Gaming The RedCafe General/Random Gaming Chat Thread

Could anyone recommend me a decent desktop PC for mid range gaming?

I was waiting for the Steam Machine but the price has meant that’s a no-go. I don’t need anything super powerful but there’s some things I can’t play on the Steam Deck, whether it’s because it needs mouse controls, or just because it doesn’t run well enough on it. I’d just want something that’s powerful enough, ideally a bit of headroom and just lets me play games at around 60fps. Just sort of random steam indie games, online stuff, rpgs, etc..

Trying to play shit like Meccha Chameleon and it just about runs at 30fps on my deck. Ran at 8fps on my current laptop :lol:
 
Going away from family for three weeks for a consultancy gig and I'm thinking of bringing my PS5 along. I'll be on call a lot of the time so can't play too much stuff that I can't walk away from. Apart from finishing Ragnarok, any suggestions on what to play?
 
Solius said:
Could anyone recommend me a decent desktop PC for mid range gaming?

I was waiting for the Steam Machine but the price has meant that’s a no-go. I don’t need anything super powerful but there’s some things I can’t play on the Steam Deck, whether it’s because it needs mouse controls, or just because it doesn’t run well enough on it. I’d just want something that’s powerful enough, ideally a bit of headroom and just lets me play games at around 60fps. Just sort of random steam indie games, online stuff, rpgs, etc..

Trying to play shit like Meccha Chameleon and it just about runs at 30fps on my deck. Ran at 8fps on my current laptop :lol:
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Very hard to do without a budget, and do you intend to buy a monitor?

Honestly it’s hard to go wrong with the pc part picker build guides https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/
 
Solius said:
I have a monitor for my work laptop so would just use that I think.

£500-£750 maybe?
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Worth looking at eBay for refurbished, from reputable sources of course, I bought a refurbished laptop a few years back on eBay in the US from a seller with lots of sales and good reviews, had an issue finding the Windows key so I emailed them on their helpline and the got back to me with 3 hours or so, saved about a third on a new one

Amazon warehouse/refurbished is also another good option, not as cheap as you might find on eBay but reliable
 
Or I’ve found this at CEX for £690

Acer Nitro N50-650/i5-13400F/16GB DDR4/1TB SSD/RTX 4060 8GB/W11​

 
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Solius said:
@Massive Spanner get in here
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Man I’m honestly so out of touch with prices and what’s good. I upgraded my pc last year before things got mental. I’ve no idea what’s a good deal anymore. I think the 4060 is a pretty capable 1080p card if that’s what you want but feels like a 5060 or a Radeon might be better for future proofing. Try get a card with 16gb vram if you can, AMDs are more likely to have it.
 
Massive Spanner said:
Man I’m honestly so out of touch with prices and what’s good. I upgraded my pc last year before things got mental. I’ve no idea what’s a good deal anymore. I think the 4060 is a pretty capable 1080p card if that’s what you want but feels like a 5060 or a Radeon might be better for future proofing. Try get a card with 16gb vram if you can, AMDs are more likely to have it.
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Ok cheers.

Just having a look on Scan, is that legit? How do I tell if a card has 16GB Vram?
 
Solius said:
Ok cheers.

Just having a look on Scan, is that legit? How do I tell if a card has 16GB Vram?
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Look it up? Will always have a 16GB/12GB/8GB beside it. Even 12GB would be good. Might be hard at your price point, though.

Scan is legit, yep.
 
Working away from home for three weeks starting today and brought my PS. I’ll be on BF6 redsec and EA if anyone wants to revive the old skool party chat shenanigans.
 
I can still currently really recommend Kingdom Come Deliverance 1. I honestly thought it would be a massive downgrade from the sequel but its not at all. And it costs almost nothing.
 
RedSky said:
I just played that Librarian game @Redlambs

Actually enjoyable! I did a no magic run for my first play through like a stupid twat. :lol:
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I’ve seen some of these ‘organization’ games popping up; I just don’t understand the appeal as while watching they kind of make me want to jump face-first into a wall.
 
Organic Potatoes said:
I’ve seen some of these ‘organization’ games popping up; I just don’t understand the appeal as while watching they kind of make me want to jump face-first into a wall.
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I didn't get it either initially. It's basically a jigsaw puzzle I guess. Loads of pieces (in this case books) jumbled up and you need to figure out where to put them. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes not.

But there was something oddly satisfying gradually reducing the mess and making piles of books everywhere. Organised chaos.
 
Had the new pc. Was disappointed Friday the glass side didnt close and there was a rattle. Shook out 2 clips that i guess were the issue and had come loose will look into fixing it tomorrow after reporting it. But the pc is banging so powerful.
 
The Cat said:
Had the new pc. Was disappointed Friday the glass side didnt close and there was a rattle. Shook out 2 clips that i guess were the issue and had come loose will look into fixing it tomorrow after reporting it. But the pc is banging so powerful.
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Remember to set the LEDs to red. Red wunz go fasta!
 
RedSky said:
You own it and played it for 6 minutes. :lol:
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:lol:

You should know me by now! Is that the library sorting one? I didn't even play it, those six minutes were spent looking at settings then messaging the dev complaining that there were no custom controls :lol:

I really need to play it though. I've got retro rewind and about 60 other games on my desktop right now staring at me.

Also...dare I say it...Dark and Darker new update finally looks decent since that idiot has stepped back, my boys have been having fun on it...plus Satisfactory and Seven Days have had lots of updates since we all last played.

@hobbers I've even come close to pressing install on Tarkov recently...
 
Redlambs said:
:lol:

You should know me by now! Is that the library sorting one? I didn't even play it, those six minutes were spent looking at settings then messaging the dev complaining that there were no custom controls :lol:

I really need to play it though. I've got retro rewind and about 60 other games on my desktop right now staring at me.

Also...dare I say it...Dark and Darker new update finally looks decent since that idiot has stepped back, my boys have been having fun on it...plus Satisfactory and Seven Days have had lots of updates since we all last played.

@hobbers I've even come close to pressing install on Tarkov recently...
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Yeah, I sank 17hours into that Library game refusing to use magic or any abilities and doing it manual. It was surprisingly chill and fun.

Me and hobs are finishing off Conan soon and once I've done my 100 mile event I'll be free (and not wanting to move) for the foreseeable future.
 
RedSky said:
Yeah, I sank 17hours into that Library game refusing to use magic or any abilities and doing it manual. It was surprisingly chill and fun.

Me and hobs are finishing off Conan soon and once I've done my 100 mile event I'll be free (and not wanting to move) for the foreseeable future.
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I'm going to guess no, knowing you, but have you looked at Sand? I've been keeping an eye, not sure about it yet but it does look like promise if they can take it in the right direction.

When's the event? All the best with it. I'm sure Hobs will love the stories after about how scabby your feet are and how bad they smell...
 
Redlambs said:
I'm going to guess no, knowing you, but have you looked at Sand? I've been keeping an eye, not sure about it yet but it does look like promise if they can take it in the right direction.

When's the event? All the best with it. I'm sure Hobs will love the stories after about how scabby your feet are and how bad they smell...
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It's a 100 mile ultra event in Scotland. Hoping to get it done in 25-30 hours. Yes, everything will smell horrific (sorry Scotland).

Yeah, we're tracking Sand, that's the battle royale with mechs yeah? Looks fun.
 
Esoteric Ebb is pretty good. Very Disco Elysium.

Currently playing Mio: Memories in Orbit. Seems like a good Metroidvania.

I’m also playing Pragmata on and off. It’s good but overrated.
 
Made this post here before but is anyone still playing Old School RuneScape?

Been playing for a year again now, loads of fun!
 
Looking forward to Blood of Dawnwalker on September 3rd. If it’s half as good as Witcher 3 I’ll be happy.
 
Played Turmoil for a few days. Enjoyable enough experience, but not enough to keep me playing on. Switched to The Battle of Polytopia and having fun with it. Pretty sure I've played it before. Maybe it was a mobile game? Anyway, just fancied something easy and fun before starting Persona 4 and Kenji properly.

Also have Witcher 3's DLCs to play. Started Blood and Wine 5 years ago and just picked it up again a week or so ago.
 
RedSky said:
It's a 100 mile ultra event in Scotland. Hoping to get it done in 25-30 hours. Yes, everything will smell horrific (sorry Scotland).
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I mean...it's Scotland...

RedSky said:
Yeah, we're tracking Sand, that's the battle royale with mechs yeah? Looks fun.
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I briefly played one of the first tests. I like the look, but haven't jumped in yet. It's intriguing that so many Rust pros like it, at least on the shooting side anyway.
 
I bought Core Keeper on sale last night. Had it on my wishlist for ages and finally pulled the plug. In two minds about Valheim, though. Due a big update in September and rumoured to go up in price as a result. Don't know if I should get it now or not at all. Don't know if it's different enough or better than 7 Days To Die (which is my most played game ever and has had its own huge upgrade).

Has anyone got an opinion on Valheim? Preferably someone who has played 7D2D as well.
 
Badunk said:
I bought Core Keeper on sale last night. Had it on my wishlist for ages and finally pulled the plug. In two minds about Valheim, though. Due a big update in September and rumoured to go up in price as a result. Don't know if I should get it now or not at all. Don't know if it's different enough or better than 7 Days To Die (which is my most played game ever and has had its own huge upgrade).

Has anyone got an opinion on Valheim? Preferably someone who has played 7D2D as well.
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The Caf crew spent a lot of hours on both. Valheim was well worth the time; the sense of exploration is great, especially when you run into a new danger and have to go on an epic journey to recover your stuff…

It can be grindy but there’s mods for that if you’re running solo.
 
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