Is PC gaming really worth it?

[RhombusHatesYou]

PC gaming is certainly worth it, but making those killer rigs while initially debatable are just plain retarded now.

PC Gamer and Hardware Enthusiast were never synonymous and the difference has never been more obvious than now with the differences in hardware between what constitutes a decent gaming rig and what constitutes a 'killer rig' being wider than ever.

 

[luke10123]

my local game shops barely have a PC section at all heartbreaking...

but yeah, still worth the hassle

as always

 

[CyberAkuma]

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.

 

[migo]

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.

 

[Vault101]

Now I know any hardcore-build it-yourself PC gamers would be horrified at my current set-up...but I use a laptop...thats it....its a very good one that runs most games on high and somtimes very high setting, and I havnt had a game that wouldn't run well, my point here is most people say you have to build your own or invest heavyly ect, But I'm not sure thats really worth it in thease current times which leads me to my next point...

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.

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".

lets face it, things are very console focused in this generation, I get the slight feeling that PC's take a back seat, and to be honest I cant think of that many PC exclusives that interest me since Im not such a fan of RTS and while I do like shooters (well ones that are different anyway, no COD for me) I need variety,

You should explore the wonderful world of Central and Eastern European PC Game Developers.

now of coarse you could say that PC gaming still has much to offer, especially with developers like Valve and Blizzard and I do agree.....however I can get all that with my current set up, its just that I'm content to have my graphics on high instead of ultra high, also I have portability which has come in very handy, if I got a whole bunch of money right now I would probably get a console instead of A high end PC, bcause that way I would miss out on less games

You'd also miss out on less games if publishers stopped treating PC gamers as if they had leprosy.

I know that "I'm not doing it properly" and my set up may not last within the next few years, but it works really well for me now, and as much as I love PC gaming I'm not really sure going all "high end" is worth it at the moment

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.

bmabye I should really be a console gamer instead of a PC gamer

That's a terrible thing to say about yourself.

and mabye things will change in the future

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.

mabye Im just overthinking things

You are.

who knows?

I do.

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!!)

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

 

[Kaymish]

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

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

But a gaming PC that'll last you five years will cost somewhere in the range of $3000.

Holy crap, even in AU$ with Aus taxes added, that's an insane price. The main box of a good gaming machine will set you back between AU$800-1200. Anything more than that and you're being a hardware whore or being ripped off blind.

mine costed AUD$3000 when I bought it (Including screen, mouse, keyboard etc.)
2xHD5870's, i7 920, 12G RAM...
but then again I'm using it for gaming, graphics design, animation, video editing, music, internet and a few other things so it's well worth its price.

Definitely not a ripoff and I could not have used a computer with less power than I have at the moment.

Yeah but your machine has wayyyyyyy more power than a 'good' gaming PC needs. It's halfway to being a workstation.

 

[floppylobster]

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.

 

[cappie2000]

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.

 

[SimuLord]

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."

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

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!!)

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.

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 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.

I just hope we keep getting games, even crappy ports, I'd rather have a crappy port than no game at all

There will always be PC games as long as there are PCs.

 

[Vault101]

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.

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.

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

 

[thom_cat_]

But a gaming PC that'll last you five years will cost somewhere in the range of $3000.

Holy crap, even in AU$ with Aus taxes added, that's an insane price. The main box of a good gaming machine will set you back between AU$800-1200. Anything more than that and you're being a hardware whore or being ripped off blind.

mine costed AUD$3000 when I bought it (Including screen, mouse, keyboard etc.)
2xHD5870's, i7 920, 12G RAM...
but then again I'm using it for gaming, graphics design, animation, video editing, music, internet and a few other things so it's well worth its price.

Definitely not a ripoff and I could not have used a computer with less power than I have at the moment.

Yeah but your machine has wayyyyyyy more power than a 'good' gaming PC needs. It's halfway to being a workstation.

Still lags slightly when running crysis on max!
Also... I just noticed I said "mine costed" what the fuck is wrong with me?

 

[JWRosser]

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.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

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.

 

[eezaak]

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!

 

[Varrdy]

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

 

[Macrobstar]

i've never felt the urge to move from console to pc, when i do, i will, its not a big lifetime commitment