Looking to get back into PC Gaming after over a decade. I'm a little rusty...

[bpanugget]

Hi guys. I've been out of PC gaming for over 13 years: it's been consoles and MAC Books since Nickleback and Avril Lavigne were popular. The last PC I built, had a 512 mb graphics card (7800 GTX, if I remember corrrctly), and it was a beast at the time. Now, I'm skimming these forums and I'm seeing stuff like "thunderbolt slots" and "SSDs". Not to mention how powerful this stuff seems to have become. It's pretty confusing and there's a lot out there.

Essentially, I want to get back into gaming on a windows based platform. Specifically on a laptop. My buddy who is a casual PC gamer, has suggested the Acer Predator Helios 300. Looking at the setup, it seems like a good deal at 1200 bucks. The only thing that seems underpowered is the gtx 1060 GPU.

My question is this: how long could I expect to play games on medium to ultra settings on the current Helios 300? I mainly play shooters and action games (looking to pick up Shadow of the TR, Metro Exodus, Rage 2, Doom Eternal, etc). Will I be able use this thing for a few years? Should I wait to buy until next year, since Nvidia is releasing new cards soon, and the 1070/1080 will most likely end up in more laptops for cheaper?

Thanks guys. If I end up purchasing something soon, I look forward to becoming active in this community again.

Link for ACER I'm looking at:

Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" Full HD IPS Display w/ 144Hz Refresh Rate, Intel 6-Core i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Overclockable Graphics, 16GB DDR4, 256GB NVMe SSD, PH315-51-78NP https/www.amazon.com/dp/B07CTHLX8C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_FbTDBbG7WYABK

 

[bmockeg]

The laptop seems like a solid choice. Do you need a laptop or would you be open to a,desktop? With the laptop you get less power for the same money as well as a dead end for upgrades.

The CPU is solid and the GPU is able to play 1080p. The 144hz is pretty useless with a 1060 and a marketing gimmick really. You can probably play most games at high 1080p now, it's a 2 year old mid tier card, no telling how long it lasts playing to your,satisfaction.

 

[bpanugget]

I am definitely open to a desktop. My budget is about 1200 bucks though. I figure that after getting a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, I'd be way over that budget. I also don't want to build, as I'm not confident in my ability to properly piece together a rig at this point, so I'd definitely get a pre-built.

 

[bmockeg]

Get a laptop then.

 

[jaguarskx]

There can be a huge performance difference between medium and ultra settings.

If you are okay with play future games on medium settings, then the GTX 1060 should be able to last for at least a few years. Of course it depends on the game that you want to play. When Crysis was originally released in 2007 it was pretty much impossible to play it max graphic settings. I think it was not until around 2010 when GPUs were actually powerful to max out graphics in Crysis and also have very high performance at the same time. Crysis: Warhead (2008) has been pretty much a staple in GPU benchmark reviews through at least 2014. Crysis / Crysis: Warhead are exceptions to rule though.

 

[bpanugget]

OK, I'll most likely go for the ACER then. I've been looking at requirements for recent AAA games like Far Cry 5, Doom, and the Witcher 3, and they seem to be well below what the Helios 3 has. Back when I gamed on a PC (2000-2005), it seemed as if it the technology progressed extremely rapidly.

I remember getting an ATI Radeon 8500 in early 2002, and it was good enough to run just about anything out at the time, on high settings, so long as your processor and RAM were up to snuff. By early 2004, that card was almost useless.

So I guess that's my fear/overall dilemna: will this laptop get me a few years of gaming without having to resort to using settings that make it look like my screen is covered in mud.

Thanks for the answers so far.

 

[bmockeg]

https/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834316435

Here is a good deal on a larger screen.