Something I learned about PC gaming...

[SyphonX]

There is nothing more satisfying than buying your parts separately, and piecing it together yourself. You can skimp where you want, and invest more where you want it.

Putting a computer together isn't complicated at all, nor is it risky. Putting a CPU in it's socket the first time can be a little worrisome, trying to put on the thermal paste just right, lining it up. But once you realize how hard you have to clamp it down on the mainboard, it puts it into perspective that it's just not that fragile. Common sense prevails.

i saw a mac worth 1600 quid in a shop today. i had a quiet laugh thinking about how my current pc cost half as much (or pretty close too) and was about 10 times more powerful!.

Why anyone would buy an insanely overpriced Mac for gaming, is beyond my comprehension.

Though there is nothing wrong with already having a Mac, and trying to play some games on it. Vast difference. Just don't expect much out of that..

 

[fix-the-spade]

My PC is 2 years old at this point too. When I see people spending over $1000 in PC equipment for gaming I cry a little inside. Such a pointless waste.

Dunno, I spent over $1000 on my gaming PC, in 2004. Except for a couple of blown parts it's still going strong, not on full high settings anymore but it still fires up and plays new releases at 50+fps.

I think I got good value, although replacement day is inching nearer, I don't think I'll spend so much this time as computer parts have gotten cheaper in six years.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

I'm sorry, am I missing something? £700 for a gaming PC, and you're all nodding your heads sagely and agreeing wwith how cheap that is?

A new Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hardrive costs, on Argos.co.uk, £190. That's less than a third of what your PC cost you. A 250 GB PS3 costs £285 from Argos, and that comes with two free games. I'm honestly struggling to see what exaclty is cheap about the PC option.

I suppose I should have been clearer, we're talking a high-end pc.
As in, something that would still be surpassing graphics and performance of the NEXT console generation. For something closer to the modern consoles would be looking at some hundreds off that, so it's really not expensive for what it is.
Also since a PC is multi purpose, more appropriate for browsers, and with new games going for as little as a tenner from Steam... well, in the least I think you can understand why it's appealing.

Consoles still have their place of course, no better way to play games on a budget. I couldn't afford a desktop a few years ago, so I got a pS3.

Yeah, fair enough. It just comes across a bit silly when someone says that something is cheap when it costs two/three times the alternatives.

I'm sorry, am I missing something? £700 for a gaming PC, and you're all nodding your heads sagely and agreeing wwith how cheap that is?

A new Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hardrive costs, on Argos.co.uk, £190. That's less than a third of what your PC cost you. A 250 GB PS3 costs £285 from Argos, and that comes with two free games. I'm honestly struggling to see what exaclty is cheap about the PC option.

a pc has more uses

Not to mention doesn't red ring you - or is it red dot now?

Oh good, here comes the recursive 'platform of choice' superiority circle jerk. It's what happens when a large quantity of fans are pulled together away from any alternate view points, for example for a thread that only addresses them. One negative comment about the platform and before you know it you get a quote chain of people sneering about the competitors without any further input from the person who started it.

PS. My Xbox has red ringed once. Then I got it repaired for free as it was under the free three-year extended warranty for Red Rings.

PPS. Yes, PCs have more uses but everyone has access to a PC anyway, it's just that it's probably nowhere near in a state to be playing any recent game releases and as such would cost about as much to upgrade as it would to replace completely.

 

[Ymbirtt]

i saw a mac worth 1600 quid in a shop today. i had a quiet laugh thinking about how my current pc cost half as much (or pretty close too) and was about 10 times more powerful!.

I question your usage of the word "worth".

 

[hyperhammy]

My pc cost like 500 bucks
(Quad core processor, 4 gb of ram, shitty msi gs 240)
All I did was jam in an hd5770 and it does everything I want it to do.

 

[Sebenko]

Well, that's one person. How many times do we have to tell everyone else?

PC gaming isn't expensive.

 

[Jodah]

PC gaming can be more expensive then console gaming if you buy everything off the shelf. PC gaming can also be considerably cheaper then console gaming if you build your own rig, upgrade it yourself instead of buying a new one when you want to, maintaining it yourself, etc.

PC gaming takes a bit more effort but can also be much more rewarding. A console is basically plug and play. They break from time to time but for most people they work for what they are supposed to. PCs can do a lot more and with that comes more risk of failure.

There is a hint of truth with the old "PC Gaming Master Race" joke. They both have their advantages but if you put in the effort you can do so much more with a PC then a console.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

I'm sorry, am I missing something? £700 for a gaming PC, and you're all nodding your heads sagely and agreeing wwith how cheap that is?

A new Xbox 360 with a 250 GB hardrive costs, on Argos.co.uk, £190. That's less than a third of what your PC cost you. A 250 GB PS3 costs £285 from Argos, and that comes with two free games. I'm honestly struggling to see what exaclty is cheap about the PC option.

If I didn't need a desktop PC for doing other things, I would totally agree with that. Just for playing games, the base cost for a console is a rather good value at this point now that the prices have gone down after they've been out for a few years. However, at least in my case, I already needed everything in my PC other than the video card for doing other things, and my video card was all of an extra $100 but runs most games at 1920x1200 very well. If I didn't have/need the rest of the parts already, a 360 would've been cheaper (and I still keep considering buying one every time they go on sale), but I can't exactly compile code or encode video or record/mix audio on a console (or an underpowered PC, for that matter).

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

Not expensive per se, but nothing I've looked at has come in at even close to the same price of console gaming. Like you say, £700, about three times what I paid for my XBox 360. So thanks, but no thanks PC, I'll stick with my console.

 

[Hybridwolf]

Eh, I'm happy with my console, and all I really want now is a laptop which can run TF2 at the highest setting possible. I doubt it'll be as easy or cheap as making my own rig, but since I'm going to be moving about alot soon, it'd be insane to have a PC.

 

[migo]

The thing that keeps PC gaming in check if you're building yourself are components that stay the same. If you get a good case it'll last you a decade, requiring you to upgrade the PSU halfway through. A good keyboard could last you the same length of time, if not more, and a solid monitor as long as you don't want it to be too big can also last you easily 5 years. They're even hitting the point where getting something bigger really isn't of benefit.

This of course can also be said for consoles, as you don't really need to change your TV, it's really just this generation that's the most expensive as you need to get an HDTV, but the next generation when everyone already has an HDTV will be very cheap.

We're just in a rather unique position with PC gaming right now where the incremental upgrades of a PC keep the cost down while the major investment of an HDTV and sound system drive console costs really high.

What also needs to be taken into account, particularly with the PS3 is that it becomes your home theatre system for the next decade. You buy an HDTV and a PS3, and hardware costs are roughly $100 per year (they could be more, but you really don't need more than a 40" HDTV for the most part). That's a single up front cost and it really isn't going to change. With a PC, no matter how powerful it is, you'll always have to upgrade, and over a 10 year period you'll likely be spending at least $200/year.

Wait for memory prices to come down though, and you can get in with a solid gaming system for $500, depending on your monitor needs you're looking at $100-$200, and from there just getting an upgrade when there's a sale could keep you at roughly $150 per year.

Compared to an Xbox 360 though, PC gaming is a bit cheaper, but compared to a PS3 overall it's still a bit more expensive. Either way, certainly affordable as anything else.

 

[DeaconSawyer]

Ok. I am a PC Gamer to the core. I spent 1000$ on this computer. 7 YEARS AGO! That's right, for 7 years, and only once 200$ for a new graphics card, I have been running games that span all consoles, all generations and on something that I needed anyway...too let's say...POST ON THESE FORUMS! Only recently did if have trouble with a game. Assassin's Creed 2. I could still run it, just not on highest. Alas. Besides that game made my friends PS3 lag too.

Subtract the cost of what I needed anyway, the higher cost of console games, and the cost of buying x-number of consoles and this is WAY cheaper.

 

[RufusMcLaser]

It took at least seven years of experience with upgrades and OS installs for me to be confident enough to build my own system from the ground up (this was in the nasty days of Win3.1 through WinME) but when I did I was surprised by how easy it actually was. It's really not that hard! If you're halfway competent with hand tools and know how to install an OS from the boot CD, it's a straightforward process. I've always found it to be a very rewarding experience- there's something gratifying about logging in to the freshly-installed OS on brand-new hardware.

Good on you, OP.

 

[gl1koz3]

That's a great deal. I wish laptops were so easy to put together (or maybe they are and I haven't heard of anything). Three years ago I ROFLMAO'd at DDR2 667 2GB stick price at Dell... $200... the fuck was that? But I can't say I had a hi-end choice back then, so had to stick with it. Not regretting much, either. More so, when you've got a three year warranty, while separate parts had just one year back then. And they get broken down too often.

 

[migo]

Yes they are alittle overpriced but they have that quality that pcs dont.

That hasn't been true since 1998.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

I hate to be an accomplice to conflict, but MaxPowers, the differences between Mac and PC have been nebulous for a long time. The main reason that Macs could be said to surpass the PC in terms of creative design was largely due to the processor architecture and system memory. Now though, Mac's use the same Intel line (i5/i7) for the most part that the PC's do.
This is why if you look into getting a Mac you'll often see high amounts of ram, but these days you can pick up a good 6GB for less than 100 pounds.
Also, with the PC I'm building myself, I have three years all purpose warranty on each individual part. Not something you get with a Mac.

I wasn't so convinced that Steve Jobs and apple were ripping people off until I saw the specifications between two similar systems. One a PC pricing £800, another was a Mac with all around same hardware (save for the graphics card) at £2700. Think it was on the UK site for Digerdirect.

I kind of consider Mac being the same as alienware. It's all in the brand name.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Well at least that's one of you.

Now for the rest who list "oh it's sooo expenisve" as a reason as to why PC gaming is "dying".

While I will never say it's less expensive, the price is not nearly so steep as some would have you believe. Thanks to the "pc gaming is dying" logic (or, more correctly, the fact that most AAA games are designed to work on a console) the hardware requirements for games have not increased significantly. I still got adequate performance on an Alienware laptop I purchased three years ago in the Army but decided I wanted an upgrade regardless. In total, including a new 23" monitor, keyboard, mouse and speaker set it only ran 1100 USD after shipping and the resulting machine is easily capable of running any game on the market I'm aware of at the highest settings.

 

[Weaver]

The PC is also the ultimate system for backwards compatibility.
Hell, if you're morally flexible one can find various emulators and roms for old games on most consoles they did not own/can't find, not that I endorse such actions.

My PC is 5 years old and I've just upgraded it a little here and there and it's still going strong.

 

[falcon1985]

yup, that's the thing about PC gaming. You build the thing yourself, you save megabucks. Hell, my comp has been with me for at least 4 years now, and it's still up to date thanks to small updates over the years. Where a console is stuck with it's hardware, a PC can be upgraded at ease, making it cheaper in the long run than buying new consoles everytime the next gen comes out.

(Before i get labeled as a PC elitist pig, i also own all 3 generations of Playstation and a Sega genesis. Just saying PC is easier in my oppinion)

 

[Zer_]

i saw a mac worth 1600 quid in a shop today. i had a quiet laugh thinking about how my current pc cost half as much (or pretty close too) and was about 10 times more powerful!.

I question your usage of the word "worth".

i know what ya mean the components werent even that impressive either. an average dual core and gpu that wouldnt have cost maybe 250 quid bundled together.

I can also pick up that mac and throw it off an appartment roof and they will replace it for me. Macs are generally meant for different things then PCs, they also excell at different things. If your doing graphical design, photography, etc you will want to have a mac. They are far superior when it comes to things like that. Another thing they have is insane customer service and warrenty. You can smash yours with a sledge hammer and they will replace it for free, and if possible move all your data onto your new computer.

Yes they are alittle overpriced but they have that quality that pcs dont.


When it comes down to it PC gaming isnt all that expensive but its still more expensive then a console. You cant take things like tvs into consideration because if you do then you have to look at monitors, mouse & keyboard, speakers etc. Its actually a benefit to pcs to ignore these extra items.

Nobody ever really said PC gaming is expensive its just more expensive then alternatives. The proof is in the numbers everybody has given in this thread.

Ummm, no? Macs use the same nVidia Quattro cards as PCs do, their processors are the same as well. The only difference here is the type of RAM that macs use, it tends to be more secure, but honestly, no one really has any problems with DDR3 RAM, it's error rate isn't high enough to negatively affect anything.

Furthermore, workstation graphics cards almost always come out on PC before they come out on the mac, so technically, if you really want to get into semantics, PC is better... sometimes.