo

Banned
Feb 2, 2002
4,302
0
0
Higher!

CPU - 2.2Ghz 3200+ Barton
RAM - 1024MB CL2 HyperX in dual channel
Video - Radeon x800 Pro
OS - Windows XP Pro
Net connection - 3Mb/s
Display Res: 2x 1600x1200 32bit
Preferred Optical: DVD-ROM
Free HD space - 282GB
Total HD Space - 730GB
 

Schrodinger

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2004
1,274
0
0
I'm below average. I don't require much power...I'm a programmer not a gamer damnit :p

AMD Thunderbird 1.33 GHz
1GB PC133 mem
GeForce3 TI200
1280x960 32-bit @100 Hz
30GB drive (I'm not into warez or video editing, and I don't grow an e-penis with distro downloads so what more do I need?)
5mbps/960kbps connection
 

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
way above that average, except for the video adapter.

laptop:

P4 3.2 HT
1024 MB DC-DDR400
Mobile Radeon 9600 128MB
Win XP Pro
Net: 3Gb/s
Display: 1600x1200, 32 bit
DVD/CD-RW
Free HD: 18.6 GB on main drive, 23.1GB on external
Total: 260GB

not bad for a system that's more than a year old.