General PC Gaming Questions & Answers

[petrow]

As the title says. I've played games since I was a kid and been split between PC and console since I was 14 or so (more so PC these days). I've always been one to play with default controls and the like. Pretty much "plug & play" sort of thing and know the bare minimum when it comes down to the technical side of things to get games running faster etc.

So maybe this could be a "General PC gaming Q & A thread" where people can ask about technical or game relevant questions (about Steam, game requirements, monitors etc). We get a lot of threads on here asking questions (myself asking included) which bumps other good topics down and could be answered here instead as they generally require one short and simple reply.


The first thing I would like to ask is:

* What software can I use to show my FPS in games? I see it on Youtube a lot and I would like to give it a go so I can compare my current dying system to my new one coming.

* I mainly play multiplayer games like BF BC2, MW2 etc. However I also plan to get The Witcher 2. Do online profiles for games like MW2 save on Steam? So if I log in with my account details on a new PC I would join games with my current rank etc? In regards to single player, I assume the saved files are in the Steam folder in the Program Files.

Thanks.

 

[captainberk]

Hey Petrow,

Check here http://www.fraps.com/ (FRAPS) for a useful tool for capturing FPS and recording in game videos and what not. Never used it myself but I know a lot of people do.

I'm not sure about profiles existing in the Steam cloud so to speak...although I have a feeling it might work with some games (dawn of war 2 possibly?). Not sure about the witcher 2...my copy is still on my desk waiting to be installed on my new PC

 

[Flucky]

Got fraps myself an yes it is very good, I bought it quite a few years ago but don't remember it being as much as €27 (which is what it is now). Still if you're just using it to monitor FPS values in game there's probably no need to buy it

 

[Kalisnoir]

Again, FRAPS is the way to go about it, it records uncompressed so you won't notice much (if any) effect on performance and you can toggle the FPS in the corner without recording.

As far as steam goes, it has a cloud server (but not all games use it) that holds save files for the games that have it integrated. Otherwise, some games have the saves in the steam folder, others have it in the "My Games" folder inside your "My Documents".
For MW2, I'm 95% sure the rankings are saved on Activision's servers so you can carry on you're rank between computers.

 

[PokerFace]

Got fraps myself an yes it is very good, I bought it quite a few years ago but don't remember it being as much as €27 (which is what it is now). Still if you're just using it to monitor FPS values in game there's probably no need to buy it

If I download FRAPS, do I get some free features and only pay for the "full version" if I wanted additional features? If so, what are the free features, is it just the frame rate program?

 

[Flucky]

You can record with the free version, however I think it's restricted to something like 30 seconds (there's also a FRAPS logo in the corner when recording which disappears if you pay) whereas the full version is unlimited.

 

[PokerFace]

Thanks Flucky

 

[LinearHD]

You can record with the free version, however I think it's restricted to something like 30 seconds (there's also a FRAPS logo in the corner when recording which disappears if you pay) whereas the full version is unlimited.

Also you can't record in full HD, only half screen (not literally, the screen gets squashed into a 4:3 ratio) , and capped at 30fps