6

I want to spec out a new gaming system (especially one that will run StarCraft 2 well). Should that question be asked on Gaming or on Super User?

2
  • That specific question was already asked and closed, but perhaps the answers are of use to you: gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/1932/… -- I'm ok nevertheless with discussing what you asked here.
    – juan
    Jul 31, 2010 at 22:53
  • Well unless there's a specific problem I don't think it's welcome on Super User
    – Ivo Flipse
    Aug 1, 2010 at 10:02

3 Answers 3

7

I'm really not fond of questions that ask for building a system for a specific game, because:

  1. We might end up getting such a question every time a popular new game comes out.
  2. The answers for all the questions about games released in the same time-frame are bound to all be similar to each other.
  3. These kind of questions are quite time-localized anyway.

At the very least, I would like the questions to be more broad, e.g. "what kind of system can play new games released in 2010, such as Starcraft II, on the highest quality with 1680x1050 resolution?". The user posting the question will get precisely the same answers, but now that question and answers will be useful for additional games.

Likewise, I dislike questions such as "can this system run this game". These questions are quite localized and are of very low usefulness to others; we should focus on teaching how to fish rather than handing out fish, anyway.

More examples of good questions:

More examples of bad questions:

4
  • The question could also be made CW such that the answers can be edited to include other games which run fine with these specs
    – Zommuter
    Aug 1, 2010 at 9:27
  • 1
    I think this would be the best solution if this is going to keep getting answered. Aug 2, 2010 at 14:20
  • 1
    Why not make a review like wiki question: Best buy guide of the month and have people suggest say three levels of rigs (based on budget) which should be altered each month. Doesn't sound too hard to do. If discussion is needed, take it to Meta
    – Ivo Flipse
    Aug 3, 2010 at 6:11
  • Agreed on "Can this system run this game". For many scenarios, these are really just requests for product reviews - the user already has the game or is already deadset on buying it, and is just wanting to know whether a particular machine of interest is going to work. Very localized.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Dec 20, 2010 at 15:15
9

It has been agreed multiple times that we should not base scope decisions based on what other sites do.

So I say -- if your main requirement is gaming performance, ask away. It is reasonable to assume that other games are interested in answers and experience the performance of their own hardware on a daily basis.

3
  • While I kinda agree, the community closed this: gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/1932/…
    – juan
    Jul 31, 2010 at 22:52
  • @Juan We're part of the community! Voted to reopen with me! Aug 2, 2010 at 16:04
  • @antony -- only one @reply for message, and you don't need to @reply who owns the post you attach comments to :)
    – badp
    Aug 2, 2010 at 21:44
4

I'd much rather see a question:

How can I tell if my computer will be able to run [insert game]?

How do you built a computer that can play new games?

In which case the answer should explain something about the importance of certain pieces of hardware like your GPU or RAM during gaming. And then point to trustworthy resources that continuously benchmark hardware, so people can be self-sufficient and find out for themselves what they need!

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .