Getting back into PC Gaming

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:43

Hi, im getting an Alienware m17x. I've been out of PC gaming for a long time now and am going to buy quite a few games when I get the laptop. These are the games i'm getting :-

Shift 2 - Unleashed (PC DVD) by Electronic Arts £15.02

Dirt 3 Game PC Offered by Startup Media by Codemasters £17.44

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC DVD) by Electronic Arts £12.48

Portal 2 (PC/Mac DVD) by Electronic Arts £17.91

Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (PC DVD) by Valve £8.99

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (PC DVD) by Electronic Arts £8.99

Dead Rising 2 (PC DVD) by Capcom £9.80

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (PC DVD) Offered by UK Media by Ubisoft £13.90

The Witcher 2 - Premium Edition (PC DVD) Offered by Oakwood Distribution Limited by Namco £27.94

Total War: Shogun 2 - Limited Edition Offered by ACTIVATE by Sega £24.99

World in Conflict - Complete Edition (PC DVD) by Focus Multimedia Ltd £5.44

Call of Duty: Black Ops (PC DVD) Offered by Online Game Shop by Activision £28.81

Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (Mac/PC DVD-ROM) by Blizzard Entertainment £32.99

Dead Space 2 (PC) by Electronic Arts £12.99

Super Street Fighter IV - Arcade Edition (PC CD) by Capcom £17.97

Crysis 2 - Limited Edition (PC DVD) by Electronic Arts £31.12

Crysis - Maximum Edition (PC DVD)by Electronic Arts £8.99

Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition (PC DVD) by Electronic Arts £12.99

Metro 2033 (PC DVD) Offered by Gamesbuyer by THQ £8.01

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC DVD) by Activision £14.99

Mass Effect 2 (PC DVD) by Electronic Arts £8.99

Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC DVD) Offered by 4GamersUK £5.94

Resident Evil 5 (PC) Offered by 4GamersUK by Capcom £9.59

Now I can save quite a lot of money and download time by buying the games on disc instead off Steam. Which of the above games don't require the disco in the drive to play? And which games require a net connection everytime I wish to play?

Like I say it's longtime since I was last into PC gaming (Quake 3 days) and now I read things have changed a lot with online activations and so on.

Also by buying them off mail order how confident can I be that someone hasn't ripped the serial numbers and used them?

Kosmiche · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:48

Any steam game can be played without the disk in the drive, that's what steam's all about.

And steam games can be played offline, with steam's offline mode.

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:48

Eames said:
Any steam game can be played without the disk in the drive, that's what steam's all about.

And steam games can be played offline, with steam's offline mode.

So it may be worth spending the extra £100 for ease and simplicity?

Kosmiche · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:51

No I'm talking about steamworks games.

There are certain games, if you have the disk version, have to be unlocked on steam to play them. You can then effectively "bin" the contents of the game box.

Kosmiche · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:53

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-wusf-3601

A list of the disk games that can or have to be unlocked on steam to play.

infernox · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:54

Do you require the laptop for space? maybe considerable cheaper either getting this..

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-045-MS

That laptop is very capable.

Or building your own desktop which will smash the laptop in every way for the same price

In regards to steam, i would. tbh, steam deals are great and its soooooo easy.

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:55

infernox said:
Do you require the laptop for space? maybe considerable cheaper either getting this..

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=LT-045-MS

That laptop is very capable.

Or building your own desktop which will smash the laptop in every way for the same price

In regards to steam, i would. tbh, steam deals are great and its soooooo easy.

1080p on 15.6 is far to small for me and going for a laptop for mobility.

Kosmiche · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:56

infernox said:
steam deals are great and its soooooo easy.

Steam DEALS are great but you can often buy disk version of games that use steam for cheaper than buying them on steam.

So the op could save money by taking advantage of the prices on etailers.

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:56

Eames said:
No I'm talking about steamworks games.

There are certain games, if you have the disk version, have to be unlocked on steam to play them. You can then effectively "bin" the contents of the game box.

Ok what about the other games? Should I go for disc or get them off steam? Like now a lot of games require you set accounts up still. Should I go for disc games when the are non steam works games?

With these steamworks games can you install them off the dsic to save time and does it install in the steam folder just like a download?

infernox · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:56

Also what the hell, is the prices for the upgrades. :O

Kosmiche · 14 Aug 2011 at 14:59

magick said:
Ok what about the other games? Should I go for disc or get them off steam? Like now a lot of games require you set accounts up still. Should I go for disc games when the are non steam works games?

Thats up to you.

Steam makes more sense to some people than boxes, its easier in some ways.

But you can't sell the games on your steam account.

infernox · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:00

magick said:
1080p on 15.6 is far to small for me and going for a laptop for mobility.

It weighs a lot, about 7kg with the charger, which you would need, you'd get about 15 minutes of charge.

£1500, 7kilos and the upgrades are steep.

Each to there own though.

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:03

infernox said:
It weighs a lot, about 7kg with the charger, which you would need, you'd get about 15 minutes of charge.

£1500, 7kilos and the upgrades are steep.

Each to there own though.

Are you on about the m17x? It gets about 2 hours when running off the IGP. When I game i'd use the mains.

infernox · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:06

magick said:
Are you on about the m17x? It gets about 2 hours when running off the IGP. When I game i'd use the mains.

Get a desktop if your gaming on the mains. You can get a ITX - z68 chipset now.

Very small and very capable.

With the money saved you could get a £400 laptop and a desktop with money left over.

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:12

infernox said:
Get a desktop if your gaming on the mains. You can get a ITX - z68 chipset now.

Very small and very capable.

With the money saved you could get a £400 laptop and a desktop with money left over.

I know I can get a better Desktop but I travel around quite a bit now and would sooner have a good all in one laptop.

infernox · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:16

Save money and buy the MSI, more than capable, and doesnt rinse your money.

1080p in 15.6 will look better than 1080p on 17

1 inch isnt something to be worried about.

And MSI have a very reputable rma system if things do go wrong.

Moothead2 · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:17

infernox said:
Save money and buy the MSI, more than capable, and doesnt rinse your money.

1080p in 15.6 will look better than 1080p on 17

1 inch isnt something to be worried about.

And MSI have a very reputable rma system if things do go wrong.

It also doesn't look like something puked up by a horse

.

infernox · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:24

Moothead2 said:
It also doesn't look like something puked up by a horse .

looks very nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvyBRGuOI8

But your choice, i know what i would buy.

Moothead2 · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:25

infernox said:
looks very nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvyBRGuOI8

But your choice, i know what i would buy.

I was talking about the M17X

. MSI looks very nice. Sleek.

magick · 14 Aug 2011 at 15:31

infernox said:
Save money and buy the MSI, more than capable, and doesnt rinse your money.

1080p in 15.6 will look better than 1080p on 17

1 inch isnt something to be worried about.

And MSI have a very reputable rma system if things do go wrong.

I looked at 1080p on 15.6 in a shop the other day and found it far to small. Plus I use a lot of online casinos which are flash based and cant be scaled in size so it would make them uncomfortable to look at for a long time.

If I do go for something a bit less it would be a Dell XPS 17 L702x.