BBC: Does the PC have a future?
- Thread starter MatParker116
- Start date
The simple fact is when I built my Gaming PC I future proofed it to an extent, got it 3 and a half years ago, Quadcore processor 4GB of RAM and a 9600GT, since then the only thing I've had to upgrade is the GPU (up to a 260GTX last year), and whilst I won't be able to max everything with this spec, I'm not going to "have" to upgrade for at this rate, another 2 years, granted I'm going to get some new RAM since DDR2's cheap these days, but I can get a new heat sink for my Processor, OC it up to say 2.8GHZ, some new RAM, and that'll round up to £150 at most. and I've bought my computer at least 3 more years.
And the cause of this? This console generation isn't moving on, so PC gaming can't move on as much has it could be, it's like a gaming "dark ages" to an extent, we've mastered HD and we can run it all smoothly and effectively, look at this years shooter Titians as a well known example, BF3 has it's Frostbite 2.0 which is some ridiculous tech, and MW3 runs at 60fps (a tad pointless I know) but still just proof that we've mastered this level of tech.
I guarantee you the "PC" will reign supreme among gadgets when the new console generation comes out.
Afterthought: I'm more than happy to use a tablet/smartphone for all my every day fiddly bits I prefer a sizable touch screen to a full on PC for all that to an extent, however, gaming wise, that stuff can NEVER replace a gaming PC, with the fans going and all that power in the box beside you all your peripherals laid out convenient to you, screen(s), speakers.... it simply shouldn't be confined into one object, it ruins the depth and immersion to the experience that is PC gaming.
And the cause of this? This console generation isn't moving on, so PC gaming can't move on as much has it could be, it's like a gaming "dark ages" to an extent, we've mastered HD and we can run it all smoothly and effectively, look at this years shooter Titians as a well known example, BF3 has it's Frostbite 2.0 which is some ridiculous tech, and MW3 runs at 60fps (a tad pointless I know) but still just proof that we've mastered this level of tech.
I guarantee you the "PC" will reign supreme among gadgets when the new console generation comes out.
Afterthought: I'm more than happy to use a tablet/smartphone for all my every day fiddly bits I prefer a sizable touch screen to a full on PC for all that to an extent, however, gaming wise, that stuff can NEVER replace a gaming PC, with the fans going and all that power in the box beside you all your peripherals laid out convenient to you, screen(s), speakers.... it simply shouldn't be confined into one object, it ruins the depth and immersion to the experience that is PC gaming.
PC still has a long time with us. At least I personally hope it does. As for what that guy said, meh. Only time will tell really. Until I can mod on a 360/PS3 as much as I can on PC, PC>Consoles.
Obvious BBC Troll is obvious.
The world wide web came after laptops did it?
Would you like to provide any evidence for line 4?
Two companies who want their name in a report say "oooh, this looks bad".
Pointless, prevaricating piffle.
The world wide web came after laptops did it?
Would you like to provide any evidence for line 4?
Two companies who want their name in a report say "oooh, this looks bad".
Pointless, prevaricating piffle.
I think the main 'problem' is people have finally woken up and realised, you don't NEED to spend $2000 to play minesweeper any more.
Buy a cheap to mid range office PC for the CPU and memory, and then add a mid range video card, and bam you have a great gamer pc.
'Gamer' PCs sold by companies like Dell and other large PC vendors are generally stupidly overpriced and overpowered for what you need, yet manage to still skimp on hard drive space and memory, really? you've put a $200 video card in there but can't give me 4GB of memory? Screw you.
Honestly, buy a reasonably cheap machine with at least 500gb HDD and 4GB of memory and quad core or i3 or up, and then just add a video card. IF the vendor has any self respect at all, adding a video card after purchase will not void your warranty. I always check beforehand, and then tell them that's why I'm not buying from them, if they consider a small, easy upgrade enough reason to strip me of my warranty.
Personally, I went with Novatech, in the UK, they sell both motherboard bundles, which you can just put in an old case if you have a decent PSU left over, or barebones bundles, which you just add a HDD, DVD Drive, and video card to. I ordered one, 10 minutes later I'd added my bits and was installing windows.
Sounds like a bit of an ad, but they've been good to me and supplied decent gear at fair prices, and when my parents PC had problems under warranty, they've sorted it out quickly.
Buy a cheap to mid range office PC for the CPU and memory, and then add a mid range video card, and bam you have a great gamer pc.
'Gamer' PCs sold by companies like Dell and other large PC vendors are generally stupidly overpriced and overpowered for what you need, yet manage to still skimp on hard drive space and memory, really? you've put a $200 video card in there but can't give me 4GB of memory? Screw you.
Honestly, buy a reasonably cheap machine with at least 500gb HDD and 4GB of memory and quad core or i3 or up, and then just add a video card. IF the vendor has any self respect at all, adding a video card after purchase will not void your warranty. I always check beforehand, and then tell them that's why I'm not buying from them, if they consider a small, easy upgrade enough reason to strip me of my warranty.
Personally, I went with Novatech, in the UK, they sell both motherboard bundles, which you can just put in an old case if you have a decent PSU left over, or barebones bundles, which you just add a HDD, DVD Drive, and video card to. I ordered one, 10 minutes later I'd added my bits and was installing windows.
Sounds like a bit of an ad, but they've been good to me and supplied decent gear at fair prices, and when my parents PC had problems under warranty, they've sorted it out quickly.
"In these tight times, people appear unwilling to spend cash on something they already have. Evidence suggests they are using it to buy the gadgets they do not own - such as tablets and smartphones."
...what? It makes sense, but at the same time it just... doesn't.
...what? It makes sense, but at the same time it just... doesn't.
Well I own a desktop and a laptop and I vastly prefer my desktop for pretty much everything. Despite being as much of a techhead as I am, I really can't get into mobile technology. Maybe if I were some kind of hipster living in the city or some high powered business man trying to juggle 50,000 things at once.
I will always enjoy my PC!
I will always enjoy my PC!
the pc will only die out when a tablet can super-compute
until then it will just loose some market share to people that like to dream the dream of being independent from the wall socket
as to when, how or why exactly i cant comment, i don't have a crystal ball but i imagine it's quite a few years off yet
even if a pc is considered an old design i'll probably keep using it until something out-specs it
i'm a performance kinda guy i don't really care about mobility because if i'm not at home i'm busy so carrying around a mobile gaming device really isn't viable for me personally
ive been keeping a close eye on the tegra systems, and i think they have promise if they can be scaled up and die shrunk for more power and efficiency
but even then, i don't see how i can fit optical drives, array of usb ports, gaming pads, full keyboards, powered hd sound-cards supporting hd audio devices or phantom powered microphones
( you just try plugging a 600ohm headset into your ipad :S )
also, where do i store my 4 terrabytes of pictures, podcasts and assorted other media?
that's before you do anything outlandish and plug an xbox controller or simulator or flight-stick controls into it
and honestly, none of that is 'portable'
the pc has a place, and it's for enthusiasts who like immersion in games, want to multi-task programs
encode podcasts or home videos, record sound and have beyond hd quality audio and video, rediculus display sizes, and or design with programs, upgrade nearly endlessly with platform designed components so you never go out of date
run the latest games at the most intensive possible settings, with more mods than original content
everyone else is happy with their basic audio, touch screen inputs and apps and that's fine for it's purpose
but they have a long way to go before they can dominate the atx platform on any technical level
and this has been mulled over so many times it's unreal, anyone that starts these arguments isn't looking at the whole picture
yes, you can do ALOT of cool stuff with very little resources, great.
but it isn't replacing the atx platform, also most people have never experienced what a decent pc is capable of to comment on it in the first place, partly because the news is printing crap like this making your average consumer more likely to believe it, which drives pc manufacturers to produce ever cheaper pc's to try and entice customers
back, which in turn makes this whole mess a self-forfilling prophecy..
ever hear of a bank run?
protip:
news corporations have been reporting half truths and complete lies since their conception and have VERY LITTLE actual practical knowledge of the millions of topics they report on
protip2
allot of those mobile devices are being bought by people that also have pc's already, but no mobile device thus
'mobile devices are outselling pc's so they're biting the dust'
is hardly surprising, and a terrible misinterpretation of the data
until then it will just loose some market share to people that like to dream the dream of being independent from the wall socket
as to when, how or why exactly i cant comment, i don't have a crystal ball but i imagine it's quite a few years off yet
even if a pc is considered an old design i'll probably keep using it until something out-specs it
i'm a performance kinda guy i don't really care about mobility because if i'm not at home i'm busy so carrying around a mobile gaming device really isn't viable for me personally
ive been keeping a close eye on the tegra systems, and i think they have promise if they can be scaled up and die shrunk for more power and efficiency
but even then, i don't see how i can fit optical drives, array of usb ports, gaming pads, full keyboards, powered hd sound-cards supporting hd audio devices or phantom powered microphones
( you just try plugging a 600ohm headset into your ipad :S )
also, where do i store my 4 terrabytes of pictures, podcasts and assorted other media?
that's before you do anything outlandish and plug an xbox controller or simulator or flight-stick controls into it
and honestly, none of that is 'portable'
the pc has a place, and it's for enthusiasts who like immersion in games, want to multi-task programs
encode podcasts or home videos, record sound and have beyond hd quality audio and video, rediculus display sizes, and or design with programs, upgrade nearly endlessly with platform designed components so you never go out of date
run the latest games at the most intensive possible settings, with more mods than original content
everyone else is happy with their basic audio, touch screen inputs and apps and that's fine for it's purpose
but they have a long way to go before they can dominate the atx platform on any technical level
and this has been mulled over so many times it's unreal, anyone that starts these arguments isn't looking at the whole picture
yes, you can do ALOT of cool stuff with very little resources, great.
but it isn't replacing the atx platform, also most people have never experienced what a decent pc is capable of to comment on it in the first place, partly because the news is printing crap like this making your average consumer more likely to believe it, which drives pc manufacturers to produce ever cheaper pc's to try and entice customers
back, which in turn makes this whole mess a self-forfilling prophecy..
ever hear of a bank run?
protip:
news corporations have been reporting half truths and complete lies since their conception and have VERY LITTLE actual practical knowledge of the millions of topics they report on
protip2
allot of those mobile devices are being bought by people that also have pc's already, but no mobile device thus
'mobile devices are outselling pc's so they're biting the dust'
is hardly surprising, and a terrible misinterpretation of the data
Yea, it has a very bright future, actually.
The same type of articles/people harp on magazines, saying it's "dead", when it's not. It seems there are more and more people trying to justify their nearly $1000 a year "I" Device habit, on top of other "mobile devices".
I'm a PC gamer, I get a nice rig that lasts me about, 3-4 years, maybe more. Every few years I get a new fancy video card, maybe a new CPU. Yet, with all the harassment that I "waste my money", that I'm 'just a nerd' etc, at least my PC does everything. I can't justify that with iPhones and iPads, or what have you, which I do not buy at all. I also subscribe to magazines, imagine that. Most of my hobby money is split between books, of the comic and literature kind, and gaming.
Almost always (always), it seems PC attackers have a nasty mobile device habit, clinging to the next new fad. They spend so so much money on this stuff, and they are always the people trying to insult PC'ers.
It's just a big 'conspiracy' (if you want to call it that) to get everyone onto mobile. Misery loves company, in my opinion.
If PCs were "dying", then why are all the hardware sites still flourishing and growing?
The same type of articles/people harp on magazines, saying it's "dead", when it's not. It seems there are more and more people trying to justify their nearly $1000 a year "I" Device habit, on top of other "mobile devices".
I'm a PC gamer, I get a nice rig that lasts me about, 3-4 years, maybe more. Every few years I get a new fancy video card, maybe a new CPU. Yet, with all the harassment that I "waste my money", that I'm 'just a nerd' etc, at least my PC does everything. I can't justify that with iPhones and iPads, or what have you, which I do not buy at all. I also subscribe to magazines, imagine that. Most of my hobby money is split between books, of the comic and literature kind, and gaming.
Almost always (always), it seems PC attackers have a nasty mobile device habit, clinging to the next new fad. They spend so so much money on this stuff, and they are always the people trying to insult PC'ers.
It's just a big 'conspiracy' (if you want to call it that) to get everyone onto mobile. Misery loves company, in my opinion.
If PCs were "dying", then why are all the hardware sites still flourishing and growing?
One thing that I know PC's do a lot better than consoles, Real Time Strategy. Although I hear that they're on the slide down hill as well, so i don't know. Technology is just getting smaller, computers used to be the size of a room, now they're the size of a pocket. And they'll probably keep getting smaller.
Then I stopped reading.
Battlefield 3? Anyone?
Honestly, of course it does. That shouldn't even be a question. Just because you can play Fruit Ninja on a tablet doesn't mean the PC is useless.
[sub]these analysts are fucking stupid >.>"[/sub]