Life without a dGPU

[OVerLoRDI]

Entering the professional world and marriage, the amount of gaming I do has taken a massive nose dive. As a result I scrapped and sold my dual 7970 rig and replaced it (using my awesome work discounts) with a Dell Opltiplex 9020 Micro.

specs:
i7-4875T
16gb Ram
256gb SSD

For the first time in about 2 years, I have a week off with nearly nothing to do. I sat down and attempted some gaming, just to see what the HD 4600 graphics could do. I was impressed considering it was an iGPU, but it still left a lot to be desired.

What modern, low spec requirement games do you guys recommend checking out?

 

[Bateluer]

What modern, low spec requirement games do you guys recommend checking out?

Pretty much any of the indie retro games; Shovel Knight, Transistor, Super Meat Boy, Hotline Miami, Banner Saga, etc. Most of GoG's Library should run fine as well.

 

[Piotrsama]

Machinarium, World of Goo, Unepic.

 

[blastingcap]

Same here, due to family time taking more and more time, I sold off my high-end dGPUs over the summer after I finished Dishonored. The i5-3570K's iGPU is actually decent enough for Valve Source games like L4D2 and easily beat the HD5450 I initially tried.

There are so many old games in my backlog that I could go without a dGPU for a very, very long time at this point. Currently I'm playing SimCity 2000, for instance.

I'd recommend classics like KOTOR, Valve Source games, the low-spec indie games like World of Goo, old RPGs like Baldur's Gate II, Planescape Torment, etc.

Entering the professional world and marriage, the amount of gaming I do has taken a massive nose dive. As a result I scrapped and sold my dual 7970 rig and replaced it (using my awesome work discounts) with a Dell Opltiplex 9020 Micro.

specs:
i7-4875T
16gb Ram
256gb SSD

For the first time in about 2 years, I have a week off with nearly nothing to do. I sat down and attempted some gaming, just to see what the HD 4600 graphics could do. I was impressed considering it was an iGPU, but it still left a lot to be desired.

What modern, low spec requirement games do you guys recommend checking out?

 

[skipsneeky2]

HD4000 for me ran CS:GO at medium at 1366x768 and ran flawless,if you don't mind drops into the lower 50s it could even handle high with no issues either.HD4600 could prob take it to 900p and run medium.

Love that engine,it scales damn well from low end to high end hardware.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

The intel chip I have in my Ultrabook (Asus Zenbook Prime) runs things surprisingly well, I think its the 4000 on chip graphics. Anything indie with a low graphics requirement will run flawlessly, I have tried some more modern games like Planetside 2 which ran at a surprising 25-30fps in the warpgate.

It's quite surprising what they're capable of considering, so much of the GPU requirements come from the crazy OTT graphics feature, basic engines these days with all that stuff stripped down can run on really entry level hardware.

 

[HitAnyKey]

Get a decent GFX and game. Your off for a week and are gaming on a 4000? Why?

 

[mnewsham]

HD4000 for me ran CS:GO at medium at 1366x768 and ran flawless,if you don't mind drops into the lower 50s it could even handle high with no issues either.HD4600 could prob take it to 900p and run medium.

Love that engine,it scales damn well from low end to high end hardware.

I have found CSGO doesnt seem to like older CPUs though, my brothers motherboard died last month so until he can pick up a new one I let him borrow my old Q6600 core 2 quad 2.6Ghz intel CPU from ~2008. 6GB DDR2 RAM, and an R7-260x. On an AMD FX6300 (his regular CPU) he would get 100-150Fps at 1080p with everything set to high. With the Q6600 rig however he gets dips down to ~30fps with everything set to low at 1080p. This is using the same GPU in both rigs.



as to the OP, I also recommend KOTOR and/or KOTOR 2. Fantastic games that run great on older hardware and honestly still give me a satisfied feeling when playing through. Great story and good universe.

 

[Fox5]

Oh dear, poor choice getting a desktop without room for a discrete gpu.

Return it and get something else. Like this at least: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-011-_-Product

Otherwise, stick to indie games and older games.

 

[skipsneeky2]

I have found CSGO doesnt seem to like older CPUs though, my brothers motherboard died last month so until he can pick up a new one I let him borrow my old Q6600 core 2 quad 2.6Ghz intel CPU from ~2008. 6GB DDR2 RAM, and an R7-260x. On an AMD FX6300 (his regular CPU) he would get 100-150Fps at 1080p with everything set to high. With the Q6600 rig however he gets dips down to ~30fps with everything set to low at 1080p. This is using the same GPU in both rigs.

I had a good experience with a x4 9150E with my 770 in that game,perhaps the newer 337.50+ drivers are to blame but i never dropped into the 30s. Even so the Q6600 is officially 7 years old,the fact anyone can play a game with moderate performance still is nothing short of amazing so many years later.

CS:GO itself is weird,i can feel a difference in response,fps and overall movement between a i3,i5 and a i7.Same for pretty much any modern shooter from the last few years.I guess that may be why a pro gamer could have a 6 core and he plays CS:GO exclusively.

 

[JumBie]

I have found CSGO doesnt seem to like older CPUs though, my brothers motherboard died last month so until he can pick up a new one I let him borrow my old Q6600 core 2 quad 2.6Ghz intel CPU from ~2008. 6GB DDR2 RAM, and an R7-260x. On an AMD FX6300 (his regular CPU) he would get 100-150Fps at 1080p with everything set to high. With the Q6600 rig however he gets dips down to ~30fps with everything set to low at 1080p. This is using the same GPU in both rigs.



as to the OP, I also recommend KOTOR and/or KOTOR 2. Fantastic games that run great on older hardware and honestly still give me a satisfied feeling when playing through. Great story and good universe.

Yup, I tried playing it on a AMD 9550 2.2GHZ with a GTX260 and the fps would drop and the game would even stutter constantly. Tossed the GTX 260 in a G3220 and it ran flawlessly with no dips below 60.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Yup, I tried playing it on a AMD 9550 2.2GHZ with a GTX260 and the fps would drop and the game would even stutter constantly. Tossed the GTX 260 in a G3220 and it ran flawlessly with no dips below 60.

Damn awesome you can get yourself a budget cpu,slap in a 5 year old gpu and get that kind of performance.CS:GO really is a great game for that.

Even COD isn't that optimized and i have played a few going back to BO1 which predates CS:GO by a good bit i believe.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Plants vs Zombies
Hearthstone
Dragon age origin
call of duty 2

 

[Jodell88]

South Park: The Stick of Truth
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

 

[evident]

dont play games that much either, but i have a radeon hd7770 for the times that i want to. sips power and dont have to worry about not being able to play a game

 

[SPBHM]

dont play games that much either, but i have a radeon hd7770 for the times that i want to. sips power and dont have to worry about not being able to play a game

yes, a card like the 7770 is pretty cheap and it's absurdly faster than the Intel IGPs, it's totally worth it, I would only play using IGPs if I had to use a laptop I think...


but, the HD 4600 should play games from 10 years ago pretty well, and stuff from the Xbox 360 era with reduced quality,

 

[Kushina]

Insurgency is awesome. One of the only games I play on my 780 classified. All the good looking games are broken.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Torchlight 1 is fun and plays great even on HD2000.

Defense Grid 1

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Oh dear, poor choice getting a desktop without room for a discrete gpu.

Return it and get something else. Like this at least: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-011-_-Product

Otherwise, stick to indie games and older games.

Well, given the price I paid for it (nearly free, hookup from our company's Dell rep), I'm pretty damn pleased for everything except gaming.

I discovered FTL a few days ago and that game works beautifully and is loads of fun so far, I'm good to go for now

 

[Snock514]

get a divorce and get a graphic card

/thread

 

[Majcric]

Single, married, or whatever with cheap prices on discrete GPU's I see no reason to be without one. Just my personal opinion but a lot of respect for you that can manage it.

 

[BSim500]

Well, given the price I paid for it (nearly free, hookup from our company's Dell rep), I'm pretty damn pleased for everything except gaming.

There's a lot of really good old games you can run (virtually GOG's entire collection) including : Age of Empires 2, Age of Mythology, Baldur's Gate 1&2 EE, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, Deus Ex, Diablo 2, Doom / Heretic / Hexen (still a blast via modern Doomsday Engine), Don't Starve, Hedgewars (free), Icewind Dale, Jagged Alliance 2, Medal of Honor Allied Assault, Neverwinter Nights 1&2, Rise of Nations, Serious Sam FE & SE, Shadowrun Returns, System Shock 2, Thief 1-2, Torchlight 1&2 and pretty much 99% of modern indie / puzzle / adventure / DOSBOX / ScummVM games out there). A lot of other "heavier" FPS's will run (Bioshock, Deus Ex HR, Dishonored, etc, but at reduced fps / quality settings / resolution).

That said I have to agree with others - like you I no longer buy high-end cards partly due to reduced gaming time due to other commitments (and partly because I'm really going off modern AAA gaming due to endless consolization and poor PC porting). However, one common mistake is to over-compensate and swing from one extreme (selling a top-end SLI setup) to another (Intel HD iGPU) when a mid or low-mid range card would be more suitable and run most modern games at 1080p on Medium. Maybe for your next upgrade, think about something like the 750 Ti card? There are low-profile versions that can fit inside relatively slim Mini-ITX cases not much bigger than your current case.

 

[Mai72]

I have an Intel 4400, i5 processor.

Lately, I've been playing Age of Empires 3, Toy Soldiers, and Max Payne 2. I even fired up the new freemium Dead Island: Epidemic. It's a top down MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena). Sure, I only get 20 fps, but its a top down game so I don't feel the lag.

I know real life can throw a lot of obstacles into our gaming time. I wouldn't give up something you still enjoy. Have you thought about just gaming on the weekends, and an hour or two on the weekdays? You can add gaming into your life and still be productive.

 

[Fox5]

Well, given the price I paid for it (nearly free, hookup from our company's Dell rep), I'm pretty damn pleased for everything except gaming.

I discovered FTL a few days ago and that game works beautifully and is loads of fun so far, I'm good to go for now

Let me give you a list of games I've enjoyed recently that should work on an IGP:

Wasteland 2 - A dungeons and dragons-ish tactical rpg set in the post apocalyptic madmax style future.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/240760/

FTL: Faster than Light - It's an almost facebook style game about running a spaceship and trying to get across the galaxy.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - A fucked up game about a dead baby in the style of the original Zelda game.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/250900/

The Wolf Among Us - A choose your own adventure game about hyper violent fairy tales living in New York City.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/250320/

Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Yet another D&D style rpg, but this set in the dystopian future of America where corporations and dragons control everything.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/300550/

Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack - A physics based 2d platformer about a blob trying to eat the planet.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/206370/

XCOM: Enemy Within/Enemy Unknown - Really just an expansion pack for an older game, but this is a pretty awesome turn based strategy game about blowing up aliens.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/225340/

Xenonauts - This is a more hardcore and in-depth version of XCOM, which can be a plus or a minus depending how into a game you want to have to get.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/223830/

Broforce - A game about 'murica with 4 player coop.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/274190/

Expendabros - A free game about 'murica featuring the cast of the Expendables.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/312990/

 

[Chevron]

What modern, low spec requirement games do you guys recommend checking out?

Prison architect.

South Park.

Brothers.

Thomas was alone.