New to PC Gaming

[Thompson_1]

Hello all. I am interested in building my own PC gaming machine. My main question deals with capacity. What type of hardware do I need to play modern games for current consoles as well as games from the late 90's on older Windows based machines? Would I be able to install Steam and play both Fallout 1 and Fallout 4?

 

[Herc08]

Not sure if steam has Fallout 1, but if you can play Fallout 4, then 1 will be like driving a Ferarri on a LA freeway with no traffic. But it depends what else you are doing with your computer. It also depends on what type of monitor you have. Not to mention, you want to think about budget as well. I guess you want to know how many games you plan on having on your computer at once.

 

[neblogai]

Modern PCs can play most old games if you buy those games from gog.com. Prices are low, there are often sales, and it is much easier than trying to run compatibility modes, or older OS on new hardware. As for the modern games- you could probably build a PC for ~$500-600 able to play latest games at 1080p, console quality; or $800-$1000 for a proper, well rounded PC for gaming.

 

[jwcrellin]

A lower midrange fallout 4 pc should have a high'ish clocked i3 and a gtx 1060 6gb.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-7100 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.33 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($61.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Mini Video Card ($219.00 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $615.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-20 12:38 EDT-0400

 

[Thompson_1]

Not sure if steam has Fallout 1, but if you can play Fallout 4, then 1 will be like driving a Ferarri on a LA freeway with no traffic. But it depends what else you are doing with your computer. It also depends on what type of monitor you have. Not to mention, you want to think about budget as well. I guess you want to know how many games you plan on having on your computer at once.

 

[Thompson_1]

Well I have a business computer at home so this will be strictly for playground when I have the time. Id rather not buy a console so I have a wider range of games. I was told that modern hardware may not be able to run older games. Do you know of some reference guide for newbies?

 

[Herc08]

Well I have a business computer at home so this will be strictly for playground when I have the time. Id rather not buy a console so I have a wider range of games. I was told that modern hardware may not be able to run older games. Do you know of some reference guide for newbies?

There are guides all over the internet, Tom's Hardware, Youtube, etc. Older games can definitely play on newer hardware. Now one thing you are probably referring to is the OS. Old games may not play nice with Windows 7, but I have yet to run into that (I got Vice City working on mine). The list above me is not bad, I would go with the WD hard drive for $2 more (Seagate has never been reliable for me), and maybe another PSU. That 80+ Bronze will be decent for light gaming, but if this is something constant, you would want something of better quality. Again, it depends on your budget.

 

[Thompson_1]

Thanks guys. This was a big help.