Crysis Warhead on the cheap: EA's 'Warhead PC' priced at $699

Crytek just don't understand that PC gamers don't want to play on medium or low settings.

The problem with the first crysis was not the framerate per se, since I could play at a good fps on med settings at 1920x1200, but the whole point of a game that has such good graphics, is to play on the high settings, which even a rig with two of the most powerful cards available could not do.

The same thing will happen with warhead.

This PC they claim to run warhead, they will tell you to run at 1280x1024, on medium settings, and people do not want to do that, we already have hundreds of mediocre shooters with average graphics. When the only thing that sets your game apart is the graphics, people will want to play on high settings.

Doesn't mention what resolution they are aiming for. I would hope 30fps would be the lowest it would hit and not the average too.

There's a big difference between just being able to run Crysis, and running it at stunning levels---the way it was meant to be played.

To run Crysis at anything less than HIGH settings, is to do a disservice to the very point of why Crysis was created---to push graphical limits well into the next few years.

I have never been able to run Crysis at anything higher than HIGH, and even then, it stutters pretty badly. I can't even fathom what it would look like at VERY HIGH, or in Warhead's case ENTHUSIAST.

Even at HIGH with only Directx9 I was so impressed with the visuals and detail that I saw that I simply couldn't go back to LOW or MEDIUM to make it run better, which would make it look like any other game. I once spent well over an hour just swimming around admiring the ocean and watching the aquatic life, the life-like foliage and trees beyond the beaches, and the mountain peaks off in the distance...

So, sure, you could drop only $700 and run it, maybe even set half (or more) of the settings to medium. But I wouldn't, not knowing what it is "supposed" to look like. I can't really explain it beyond my own jaw dropped experience.

That PC would have been cheaper with an ATI HD4850 which performs better than a 9800 in Crysis and better than a GTX260 in Call of Jurez (spelling?). Nvidia must have paid them to offer the 9800, which is more expensive than the HD4850. I can build a PC for slightly more than a Ps3 (no OS) that will guaranteed run Crysis on High very smoothly.

Pretty nice specs, I'd consider it if it included an OS.

At least on the PC, I can play games with high frame rates instead of being unable to do anything about it on the consoles. I felt reborn playing Mass Effect smoothly on my computer instead of the super laggy xbox version. Same with Gears of War and the same will be with GTA IV. I hate to say it but screw consoles and huge HD televisions if games are laggy as they are. Don't know how PS3 is so no comment on that one.

man only a 9800GT

could they seriously have got a newer card to play it on

Wow, a machine custom designed to reliably run a game at a set level of quality... it's almost like... a console!

$700 isn't much less than a gaming PC you could build on your own (give or take one or two hundred dollars).

Man, 'll just drop a core2duo of 2.6 and i'll be set to play

This doesnt sound like a bad idea to me. while the true pc gaming enthusiast would probably prefer to build their own PC, there are many out there who probably dont want to take that on just yet, also some people do like to have a warranty. Also, for the people go in and buy from a store like best buy the vast majority of the computers they have are crap that could barely run half the games on the market even at the lowest settings, so maybe this might get them to stock decent stuff.

Crysis looks and plays fantastic between 20-30 fps. The game's so damn gorgeous and the way the engine performs makes up for any lost frames, and anyone who's played it knows it. With Warhead, they are aiming to cut the reqs by almost half, thanks to fine tuning the CryEngine 2, which should be used more on consoles since I'm sure people are wondering what all the buzz is about. It truly is a step above anything UE3 has been able to show and I would love to see what the 360/PS3 can do with it.

I'm so damn sick of UE3 games, with the same damn sheen, which has numerous problems and doesn't perform and look nearly as well as CE2. Hopefully more devs will jump on the Cry bandwagon, in the years to come. Excellent tools too. I really wish Ubi would have used Cry2 for FarCry 2. While FarCry 2 looks good, it's nothing compared to playing Crysis(proven by seeing it live of course). We'll all get a good look as to just how well everything compares real soon.

Speaking of new PC's, it's a great time for PC games all around. Spore this week, STALKER CS, Warhammer Online, Crysis Warhead next week, Brothers In Arms the next week as well as Multiwinia for all of us Darwinia fans(360 gamers get that treat as well :)) , then the next and final week of September is Sacred 2 and a great looking Space Sim called Dark Horizon.

Damn, if that isn't worth picking up a $150 GPU or new rig/lappy, I don't know what is!! Combine that with NHL09 and Rockband, and this month is great, not to mention all the games coming out in Oct and Nov.. :) Good to be a gamer of all, that's for sure.

Thats actually a good idea, a well priced gaming focused PC thats already optimized for gaming and cheaper that normal.

Or maybe its just me wanting a console priced and console easy to use PC that plays PC games.

Geeze my PC isn't anywhere near that and I run Crysis on all medium with 35-40FPS which by the way looks quite nice in my opinion.

So it runs on max settings on that computer?

Cos people don't buy graphics-based games to run them on medium or low settings.

Personally I'll do what i did with Doom3 and Half-life. Wait until i have a PC that'll run them on max, and by then i can pick them up cheap.

(PS/ that might be reasonably cheap for an OK spec PC.. but its still more powerful than my laptop, and i have a more powerful laptop than any of my friends. (don't know anyone who has a desktop these days... ) I guess we won't be playing it then...

699$ US Dollars and it is Riiidgee *Ahem Crysis!

Well for a new computer it ain't that bad but it sucks for the people who bought a new rig for Crysis since now they will have to upgrade it again.

Note I said upgrade it not buy a new one.