PC Gamer revisits its archives: how much RAM for the "ultimate gaming machine"?

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What's the name for that phenomenon when you learn about something for the first time and then start seeing it everywhere? Ah, the frequency illusion! I was frequently illused while scanning through these July 1996, 2006 and 2016 issues of PC Gamer magazine, because they just keep talking about RAM. And given our current RAMpocalypse , well, it all just seems very timely.

I guess the other explanation is that PC gamers are always talking about RAM.

It's wild in hindsight that a photograph of a beige desktop would take priority over a review of Civilization 2 as the cover of the July 1996 issue. Was that really moving copies on the newsstand!? The 2006 and 2016 issues are a lot more striking. Pour one out for LawBreakers, which current PC Gamer US Editor-in-Chief Tyler Wilde previewed at the time and liked. "Whenever it's out, I'm confident LawBreakers can challenge all its cute and colorful competition. Not so much with blood or cursing, but with grappling hooks, afterburners, and zero-g no-look behind-the-back headshots," he wrote.

LawBreakers! Was!! Good!!! But the tone was just all wrong for the time it came out, and as we've seen from a number of failed attempts to launch a new multiplayer FPS since, it's incredibly hard to get people to latch onto a game in that more arena shooter style.

What was on the cover?

July 1996: The Ultimate Gaming Machine (US, issue #26)

(Image credit: Future) Cover story: "The Ultimate Gaming Machine" by Dan Bennett

There's no magazine feature destined to age more poorly than one highlighting the very best in computer hardware at that very moment. Then again, in this era of AI-driven pricing madness, a great PC from a few years ago (at the prices of a few years ago, too) actually does look mighty compelling today. As for a $3000 PC in 1996? Well, nostalgia's got to do a bit more heavy lifting here.

For the money, the July 1996 PC Gamer cover feature was recommending a 166 MHz Pentium with 16 whole megabytes of RAM, a 1GB HDD, a Super VGA card with 2-4 MB of VRAM, the ever-reliable SoundBlaster 16, and a 17-inch CRT monitor. The screen is probably the bit we'd still get some use out of today.

The other hotness in the ultimate rig included an 8x CD-ROM drive (we weren't even talkin' burners, at this point) and a 28.8 kbps modem; I guess 56k wasn't an option just yet. "Even at 28.8k, some of the fancier web pages will take a minute or more to download," Bennett warned.

Cover hits:

Duke Nukem 3D, Civilization 2, and Zork Nemesis reviewed

Flight sims scrutinized

On CD: The Pandora Directive

July 2006: 150th issue (US, issue #150)

(Image credit: Future) Cover story: "The 150 best moments from PC Gamer history"

This tour down memory lane focuses on the US issue of the magazine, naturally, as the UK and US productions were split back in those days. It leads off with a look back at the US mag's very first cover feature, for Origin's BioForge, and goes on to mention some other key moments: The mag's 15% review of Battlecruiser 3000 A.D., Daikatana's infamous ad, a compliment from South Park co-creator (and PCG reader) Trey Parker, and some wise called shots, including this one:

"Baldur's Gate is the next step in the roleplaying revolution."

Some notable milestones: Announcing Star Wars: Dark Forces, a world-exclusive first look at Quake 2, and December 1997's 456-page issue. The Game Gods and The Next Game Gods issues get quite a bit of attention.

Cover hits: Nada

On DVD : Auto Assault free trial, Hereos of Might & Magic 5

July 2016: Dishonored 2 (UK, issue #293)

(Image credit: Future) Cover story: Dishonored 2 "Long Shadows" by Chris Thursten

Did Chris Thursten know he was playing one of the best PC games of the decade when he got his hands on an early build of Dishonored 2?

C'mon, you know he did.

"Dishonored has helped establish a new future for the immersive sim, one where it can enjoy commercial success and critical acclaim and expand the industry’s sense of who games might be for. Heir to a rich legacy, Dishonored 2 finds itself in a good position to exceed its ancestors later this year," he wrote.

It's a great feature, full of designer Harvey Smith and art director Sébastien Mitton saying smart things.

Cover hits:

Battlefield 1, Lawbreakers, Mafia 3 previews

Oculus Rift vs. HTC Vive VR headset verdict

10 games that changed PC gaming

In the news

(Image credit: Future) July 1996

A CyberAuthor Speaks: "Stephenson himself is certainly no stranger to computer games. 'The two computer games I've spent a lot of time with have been Myst and Marathon,' he says."

"The PC is starting to invade the living room, and one of hte first of the new wave of family PCs is the Gateway Destination 2000"

BeBox highlighted as a "new rival to the PC"

DreamWorks Interactive, a "joint venture between Microsoft and Steven Spielberg's company" is making The Neverhood Chronicles

Online RPG Merdian 59 launches. It's still alive today .

July 2006

Ubisoft ditches anti-piracy tech StarForce after a class action lawsuit

Viacom buys XFire chat program for $102 million

The writer behind famous "EA Spouse" blog is revealed

Cult classic Another World gets an XP-friendly re-release for its 15th anniversary

July 2016

Respawn, Dice, and Visceral are all making new Star Wars games

Lionhead shuttered

Eric Barone talks Stardew Valley: "My wildest dreams have come true and I'm in this whole new world."

The hottest hardware

(Image credit: Future) July 1996

In addition to the "ultimate" rig featured on the cover, in this issue's "Tim's Tech Shop" column we learn that RAM prices have "finally started dropping." Ahh... a better time, huh?

The whole feature is dedicated to the ins and outs of the memory industry and the misleading promise of programs like RAM Doubler and SoftRAM that people turned to when they couldn't afford more physical RAM. Maybe we're destined to see a repeat, there...

July 2006

From the archives

Enjoying this trip down memory lane? You can still subscribe to PC Gamer to get new issues of the magazine (in print!) every month.

PC Gamer's Logan Decker reviews a desktop PC by defunct system builder Vigor Gaming, the Force Recon Axe. $3300 in 2006 got you a 78%-scoring system using thermo-electric cooling to chill an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ and dual GeForce 7900 GTX graphics cards. Plus two whole gigs of DDR RAM.

Also featured in this issue: Configuration tips for the then-new Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Bethesda itself provided tips to increasing the amount of blood or grass, upping shadow resolution, and skipping the intro cutscenes.

July 2016

Nvidia revealed the GTX 1000 series, hyping up the new GTX 1080 and 1070. The 1080, especially, would prove to be a monster hit with its 8GB GDDR5X VRAM.

Yours truly also reviewed both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets, after testing both across several industry events in the two years prior. I scored the Vive higher, 85 vs. 76, for its better tracking and specialized controllers, which the Rift didn't have at launch.

This was the peak of VR excitement. While some great games have been released in the years since, the technology has never come close to supplanting our day-to-day gaming or general computer use.

Our highest and lowest review scores

(Image credit: Future) July 1996

Civilization 2 - 97% - "An immensely addictive and playable strategy game that's the rightful heir to the Civilization crown."

Duke Nukem 3D - 93% - "There's no subtle way to put it—Duke kicks ass."

AH-64D Longbow - 94% - "AH-64D Longbow isn't just the best chopper sim ever—it's one of the best flight sims, period."

TacOps - 90% - "All the detail and authenticity you could ask for, plus tremendous replayability."

Zork Nemesis - 89% - "It's pretty, it's spooky, and it's immensely entertaining."

CrossWorld - 30% - "There's nothing new here; for crossword fanatics and cheaters only."

Star Trek: Klingon - 35% - "Even die-hard Trekkers will find their faith tested by this sorry cash-in."

July 2006

Tomb Raider: Legend - 90% - "Luscious to look at and a thrill to play, Tomb Raider: Legend is a welcome comeback."

Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators - 92% - "Space Rangers 2 is an endlessly replayable, always thrilling romp through space."

Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends - 89% - "One of the year's stand-outs in what is an increasingly crowded and competitive genre."

RF Online - 35% - "RF Online fails as a PvE game, and its PvP gameplay isn't engaging enough to make up for that fatal flaw."

American Conquest: Divided Nation - 40% - "Recommended only for history buffs on a budget."

July 2016

Total War: Warhammer - 86% - "If you find real history a bit bland compared to glorious nonsense made up by British people, this is the Total War for you."

Offworld Trading Company - 88% - "Master its complex systems and Offworld Trading Company is ruthless, immediate and thoroughly rewarding."

The Banner Saga 2 - 86% - "A handsome and brutal strategy sequel that benefits from a range of intelligent improvements to the game."

Democracy 3: Africa - 65% - "New setting, same old intrigues. Democracy 3: Africa is a clever simulation but plays it far too safe."

The back page

July 1996: The Fall preview with Into the Shadows and Star Trek: Generations

(Image credit: Future) July 2006: Gary Whitta's Pride Parade

(Image credit: Future) July 2016: Battlefield 1

(Image credit: Future)