Here:

3000 dollar rig :

Alienware Prebuild

Tech Specs
Order Code useact1250hbtshnsc_q3
Processor
Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor 285K (24-Core, 76MB Total Cache, 3.7GHz to 5.7GHz)

Operating System
(Dell Technologies recommends Windows 11 Pro for business)
Windows 11 Home

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 16GB GDDR7

Memory
32GB Dual Channel DDR5 (2x 16GB - Green) 5200 MT/s

Storage
2TB NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD

Microsoft Office
Activate Your Microsoft 365 For A 30 Day Trial

Home and Small Business Security Solutions
No anti-virus software

Hardware Support Services Upgrades
Alienware Elite Care includes all Alienware Care Services with AD, 12 Month(s)

Accidental Damage Service
None

Keyboard
Dell Wired Keyboard - KB216 - US English - Black

Mouse
Dell Wired Mouse - MS116 - Black

Ports
Front Ports
1x Global headset jack
2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A port
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A port with PowerShare technology
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C© port with PowerShare technology


Rear Ports
1x Line In
1x SPDIF Digital Output (TOSLINK)
1x Line Out
1x USB 4 (20 Gbps) Type-C© port
2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A port
2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports with Smart Power technology
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C© port
1x RJ-45 Killer™ E3100G 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet

Slots
1 Kensington security-cable slot
1 Padlock slot

Dimensions & Weight
Chassis dimension including rear pull bar and rubber foot
Height: 418.00 mm (16.46 in.)
Width: 197.00 mm (7.75 in.)
Depth: 458.40 mm (18.05 in.)
Maximum weight: 15.37 kg (33.89 lb)

Audio and Speakers
Onboard, Realtek high-performance Audio chip (ALC1220)

Chassis
1000W Platinum Rated PSU, Clear Door & 240mm Liquid Cooler with AlienFX lighting

Wireless
Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) 802.11ax Wireless LAN and Bluetooth

link : https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/alienware-aurora-act1250-gaming-desktop

I was just takin another stroll through online shops and stores and you know what i noticed. A lot of pre built configurations offered under 2000, be it euro or dollar, those 'dreaded' 8gb gpu variants.

If you are really into keeping up to date with games this is something to avoid. With how games evolve atm especially with system resource demands it might be recommended to stay away from such an option

If we look back again towards the alienware Aurora, link provided in the previous post, bottom and inspect the first gaming configuration they actually do make a nice offer, 1200 euros, but include an 8 gb 5060Ti. To those aware, it is easy to make use of the PC configurator and copy all the items towards list and pick a 5070 instead of Ti, and of course increase the PSU size while you are at it.....

It is quite the disgrace how such companies dare to even implement those gpu's! leave those for the normal consumer market?

anyways, okay... 50% of 3k... that is it!! not lower!!!! monitor not included!!!!!

Welcome to the pc master race. Yup as other said around $3k is a good system to start. Self built is ideal but you can get prebuilt systems too. Good luck and have fun.

I tried GOG Cyberpunk 2077 on one old Dell laptop which is way below the minimum requirements, a NVidia Geforce GTX 960M GPU, 8GB RAM etc.

Even though I as trying the older 1.63 Legacy version of Cyberpunk, I was still quite surprised that it ran at all... and how well it ran (admittedly I think I was using only the 1280x720 resolution and the graphics settings were otherwise mostly "medium" I think, maybe lowest settings for some graphics options I didn't consider important).

It still ran playably smooth (I would gather 30 fps-ish with vsync on) and looked great to me. Of course I can't say for sure if in some later parts of the game it would have stuttered badly...

That reminds me that I guess I could try it also on this Linux laptop which otherwise is more powerful than that old Dell (32GB RAM, better CPU etc.)... but this has only some Intel HD integrated graphics, no discrete GPU. And is running Linux.

Let's see if I am able to get Cyberpunk to run passably, or at all, on this. No idea if a GPU is a hardcoded requirement and it simply refuses to run on Intel HD, and having Linux of course adds some extra hurdle to the equation.

You do need to add a short to YT for proof, Finnish bloke runs CP2077 on Dell (at least, how i imagine your title to be than)
I think i did try to run some games on the integrated gpu (on the 285k) that was a bit dissapointing, with all the talk in previous years how APU's will start running the show and such, i guess Intel did not had that specific as a priority (emoji: smily face with sweat drippin down)

just connected my 2d screen with my motherboard to see how and if something changed .....

got a nice selection of titles to check, igpu

cp2077
bg 3
battletech
starhammer
Doom (reimagined)
P3
darksiders warmastered
aow planetfall
homm iv
nsf payback
twwh2
ME andromeda
eiyuden chronicles
might install the DAO just for the fun of it
Distant Worlds 2


Let's see.. but first groceries!

Pt 1

Game Test Intel Ultra 285K Integrated Graphics Processing Unit

Hardware:

⦁ CPU: Intel Ultra 285k
⦁ Dedicated GPU: Gigabyte Aorus Nvidia 3090Ti Extreme Waterforce (1,5 slot card + seperate liquid cooling=AIO)
⦁ RAM: 4x24 GB DDR 5 Kingston Fury (7600MHz, XMP 3)
⦁ Motherboard: MSI MEG Z890 ACE
⦁ Gamesdrive: Samsung SSD 990 EVO Plus 2TB
⦁ Windowsdrive: MSI M480 PRO 1TB

Software:

⦁ Operating system: Windows 11 Home version:24H2
⦁ Monitoringsoftware: Task Manager
⦁ Monitoringsoftware: Intel Extreme Tuning Utility
⦁ Monitoringsoftware: Nvidia overlay
⦁ Text editor: Notepad
⦁ Games Manager: Playnite
⦁ Storefront: GoG Galaxy
⦁ Storefront: Steam
⦁ Storefront: Xbox
⦁ Storefront: EA App

Pheripherals:

⦁ input device: Logitech 'G' Mouse + Keyboard (wired)
⦁ input device: Xbox gamecontroller
⦁ IGPU monitor: Sony inzone M3 HD monitor 120Hz 27"
⦁ DGPU monitor: AlienWare AW2725QF HD mode(for reasons) 330Hz 27"

Games:

Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
genre: role playing game, shooter
Baldurs Gate 3 (2023)
genre: role playing game
BattleTech (2018)
genre: turn based tactics
StarHammer (2015)
genre: turn based tactics
Doom (2016)
genre: shooter
Persona 3 (2024)
genre: turn based tactics, story
Darksiders Warmastered (2016)
genre: hack and slash, adventure
Age of Wonders Planetfall (2019)
genre: turn based strategy, turn based tactics
Heroes of Might and Magic IV (2004)
genre: turn based strategy, turn based tactics
Need for speed Payback (2017)
genre: racing/arcade
Total War Warhammer 2 (2017)
genre: turn based strategy, real time tactics
Mass Effect Andromeda (2017)
genre: roleplaying, adventure, action
Eiyuden Chronicle (2024)
genre: roleplaying, turn based tactics
Distant Worlds 2 (2022)
genre: simulation, strategy
Dragon Age Origins
genre: role playing game, adventure
Dragon Age Veilguard (2024)
genre: role playing game, action

Method
Take every title for a spin. just a couple of minutes, to see how it reacts with the IGPU while taking note
I will be using the terms 'pixel party' and 'light festival' to describe the amount of pixel faults i'm seeing. With pixel party you can imagine random pixels changing to a different colour, like twinkling stars, then it is supposed to and light festival describes the effect you can compare with seeing nova's, in the video's of the universe, exploding and fading out fast in sways of red or blue or just a complete white screen for a micro's of a second.

Pt 2

Results:

Cyberpunk 2077,
well i started with a ROFL, while being amazed the game actually launched. The resolution auto adjusted to 1024x768 and managed a staggering 160 fps, low. After this i noticed how my DGPU was running full speed so it seems the gpu output can also be delivered through the motherboard monitor exit

Test 2!

Patches:
removed the DGPU
removed the DGPU monitor
removed Nvidia overlay
added pen and paper
added windows gaming overlay

Results:

Cyberpunk 2077
Managed a low 50fps average on 1600x900 low settings, no raytracing as you can imagine.I did active XeSS2 performance
The game has a very retro feeling when you start at 1024x768, this actually made me smile, still if you can reach 1600x900 you will of course, at least i do and this is also quite feasible. The game does seem way out of reach for this IGPU with colours appearing everywhere (light festival) pixels doin there thing, transitions for example between moving and swimming are like crossing dimensions so yea.
Verdict: Ok, but only if you must!

Test 3

forementioned light festival and pixel party experience had me doublecheck monitor and cables

Patches:
removed IGPU monitor
removed IGPU HDMI cable
added DGPU monitor now called IGPU monitor
added DGPU HDMI cable now named IGPU HDMI cable

Results:

Cyberpunk 2077
Managed a low 50fps average on 1600x900 low settings, no raytracing as you can imagine.I did activate XeSS2 performance. 23GB of system ram in use
The game has a very retro feeling when you start at 1024x768, this actually made me smile, still if you can reach 1600x900 you will of course, at least i do and this is also quite feasible. The game does seem way out of reach for this IGPU with colours appearing everywhere (light festival) pixels doin there thing, transitions for example between moving and swimming are like crossing dimensions so yea. I did play some, did some protesting, angered the police, ran away, swam in sewer water etc, did not kill anyone! No seriously!!!!!
Verdict: Ok, but only if you must!

Baldurs Gate 3
A more refined experience than CP2077. I did end with similar settings (1600x900, low)
Light festival is non excistent, pixel party at a low intensity
Verdict: Ok, would consider this as a last option for making money savings

Battletech
works on 1920x1080, low settings 50fps average
no light festival, low intensity pixel party
Verdict: Works

StarHammer
1920x1080, normal settings, 100 fps average
high amount of light festival, medium intensity pixel party
Verdict: no


Doom
Just no, the game takes ages with loading, as if this normally done by GPU power and the light festival is terrible, you might see something for second but start moving or move the camera and you think you are on bad psychedelic trip
Verdict: No!

Persona 3 Reloaded
What a relieve after the previous 2 titles. 1920x1080, low settings
no light festival, low intensity pixel party
Verdict: as expected, Ok

Darksiders Warmastered Edition
Playnite insists this game found a house on one of my drives but i can't find it???
Verdict: tbd

Age of Wonders - Planetfall
1920x1080, low settings, 35fps average at least for the campaign, for the battles you might decide on a 1600x900 resolution for some extra smoothness.
no Litefest, low intensity PP, highest memory usage so far with 25 GB of ram in use
Verdict: Ok

Heroes of Might and Magic 4 - HD mod
Verdict: Ok

Need for Speed Payback
DirectX error
Verdict: tbd

Total War Warhammer 2
1920x1080, the game autocorrected settings to low to be able to run at an average of 35 fps
no litefest, low pp
Verdict: Ok (such an relief, so if everything fails i still can play Warhammer Fantasy campaigns)

Mass Effect Andromeda
DirectX error
Verdict: tbd

Eiyuden Chronicle - hundreds of heroes
1920x1080 medium settings, 40 fps average
no litefest, low pp
Verdict: Ok

Distant Worlds 2
1920x1080 between 40 to 50 fps
no litefest, low pp
i guess the largest maps will be out of reach with this CPU heavy title
Verdict: Ok

Dragon Age Origins (gog)
Video Card error
Verdict: tbd

Dragon Age Veilguard
DirectX error
Verdict: tbd

Observations:

* High Ram usage, with every game the system load is over 20 gig
⦁ Of course those annoying pixel effect happening anywhere, i mean, does this indicate i have a faulty cpu? or maybe motherboard i can't imagine this to be happening to everyone who happens to use a IGPU
⦁ EA app titles failing anywhere. I did a little searching only, found some similar cases, but those seem to be all fixed with a driver update, made sure i had the latest drivers, tested again but to no successfull outcome
⦁ just tested DAO from GOG, also failed, no video card present


Conclusion:

Not what i expected, saving money for a new cpu motherboard combination…..

Aftermath:

Pixel party effects remained after switching back to the Determined Graphics Processing Unit

⦁ Reinstalled Windows, from drive
didn't work
⦁ Remembered last night decision, disable Integrated Graphics Processing Unit first if pixel party remained
⦁ Changed GPU choice from Auto to Ignore in the bios
⦁ Disabled XMP while i was at it, in the bios

The pixel party effect is now gone

funny things....

windows remains adorable with their terminology

I just activated windows media player and microsoft outlook

what i 'got' from this exchange was messages such as

you are now using the earlier version of mediaplayer and i'm using the new version of outlook....




hmmm

Afterthoughts:

Concerning test

Well, let's be honest, i managed to learn literally nothing, other than maybe that a lower tier graphical processing unit, a modern one, will yield better results. Outside that the test was of course a bit nonsense, i did not establish a baseline for my machine at an HD resolution for example. Still, neglecting at least the pixel party effect, YES i should have disabled auto gpu in the bios from the start, results were to my opinion actually quite fair. If i only engaged in older, let's say 2017 release and older games, it probably would work out fine on HD and maybe even 2k monitors, Of course a lot of stuff that is developed for let's say a Nintendo Switch will even work fine with 4k i reckon.

Regarding the RAM usage i would say it is almost similar to results i have when i play at 4k, just checked for example AOW 4. If i run that game in 4k system resource is at about 24 GB similar to what you see in the test in fact. While the task manager showed only 5 GB assigned to the IGPU i dare to say this outcome might be different for other people. I suspect the whole state of my machine during testing was less than optimal, with a lot other stuff stacking the memory, i did not purge at any given time. I say this because atm my average system use is at 12/15 GB while yesterday around 18GB.

Concerning Aftermath

Well that sucked, lost half of my games!

Remember

⦁ steam
⦁ gog
⦁ battlenet

Do recognize existing data if it is games bought through their storefront

⦁ epic
⦁ microsoft
⦁ xbox
⦁ ea app
⦁ ubisoft

Don't recognize existing data by default.

Added a picture to honor the surviving titles

Regarding the whole question regarding PC master Race

I still am inclined to say that it is absolute nonsense to suggest anything less than a current day mid tier device towards new people willing to enter PC gaming

The End!