Baldur’s Gate 3 runs like a dream on PC. Except when it doesn’t. Performance is usually solid thanks to my RTX 2080 Ti, but an ageing CPU and power supply I’ve had in my rig for the better part of a decade means the poor machine has trouble keeping up sometimes.
I first encountered the unruly reality of hardware bottlenecks when I tried to enjoy Cyberpunk 2077 ahead of launch during the review period. I know I know, that game is kinda busted anyway, especially back then, but my rig was powerful enough to push through while still providing a halfway decent experience. But also, I knew it was time for a small upgrade.
Alas, I ignored the need for a new CPU and power supply and the years carried on. I rarely game on my PC anyway, so it was easy enough to ignore performance foibles as the slight frustration they often were, instead of doing something about them. However, this all changed with Baldur’s Gate 3, and now I’m staring down the barrel of an RPG masterpiece where I’m desperate to soak in every detail and fall in love with every character. Sadly, this isn’t easy when the loading times are achingly long and most of the environments take several minutes to pop into existence once I jump into a save. It isn’t ideal, and I’m enjoying things more than enough to do something about it. So now I’m hundreds of dollars lighter and ready to upgrade.
Earlier this year I wrote about my excitement to pick up a Steam Deck, hoping it would help reignite a love for PC gaming that long remained dormant. That didn’t work, and so I wrote about that unusual heartbreak too. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m a fussy bitch who loves to game in a certain way, and the added intricacies of graphical settings and needless convolution only serve to pull me out of experiences that should enrapture me. Turns out it only took a very special game and a very distinct feeling of FOMO to turn me back into a lover of PC gaming, even if I’ll quickly run away if the PS5 version is firmly up to scratch.
For context, I’m keeping the majority of my PC the same except for my CPU, which I’m told is the scariest part to upgrade, thanks to a lot of fanciful delicate pins and thermal paste that can squirt all over the shop if I’m not careful. But I’m so excited by the prospect of enjoying the wonders of Baldur’s Gate 3 that I’m willing to jump through these arduous hoops. I mean, it’s just expensive LEGO that can fry itself into oblivion if I’m not careful, right?