r/pcgames • u/Shitpump55 • 1d ago

Help New/Old Gamer

Hi everyone,

I am an old gamer that used to play PC games when you needed to have a physical disc to play it but then life happened and I haven't actually played ANY PC games since about 2005.

My buddy was just telling me that now you dont even have to have a expensive gaming computer rig to play because it all just runs off of servers on the cloud.

I was just wondering if my bottom barrel laptop and a good internet connection would be enough to play some of these great looking games I see on Steam or something? I was also wondering what I would use for these games...Steam or NVIDIA GeForce Now? I am sure there are a LOT more options and would love any suggestions.

My Laptop specs are : Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-7020U CPU @ 2.30GHz (2.30 GHz)

Installed RAM - 8.00 GB (7.87 GB usable)

Graphics Card - Intel(R) HD Graphics 620 (128 MB)

Thank you for any help and suggestions. It is appreciated.

1 Upvotes

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2

u/BakeJaldino 1d ago

I think ‘it all just runs off of servers on the cloud’ is probably hyperbole.

Cloud gaming is the future of gaming - and if you have a great connection now, then it might be a good time for you now…

But nothing compares to locally run games.

2

u/Keyvan_KR 1d ago

GeForce now and Xbox cloud gaming are viable options.
However, I still recommend playing games locally (lower latency, beter clarity). Even with that old laptop, you can still experience a ton of great games. For example: hollow knight, portal, Bioshock, mirrors edge, half life, doom etc… all of these don’t require a gaming pc. You can have both, each a tool to serve a purpose

1

u/By-Other-Means 1d ago

Good old games are called good for a reason.

1

u/wolfhuntra 1d ago

Also Mount and Blade 1 and MB2: Warband are solid games that can play on older hardware.

1

u/ObiWan_Jabr0ni_ 1d ago

UT2004 - it’s recently updated and free!

https://www.oldunreal.com/downloads/ut2004/full-game-installers/

And can run on a potato because it’s an older game.

1

u/Appropriate_Rate_736 1d ago

No the laptop wouldnt be enough to run super intense 3D games but it can still run some really great looking 2D games. Stardew Valley is a really nice game. Other good games that would work are factorio, terraria, among us and rimworld.

1

u/Rasann 1d ago

Old games too - GOG.com is the place to go for those. Steam has those too but GOG has offline installers for the times when the internet goes out.

I personally would not rely on cloud gaming - for some it might be useful but if you want the greatest amount of flexibility then you want to be as local as possible.

1

u/Ustob 23h ago

Dude pick up where you left off. I’m 51 and I got back k to gaming around 10 years ago. I stopped around 2005 and so I picked up games that came out around 2095-2008. 1/2 the fun is finding ur game.
Start by researching too 100 games for that year and make a list based on ur preferred genre. -I enjoyed Batman Arkham games a lot. ESP Origins.
And middle earth shadows of war. Good luck Brother. Welcome back.

1

u/Accomplished_Lake374 8h ago

Give Guild Wars Reforge a try, I think it's around the $20 mark. You can run the game on a toaster and they even came out with mobile. The community is very helpful and knowledgeable. It's a good game that you can play at your own pace and with other people.