Newbie question regarding PC gaming

ollie1502

ollie1502

ollie1502

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Ok, so I've never really been a PC gamer but I'm looking to get in to it in the next few weeks. Buying a decent Dell XPS machine, but that's besides the point.

I've only ever played older PC games like CoD4 and Counter Strike Source. One of my major gripes with PC gaming are the server lists you must choose from - being an Xbox gamer used to just selecting 'find match' this is somewhat confusing to me.

Although having seen a video of someone playing BO2 on PC, it appeared the lists were no longer there.
SO my question is, do all PC games have this annoying server list function?
Especially new ones, as I'll probably be picking up BF3 and Crysis 3 at first.
Thanks.
 
How much choice do they give? Are you simply able to pick a game mode and then go in to a match?
What's so great about selecting a server? They all seem modified in some manor and it seems difficult to just get playing.
 
They are far from annoying once you understand how to use them.

The information they contain is rather useful although if coming from XBL, I can understand why they may seem daunting at first.

I generally filter by lowest ping and look for the most populated server or one whose name I recognise.

By selecting a server, you can:

avoid ones which you know to be full of idiots.
select ones you know contains players who suit your style of play
good server with little/no lag/ping
runs the mods/game modes you like
have arranged to meet friends on a certain server

To name a few reasons.

Welcome by the way :)
 
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So if I just wanted to go straight in to a standard, unmodified TDM game, is there any simple way of finding one? I find a lot of the time the server names are a bit vague.
Thanks for the help though guys, apologies for being a bit stupid.
 
Don't buy a Dell XPS. Phone overclockers and get someone there to help you put together a machine or ask in the general hardware section for help.

Server lists are really simple too. Most games (by any competent developer) will have a game mode filter box where you can select the type of match you want to play. Then as the server list refreshes, just click the 'ping' header and it will order the servers for you from best to worst ping - ping being how good your connection to the server is. Then pick one of the servers that you want to play on where you have a low ping i.e. good connection (any number under 100).

By using server lists you can regularly play on servers that have rules you like, have low latency, the number of players you want etc.
 
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+1 on don't buy the Dell, ring OCUK on this number - 0871 200 5052 - and talk to the nice chap on the phone, tell him how much the Dell is going to cost you and ask him to make you happy :)
 
^^^^^ This.

A year ago a short post in the hardware section got me a superior PC for less money. The build time was faster as well.

All win.
 
I will also add my voice to the call that you buy a ocuk rig and not a dell xpc. The only thing you want from Dell is one of their lovely monitors but otherwise steer well clear.
 
Look at some guides on the net and maybe after some reading you may feel that you could build your own? (that what i done)

Then buy your components from ocuk and enjoy building your machine!

For FPS i can recommend CS:GO reallly good with public server lists and competitive match making (5v5)

CoD4 Promod is still very active but seems to be on the decline competitively.

And crysis 3 is awesome to look at but the gameplay is crap!

But whatever you do, don't buy a dell :)

GL
 
I agree with other have said on here either buy from ocuk or other specialist pc builders you WILL get a better machine ocuk has brilliant after sales support so I highly recommend them.
It looks daunting but building your own is very easy have a little read up online and buy the parts and do a build you will really enjoy your rig knowing you built it I bought a pre built from here around 9 months plus ago (coming from consile gaming)since then I have removed it and pretty much completly rebuilt it into a new case and installed a ssd and reinstalled windows a few times!lol and just built my friend a pc which saved him a fair bit of dosh.

Regarding the servers on games tbh you have been made to be lazy through consoles and believe me the one click join thing really is poor with this method you get to choose servers with certain players,play styles,lag,maps,custom settings And so on
 
Wasn't sure if the OP was trolling or not!

Server Lists are magic - they are a staple of PC gaming and tbh, any MP game without it would make me reconsider making a purchase. With them you can choose who you will play with and what kind of game you want to play, from vanilla to modded to player counts to lag etc.

Server Lists are pretty much essential for community-building, and not that sub-standard friend-list nonsense you get on consoles. If you can't see the benefit, I would just say drop PC gaming all together and stick to the next wave of consoles. The lack of Server Lists on modern console titles are a combination of laziness, Peer-to-Peer matchmaking (a major cause of lag), and the general dumbing down of gaming in general since the early 2000s. Sorry if I come across as preachy or whatever, but trust me, I have good cause.

For PC building, you definitely are in the right place! OcUK has a great community, and a great selection of components. A PC Build is pretty much as easy as Lego, unless you go for exotic options such as Water Cooling. The community here will give you excellent advice for a new build based on your budget (one of the sub-forums is dedicated to this kind of thing afaik), so I would recommend that as your next stop.
 
Not sure why there's so much hate for Dell, I've had my XPS 8300 for over a year and it's a superb machine. Got it from the Dell Outlet too so it was far, far cheaper than it'd have cost in parts alone.

If you're smart, with the cashback websites and discount codes you can often get a decent system for a good price.
 
TheVoice said:
Not sure why there's so much hate for Dell, I've had my XPS 8300 for over a year and it's a superb machine. Got it from the Dell Outlet too so it was far, far cheaper than it'd have cost in parts alone.

If you're smart, with the cashback websites and discount codes you can often get a decent system for a good price.
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This is exactly what I planned on doing. I have posted previously on here, asking for a build for £600, and a very clear one came through. But on the outlet I can get a better processor (i7 3770 or something) and pretty much equal on everything else, for exactly the same price. Plus I get the warranty.

But I guess I could ring up and give it a go.
Thanks for the feedback.
 
There's a 3770 in the dell machine? When I first got into pc gaming I made the mistake of buying an XPS and it was a mistake of the highest order. It was billed as a gaming pc but came with a 4670! The PSU was a custom size so when I replaced the GPU I could'nt replace the PSU with it. Ended up selling it for cheap and buying from OCUK and Ive never looked back.
 
Yeh sure Dell can chuck you a build together. But i guarantee the care and quality of build for your gaming needs that ocuk can provide will be better.
 
ollie1502 said:
This is exactly what I planned on doing. I have posted previously on here, asking for a build for £600, and a very clear one came through. But on the outlet I can get a better processor (i7 3770 or something) and pretty much equal on everything else, for exactly the same price. Plus I get the warranty.

But I guess I could ring up and give it a go.
Thanks for the feedback.
Click to expand...

Problem is Dell tend to put a couple of headline parts in such as the i7 but then put things like junk motherboards or PSU in there with them. It's not the case on every model but it often is.
 
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