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Posts Categorized: PC Games – What Do You Need To Play?

Diablo III PC Builds 2012 – Build a Computer to Play D3

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Build a PC to play Diablo III

Jump to: The High Settings Build (Build One) - The Low Settings Build (Build Two)

Build a PC to Play Diablo III

“Hello my friend. Stay awhile and listen…”

With Diablo II being released back in 2001, Diablo III has been a game long anticipated by many hardcore fans (pardon the pun) and Blizzard fans alike for many years.

Diablo III’s release day is/was May 15, 2012 and I have had some ask me what they hardware they need to play the game. While Diablo III is by no means a heavily graphics intensive game individuals want to know either -

  • What is the minimum amount I can spend and still be able to play D3 and
  • What is the minimum amount I can spend to play D3 on the highest settings.

Therefore, I have put together two builds for Diablo III to satisfy these questions:

Diablo III: The Highest Settings Build

This build will be of the assumption that you want to play Diablo III at the highest possible settings for the best price possible.

This PC build will compile hardware that will allow you to play D3 at the highest settings, at a good FPS value and at resolutions of 1920×1080.

Diablo III: The Lowest Settings Build

This build will be of the assumption that you want to play Diablo III, but are not concerned at what graphics settings. It will play Diablo II at the lower settings very smoothly and with good FPS at resolutions of 1920X1080.

Therefore you want to spend as little as possible to build a PC or upgrade your current PC to be able to play the game. We will take a look at some benchmarks and the minimum / recommended requirements set out by Blizzard and compile a build.

Diablo III Performance and Benchmarks

Take a look at this graphics comparison of the LOW and HIGH settings in Diablo III

(reference: Toms Hardware)

The benchmarks in this article will be based off of the Diablo III Performance article done by Toms Hardware. The benchmarks and FPS findings are primarily based off running around the edges of Old Tristram from the portal and back again with the recording of FPS rates with the program FRAPS.

This is a preview of Diablo III PC Builds 2012 – Build a Computer to Play D3. Read the full post (4333 words, 22 images, estimated 17:20 mins reading time)

Skyrim PC System Requirements: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC System Requirements
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC System Requirements

Introduction

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released November 11, 2011 for the PC and was developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Skyrim is the fifth instalment in the Elder Scrolls video game series coming after its predecessor Oblivion.

The story involves the ultimate goal of defeating Alduin who is the first born of Tamriel’s primary deity Akatosh; since Alduin is prophesied to destroy the world…  If you would like to read more about Skyrim, I have found the Skyrim article in pretty detailed wiki at The Elder Scrolls Wiki to be very descriptive.

So now on to why you are most likely here…the hardware requirements needed for Skyrim:

Skyrim: Minimum System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 7 / Vista / XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
PC Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor
RAM: 2GB Memory
Hard Drive: 6GB of Space
Graphics Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM
Internet Connection: Internet access for Steam activation
This is a preview of Skyrim PC System Requirements: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Read the full post (346 words, 1 image, estimated 1:23 mins reading time)

Build a Gaming PC to Play Star Wars: The Old Republic

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Star Wars The Old Republic Gaming PC Build Logo

Jump to: The Introductory Build (Build One) - The Mid Range Build (Build Two) – The Ultimate High Settings Build (Build Three)

Star Wars The Old Republic Gaming PC Build Logo


The long awaited game title where you are the hero of your own Star Wars saga in a story driven massively multiplayer online game brought to you by BioWare and LucasArts. Whether you choose to be a Jedi or a Sith, one of the most important aspects of being able to play a game like this is having the right hardware to play it at the quality this game deserves.

So in this article I am going to discuss a few gaming builds that you can use to play SWTOR at several different settings; these builds will determine whether you want to play the game on a introductory level or at the maximum possible settings. So I am going to organize these builds on these three assumptions: (all builds will include a Processor, Motherboard, Graphics Card, Hard Drive, Power Supply , Optical Drive and Computer Case)

Star Wars: The Old Republic Build One: The Introductory Build

This build will be of the assumption that you want to play SWTOR, however do not want to spend more than you have to, or have a lower budget. The thinking behind this build will be looking at the minimum system requirements to play and putting together a minimum build.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Build Two: The Mid Range Build

This build will be a mid range build able to play SWTOR at relatively higher settings while being able to keep within a mid range budget. You may even be able to play at the higher setting levels, but may have a lower FPS in more areas with more activity (large battles etc).

Star Wars: The Old Republic Build Three: The Ultimate High Settings Build

The third build will be the the build of builds for SWTOR. If you are wanting to build your gaming pc for this game and want to play it at the highest possible settings at all times, then this is the build for you.

This is a preview of Build a Gaming PC to Play Star Wars: The Old Republic. Read the full post (3769 words, 28 images, estimated 15:05 mins reading time)

Experience Star Wars: The Old Republic – Initial SWTOR Beta Gameplay

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As a side note* I have decided to start a Star Wars: The Old Republic wiki. You can visit / create an account / help add content by visiting http://swtorwiki.info/


star wars the old republic logoI was invited for the Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta the weekend of November 25-27th 2011 and it was very exciting. Why?

  1. I think this game looks quite amazing; I had been wanting to play it for quite a while (aslo wanted to test it out before its release!)
  2. I did get invited two weeks previous, however the massive game download took me for ever to…download. The beta had actually  ended on a Sunday at 12 am and my download finished soon after.
This is a preview of Experience Star Wars: The Old Republic – Initial SWTOR Beta Gameplay. Read the full post (701 words, 64 images, estimated 2:48 mins reading time)

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – PC System Requirements

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call of duty modern warfare 3 for pc

Purchase: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

call of duty modern warfare 3 for pcThe release date for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is November 8, 2011 for all platforms including: Windows PC, Xbox 360, Playstation3 & Wii. This will be the eighth Call of Duty release to date, and the third of the Modern Warfare series developed by Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games with the help of Raven Software.

For anyone unfamiliar with any of the Call of Duty games, this is a first person shooter running at 60 frames per second. The game will include a single player campaign where you will play the role of various characters, which will provide you with varying perspectives. Damage will be indicated by blood on your screen, with a players health deteriorating over time.

In multiplayer, the reward system was changed from the killstreak reward system, but instead a pointstreak system. What this means is that you can gain player points not only by kill count, but by actions like planting bombs in “Search and Destroy”, and capturing the flag in “Capture the Flag”. If you would like to read more on the pointstreak system then please check out this  New Modern Warfare 3 Pointstreak System explained article at this MW3 Fan Site; they seem to have done a pretty introductory job at doing so.

There is also a Call of Duty: Elite free/subscription based service being implemented for the multiplayer portion of Modern Warfare 3. Basically, what this includes is the free subscription service will include features like a lifetime statistics and social networking integration, and the subscription version priced at $49.99 USD per year includes the monthly downloadable content, daily competitions – with virtual and real life prizes, the ability to level up your clan, pro analysis, strategies and more. If you would like to know more about the Call of Duty Elite Subscription service then please check out the official call of duty elite website.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Minimum PC System Requirements

Operating System: Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E66)) or AMD Phenom X38750 Processor or better
Graphics Card: Shader 3.0 or better 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT / ATI Radeon X1950 or better
RAM: 2GB RAM
Hard Drive 16 GB free hard drive space
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0C or later

*Note: These System Requirements are almost the equivalent of  the Call of Duty: Black OPS Minium PC System Requirements, so if you were able to play that, then you should be able to play Modern Warfare 3 just fine!

This is a preview of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 – PC System Requirements. Read the full post (540 words, 13 images, estimated 2:10 mins reading time)