Calling all hardcore PC gamers

[properturnip]

I've been gaming on PC ever since I owned one when I was 10, making it 10 years now. Recently, by which I mean in the last 2 years, I have become less interested purely because of the sheer amount of money I had to spend to keep my PC hi-spec enough to handle new games as they came out. I was getting RAM upgrades and new GFX cards pretty much every quarter just to keep up, and it was costing me a bomb! One of the advantages of console gaming is that with a fixed system specification, you dont have to worry about constant upgrades. But is PC gaming worth all the extra effort and money of upgrading?

Your thoughts please.

 

[L33tsauce_Marty]

I have become less interested purely because of the sheer amount of money I had to spend to keep my PC hi-spec enough to handle new games as they came out. I was getting RAM upgrades and new GFX cards pretty much every quarter just to keep up, and it was costing me a bomb!

Your thoughts please.

WHY?!
I have spent 140$ the past two years keeping my PC "up to date", its your choice if you want to do that, but you don't have to.

 

[Nmil-ek]

Dunno, I mainly play old pc games theres rarley any releases worth getting excited over anyway maybe what 3-4? on the horizon, then again I think its the same with console games these days so whatever.

That was helpful I know, check in the mail yadayada.

 

[Slayer_2]

Don't upgrade then. I've spent about $600 on my PC and been playing for 5 years.

 

[mdk31]

I've not upgraded my computer in the last year and a half or so, and I can run pretty much any game I want to with acceptable quality.

I prefer PC gaming to console gaming primarily because I'm a big fan of strategy games, and those don't work terribly well on consoles.

 

[HellbirdIV]

I upgraded my PC yesteryear, and it works fine with future-proof games and such yadda, and I don't see it being replaced or even upgraded anytime soon.

You're just spending too much too frequently, I believe. It's okay to play not-so-recent games on not-highest-settings on occasion, heh.

 

[Captain Pancake]

Well, if you have the money, then PC gaming is the way to go, games look stunning on a hi end rig. If, like me, you have no money, and are stuck with a 256MB graphics card, then it's be best to get a console. unless you love marvelling at how good the original farcry looks on your PC...

 

[beholdmycape]

I've not upgraded my computer in the last year and a half or so, and I can run pretty much any game I want to with acceptable quality.

I prefer PC gaming to console gaming primarily because I'm a big fan of strategy games, and those don't work terribly well on consoles.

They dont work on consoles at all, primarily because of the limitations of the controllers but also I think alot of console gamers would be put off by the complexity of something like Rome Total War.
I was pretty surprised at how basic and shallow console RTS games are compared to their PC counterparts.

 

[Doom Marine]

I've been gaming on PC ever since I owned one when I was 10, making it 10 years now. Recently, by which I mean in the last 2 years, I have become less interested purely because of the sheer amount of money I had to spend to keep my PC hi-spec enough to handle new games as they came out. I was getting RAM upgrades and new GFX cards pretty much every quarter just to keep up, and it was costing me a bomb! One of the advantages of console gaming is that with a fixed system specification, you dont have to worry about constant upgrades. But is PC gaming worth all the extra effort and money of upgrading?

Your thoughts please.

Put up ur specks.. i wanna see what u did upgreath with such an effort

 

[Christemo]

i havent upgraded my little honey since i got, which is about 7-8 months ago now. she can take all the games ive given her with ease (sorry if i sound strange, but i love my laptop).

 

[Gruthar]

Computer parts are getting pretty cheap these days. RAM and hard drives are dirt cheap now compared to what they used to be. Despite increases in computing power, the shrinking die sizes in both CPU and GPU manufacture means that the actual power consumption isn't going up that much.

The last major overhaul I had to on my computer was when AGP was phased out in favor of PCI Express. That was five years ago. Including the cost of the overhaul, between then and now I've probably spent about $800 on this machine. It's not state-of-the-art, but it will play the latest and greatest.

If you buy smart and are willing to embrace the DIY spirit, a decent PC doesn't cost much more than a console. Consider that PC games are generally $10 (or more) cheaper than their console versions. If you play a lot of games, that can add up, so that the difference in cost between the two platforms is not that great over time.

 

[mdk31]

I've not upgraded my computer in the last year and a half or so, and I can run pretty much any game I want to with acceptable quality.

I prefer PC gaming to console gaming primarily because I'm a big fan of strategy games, and those don't work terribly well on consoles.

They dont work on consoles at all, primarily because of the limitations of the controllers but also I think alot of console gamers would be put off by the complexity of something like Rome Total War.
I was pretty surprised at how basic and shallow console RTS games are compared to their PC counterparts.

Yeah. I tried Halo Wars for example. It doesn't even stack up to Red Alert 2, and that game came out 8 or 9 years ago.

I'd even argue that consoles aren't good for FPS games either. FPS games are more suited to consoles than RTSes for sure, but I still find mouse and keyboard as a superior control surface.

 

[achilleas.k]

PC forever dude. I love stunning graphics, but if it comes a year late I wont mind one bit. Also the people who say it shouldn't cost that much to stay in the game are right. Every year it gets cheaper to build a high end PC so it's not only that bad but it's actually getting better. It's a matter of how much you really wanna play everything at max setting upon release date really. Most people I know who spend tons of cash on high end PCs do it mostly to see (and say) that they can run the game of the month on max, but never really play through it. I don't mind playing games a year late on medium quality, but I also try and shove in a small upgrade every 6 months or so to postpone the system overhaul as much as possible.

 

[Irridium]

I haven't updated anything on my computer in a year except for the hard drive, which was about $60. And my PC can play anything, sure not at the highest graphics, but still better then the 360 and PS3

You don't need to update it every time something new comes out, thats just stupid

 

[oliveira8]

I spent like 10 euros on a new keyboard since I bought my PC 4-5 years ago.

If you update that often your PC you just a hardware nut, that needs to have the latest shiny hardware.

 

[TheBluesader]

I've been gaming on PC ever since I owned one when I was 10, making it 10 years now. Recently, by which I mean in the last 2 years, I have become less interested purely because of the sheer amount of money I had to spend to keep my PC hi-spec enough to handle new games as they came out. I was getting RAM upgrades and new GFX cards pretty much every quarter just to keep up, and it was costing me a bomb! One of the advantages of console gaming is that with a fixed system specification, you dont have to worry about constant upgrades. But is PC gaming worth all the extra effort and money of upgrading?

Your thoughts please.

It depends on what kind of games you intend to play most of the time. If you're an RTS nut, then upgrade your PC for the long-haul and you won't regret the investment.

If instead you're more of an FPS type, forget the PC for new games and spend the money on a console instead. You'll be able to play everything new right out of the box without having to worry about specs.

I used to own nothing but a PC, but then I tried to play BioShock and I didn't have Pixel Shader 3.0. And I can't upgrade graphics drivers, because I made the wrong choice per graphics card 2 years ago so I'd have to upgrade hardware. And it would have been about the same price as getting my Xbox, which I have faith can play anything in a neon green box.

It really comes down to what you like to do, and how you like to do it. If you can, I suggest going for both.

 

[ucciolord1]

Yes it is. PCs are genuinely better as a gaming medium, though the costs can be enormous.
I bought a great gaming PC, and not two weeks later, they release an entirely new type of processor!!! Dammit Intel!!!!

 

[sadpolice]

With the PC i find it easier to set up clan battles or scrims, with the xbox and PS3 it alot harder to me.

 

[DragunovHUN]

I was getting RAM upgrades and new GFX cards pretty much every quarter just to keep up

You're DEFINITELY doing it wrong. In fact i suspect that not a word of that is true and you're a console fanboy without a clue about PC hardware, making up bullcrap. Why? Because what you said is quite simply nonsense. Hell, new vid card serieses don't even come out frequently enough to keep up with that pace.

 

[properturnip]

I was getting RAM upgrades and new GFX cards pretty much every quarter just to keep up

You're DEFINITELY doing it wrong. In fact i suspect that not a word of that is true and you're a console fanboy without a clue about PC hardware, making up bullcrap. Why? Because what you said is quite simply nonsense. Hell, new vid card serieses don't even come out frequently enough to keep up with that pace.

You couldn't be more wrong about the console fanboy part, only got my first console (360) about 6 months ago actually. It wasn't really a case of getting the wrong hardware, i was more limited by money. Plus as I wasn't paying for my rigs for ages, parents had to not mind spending all the money so often had to skimp on stuff and save up myself for upgrades.