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Elevator7009sAlt, do games w The Simple Act of Buying a Graphics Card Is the Defining Misery of PC Gaming in 2025

I’m having a good time on a laptop with no fancy graphics card and have no desire to buy one.

I also do not look for super high graphical fidelity, play mostly indies instead of AAA, and am like 5 years behind the industry, mostly buying old gems on sale, so my tastes probably enable this strategy as much as anything else.

Agent_Karyo,
@Agent_Karyo@lemmy.world avatar

Modern high end iGPUs (e.g. AMD Strix Halo) are going to start replacing dGPUs in the entry and mid-range segments.

Elevator7009sAlt,

I’ll be honest, I have never paid attention to GPUs and I don’t understand what your comment is trying to say or (this feels selfish to say) how it applies to me and my comment. Is this intended to mostly be a reply to me, or something to help others reading the thread?

Agent_Karyo,
@Agent_Karyo@lemmy.world avatar

Laptops (and desktops) with no GPUs will become increasingly viable not just for older games. This was a general comment. :)

Elevator7009sAlt,

Thank you for explaining!

merc,
@merc@sh.itjust.works avatar

Depending on what happens with GPUs for datacenters, external GPUs might be so rare that nobody does it anymore.

My impression right now is that for nVidia gamer cards are an afterthought now. Millions of gamers can’t compete with every company in Silicon Valley building entire datacenters stacked with as many “GPUs” as they can find.

AMD isn’t the main choice for datacenter CPUs or GPUs. Maybe for them, gamers will be a focus, and there are some real advantages with APUs. For example, you’re not stuck with one particular amount of GPU RAM and a different amount of CPU RAM. Because you’re not multitasking as much when gaming, you need less CPU RAM, so you can dedicate more RAM to games and less to other apps. So, you can have the best of both worlds: tons of system RAM when you’re browsing websites and have a thousand tabs open, then start a game and you have gobs of RAM dedicated to the game.

It’s probably also more efficient to have one enormous cooler for a combined GPU and CPU vs. a GPU with one set of heatsinks and fans and a separate CPU heatsink and fan.

External GPUs are also a pain in the ass to manage. They’re getting bigger and heavier, and they take up more and more space in your case. Not to mention the problems their power draw is causing.

If I could get equivalent system performance with an APU vs. a combined CPU and GPU, I’d probably go for it, even with the upgradeability concerns. OTOH, soldered-in RAM is not appealing because I’ve upgraded my RAM more often than other components on my PCs, and having to buy a whole new motherboard to get a RAM upgrade is not appealing.

vithigar,

Your laptop uses an iGPU. The “i” stands for integrated, as it’s built into the same package as the CPU.

The alternative, a dGPU, is a discrete part, separate from other components.

They’re saying that your situation is becoming increasingly common. People can do the gaming they want to without a dGPU more easily as time goes by.

Elevator7009sAlt,

Thank you for explaining! I am not sure why people are reacting badly to my statement, is knowledge of GPUs something every gamer is expected to have and I am violating the social contract by being clueless?

Khanzarate,

Well at one point to be a computer gamer you basically needed to put together your own desktop PC.

Integrated GPUs basically were only capable of displaying a desktop, not doing anything a game would need, and desktop CPUs didn’t integrate graphics at all, generally.

So computer-building knowledge was a given. If you were a PC gamer, you had a custom computer for the purpose.

As a result, even as integrated GPUs became better and more capable, the general crowd of gamers didn’t trust them, because it was common knowledge they sucked.

It’s a lot like how older people go “They didn’t teach you CURSIVE?” in schools nowadays. Being a gamer and being a PC builder are fully seperatable, now, but they learned PC building when they weren’t and therefore think you should have that, too.

It’s fine, don’t sweat it. You’re not missing out on anything, really, anyway. Especially given the current GPU situation, it’s never been a worse time to be a PC builder or enthusiast.

Elevator7009sAlt, (edited )

Oh boy. Thanks for the context, by the way! I did not know that about the history of PC gaming.

I did learn cursive, but I have been playing games on laptops since I was little too and was never told I had to learn PC building. And to be completely honest, although knowledge is good, I am very uninterested in doing that especially since I have an object that serves my needs.

I have the perspective to realize that I have been on the “other side” of the WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE SATISFIED, LEARN MORE AND CHANGE TO BE LIKE US side, although I’m exaggerating because I don’t actually push others to take on my decisions. I don’t spam the uninterested to come to Linux, but I do want people who get their needs adequately served by Windows to jump to Linux anyways because I want to see Windows 11, with even more forced telemetry and shoved-in AI and things just made worse, fail. Even though that would actually be more work for satisfied Windows users.

But I would not downvote a happy Windows user for not wanting to switch, and that kind of behavior is frowned upon, is it just more acceptable to be outwardly disapproving to those who do not know about GPUs and are satisfied with what they have with zero desire to upgrade? I don’t have Sufficient Gamer Cred and am being shown the “not a Real Gamer” door? I think my comment was civil and polite so I really don’t understand the disapproval. If it is just “not a Real Gamer” I’ll let it roll off my back, though I did think the Gaming community on Lemmy was better than that… I would understand the reaction if I rolled up to c/GPUs with “I don’t care about this :)” and got downvoted. Is Gaming secretly kind of also c/GPUs and I just did not know that?

Okay I literally just realized it is probably because I hopped on a thread about GPUs and do not know about the topic being posted about. Whoops. Sorry.

Blue_Morpho,

I’ve been using minipcs with integrated graphics ( and one with a laptop class GPU) instead of desktops and see no reason to stop.

icecreamtaco, (edited )
@icecreamtaco@lemmy.world avatar

Same here, have never owned a graphics card in my life. When I occasionally do want a modern game it doesn’t need to be 200FPS RTX.

B0NK3RS, do games w Manor Lords, the best city builder of 2024, hits 3 million sales as players continue to fill its maps with muddy medieval towns
@B0NK3RS@lemmy.world avatar

It’s a beautiful game with lots of potential but it gets boring real fast.

ivanafterall,
@ivanafterall@lemmy.world avatar

Yeah, it’s pretty okay and all, but the hype made it out to be cooler than it was, in my opinion. I’ve been playing Foundation the last day or two and I find it way more addictive, satisfying, and unique, so far. Maybe I just need to revisit Manor Lords. The trailers made the combat out to be Mount and Blade-esque, so I think that’s what really underwhelmed me. It felt more like Civilization-style “throw a bunch of units at the bad guy” combat.

Lootboblin, (edited )
@Lootboblin@lemmy.world avatar

after you hit the 10-15 hours mark you are just looking around like Travolta, that’s it? yep that’s it… no more content. Potential is there but will the devs deliver it? not so sure. Atm the game is overpriced.

lvxferre, (edited ) do gaming w 52-year-old 'Super Mario' supermarket in Costa Rica wins unlikely victory against the Nintendo lawyers: "He is Don Mario, he's my dad"
@lvxferre@mander.xyz avatar

For context, it’s somewhat common here in Latin America to name markets after the owner’s name; doubly so in smaller cities. (The city where this happened has 9k inhabitants)

It’s also common to name supermarkets “Super [something]”, to highlight that it sells general goods instead of just produce.

With that out of the way: seriously? Nintendo going after a mum-and-dad market in a small city in North America??? This only highlights that the current trademark and intellectual property laws across the world are toilet paper - they aren’t there to defend “healthy competition” or crap like that, but to ensure megacorps get their way. Screw this shit and screw Nintendo - might as well rename their company to Ninjigoku/任地獄, bloody hell.

dual_sport_dork, do games w After the catastrophe of Concord Sony is reportedly cancelling other projects including a God of War live service game
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

A God of War live service game? Who the fuck signed off on that? I’m glad the article was able to zero in on the blistering stupidity of such a thing.

Iapar, do games w After the catastrophe of Concord Sony is reportedly cancelling other projects including a God of War live service game

You want to make money? Let bluepoint make a bloodborne remaster and bring it to PC.

Like, make the obvious good and profitable decision.

newthrowaway20,

But hear me out. Battle passes, dark patterns and FOMO.

kemsat,

I feel like it’s the same 12 people loudly asking for Bloodbourne.

MarcomachtKuchen, do games w After being honored at The Game Awards for helping laid-off devs, Amir Satvat says he's received 'countless' hateful messages

I 100% trust this guy. He’s just a incredibly genuine guy who wanted to help and has done an incredible amount of work. So happy he got the award.

filister, do games w The Witcher 4 got a surprise reveal at The Game Awards, and this one is all about Ciri | PC Gamer

I was hoping for Eskel or Letho to be honest. Ciri is a safe choice but a bit on the boring side. Eskel would have been a lot more multi-layered protagonist and dialogues would have been funnier.

FeelzGoodMan420,

Same. I was hoping for a totally different story or a different time period entirely. Instead it’s just boring Ciri again. Rip.

Fades,

2.5 games of geralt? Just fine! 0.5 games as ciri? BoRiNg!!!

Yes ciri “existed” in the previous games but we never saw her and we never played as her until the Wild Hunt.

Coelacanth,
@Coelacanth@feddit.nu avatar

I was praying for Letho even though we all knew it was going to be Ciri (for better or worse, we’ll see).

Leaning into the moral grey of the Witcher world with Letho would have been awesome, he says (in one of the endings to his story) he’ll head out east over the mountains so we could have gotten some all-new environments and it would have been 100% CDPR IP so they could have done whatever they wanted without trampling over lore too much. Plus Letho is just an amazing character with huge protagonist energy. Oh well.

j4p, do games w Remembering the Corrupted Blood incident: That time WoW was overrun by a virtual plague now referenced by Covid-19 researchers

Nothing clever to say except that this is fascinating and it would be cool to see mmorpg-like environments for other studies of virality, social phenomena etc. Anyone know of anything else like this?

bangsnooter,

Not exactly the same, but Borderlands 3 had a minigame that helped map the gut microbiome.

Developed in conjunction with McGill University, Massively Multiplayer Online Science, and The Microsetta Initiative, Borderlands Science is a puzzle game that benefits the real-world scientific community as you play. Borderlands Science presents you with simple block puzzles based on strands of DNA, and by solving them you’re helping to map and compare the microbes contained therein. Completing these puzzles also earns you in-game currency.

In case you’re curious about the practical applications for the raw data gathered through Borderlands Science, the human gut is linked to numerous diseases and conditions, including diabetes, depression, autism, anxiety, obesity and more. By mapping these microbes, the hope is that scientists will be able to better understand these ecosystems, which may help guide future research into novel treatments and interventions.

j4p,

Exactly the sort of thing I was looking for thank you!

bangsnooter,

My pleasure! The game was actually fun, so I love seeing more of this stuff.

The project site has occasional updates on what is becoming of this data.

DrDominate,
@DrDominate@lemmy.world avatar

There’s only one I can think of, the Faldor Massacre. runescape.wiki/w/Falador_MassacreBasically a bug let players kill anyone they wanted even in safe zones. This meant a lot of people lost a lot of gear. Ironically occurring on the date 06/6/06.

Speculater,
@Speculater@lemmy.world avatar

Did the victors get to keep all the gear?!

DrDominate,
@DrDominate@lemmy.world avatar

They didn’t even get to keep their accounts. Smited from their victory posts by Jagex

Nexy, do games w The official Nintendo Museum appears to be emulating SNES games on a Windows PC, which is slightly embarrassing
@Nexy@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I can see Nintendo shutting down his own museum for piratery.

Jarix,

His?

Eyelessoozeguy,

I think they dropped a T

BradleyUffner,

Hits

FloatingAlong,

John Nintendo, founder and CEO?

missingno, do games w Steam's new disclaimer reminds everyone that you don't actually own your games, GOG moves in for the killshot: Its offline installers 'cannot be taken away from you'
@missingno@fedia.io avatar

Even DRM-free, all digital purchases are still just a license, legally speaking.

Pragmatically speaking, they can't forcibly take the bits off my hard drive. But it also bears pointing out that these days most games on Steam don't bother enabling Steamworks DRM either.

UndercoverUlrikHD,
@UndercoverUlrikHD@programming.dev avatar

The vast majority of the bestsellers on steam either have normal DRM or DRM via being an online service. At least the bestsellers in 2023.

LaGG_3, do gaming w It only took two days for someone to unlock a developer mode in Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools, opening up the possibility of custom levels and campaigns

Hell yeah, fancy Neverwinter Nights!

ZombiFrancis,

BG3 has a strong enough following I could see the entirety of NWN and all its expansions being remade by fans.

WadeTheWizard,
@WadeTheWizard@fedia.io avatar

Highpoly Deekin with access to vicious mockery 😳

RangerJosie, do gaming w It only took two days for someone to unlock a developer mode in Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools, opening up the possibility of custom levels and campaigns
@RangerJosie@lemmy.world avatar

Good.

KingThrillgore, do gaming w Dr Disrespect fired by the game studio he co-founded: 'It is our duty to act with dignity on behalf of all individuals involved'
@KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml avatar

Boy there’s a strong correlation between being a streamer/YouTuber/online video creator and being a sex pest.

Laurentide,
@Laurentide@pawb.social avatar

I don’t think streamers and video creators are more likely to be sex pests. You’re just more likely to hear about a sex pest if their career involves trying to be seen by as many people as possible.

zbyte64,

IDK, it could be like with priests, where the job attracts a certain type because of the perks…

KingThrillgore,
@KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml avatar

There is also the fact that a lot of streamers start young, with no guidance or mental development so they act on their worse impulses

AsherahTheEnd,

Actually I just think there are far more sex pests than you would hope, and they are literally everywhere. It’s very alarming.

Carighan, do gaming w Less than 6 months after laying off 40 employees, Dead by Daylight studio Behaviour Interactive drops another 95
@Carighan@lemmy.world avatar

They have 1300 people? To make mtx and killers for DbD?! What?

Chozo,
@Chozo@fedia.io avatar

That number is not the DbD team, but the Behaviour studio as a whole. DbD is their main breadwinner, but they also have several other active games that they maintain.

Flatfire,

Also worth noting is their history as an IP mill. Dead By Daylight is a surprise hit amongst many a licensed deal to produce games that would nearly qualify as shovelware in most cases over the last 20+ years. DbD gives them some independence, but they’re still largely a “studio for hire” by anyone who needs them.

Aatube,

According to Wikipedia, they made a ton of games, including a ton of licensed IPs.

VirtualOdour, do games w Stellaris gets a DLC about AI that features AI-created voices, director insists it's 'ethical' and 'we're pretty good at exploring dystopian sci-fi and don't want to end up there ourselves'

I love how upset people get about things like this

Your coffee is made by enslaved children and people shrug

Your clothes were made in a sweatshop and people shrug

Your music is owned by corporate monsters who impose absurd copyright to steal culture from those that live in it and people shrug

A theoretical voice actor misses out on a small role and you go wild calling for boycotts and making unhinged tweets at the company?

Very weird priorities.

Almost like it’s totally unserious and nothing but self Important performative nonsense.

UntitledQuitting,

Almost like it’s totally unserious and nothing but self Important performative nonsense.

This should be the new tagline for social media

FiniteBanjo,

I feel like “The world sucks” is a poor argument for making it worse.

Melvin_Ferd,

It was crazy how swiftly media moved to present tons of reasons to hate AI.

It really made me realize how the people with this strongest opinions have been given those opinions by media that they don’t even realize is a form of media.

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