Figuring out specs?

[mdredheadguy1979]

I'm hoping this will be an easy topic. If not, then I"m sorry upfront.
When looking for a new pc, or figuring out upgrades, is there an easy way to find out what hardware would most likely be compatible with the games in my Steam library?
Lets say for a graphics card, is there some way of figuring out which one is most likely to work well with all the games in my library?

Is there an easy way to see the basic system requirements of my entire game library all at once? Or do I have to look up each game individually?

Is there anyway to simplify this?

Thank you for any help provided.

[pckirk]

no individual is only way. just take the min specs needed for the latest game that you wish to play and go by that.

[Tarra Sama]

Whatever the latest graphics card is, CPU, motherboard, that will solve 90% of what you want then get whatever mouse and keyboard you want

[RPG Gamer Man]

Do your research. When i bought my new pc, i made sure to do research on each part and component i wanted in my new gaming pc. So i suggest you do this if you really want to find out which games will work on your newer pc. Also, windows 11 might get a bad rap, but i only ever had one game i had issues with it using it.

[nullable]

Originally posted by mdredheadguy1979:

I'm hoping this will be an easy topic. If not, then I"m sorry upfront.
When looking for a new pc, or figuring out upgrades, is there an easy way to find out what hardware would most likely be compatible with the games in my Steam library?

If you're buying current hardware, nominally it's all compatible with current and older games. OS issues are more likely a concern. And even games that are fickle often have fixes and tweaks.

Originally posted by mdredheadguy1979:

Lets say for a graphics card, is there some way of figuring out which one is most likely to work well with all the games in my library?

You're kinda looking at it backwards. Just buy decent hardware and handle issues as they arise. You may not have many and trying to pre-game unknown issues is a fool's errand.

Originally posted by mdredheadguy1979:

Is there an easy way to see the basic system requirements of my entire game library all at once? Or do I have to look up each game individually?

Is there anyway to simplify this?

Thank you for any help provided.

If you buy current hardware it should exceed any system requirements. Trying to figure out the perfect hardware for your whole library is just the wrong way to go about and there is no concrete answer. Which is why current hardware is probably your best option.

I've been PC gaming for 26 years and building my own systems for 21 and I gotta say I've never needed to use the approach you're imagining to play any games I own.

[Haruspex]

Good advice above me. Heed it.

Also if you come into forums with a budget and a short list of typical games you want to play, several huge nerds will be more than happy to suggest builds or point out prebuilds that will suit your needs.

[Hammer Of Evil]

Originally posted by mdredheadguy1979:

I'm hoping this will be an easy topic. If not, then I"m sorry upfront.
When looking for a new pc, or figuring out upgrades, is there an easy way to find out what hardware would most likely be compatible with the games in my Steam library?
Lets say for a graphics card, is there some way of figuring out which one is most likely to work well with all the games in my library?

Is there an easy way to see the basic system requirements of my entire game library all at once? Or do I have to look up each game individually?

Is there anyway to simplify this?

Thank you for any help provided.

studying the hardware itself (vendors, manufacturers, models, and parts) will provide the best information the user can gain, and combine that with the system requirements surrounding the gaming titles the user prefers to play.

first person shooter games require more strict and more powerful hardware requirements for the best performance compared to, say, realtime or turn based strategy games.

[Spanky]

you question is a valid concern of mine.

In fact, i've started a side project of my own, but i'm still looking for people with some info on ways to solidify my project into something really good for gaming.

I always wondered, even as a kid what GPU, CPU, MOTHERBOARD, HARD DISK for sale on NEWEGG etc. would work with which games the best?

My best approach to this is actually really easy to get the info I need.

All i do is look for the hardware specs i want or have already by looking up the GPU, CPU, MOTHERBOARD, DISK listed top-performing from AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel etc. with benchmarks tailored exclusively for video games.

Then i just do a simple search online for the hardware and sort it by the game based on public data at:

Tom’s Hardware GPU Benchmarks Hierarchy 2025 Chart
PC Game Benchmark
how many fps
Reddit r/bapccanada GPU Value Comparison

I might add though, games today already auto setup the GPU at first launch.

many older games later than 10 years ago don't auto setup that well unless you ran the old OEM software game profile configurations which lacked any good settings for any game like in crimson and gforce so it didnt even matter.

with running Steam and epic and OEM launchers this is becoming a thing of the past and not really a concern anymore.

Game devs have the public data on game benchmarks and OEM software configure rather well for any device now.

That's why running old drives isn't recommended because they had issues with auto setup when the games launched for the first time among other flaws.

Just look for the game you want. look up the benchmarks and comparisons charts, and run the most up to date drivers and it will auto set the device for the best performance possible. just be sure to set a good fan speed because these are always the worst auto setup IMO.

Also, OEM gpu monitoring software like Radeon and NVIDIA app are not always necessary and almost always conflict with the GPU OEM OC software.

[Chronocide]

Originally posted by mdredheadguy1979:

I'm hoping this will be an easy topic. If not, then I"m sorry upfront.
When looking for a new pc, or figuring out upgrades, is there an easy way to find out what hardware would most likely be compatible with the games in my Steam library?
Lets say for a graphics card, is there some way of figuring out which one is most likely to work well with all the games in my library?

Is there an easy way to see the basic system requirements of my entire game library all at once? Or do I have to look up each game individually?

Is there anyway to simplify this?

Thank you for any help provided.

Something like this: https://www.pcgamebenchmark.com/

[mdredheadguy1979]

Originally posted by Chronocide:

Originally posted by mdredheadguy1979:

I'm hoping this will be an easy topic. If not, then I"m sorry upfront.
When looking for a new pc, or figuring out upgrades, is there an easy way to find out what hardware would most likely be compatible with the games in my Steam library?
Lets say for a graphics card, is there some way of figuring out which one is most likely to work well with all the games in my library?

Is there an easy way to see the basic system requirements of my entire game library all at once? Or do I have to look up each game individually?

Is there anyway to simplify this?

Thank you for any help provided.

Something like this: https://www.pcgamebenchmark.com/

Thanks! I'll try that!

[mdredheadguy1979]

Originally posted by Spanky:

you question is a valid concern of mine.

In fact, i've started a side project of my own, but i'm still looking for people with some info on ways to solidify my project into something really good for gaming.

I always wondered, even as a kid what GPU, CPU, MOTHERBOARD, HARD DISK for sale on NEWEGG etc. would work with which games the best?

My best approach to this is actually really easy to get the info I need.

All i do is look for the hardware specs i want or have already by looking up the GPU, CPU, MOTHERBOARD, DISK listed top-performing from AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel etc. with benchmarks tailored exclusively for video games.

Then i just do a simple search online for the hardware and sort it by the game based on public data at:

Tom’s Hardware GPU Benchmarks Hierarchy 2025 Chart
PC Game Benchmark
how many fps
Reddit r/bapccanada GPU Value Comparison

I might add though, games today already auto setup the GPU at first launch.

many older games later than 10 years ago don't auto setup that well unless you ran the old OEM software game profile configurations which lacked any good settings for any game like in crimson and gforce so it didnt even matter.

with running Steam and epic and OEM launchers this is becoming a thing of the past and not really a concern anymore.

Game devs have the public data on game benchmarks and OEM software configure rather well for any device now.

That's why running old drives isn't recommended because they had issues with auto setup when the games launched for the first time among other flaws.

Just look for the game you want. look up the benchmarks and comparisons charts, and run the most up to date drivers and it will auto set the device for the best performance possible. just be sure to set a good fan speed because these are always the worst auto setup IMO.

Also, OEM gpu monitoring software like Radeon and NVIDIA app are not always necessary and almost always conflict with the GPU OEM OC software.

Thank you, I'll take a look at that website you suggested.

[Life synopsis]

I start with my most demanding game. Then, review the games maximum recommended specs and work my way down from there until I find the affordability I desire