Why I test gaming PCs with free Steam demos – not canned benchmarks

You only have to read a few PC gaming hardware posts on Reddit to see how many gamers there are out there unsure if their low-spec potato of a gaming PC will run the latest AAA games.

I know the feeling. In fact, I too find myself in the precarious position of having a low-spec potato PC after many years of thinking about upgrading but not pulling the trigger on it — I tend to spend any extra cash I have on holidays, and yes, even the odd Funko Pop for my car’s dashboard.

But because I’m in this position I’ve worked a few things out. And, let me tell you, you really don’t want to be wasting time waiting for replies on forums to serious hardware questions like, “Can my PC run this game?”

Forums are great for a lot of things, but PC specs tend to be so specific that getting anyone with a remotely similar setup to your own can be like locating a lost sock in the Bermuda Triangle. And the advice when it finally does come? A scattershot answer is usually the best you can expect.

You also don’t want to be wasting your time trying to match the minimum spec requirements for games to your own PC’s hardware just by looking. Personally, I’d never base a purchasing decision on a list of specs the devs have most likely pulled out of hat and not tested their games on themselves.

One thing’s for sure, the devs certainly aren’t developing their games with programs like Unreal Engine on PCs powered by Intel Celeron N4100 CPUs.

I’m almost certain that minimum specs lists have just been created to torture poor souls like us, to give us a glimpse of the fun times we could be having if only we had an AMD Threadripper CPU, when the actual gameplay we will get is so poor it will be as much fun as nailing Jell-O to the wall.

Benchmarks in websites like Technical City can be helpful in giving you a rough indication of what games you can at least get operational. But let me be clear: Running a game is an entirely different kettle of fish from getting an acceptable level of performance in it — and that’s something apps and websites can’t tell you.

Square Enix

Square Enix

Square Enix

No, to truly see if your PC has the muscle to run a game there’s really nothing like a real-life playtest, an experiential trial; getting your hands dirty, your frame rates cranking, and your CPU’s core temperature rising.

Thankfully you don’t have to go out and buy a heap of games and test them out one by one, draining your bank account in the process. Steam’s free demo section is a goldmine of titles just beckoning to be raided for your homestyle performance experiments.

You might not find the game you’re looking to buy among the demos, but chances are there’s a game with very similar specs that will act as an excellent performance trial run.

The beauty of Steam’s free demo list, too, is you can find games of all kinds: old and new, different genres, different hardware requirements — all of them can form a broad testing base.

For instance, you can test out AAA titles like Final Fantasy XIV Online, Call of Duty: Warzone, Lost Ark, CounterStrike 2, and DOTA 2, alongside lower-budget games like Tavern Keeper and Hidden Cats Invade Venice.

If you like spreadsheeting, it’s a great idea to record the performance you get in each demo as a way to keep a reference handy.

In fact, I’ve created a rough list of my rig’s performance capabilities just by taking notes about my frame rates in each demo. My PC can keep action smooth in CounterStrike 2, from which I’ve extrapolated I should be able to get decent performance in most of Valve’s other games, something I would have only known about by downloading and testing the game.

My list is nowhere near as comprehensive as Reddit user mrman1mrman1, though, who has gone through the whole shebang even categorizing the demos into categories. They’ve gleaned some handy nuggets of information to help other gamers too — like after trialing the game Attack on Titan 2 they noted: “Not laptop friendly but I can get 30+ FPS with my Radeon 550.”

So, don’t wait for answers on forums. Instead, try taking the proactive approach and get your game compatibility answers in real time. You may have to do a ton of installing, but on the bright side, you’ll know your rig’s capabilities inside out.