PC Gaming and the Technology behind it...

[Clint Thompson]

So, I was seriously considering getting an Atari Falcon again *and still may, mind you, especially if I find a C-Lab Mk-II* (last one I owned was about 10 years ago, give or take) to quench some nostalgic thirst but the price of admission vs. what you get since it's basically a collector status machine just doesn't make sense to me anymore - not that it really did 10 years ago either haha. Same applies to a 130XE, as much as I would love to own one, simply will not pony up $200 for one - and I don't even think that one falls under collector status.

 

On one hand, I could have a fully decked out Falcon030 from anywhere between $800-$1,000 and live in the past like many of us do who hold on to, cherish and admire these machines for everything that they are - and not to sound like there's anything wrong with that because I absolutely (obviously) love these machines. I've always been one to embrace technology and not let it go but where do we draw the line? On the other hand, I can take that $1k and get a 12GB Nvidia Titan X loaded to the brim full of transistors, just over 8-billion of them to be exact heh and can play just about any game you can possibly dream of throwing at it, even in 4K, at 40+fps on ultra settings. I guess this post is to somewhat vent that I continously find myself in a hard place... being a lover of both old and new tech and for once, finding myself wanting to live in the present for a change. How conflicted I feel and ridiculously first-world problematic this post seems to be after reading it.

 

The line between console gaming and PC wasn't really too far off either... but especially more recently, the gap has widened so much more. I'm not saying we need 4k resolutions at a rock-steady 60fps to have an immersive, enjoyable experience that the likes of a PS4 or Xbox One can offer, because they're obvioulsy fun too... but the technology is here and capable of doing and offering so much more. Not that it just isn't affordable, because it is, but that it's actually availabe. I remember PC Gaming back in the late 90s and early 2000s and how I found myself always on the fence in regards to PC gaming vs. Console gaming because of what you could get out of the console, unique 1st party games and then the price... but I was much younger and quite poor then... and again, the gap in graphics/performance/etc. wasn't so drastically different from a PSX to a decent Gaming PC either... not enitrely true, I know the PSX did something like 320x240 and the PC could do 640x480 or 800x600 but it seemed mostly not too far off.. Now we're generations / resolutions apart in regards to consoles vs. the PC side of gaming, as the technology has exploded.

 

With that said... how come emulation of our favorite past-time consoles/game machines haven't shifted over to being done within the GPU itself almost entirely? With the processing speeds and some 3k cores available, shouldn't the GTX 980 or the likes be able to do literally anything with the right coders behind it, time, dedication, etc.? I've never personally cared for emulation either... but mostly because it's always flawed to some degree.

[JamesD]

This looks like a good bundle.
Only 14 hours left. $1.99
http://www.bundlestars.com/all-bundles/all-stars-bundle/

[Clint Thompson]

This looks like a good bundle.

Only 14 hours left. $1.99

http://www.bundlestars.com/all-bundles/all-stars-bundle/

 

STALKER, yes!

[JamesD]

It already says it is no longer available. That's a bit of a discrepancy from what the timer said

[JamesD]

That bundle apparently sold out but now it's back up. The timer says 18 hours but it may sell out again.

[JamesD]

And I've been posting to the wrong topic. Sorry

[Keatah]

With that said... how come emulation of our favorite past-time consoles/game machines haven't shifted over to being done within the GPU itself almost entirely? With the processing speeds and some 3k cores available, shouldn't the GTX 980 or the likes be able to do literally anything with the right coders behind it, time, dedication, etc.? I've never personally cared for emulation either... but mostly because it's always flawed to some degree.

 

A number of reasons:

It's a matter of someone wanting to get behind it and do it.

GPUs change too fast. Every 3 weeks another chip variant is announced.

Every 4 days a new graphics card hits the market.

Ssytems without GPUs (or a certain one) would be sitting on the sidelines.

Nobody cares enough about emulation to make it happen, you said so yourself.

The style of programming utilized in emulators (to me) seems more suited to CPU. But the GPU could do all sorts of artifacting and CRT simulations.

[Clint Thompson]

 

A number of reasons:

It's a matter of someone wanting to get behind it and do it.

GPUs change too fast. Every 3 weeks another chip variant is announced.

Every 4 days a new graphics card hits the market.

Ssytems without GPUs (or a certain one) would be sitting on the sidelines.

Nobody cares enough about emulation to make it happen, you said so yourself.

The style of programming utilized in emulators (to me) seems more suited to CPU. But the GPU could do all sorts of artifacting and CRT simulations.

 

Well, I don't think it should be necessarily a completely GPU driven emulation so much as an option for owners of a certain series of video cards could utilize. Specifically, I think utilizing an NVidia card with its countless CUDA cores would certainly come in handy and newer cards generally just have more cores and improved upon tech... having it in place to begin with would be the biggest obstalce but you're right, no one there to really dedicate the time/effort toward said emulation.

[Nebulon]

It's obvious that like you really like the Atari and that it's a machine you'd appreciate.

 

Do you already own a PS4 or XBOX One? If so then maybe go for the Falcon instead of the PC.

 

PCs are moving targets. Sure, you can run out and set up a gaming PC, but the money outlay doesn't stop there. If you're serious about playing the latest PC games, there will be a continual turn-over of hardware. As for the impressive resolutions that PCs support -- that's actually not all that imperative for gaming. Those numbers are more about performance-boasting and marketing. Furthermore, the higher the resolution the more polygon edges will become visible (thus reducing the level of realism for people who pay close attention to polygon-generated curves and rendered shadows.

 

If you're really big into a number of games for the current generation of PCs and you feel that those titles can keep you interested for a long time then why not wait a while for the PC. Let it depreciate in value and pick up today's newest configuration for a steal later.