Should I get a 360 or PC?

[Brotha Desmond]

Thank you. You have probably been the most useful person.

Until I get a concrete answer though, and not people spouting bias's, I will probably hold off on getting anything. My extreme indecisiveness is going to hold me back for a while.

No problem bro. Here's you concrete answer, because it looks like you are still unsure:

Get a PC.

If you are making it from scratch, this is what you will need for a pretty good rig that will play everything well. I pulled these items and prices off of Amazon. Shop around and you may be able to trim prices by 10-20%. If you play on 1080p you won't need to overclock with this so stock cooling should be fine. If I were to build a computer today, from scratch, it would be pretty close to this:

Case ($65): Cooler Master Storm Scout.

Power Supply ($110): PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W [you might be tempted to save money on a power supply, but don't, get a good reputable one.]

Motherboard ($100): Gigabyte Intel H77 LGA 1155 AMD CrossFireX DVI/HDMI Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-H77-DS3H

Processor ($220): i5 3570k

Video Card ($230): EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SUPERCLOCKED 2048MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI DP Graphics Card 02G-P4-2662-KR

Memory: ($90): Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10)

Hard Drive: ($80): Western Digital Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA III, 64 MB Cache

Blu-ray Drive ($55): LG Electronics UH12LS29;BLACK/BULK Internal SATA 12x Super Multi DVD Blue with 3D Playback

Operating System ($130): Windows 7 Home Premium Full

So that tips in at $1080, with at least another hundred bucks for taxes and shipping. So that is at the high range of my guestimate. Now if you think "$1080 are you nuts" then all my time here has been wasted and go get your XBox. If all the componentry wets your lips a little bit, even just a little, then you know what you gotta do.

I don't want to build it myself. Aside from that, $1080 is nearly twice my upper limit.

 

[Doom972]

I think that the best way to choose your gaming platform is by games.
What are your favorite genres? For RPGs, Strategy (TBS and RTS), hardcore shooters, adventure games and indie games, I recommend the PC. If you want to play action-adventure games, fighting games, and less than hardcore shooters, an X-Box 360/PS3 might be the way to go.
You should also take into consideration which platform's exclusives appeal to you more.

As for my personal preference - I'm a PC gamer.

 

[Fearzone]

I don't want to build it myself. Aside from that, $1080 is nearly twice my upper limit.

Actually $1030, I made a mistake on the memory. Anyway. But this gives you an idea of what it means to be a PC owner. Put you fears aside and join the master race now! The cost of entry is steep but the rewards are boundless.

 

[Gone Rampant]

I'm gonna remind the PC Gamers of a little pal of mine:

Origin.

You can't play Mass Effect, Battlefield, Dead Space or any good EA game without it.

*Sits back, folds arms smugly and waits for PC people to yell me into the core of the Earth*

Also, Microsoft host sales on games and DLCs every week- last week it was Oblivion and Skyrim, and it's how I got Deus Ex: The Missing Link.

I know I'm meant to hate Origin because of freedoms or something but I'm not really sure why. It doesn't do anything. Is it meant to do something sinister?

Is XBOX live supposed to be somehow preferable? Are you making an argument about consoles being a superior open-source experience to PCs?

I'm confused.

I'm not yelling, by the way, but I can yell about something if you want. A good yell can be cathartic.

Think the driving point of that is Origins "Scan, Identify and report" functionality that is built into the client that spys on your installed programs and hardware and reports it back to EA regardless of if you consent to it or not. That is something 360 doesnt do... If for no other reason they essentially already know that info. Doesnt mean MS wouldnt try to do the same, doesnt mean EA is any less wrong for doing it, and it doesnt mean this kind of over zealous corporate control over gaming should not be resisted ANYWHERE it presents itself, be it on Origin, Steam, Sony, MS, etc.

We as gamers HAVE to start taking responsibility for how the industry behaves and what we allow them to get away with, because they are pushing the industry into pretty orwellian territory.

The functionality you are claiming it has was debunked rather firmly, Origin does not scan anything more than its own file on your computer, which steam does as well which is how it identifies if your games need patches or not FYI. Hell I hate origin myself, but just because it makes me split some of my games between two services which makes things inconvenient for me.

Only you can prevent the spreading of misinformation.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/lsoj6/still_thinking_eas_origin_is_harmless/c2vbjty
(here someone busts one of the myths)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32350712
(In this thread someone posts where Steam does its searches as well)

Origin's run by EA, the company who lives off money and made their own Steam-Expy just because they presumably weren't getting enough from their games on Steam. Have you been on the forums the last few months? Bashing EA's the new ME3 Ending outrage.

I'm not saying LIVE's better, just that the weekly sales are more common then the Steam massive sales that cover everything.

Im not sure if you are trying to be funny or if you are serious...

People hated and bashed EA farrrrr farrr before ME3, harking back to when they first started buying and cannibalizing good studios

Maybe, I'm just saying it because I saw a thread back in May I think called "If you own EA," and most of the responses were that they'd eliminate the head staff of the company.

So what IS the new form of bashing then? I know that unless Treyarch pull something incredible out of the hat Black Ops 2 will be in my firing line when it comes out, but I'm always a bit behind on current topics.

 

[GoaThief]

EDIT: on reflection there is one game that is PC exclusive that I want, pain killer. In light of this and the more recent responders, I will probably look to get a cheap but good enough pc.

Your current PC should be able to run Painkiller.

Not sure about the latest one in the series though but if the others are anything to go by, they're really quite bad games and not worth your time. Original excluded, of course.

Surely you could pick up a second hand Xbox and a couple of games for around $100... seems a pretty good deal for at least a year until the next generation comes out. Remember nobody knows when that will be exactly, nothing from Sony or Microsoft has been shown at E3 or any other Expo so it can't be that close.

 

[Patrick Buck]

I have a pc, and a xbox. When I have to choose between getting a game for either, I tend to go for xbox, because I know that I have the requirements to play it, I don't know that much about computers.

So I guess I'm saying computers tend to be better if you can work them well, but if you're a layman like me, go for xbox.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I don't want to build it myself. Aside from that, $1080 is nearly twice my upper limit.

Actually $1030, I made a mistake on the memory. Anyway. But this gives you an idea of what it means to be a PC owner. Put you fears aside and join the master race now! The cost of entry is steep but the rewards are boundless.

I really can't afford that. At all.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I really can't afford that. At all.

Do you just need the box? Or do you need a monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers/etc as well?

And what are some of the major US retailers when it comes to this kind of thing? I live in Canada, so I'm sort of clueless.

This cheapo:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220217

Would be more than adequate. Can't say I'm delighted about the Windows 8 though.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I have a pc, and a xbox. When I have to choose between getting a game for either, I tend to go for xbox, because I know that I have the requirements to play it, I don't know that much about computers.

So I guess I'm saying computers tend to be better if you can work them well, but if you're a layman like me, go for xbox.

And as anyone can tell you who read this thread I know nothing about computers.

However, if somebody can show me where I can get a good, but cheap pc I think i am currently leaning towards that.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I really can't afford that. At all.

Do you just need the box? Or do you need a monitor/keyboard/mouse/speakers/etc as well?

And what are some of the major US retailers when it comes to this kind of thing? I live in Canada, so I'm sort of clueless.

Just the box. I have a monitor that I can use. Or if worse comes to worse I can plug it into my tv. I also have a USB keybord in the closet somewhere.

 

[blackrave]

At this point PC
This console cycle is almost ended
And PC have mods for games (Minecraft have plenty of game changing mods)

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

For anyone curious this is the PC I had in mind.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229285&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

Definitely PC. You'll save a lot of money buying older titles you don't own yet on Steam sales.

You'd be better off building your own PC though. You don't actually have to build it. Just order a specific configuration and they'll build it for you. That PC has a pretty low-end GPU.

I don't see any reason to buy a 360 if you own a PS3. 360 exclusives aren't that great. Just Gears and Halo.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Just the box. I have a monitor that I can use. Or if worse comes to worse I can plug it into my tv. I also have a USB keybord in the closet somewhere.

You should be alright then. The one I posted above is better than my GF's machine (double the RAM, newer video card), and she runs Witcher 2, ME3, Skyrim etc with everything cranked.

BTW, Desmond, when it comes to building your own PC if you don't want one of the pre-fab models, you don't have to know ANYTHING. Just set a budget and ask in the advice forum or the gaming forum for help pricing out a PC. For years I had a tech savvy friend price them out for me before I knew what I was doing. Then all you need to do is print it out, call the store, and say "Give me this".

 

[Brotha Desmond]

Just the box. I have a monitor that I can use. Or if worse comes to worse I can plug it into my tv. I also have a USB keybord in the closet somewhere.

You should be alright then. The one I posted above is better than my GF's machine (double the RAM, newer video card), and she runs Witcher 2, ME3, Skyrim etc with everything cranked.

I read somewhere that minecraft might not be able to run on windows 8 (Notch's decision). Do you know if this is true? If so I will be looking for windows 7.

 

[Hawkmoon269]

I have been saving money up for a while now and next month I can either get a gaming PC or an Xbox 360. Now before anybody gives a response based on price I want to say that isn't an issue. I have enough for either. I just want to know which one will give me the most entertainment.

On one hand the pc has games like Gary's mod, minecraft (the better version), RTS'. While people seem to like the 360 I know that rumors say the new one will be coming out holiday of next year.

As I have been discovering lately, now is a good time to own a 360. The xbox's back catalogue is pretty dang extensive, and tons of those games (amongst them, many great titles) can be picked up for a miniscule price, especially if you don't mind buying preowned. Have a look on Amazon for some real bargains.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Just the box. I have a monitor that I can use. Or if worse comes to worse I can plug it into my tv. I also have a USB keybord in the closet somewhere.

You should be alright then. The one I posted above is better than my GF's machine (double the RAM, newer video card), and she runs Witcher 2, ME3, Skyrim etc with everything cranked.

I read somewhere that minecraft might not be able to run on windows 8 (Notch's decision). Do you know if this is true? If so I will be looking for windows 7.

Doesn't matter. No matter what happens, DON'T GO WITH WINDOWS 8. It's a travesty. A fuckin' war crime. Go with 7. Newer isn't necessarily better.

 

[Delicious Anathema]

PC.
It's cheap enough to have considerably better graphics and performance and what you pay more is for that performance, not MS's greediness.´

Also, play on a TV, or CRT monitor. When you need to lower resolution to gain performance, you'll understand why.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I read somewhere that minecraft might not be able to run on windows 8 (Notch's decision). Do you know if this is true? If so I will be looking for windows 7.

No idea, but Windows 8 is pretty fucking dubious so I wouldn't doubt it. Definitely go with 7 wherever possible.

 

[viranimus]

I'm gonna remind the PC Gamers of a little pal of mine:

Origin.

You can't play Mass Effect, Battlefield, Dead Space or any good EA game without it.

*Sits back, folds arms smugly and waits for PC people to yell me into the core of the Earth*

Also, Microsoft host sales on games and DLCs every week- last week it was Oblivion and Skyrim, and it's how I got Deus Ex: The Missing Link.

I know I'm meant to hate Origin because of freedoms or something but I'm not really sure why. It doesn't do anything. Is it meant to do something sinister?

Is XBOX live supposed to be somehow preferable? Are you making an argument about consoles being a superior open-source experience to PCs?

I'm confused.

I'm not yelling, by the way, but I can yell about something if you want. A good yell can be cathartic.

Think the driving point of that is Origins "Scan, Identify and report" functionality that is built into the client that spys on your installed programs and hardware and reports it back to EA regardless of if you consent to it or not. That is something 360 doesnt do... If for no other reason they essentially already know that info. Doesnt mean MS wouldnt try to do the same, doesnt mean EA is any less wrong for doing it, and it doesnt mean this kind of over zealous corporate control over gaming should not be resisted ANYWHERE it presents itself, be it on Origin, Steam, Sony, MS, etc.

We as gamers HAVE to start taking responsibility for how the industry behaves and what we allow them to get away with, because they are pushing the industry into pretty orwellian territory.

The functionality you are claiming it has was debunked rather firmly, Origin does not scan anything more than its own file on your computer, which steam does as well which is how it identifies if your games need patches or not FYI. Hell I hate origin myself, but just because it makes me split some of my games between two services which makes things inconvenient for me.

Only you can prevent the spreading of misinformation.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/lsoj6/still_thinking_eas_origin_is_harmless/c2vbjty
(here someone busts one of the myths)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32350712
(In this thread someone posts where Steam does its searches as well)

Origin's run by EA, the company who lives off money and made their own Steam-Expy just because they presumably weren't getting enough from their games on Steam. Have you been on the forums the last few months? Bashing EA's the new ME3 Ending outrage.

I'm not saying LIVE's better, just that the weekly sales are more common then the Steam massive sales that cover everything.

Im not sure if you are trying to be funny or if you are serious...

People hated and bashed EA farrrrr farrr before ME3, harking back to when they first started buying and cannibalizing good studios

And I think you might have misunderstood me. I did not say that IS why it is. I was saying it is the perception of that fact is driving that response. It was a failing on my end in clarifying that point.

However, the underlying notion of my point in it, of how we need to stop industry intruision into our gaming, IS something I fully stand behind and something that needs to be stopped because we as supporters of an industry are insanely neglectful about how it is governed.

 

[clippen05]

PC all the way man. PCs have no "real" flaws once you know how to use them. And knowing how to use them really isn't that hard. I just over-clocked my CPU a couple of weeks ago and guess what: all it took was me reading a few guides on the internet. 20 minutes of time and you know most of the basics. Installing components and building pc's isn't much harder, its just reading a bit of a guide and then following the instructions. If you want to make the most of your games, go PC.