Is PC gaming really worth it?
- Thread starter Vault101
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heartbreaking...
Uhm.
What kind of laptop do you have that can handle most games?
Last time I checked games such as Battlefield Bad Company 2 requires one heck of a CPU and a pretty decent videocard and considering the fact that Core i5 laptops are usually in the range of $1000-$1500 I would say that building a desktop computer which is significantly cheaper is quite a better option than gaming on a laptop.
"Gaming laptop" is an oxymoron in the sense that they are always overpriced, underpowered and usually not very good if you compare a gaming laptop to a desktop build. You will quite never get the same power out of a laptop because of the technical hardware limitations, limited battery life, lack of upgradability, overclocking etc.
You really can't compare laptops with desktops. They will never match the price nor hardware.
What kind of laptop do you have that can handle most games?
Last time I checked games such as Battlefield Bad Company 2 requires one heck of a CPU and a pretty decent videocard and considering the fact that Core i5 laptops are usually in the range of $1000-$1500 I would say that building a desktop computer which is significantly cheaper is quite a better option than gaming on a laptop.
"Gaming laptop" is an oxymoron in the sense that they are always overpriced, underpowered and usually not very good if you compare a gaming laptop to a desktop build. You will quite never get the same power out of a laptop because of the technical hardware limitations, limited battery life, lack of upgradability, overclocking etc.
You really can't compare laptops with desktops. They will never match the price nor hardware.
It's worth it in some ways, but in others not so much. The biggest problem with PC gaming is discreet graphics cards, it means devs get lazy and aren't thinking about being efficient. That's part of the reason World of Warcraft and Starcraft are so popular. Almost everyone has a computer that will run it.
some good points there, and yes I did actually forget to mention the whole hobby thing which I can fully understand, hell I probably would be into that if I had the know how/means/motivation and I agree with that fact that publishers overlook us (I want my Red dead redemption dammit!!)RhombusHatesYou said:It's always worth it if that's what you're into. I like tinkering with my PC (a seperate but somewhat related hobby to PC gaming) but I've also built PCs for people who have no intention of ever cracking open the case to take a peek inside.Vault101 said:
At the end of the day, as longer as your machine meets your requirements and you're happy with it's performance you're not "doing it wrong".
You should explore the wonderful world of Central and Eastern European PC Game Developers.
You'd also miss out on less games if publishers stopped treating PC gamers as if they had leprosy.
If you're not sure then it probably isn't worth it... but then again, it's not like 'high end' is the only option if you're okay with skipping glossy graphics and such.
That's a terrible thing to say about yourself.
Publishers will always go where the money is. If it turned out that mobile platforms were better money spinners than consoles the major publishers would drop consoles as their primary focus in a second.
You are.
I do.
I was just thinking that mabye I would suit console gaming because of my tastes, Im not into online at all or digital distribution, I din't like MMO's, RTS dosnt really get me exited (although I do admit starcraft 2 looks very cool) and I although I like shooters I can't stand ones that are based in reality and I do get sick of them (COD, medal of honour you know) that said however When I really think about it, alot of games worth playing are on PC (I can even live with the crappy ports) and theres not a huge number of console exclusives Ive wanted to play and hopefully there is a little variety
I just hope we keep getting games, even crappy ports, I'd rather have a crappy port than no game at all
laptops are not bad for gaming you just get more bang for your buck with a desktop and current desk top technogly is always going to be ahead of lap technogly
i spent about NZD$ 2500 on my machine but i was a bit of a hardware whore on it but i do have connections with suppliers so somethings i get pretty cheap
while i will agree that the press and industry has been more focused on the consoles PC gaming is still going strong
i spent about NZD$ 2500 on my machine but i was a bit of a hardware whore on it but i do have connections with suppliers so somethings i get pretty cheap
while i will agree that the press and industry has been more focused on the consoles PC gaming is still going strong
Yeah but your machine has wayyyyyyy more power than a 'good' gaming PC needs. It's halfway to being a workstation.Fluffles said:
Previously I would have said yes, PC gaming is worth it. You pay a lot and you get a lot back. UFO, Command and Conquer, Team Fortress 2. PC games generally offer a deeper experience. But then I upgraded my PC to play Command & Conquer 4...
Now I have a more powerful PC I don't fully use. Now I have a piece of shit game I cannot sell. Fuck you EA. For now I'm back to consoles where at least I know what I'm getting.
Now I have a more powerful PC I don't fully use. Now I have a piece of shit game I cannot sell. Fuck you EA. For now I'm back to consoles where at least I know what I'm getting.
Yes, the various task argument is also very valid... I use my PC for everything.. from paying taxes, gaming, watching movies, to making web applications, editing video's and making music ( www.renoise.com ); I have consoles here, but they're gathering dust like a whore in her 50's...
Oh... and I paid approx. ?1300 (1800 US dollars?) for it back in 2008 (24" monitor, GTX260, i7 920 (overclocked to 3.6GHz) and 2x 1TB in RAID0 (games, video editing) and 2x 750GB in RAID1 (music, photos, programming, design, websites).. no SSD yet, I'm still waiting for prices to drop and performance to increase.
Oh... and I paid approx. ?1300 (1800 US dollars?) for it back in 2008 (24" monitor, GTX260, i7 920 (overclocked to 3.6GHz) and 2x 1TB in RAID0 (games, video editing) and 2x 750GB in RAID1 (music, photos, programming, design, websites).. no SSD yet, I'm still waiting for prices to drop and performance to increase.
I bought my first gaming-capable PC in 2000, along with Caesar 2 (Plebs are needed!), Civilization 2, and Warlords 3. From such humble beginnings were great things made, as a deep, abiding love of simulation and strategy games, born in the days of SimCity on the SNES (for my money still the best version of SimCity Classic) and steeped in Koei strategy games (everything from Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Aerobiz and all points in between), finally found itself in full flower.
Europa Universalis 2 came out in 2001. Tropico, same time. Found Alpha Centauri in a bargain bin (it was two years old by the time I played it) and had my mind blown. Patrician 2 came around a bit later---my girlfriend at the time and I would play it together on a crude LAN (and boy, were LANs ever squirrelly in 2002!), me on the desktop, her on her laptop, dividing the Hanseatic League along a straight line through Denmark in a divide-and-rule strategy.
Discovered Medieval: Total War in early 2004, the perfect time to fall in love with that series considering what came out later that year, only the greatest game of all-time and a PC exclusive.
Morrowind and Oblivion with mods. Fallout 3 with a fan patch that fixed the scripting errors. Empire and Napoleon and New Vegas with graphical fidelity that consoles just don't have the punch to deliver but my $1200 you-get-what-you-pay-for fall-2010-issue computer renders with barely a dropped frame in sight.
Is PC gaming worth it? I write a check for $100 to Dell Financial Services every month and will do so for most of the rest of this year to pay off the aforementioned PC with no interest (yes, I could've built my own. Priced the parts on Newegg, came to about $950. The extra money's worth it for one-stop warranty service and the generous credit terms). And not once do I think "what a waste of money" or "I should've spent a third of this for just a computer to do homework on".
I mainly think "Worth every penny, and it'll last me another four years at least, just like the last one did."
Europa Universalis 2 came out in 2001. Tropico, same time. Found Alpha Centauri in a bargain bin (it was two years old by the time I played it) and had my mind blown. Patrician 2 came around a bit later---my girlfriend at the time and I would play it together on a crude LAN (and boy, were LANs ever squirrelly in 2002!), me on the desktop, her on her laptop, dividing the Hanseatic League along a straight line through Denmark in a divide-and-rule strategy.
Discovered Medieval: Total War in early 2004, the perfect time to fall in love with that series considering what came out later that year, only the greatest game of all-time and a PC exclusive.
Morrowind and Oblivion with mods. Fallout 3 with a fan patch that fixed the scripting errors. Empire and Napoleon and New Vegas with graphical fidelity that consoles just don't have the punch to deliver but my $1200 you-get-what-you-pay-for fall-2010-issue computer renders with barely a dropped frame in sight.
Is PC gaming worth it? I write a check for $100 to Dell Financial Services every month and will do so for most of the rest of this year to pay off the aforementioned PC with no interest (yes, I could've built my own. Priced the parts on Newegg, came to about $950. The extra money's worth it for one-stop warranty service and the generous credit terms). And not once do I think "what a waste of money" or "I should've spent a third of this for just a computer to do homework on".
I mainly think "Worth every penny, and it'll last me another four years at least, just like the last one did."
I'd be a hardware enthusiast (aka Hardware Whore) if I had the cash (my planned $500 upgrade has blown out to a $1k custom build. Why? Because I had the money.). Hardware whore AND mad case modder. Ultimately I plan to build a brass and wood case for my main rig, steampunk/victoriana style.Vault101 said:
I don't do online gaming or MMOs and digital distro isn't my thing (long story behind that) but I'm still a stalwart PC gamer. Of course, I'm also big on strategy games so there's something of an advantage there.
There will always be PC games as long as there are PCs.
Im not saying my laptop is better than a desktop in terms of gaming but it works great for me, and the portability is my favorite aspect, the point of this is I don't think you have to have a monster PC to still enjoy PC gaming, and Im not sure its worth it in this console focused generation.CyberAkuma said:
funny thing is it isnt even a "gaming laptop" its a TOSHIBA satellite, I don't know if it would run Batlefeild, mabye (Im not a tech expert) or crysis how ever I havnt had any probelms with popular titles (Bioshock, Batman, Borderlands, Dead space, Dragon age, darksiders, far cry 2, Fallout 3, fallout NV, Mass effect 1 and 2, F.E.A.R. 2) to name some of them
I think you kind of missed my point, my set up isnt the best but it works for me and I prefer the portability over performance
I play on both PC and console.
My PC, however, is a laptop, but a bloody awesome one.
For me, it depends what the game is; RTS and MMORPG are played on PC. Similarly, if I want mods, I will play it on PC - I have Oblivion and New Vegas on my computer (and due to the superior graphics too).
I must admit I do like achievements, which is what drives me towards xbox games moreso. Yes, I know you can get them on Steam, but it doesn't feel the same.
My PC, however, is a laptop, but a bloody awesome one.
For me, it depends what the game is; RTS and MMORPG are played on PC. Similarly, if I want mods, I will play it on PC - I have Oblivion and New Vegas on my computer (and due to the superior graphics too).
I must admit I do like achievements, which is what drives me towards xbox games moreso. Yes, I know you can get them on Steam, but it doesn't feel the same.
It's the same as PS3 vs 360... if there are PC games you want then yes it is worth it.
Though PC gaming for me has shifted, a year ago I would've used my PC exclusively for Crysis, Empire, Command and Conquer and whatnot.
However even though I still play those games I see a lot more of my time being sunk into games such as Minecraft and Recettear.
So now PC gaming is worth it for the indie titles.
Though to be fair, it seems like Microsoft and Sony are figuring this out pretty sharpish... they already seem to be fighting over console exclusivity rights to indie titles.
Though PC gaming for me has shifted, a year ago I would've used my PC exclusively for Crysis, Empire, Command and Conquer and whatnot.
However even though I still play those games I see a lot more of my time being sunk into games such as Minecraft and Recettear.
So now PC gaming is worth it for the indie titles.
Though to be fair, it seems like Microsoft and Sony are figuring this out pretty sharpish... they already seem to be fighting over console exclusivity rights to indie titles.
Ok, the price of a decent laptop will pay for a very decent gaming PC. Buying the parts and putting it together just requires a bit of extra effort.
With SATA, its dead easy to assemble one. Mouse + keyboard is soooo much better for shooters its not funny. Plus you get access to *ahem* illicit software/games.
People cry regularly about how PC gaming is dying and developers don't support the platform blah blah blah.
Want to know the best game I've played recently? STALKER: Clear Sky. But it was a version that had been modded to improve graphics, squash bugs, add new features etc. And this was done by a mod team working for free.
Worst game I've played recently? Command & Conquer 4. Produced by a triple A studio and it was a steaming pile of shit that raped and (repeatedly) violated the C & C franchise. It made me rage in ways I haven't raged since watching The Phantom Menace.
Consoles have some kickass games and are much easier to set up and play than PC's.
But PC's offer so much more for a little extra effort. Seriously, you'd be crazy not to be a PC gamer!
With SATA, its dead easy to assemble one. Mouse + keyboard is soooo much better for shooters its not funny. Plus you get access to *ahem* illicit software/games.
People cry regularly about how PC gaming is dying and developers don't support the platform blah blah blah.
Want to know the best game I've played recently? STALKER: Clear Sky. But it was a version that had been modded to improve graphics, squash bugs, add new features etc. And this was done by a mod team working for free.
Worst game I've played recently? Command & Conquer 4. Produced by a triple A studio and it was a steaming pile of shit that raped and (repeatedly) violated the C & C franchise. It made me rage in ways I haven't raged since watching The Phantom Menace.
Consoles have some kickass games and are much easier to set up and play than PC's.
But PC's offer so much more for a little extra effort. Seriously, you'd be crazy not to be a PC gamer!
PC gaming is fraught with problems but it's always been my main platform. I've had a few of the older consoles but now I am without a TV, it's PC all the way.
Consoles are more convenient, sure but PC games, as people have said, have more versatility.
I see gaming rigs for sale and wonder why anyone would buy them, other than to show off. Even a clueless berk like me managed to build a perfectly capable machine for around £400. OK so it's not some kind of Cray-Slayer but it runs most modern games at high settings with no problems at all.
Personally I prefer mouse / keyboard control for shooters and the like but I also have a USB X-Box controller for driving games too. I wouldn't game on a laptop personally (probably because my laptop is old and knackered) but you make a good point about portability.
I wouldn't say that you are doing it wrong - what you are doing is doing what you want to do, rather than what your best mate or some gobby shite on a forum tells you to do, and for that I can only respect you.
Wardy
Consoles are more convenient, sure but PC games, as people have said, have more versatility.
I see gaming rigs for sale and wonder why anyone would buy them, other than to show off. Even a clueless berk like me managed to build a perfectly capable machine for around £400. OK so it's not some kind of Cray-Slayer but it runs most modern games at high settings with no problems at all.
Personally I prefer mouse / keyboard control for shooters and the like but I also have a USB X-Box controller for driving games too. I wouldn't game on a laptop personally (probably because my laptop is old and knackered) but you make a good point about portability.
I wouldn't say that you are doing it wrong - what you are doing is doing what you want to do, rather than what your best mate or some gobby shite on a forum tells you to do, and for that I can only respect you.
Wardy
i've never felt the urge to move from console to pc, when i do, i will, its not a big lifetime commitment
My two cents is going to be at the `convenience` angle in the debate.
Consoles used to be about pick up and play designs, with PC downsides being installs and patches to play. Now, that is basically no longer the case. Notice i said `basically`. case in point, Gran Turismo 5 for the PS3. First, the PS3 seems to be updated more often than my friggin MMO`s. So that`s usually a few minutes of download and then install, which flies in the face of convenience. Second, GT5 more or less requires it to be installed to the hard drive just to make the load times bearable, with reports of the install taking well over an hour. I`ve never had a PC game take that long to install from disk, and when i use Steam, it keeps everything up-to-date for me so i can just jump into a game without worry of it having to download something. inb4 `but you have to update drivers constantly` ... this is simply not true. I know I should, but I rarely update drivers, or download windows updates. And it`s okay. My games all play perfectly well, whereas a console that`s connected to the internet will force you to update every last thing.
As well, with things like Steam, the convenience factor only increases because the game is yours forever. No worrying about disks, no worrying about CD keys, no worrying about DRM. The offline mode works perfectly, so you only once have to be connected to the internet.
I feel safe in saying that consoles are no longer the convenient system to have, thanks to the consoles emulating a PC more than they`d like to admit.
Consoles used to be about pick up and play designs, with PC downsides being installs and patches to play. Now, that is basically no longer the case. Notice i said `basically`. case in point, Gran Turismo 5 for the PS3. First, the PS3 seems to be updated more often than my friggin MMO`s. So that`s usually a few minutes of download and then install, which flies in the face of convenience. Second, GT5 more or less requires it to be installed to the hard drive just to make the load times bearable, with reports of the install taking well over an hour. I`ve never had a PC game take that long to install from disk, and when i use Steam, it keeps everything up-to-date for me so i can just jump into a game without worry of it having to download something. inb4 `but you have to update drivers constantly` ... this is simply not true. I know I should, but I rarely update drivers, or download windows updates. And it`s okay. My games all play perfectly well, whereas a console that`s connected to the internet will force you to update every last thing.
As well, with things like Steam, the convenience factor only increases because the game is yours forever. No worrying about disks, no worrying about CD keys, no worrying about DRM. The offline mode works perfectly, so you only once have to be connected to the internet.
I feel safe in saying that consoles are no longer the convenient system to have, thanks to the consoles emulating a PC more than they`d like to admit.
No. 1500$ and you can have machine that will last you 5 years. 500-800$ and you have rig that will last 2 years.Player Two said:
That is of course if you care much about having the best of the best graphic quality available.
I dont. Thats why I buy my computers ever 3-4 years, and I pay only 600$.
