Is a Gaming PC Worth It?

[Brownie80]

Recently, I've been getting into Paradox Games, such as Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis IV. What can I say, I'm a sucker for RTS games. However, the best I can play it on is my two year-old HP laptop. So I've been looking into gaming PCs such as Alienware and the sort, but I see so many people online saying their overpriced and don't live up to the price. Another option I've seen is building a PC. However I'm not the kind of guy to have the patience to do that and I'm not really the best with computers. My final option can be just to get a regular PC screw all the above jazz altogether.

So what do you guys think? Should I get a Gaming PC or do something else? Is it worth it to get a Gaming PC?

 

[sXeth]

If you're not too chuffed about the graphical fidelity, you can probably get by with a relative high-end store bought PC. The main thing to watch is them trying to slip you one with sub-par RAM or onboard graphics. Best Buy or any similarly "techy" store should have at least a few models onhand with proper graphics cards and so on.

You could obviously build a better PC for the same amount, but its your discretion on convenience vs end value.

 

[Doom972]

You really don't need a top-grade machine for these games, so I wouldn't consider getting an Alienware. You can pick a PC that matches your needs and price range without picking each individual part.

Just find the most high-end game you think you might want to run on your machine and read its recommended (NOT minimum) requirements and buy a PC that meets those requirements. I'd suggest sticking to reliable companies like Dell and LG when picking your PC.

 

[DoPo]

You could always get somebody else to assemble the PC for you. I'm pretty sure a lot of computer stores offer this service.

 

[Bad Jim]

Alienware is a specific brand that sells PCs costing 2K+. That is too much. It's not just the fact that you can save a fortune by buying the components and building it yourself. You can buy PCs for 1K in stores and those are also more expensive than the same PC built from parts. But the 1K PC will run games nice and smoothly, and do so for many years. The 2K Alienware PC will give you higher framerates and be usable for a bit longer, but won't really justify the fact that you spent twice as much.

Just make sure that whatever you get isn't a laptop. You can breathe life into an old desktop by putting a new graphics card in. In fact you can just buy a cheap desktop and put a new graphics card in, which is a lot simpler than a full build. Check the power supply will cope though.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Recently, I've been getting into Paradox Games, such as Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis IV. What can I say, I'm a sucker for RTS games. However, the best I can play it on is my two year-old HP laptop. So I've been looking into gaming PCs such as Alienware and the sort, but I see so many people online saying their overpriced and don't live up to the price. Another option I've seen is building a PC. However I'm not the kind of guy to have the patience to do that and I'm not really the best with computers. My final option can be just to get a regular PC screw all the above jazz altogether.

So what do you guys think? Should I get a Gaming PC or do something else? Is it worth it to get a Gaming PC?

You would need to give a budget, but I would say your best bet is buying a pre-built online (such as this website here [https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/]) and having it shipped so all you have to do is plug it in and install the games.

there are quite a few random deals going around during the summer, especially during the "graduation/starting college" phases, so look for good deals that way too.

if you give a max price, I'd be more then happy to pick you out a few good pre-builts.

 

[OhNoYouDidnt]

It's not necessarily worth buying/building a gaming PC for Paradox Grand Stategy games alone, because those games aren't exactly graphically demanding. I used to be a PC gaming enthusiast myself and proudly spouted about how amazing PC gaming is, and how awful consoles are. But frankly, I think I'm burnt-out on PC gaming. Oh well, it happens.

Anyway. There are two advantages to the platform. The first is performance. It's objectively true that graphical fidelity and framerate tends to be better on a gaming PC than on a console. I say "tends to be" instead of "are" because there is a significant amount of shoddy PC ports that run badly on any system, regardless of how flashy and expensive it is. However, if you seek the shiniest graphics and if you feel that 30fps burns your eyes, then by all means invest in a gaming PC.

The second advantage is options. PC gaming offers loads of options. Graphics options, input options (do you want a mouse and keyboard? An Xbox controller? A PlayStation controller? Maybe even an arcade stick? It's all possible) and optional additional content in the form of mods and player-created patches.

So, in short, my advice to you is... Don't throw hundreds of dollars/pounds/euros/whatever at a gaming PC unless you intend to do a lot of stuff on it. It's a hefty investment, after all, and in my opinion, it's not worth it for Paradox games alone.

 

[Hazy992]

Well firstly building a PC is a lot easier than you might think. If a ham-fisted idiot like me can build one then so can anybody

PC offers a lot of advantages over console, mainly graphical fidelity and performance, but another good thing about PC gaming is that if you're not too fussed about that you don't have to spend an arm and leg to get it as you can just turn down the settings.

Mods are a huge plus too. GTA V is way better on PC for this reason and modders haven't even unlocked its full potential yet.

 

[Aerosteam]

I bit the bullet and built my own PC, despite never doing anything like it before.

It was easier than I thought, but to the people I know in real life I say it was a challenge because it makes me look smart. >_>

 

[barbzilla]

Recently, I've been getting into Paradox Games, such as Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis IV. What can I say, I'm a sucker for RTS games. However, the best I can play it on is my two year-old HP laptop. So I've been looking into gaming PCs such as Alienware and the sort, but I see so many people online saying their overpriced and don't live up to the price. Another option I've seen is building a PC. However I'm not the kind of guy to have the patience to do that and I'm not really the best with computers. My final option can be just to get a regular PC screw all the above jazz altogether.

So what do you guys think? Should I get a Gaming PC or do something else? Is it worth it to get a Gaming PC?

Personally if you aren't going to build one, then find a regular PC with a good CPU (3.4ghz or higher) and a decent amount of ram (8gb+ is plenty). Then buy a decent video card (gtx 960 is pretty good for its price, even the 760 is able to play most any current game on max settings) and install it yourself (it isn't hard). Congratulations, you now have a mid-end gaming PC!

 

[Jadak]

You could always get somebody else to assemble the PC for you. I'm pretty sure a lot of computer stores offer this service.

Assuming the service isn't free, wouldn't that sort of defeat the purpose of building your own? Getting a better system for the price?

 

[DoPo]

You could always get somebody else to assemble the PC for you. I'm pretty sure a lot of computer stores offer this service.

Assuming the service isn't free, wouldn't that sort of defeat the purpose of building your own? Getting a better system for the price?

I'm going off on the assumption that it wouldn't cost that much. But sure, if it costs enough to drive up the price up to what a pre-built PC with the same specs would cost, then no - obviously, it wouldn't be worth it. However, in my (admittedly quite limited) experience, assembly costs aren't really noticeable.

There is also the chance to get a friend to do it. I've assembled few PCs for others, for example. I've had other friends who did the same. From my (also limited) experience in that "industry", prices tend to be something between "free" and "a couple of beers".

 

[Phlap]

You've heard the expression, "Jack of all trades, master of none" I assume? A gaming PC is pretty much master of all trades, while a console is Jack of 1.

As a game dev student, I'd be utterly lost without my gaming PC. It lets me program, make 3D models, edit videos, build levels, play games, make textures, browse the internet etc...

A good PC is an Everything Machine. Anything else just doesn't cut it.

Why have 2 machines (A console and less powerful PC) when one device will do more jobs, and do them better for the same price?

And that's without going into the amount of choice you have with it, let alone the enormous library.

 

[baddude1337]

If you're not confident, pre built is the way to go. It's okay for people to say it's a piece of cake, but when you just aren't sure it's a lot of money to gamble in case something goes wrong. IMO if you don't feel technically confident spending a bit extra is a good piece of mind. Just don't get an overpriced one like Alienware. I myself have a PC Specialist gaming laptop, which was less than half the price of an Alienware with similar specs, and is still serving me well after about a year and a half. I probably won't be playing Arkham Knight or Witcher 3 any time soon, but I can run Ground Zeroes on high and virtually all last gen titles ultra.

There are many advantages with a PC than just the games. Backwards compatibility (which has its own problems), mods, and all the other PC stuff you can't do on a console.

It seems like developers have already hit the 'limit' in terms of hardware power on consoles, do I can't see many games pushing the limit on PC hardware a few years old anytime soon bar exclusives (if you are happy with 1080p anyway, and to be honest very, very few rigs are 4k ultra capable).

 

[tippy2k2]

Ah the RTS genre, the bane of the consoles

I am not a PC Gamer, though I have looked into it (The PC Gaming Crowd almost had me until I realized that my precious sport games are not on the PC so to me, no, PC gaming is not worth it). Your best bet is to find a friend/family member/co-worker/random hobo who will work for food and get their help. As helpful as people have been in recommendations and whatnot, having someone who actually knows what they're doing with you would be great help (especially if you're as computer stupid as I am).

I'm also very surprised that this site hasn't been linked yet since it seems to be the PC Builders Bible from every other PC Building thread I've seen...

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

 

[Ihateregistering1]

If RTS or turn-based strategy games are your jam, then I'd definitely recommend getting a gaming PC. As some have already said, you don't need a heavy-duty rig to run 99% of strategy games, so don't think you need to have ultra top of the line graphics cards.

PCs also have big advantages with mods and backwards compatibility for older games, so that means you can easily go back and play old-school games without having to worry about whether you can find that game in the Playstation Store of XBox Live.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Here's the way I look at it, you're probably going to own a PC anyway, so why not just make it better? Take a normal PC, strap on the price of a console, maybe add an extra hundred bucks if you feel like it, and bam! You have something that can run most games on ultra. My PC cost me less than a thousand and it runs most of The Witcher 3's settings on ultra. Admittedly, this will cost more if you do not have an old monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers (if you want them), and other accessories that you might want. I spent about 1200 in total when taking accessories into account. You definitely don't need to spend that much though.

Not only that, you're saving money in the long run. There are so many sales be they from Steam, Kinguin, or something else.

Finally, games are simply better in most cases. Sure, there's shoddy ports, but mods often fix those, and then you're treated to better graphics. And speaking of mods, many of these are as good, or even better than the games they area a part of. If PC gaming had nothing else over consoles, I'd still say it's worth it.

As far as building your PC goes, I don't know how much it would cost. I got my friend to do it and he was done in about 45 minutes. This was with him needing to cram everything into a particularly small case. I can't imagine someone charging you more than 100 bucks (and even that seems really high) so it's still going to beat the price of a pre-built machine.

 

[mavkiel]

I always flirted with the idea of making my own. But I figured I'd screw it up. Not to mention I really want water cooling for my computer, so thats another disaster if you do it yourself. I have zero artistic talent, and couldn't draw a straight line to save my life. So screwing around with plopping cpus into motherboards and other things that take a steady hand freak me out.

So anyhow I would say it depends on your budget. I'd avoid alienware. Not only is it fairly expensive, the parts tend to be low quality. (Unless they changed things recently)

I was looking at origin pc and it looks very nice. Maintenance free water cooling systems, solid looking cases. And they tend to give you all the information about the various parts you can pick. At the very least you could use its site to pick out the parts for a build it yourself rig. Also, I liked the trade in policy on various parts.

 

[Ishal]

Recently, I've been getting into Paradox Games, such as Crusader Kings 2 and Europa Universalis IV. What can I say, I'm a sucker for RTS games. However, the best I can play it on is my two year-old HP laptop. So I've been looking into gaming PCs such as Alienware and the sort, but I see so many people online saying their overpriced and don't live up to the price. Another option I've seen is building a PC. However I'm not the kind of guy to have the patience to do that and I'm not really the best with computers. My final option can be just to get a regular PC screw all the above jazz altogether.

So what do you guys think? Should I get a Gaming PC or do something else? Is it worth it to get a Gaming PC?

It's really, really hard for me to recommend a store bought pre-built. They're just so bad when it comes to the RAM and GPU they give you. They mark it up so much that it's just... bleh.

I know people say this a lot, but it's true. Building one is your best bet, and it's really not hard at all. I was a little turned off by always hearing that myself until I actually sat down to build one for myself in January. It really is idiot proof, especially some steps.

There are people online that can help, also if you have a tech store near you, or a buddy, see if they can put it together once you have all the parts. You don't even have to build it then. The big thing is GPU. You don't need top of the line, but the higher you get the better. For most pre-builts I've seen I couldn't have run Far Cry 4, or the Witcher 3 on the cards those pre-builts came with. Went with my own build and I'm playing everything on the highest settings. (Minus a few things like hairworks in the Witcher.)

 

[List]

A lot of stores will assemble the pc for you. You just tell/list them the parts you want and they will assemble it in front of you. From my experience this will give you the best bang for your buck. Also alot of websites/forums will give you the best parts for your budget if you ask them.

So just ask a forum for a list of parts for your budget ---> Give list to shop. Done.