PC gaming:
I have a Dell Dimension C521. It is designed more for HTPC than gaming. When my old X1300pro went kablooey I decided to switch out to another card, the Sapphire HD5500. Fantastitc as I only needed a new DX10 card to play the game I love, Just Cause 2. Unfortunately the GPU causes the CPU to reach temperatures of up to 57C. Breaking point for my processor is around 75C. SO now I need either a new more powerful fan, which won't run right given its a dell system and they hate aftermarket stuff of any kind. Or buy a new processor, one that uses a smaller chip. But again, being a DELL, the chances of the CPU running at all are very very slim. So I think it's fair to say my first, proper foray into PC gaming is trainwreck.
Console;
I currently have a 360 and a Wii. I've never had any problems with any consoles ever prior to my 360. I had a launch PSone, PS2, OXbox, Saturn, MegaDrive and N64 and none of them, not a single one had issues. Not even DRE's for the disc reading ones. So it could be that the 360 is the one console that fucked up. I know some folks havee issues with PS3s too but I honestly have yet to hear from someone I know about theirs breaking. The 360 is just as much hassle as my PC, if not a little less as I gotta fix it myself too. The difference is that I don't have to worry about what the problem is, I already know it's an overheating issue and know how to fix it. With the PC it's any number of things that could be an issue.
The game/gaming;
I use the same monitor for both my PC and 360. Not including Wii in this as I feel it's a completely different ball game with that. By using the same monitor I don't have any comfort preferences as I'm sat the same distance away and using the pad for both. I don't think KBAM is any less of a way to play games though, I can play just fine with that method despite being a relatively newcommer to the world of PC gaming. Games on PC are also a lot cheaper and tend to drop in price quicker than their console counterparts. There are some instances where games are stuidly crap on PC; Saints Row 2 and GTA IV come to mind. UGH. Then there's the golden eggs that run exceptionally well on systems that barely meet the minimum requirements. Just Cause 2 and Red Faction Geurrilla are my current mind blowers. Both of those look better on my PC than my 360.
Ultimately it boils down to costs for me though. Despite the games being cheaper on the pc, the cost of making my PC gaming friendly is more than it would cost to buy a new 360. Sure, to play online I'd have to pay a premium but I don't play multiplayer anyway and the PS3 crowd get it all free anyway. I'd still chalf multiplayer out to PC though. And visuals, but again, only if your PC is actually up to scratch which, if I'm being honest would cost a fair bit more than a console.
You could probably tell that I don't favor one over the other, I'm just giving my honest opinion of my experience with both. I just don't like the work involved in making a PC good enough for gaming. I would much rather spend the money on a console and be done with it. I guess it boils down to that ever apt sayings PC gamers love to spout; Your mileage may vary. Funnily enough, it applies justas much to consoles as it does to PCs these days.
Big Classy on
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DietarySupplementStill not approved by the FDADublin, OHRegistered Userregular
I'm so glad I don't live in that shitty parallel Earth in which I have to assemble my PC every time I wanna play a game. I don't even need to "muck around" the innards. It's been months since I last looked inside it. The GPU and CPU are 2 years old and still awesome.
It's really good living in the real world and not in the FUD distopias the PC haters pull out of their asses.
EDIT> And yeah, in real life you can also PLUG A 360 PAD ON THE PC AND USE IT GASP!
I'm so glad I don't live in that shitty parallel Earth in which I have to assemble my PC every time I wanna play a game. I don't even need to "muck around" the innards. It's been months since I last looked inside it. The GPU and CPU are 2 years old and still awesome.
.
Really? Every time I play a game, I take the side off my PC and reroute all the wires to maximize efficiency. Then I turn the crank on the front to power up. Then I program a custom BIOS and OS specific to the game I plan on playing.
I have a sweet setup, IMHO, a 37" Samsung HDTV, xbox 360, PS3 and custom PC all pluged into it...
I have always been mostly a PC gamer... I have always been into the techy side of it and while I am by no means "hardcore" or "a modder" i have also hand built my PC's as it is both cheaper and the only way to get all the bits you really want. Plus it demystifies the whole thing for when it does (and it will) go wrong...
If something is available on all three, I get it on the PC, for one it is usually cheaper and I can run it higher resolution and smoother...
If I am getting something on the console I will tend to get it on the PS3, mainly because most things that come out on the 360 also come out on the PC.
The 360 is religated to 360 only exclusives. Again, because I can use my wireless 360 control on the PC, playing the same game as the 360, even getting my achievements if the game is Live enabled... this together with the game likely being cheaper on the PC and the higher resolution thing make the decision an easy one... Classic example, GTA4... I play in on my PC (through Steam so no disks) using the 360 controller at way high resoltution and smoothness than on the 360...
Also, i have still not gotten my thumbs around first person shooters on the gamepads... Third person, fine... but I am pretty goood with a mouse and keyboard and a FPS... So going through the crap of having to learn to play them again with my thumbs... too much...
Bob the Insane on
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surrealitychecklonely, but not unloveddreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
Careful, you're treading dangerously close to heresy there! I mean, how could you not enjoy being hunched over for several hours a day for a whole week, your kitchen table (or perhaps a desk) entirely consumed by boxes, plastic wrap, computer components and a eight small, identical dozen screws? That's better than drugs for most normal gamers.
The last computer I built was killed by an electrical surge (bad wiring in my own apartment, but I doubt my own craftsmanship helped). I was in the middle of exams and papers, thought about it for about a minute, and decided, "Fuck this noise, I just want a gaming computer, and I don't have ten or fifteen or however many hours to put the parts together properly."
Dudes... what
15 hours?
It takes maybe 2 hours tops, and that's if you are a mess like me. It's what, 10 separate pieces?
Case, mobo, ram, graphics card, hard drive, psu, processor, cd drive. And they pretty snap into place :P
You dudes need computer building steroids or something
Try playing Prince of Persia with a keyboard. Its downright painful.
Yes having flawless camera control with the mouse sucks?!
I'm having a hard time imagining how it takes a week to put together a PC, even if you're new. How many hours per day are we talking about? Does this include going out and buying components (or waiting for components to arrive by mail), or just the construction time? Are you doing any case modifications? Are you including the time it takes to install your OS, games, and applications?
I'm kind of slow and deliberate when putting together a PC. For me it takes about 4-5 hours, from taking the stuff out of the boxes to booting up Windows. That's assuming no interruptions or unforseen problems (which are rare).
I'm having a hard time imagining how it takes a week to put together a PC, even if you're new. How many hours per day are we talking about? Does this include going out and buying components (or waiting for components to arrive by mail), or just the construction time? Are you doing any case modifications? Are you including the time it takes to install your OS, games, and applications?
I'm kind of slow and deliberate when putting together a PC. For me it takes about 4-5 hours, from taking the stuff out of the boxes to booting up Windows. That's assuming no interruptions or unforseen problems (which are rare).
Are you also including the time required to research what parts you are going to buy?
The first - and, to date, only - time I tried building my PC it took me all of about four hours to physically assemble it. Getting it to work took a wee bit longer; as it turns out, I'd missed a tiny auxiliary power outlet to the motherboard waaaaay off in the corner. Took me a few days to notice, but I plugged it in and the thing boots up clean.
Humbling, to say the least.
I did the exact same thing. Unlike the old Athlons and Pentium 3 I'd been futzing around with before, I didn't realize that modern chips had an aux power connector - even the Atom does.
OTOH, after playing on computers other people had put together for nearly two decades, it was pretty dang gratifying to build my own machine.
It's not that bad, or that hard, to hit a button on a keyboard instead of a button on a gamepad. I played Sands of Time and Two Thrones on the PC as well without any exorbitant difficulty or discomfort.
Everything goes multiplatform these days, so it can't be about the exclusives.
If you are careful, PC gaming can be both cheaper than consoles and visually superior. God knows the multiplayer is better as well, if that's your kind of thing.
I'm having a hard time imagining how it takes a week to put together a PC, even if you're new. How many hours per day are we talking about? Does this include going out and buying components (or waiting for components to arrive by mail), or just the construction time? Are you doing any case modifications? Are you including the time it takes to install your OS, games, and applications?
I'm kind of slow and deliberate when putting together a PC. For me it takes about 4-5 hours, from taking the stuff out of the boxes to booting up Windows. That's assuming no interruptions or unforseen problems (which are rare).
Are you also including the time required to research what parts you are going to buy?
No. I base my computers on the Ars Technica guides, tailored for what is available in Canada and what I'll be bringing over from my previous build. That takes a couple of hours, maybe. I don't consider researching what you're going to build part of the build process.
Does the whole compatibility stuff between components not catch any of you guys out? Never built a computer myself but upgrading this shitty rig is proving a nightmare with what sort of fans/cpus and cards i can use.
I'm sure building from scratch, buying the parts from a place that checks compatibility between components like Lamdatek or whatever it's called, would be smooth sailing. But then I have issues with cost. Building a ehole new computer costs at minimum 400 pounds here in the uk. Thats a new elite with around 10 games.
Everything goes multiplatform these days, so it can't be about the exclusives.
I wish that really was true. I would love to play Bayonetta, but it doesn't really look like there's ever going to be a PC version of that. And it's not uncommon for the PC versions of games not to come out until months later.
Consoles leap ahead of PCs at release, and gradually fall behind in the subsequent year. My personal take on the matter is that I love KBAM and can't stand gamepad controllers. I tend to find long play sessions in front of my computer are more ergonomic then from my couch (since I put a lot of effort into getting my computer ergonomics right, since I also do work in front of it for long hours), and probably most importantly: good graphics accelerators are actually pretty cheap.
The punchline is: I have a computer anyway, and it costs some amount of money in order to have something I like using, so why not use it for gaming? If you're more a netbook/laptop sort of person, then the argument for a console is obviously stronger.
Also Steam. Steam is the greatest thing.
electricitylikesme on
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SenshiBALLING OUT OF CONTROLWavefrontRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
Arkham Asylym was the first game I bought a wireless xbox controller for
never regretted it, peewi's totally right in saying swinging across a room and lobbing batarangs at thugs feels wrong on a keyboard
The fact that every pc game that has every been made can be installed or mounted onto a current generation PC makes it worth while because the pc game library grows every year and can become more portable, whereas the console market will eventually stop once it becomes obsolete, except for the PS2.
Everything goes multiplatform these days, so it can't be about the exclusives.
I wish that really was true. I would love to play Bayonetta, but it doesn't really look like there's ever going to be a PC version of that. And it's not uncommon for the PC versions of games not to come out until months later.
You're right, I guess I meant that everything has exclusives, but between PS3/360/PC you get a ton of overlap. Plus, the PC exclusives (like Starcraft) stand up pretty well to the competition, IMO.
Every FPS that comes out on PC may as well be a PC exclusive.
noobert on
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surrealitychecklonely, but not unloveddreaming of faulty keys and latchesRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
I wish that really was true. I would love to play Bayonetta, but it doesn't really look like there's ever going to be a PC version of that. And it's not uncommon for the PC versions of games not to come out until months later.
Does the whole compatibility stuff between components not catch any of you guys out? Never built a computer myself but upgrading this shitty rig is proving a nightmare with what sort of fans/cpus and cards i can use.
I'm sure building from scratch, buying the parts from a place that checks compatibility between components like Lamdatek or whatever it's called, would be smooth sailing. But then I have issues with cost. Building a ehole new computer costs at minimum 400 pounds here in the uk. Thats a new elite with around 10 games.
What I do is pick a CPU and go from there. And there aren't that many "compatibility issues" anymore these days. If I go with a Core 2 Duo, I'll quickly find a MoBo that supports it, then pick the RAM based on the MoBo. That's it. I'm not gonna look at 15 different MoBos first and then check which ones support my chosen CPU. Setting a price range first also helps a lot. All GPUs are PCIE 16x. All HDDs and optical drives are SATA.
I agree. But our trade-off appears to be cheaters (a la Modern Warfare 2).
I say that having never touched MW2 on a platform, or MW1 for that matter. I guess people cheat, but not "hey I'll use this program to automagically aim at your head" type of way.
DietarySupplement on
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DietarySupplementStill not approved by the FDADublin, OHRegistered Userregular
Does the whole compatibility stuff between components not catch any of you guys out? Never built a computer myself but upgrading this shitty rig is proving a nightmare with what sort of fans/cpus and cards i can use.
I'm sure building from scratch, buying the parts from a place that checks compatibility between components like Lamdatek or whatever it's called, would be smooth sailing. But then I have issues with cost. Building a ehole new computer costs at minimum 400 pounds here in the uk. Thats a new elite with around 10 games.
What I do is pick a CPU and go from there. And there aren't that many "compatibility issues" anymore these days. If I go with a Core 2 Duo, I'll quickly find a MoBo that supports it, then pick the RAM based on the MoBo. That's it. I'm not gonna look at 15 different MoBos first and then check which ones support my chosen CPU. Setting a price range first also helps a lot. All GPUs are PCIE 16x. All HDDs and optical drives are SATA.
Yeah building a PC these days is really not hard at all. Storm is 100% right, but what I suggest is starting with a PC, finding a motherboard you can afford that supports it (many component sites can help with built-in filters in their product searches), AND THEN visit the motherboard's manufacturer page and find the "compatible" (read: suggested and tested) memory modules for the board. Everything else is literally plug and play.
Everything goes multiplatform these days, so it can't be about the exclusives.
I wish that really was true. I would love to play Bayonetta, but it doesn't really look like there's ever going to be a PC version of that. And it's not uncommon for the PC versions of games not to come out until months later.
You're right, I guess I meant that everything has exclusives, but between PS3/360/PC you get a ton of overlap. Plus, the PC exclusives (like Starcraft) stand up pretty well to the competition, IMO.
And again, this goes back to what you actually want out of your gaming system. I imagine there isn't too much overlap between people that want to play Bayonetta on the hardest difficulty, and people who want to play Starcraft online.
Despite cries of "OMG It's dying all the good games go to consoooooollleeeesss!!", the truth is that there's huge overlap between the platforms. And that overlap is necessary because the games industry can't work as much by exclusives as it used to. In real terms, whichever of the three platform we're comparing (PS3, 360, PC) that you choose, you're not missing out on many of the big hitters. After that it's a case of preferences.
People keep mentioning the fact that you have to buy a computer anyway, you may as well get a decent one. A cheap desktop/laptop is suitable for the majority of people's computing needs. And then it doesn't need to be upgraded until it bites the dust.
Also when someone mentions that consoles have more exclusives it doesn't mean that everyone should quote them and list all the PC exclusives that they want/like. There are a shitload of games that are console exclusives. It doesn't matter what pros you think the PC has (better controls, cheaper, mods etc) it all comes down to the games they want to play.
Mentioning that you can also use a gamepad on the PC connected to your TV on your couch doesn't really work in your favor as much as you want it to. First you would need to swap the cables everytime you swapped from your TV to your monitor. Second lots of games don't have support for gamepads which means you have to configure it yourself. That flies right in the face of just putting the game in and going.
There is a reason Apple has been so successful lately, because their shit just works. Its not the best tech and its not the cheapest but it is the easiest to use. IMO the PC/Console argument has a similar result. There will always be PC elitists you have to prove that their choice and do everything but better. There were some of them in this thread (alot of you are reasonable folk that understand its all about what the individual prefer). These people probably hate the iPhone since there are other better phones and hate the iPad since there are other better tablets etc. They don't seem to get it that the console owners don't really care.
Despite cries of "OMG It's dying all the good games go to consoooooollleeeesss!!", the truth is that there's huge overlap between the platforms. And that overlap is necessary because the games industry can't work as much by exclusives as it used to. In real terms, whichever of the three platform we're comparing (PS3, 360, PC) that you choose, you're not missing out on many of the big hitters. After that it's a case of preferences.
Good lord, you enjoy playing the victim. The only person in this thread saying "the PC is doomed!" is you, and you say it over and over and over. We get it already.
Sorry about that, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
At any rate, I built a PC for the first time. I spent probably four hours researching parts and getting instructions, and then another four hours building it. Then I fired it up to discover that the hard drive was bad. After replacing it (with the exact same hard drive) a week later, I turned it on to discover the computer was making a very loud buzzing noise. After close to a week of trying to figure out what the hell was going on I had to take it to a computer shop. Eventually (they were baffled by the problem too), they found out it was being caused by my motherboard randomly deciding it didn't like the default BIOS settings. Took me over three weeks of frustration before I had a functioning computer.
I realize not everyone gets a Murphy's Law computer, but yeah, no more computer building for me.
Mentioning that you can also use a gamepad on the PC connected to your TV on your couch doesn't really work in your favor as much as you want it to. First you would need to swap the cables everytime you swapped from your TV to your monitor.
My PC has three display outputs.
Second lots of games don't have support for gamepads which means you have to configure it yourself. That flies right in the face of just putting the game in and going.
There are lots of games that do support gamepads though and spending a few minutes configuring controls for a 5+ hour game isn't exactly a huge deal, at least considering I get the advantage of customizable controls.
Zell on
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DietarySupplementStill not approved by the FDADublin, OHRegistered Userregular
edited May 2010
I hear you, Cloud. I've have had bad luck with my last couple builds myself. Putting a computer together 7 or 8 years ago took longer, and wasn't as cheap as it is now... but at the same time, the quality of components seems to suffer. Or maybe that's just me.
Mentioning that you can also use a gamepad on the PC connected to your TV on your couch doesn't really work in your favor as much as you want it to. First you would need to swap the cables everytime you swapped from your TV to your monitor.
My PC has three display outputs.
Second lots of games don't have support for gamepads which means you have to configure it yourself. That flies right in the face of just putting the game in and going.
There are lots of games that do support gamepads though and spending a few minutes configuring controls for a 5+ hour game isn't exactly a huge deal, at least considering I get the advantage of customizable controls.
or you just use xpadder which makes any game compatible with a controller
People keep mentioning the fact that you have to buy a computer anyway, you may as well get a decent one. A cheap desktop/laptop is suitable for the majority of people's computing needs. And then it doesn't need to be upgraded until it bites the dust.
The point is that upgrading you cheap computer to the point that it is more powerful than a console is cheaper than buying a console. And I mentioned that the main drawback of this is that you need to stick with a desktop while you might prefer a cheap laptop instead.
[edit] Oh and grats to the OP for a spectacularly efficient trolling job. Nice work!
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
Second lots of games don't have support for gamepads which means you have to configure it yourself.
Pretty much every 360 port these days supports the controller right out of the box (and why wouldn't it). And really, it takes all of a minute to configure a scheme in XPadder; feel free to take that minute out of the 20 or so minutes you cumulatively save on load times compared to the equivalent console game. :P
Despite cries of "OMG It's dying all the good games go to consoooooollleeeesss!!", the truth is that there's huge overlap between the platforms. And that overlap is necessary because the games industry can't work as much by exclusives as it used to. In real terms, whichever of the three platform we're comparing (PS3, 360, PC) that you choose, you're not missing out on many of the big hitters. After that it's a case of preferences.
Good lord, you enjoy playing the victim. The only person in this thread saying "the PC is doomed!" is you, and you say it over and over and over. We get it already.
Sorry about that, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
More along the lines that "The consoles have the vastly superior games collection", and people have definitely been saying that in this thread.
I can't say I consider myself a "victim" as such. I've pretty much always said that the platforms are largely down to what you're looking for.
We shold steer away from the "which is best" discussion...
The OP's queston was whether PC gaming is worth the effort...
This is always going to be an opinion, but as an owner of both, I find no real downside to PC gaming other than the cost of a kick ass machine. But there is no requirement to have a kick ass machine, my last build lasted 3 years.... Only recently did i have to start configuring new releases on Medium...
It is only my personal preference that had me fork out for a new rig.
I think the real answer is that it is not nearly as much bother as might you think to be a PC gamer...
Posts
Eh, to be honest you could say that about firing a gun in an FPS. I guess it's all buttons to me anyway.
Personally, having MB4 and 5 mapped to quick batarang and grapple works a charm.
Same goes for me when it comes to a controller though, especially games like Tomb Raider, Assassins Creed.
Try playing Prince of Persia with a keyboard. Its downright painful.
I have a Dell Dimension C521. It is designed more for HTPC than gaming. When my old X1300pro went kablooey I decided to switch out to another card, the Sapphire HD5500. Fantastitc as I only needed a new DX10 card to play the game I love, Just Cause 2. Unfortunately the GPU causes the CPU to reach temperatures of up to 57C. Breaking point for my processor is around 75C. SO now I need either a new more powerful fan, which won't run right given its a dell system and they hate aftermarket stuff of any kind. Or buy a new processor, one that uses a smaller chip. But again, being a DELL, the chances of the CPU running at all are very very slim. So I think it's fair to say my first, proper foray into PC gaming is trainwreck.
Console;
I currently have a 360 and a Wii. I've never had any problems with any consoles ever prior to my 360. I had a launch PSone, PS2, OXbox, Saturn, MegaDrive and N64 and none of them, not a single one had issues. Not even DRE's for the disc reading ones. So it could be that the 360 is the one console that fucked up. I know some folks havee issues with PS3s too but I honestly have yet to hear from someone I know about theirs breaking. The 360 is just as much hassle as my PC, if not a little less as I gotta fix it myself too. The difference is that I don't have to worry about what the problem is, I already know it's an overheating issue and know how to fix it. With the PC it's any number of things that could be an issue.
The game/gaming;
I use the same monitor for both my PC and 360. Not including Wii in this as I feel it's a completely different ball game with that. By using the same monitor I don't have any comfort preferences as I'm sat the same distance away and using the pad for both. I don't think KBAM is any less of a way to play games though, I can play just fine with that method despite being a relatively newcommer to the world of PC gaming. Games on PC are also a lot cheaper and tend to drop in price quicker than their console counterparts. There are some instances where games are stuidly crap on PC; Saints Row 2 and GTA IV come to mind. UGH. Then there's the golden eggs that run exceptionally well on systems that barely meet the minimum requirements. Just Cause 2 and Red Faction Geurrilla are my current mind blowers. Both of those look better on my PC than my 360.
Ultimately it boils down to costs for me though. Despite the games being cheaper on the pc, the cost of making my PC gaming friendly is more than it would cost to buy a new 360. Sure, to play online I'd have to pay a premium but I don't play multiplayer anyway and the PS3 crowd get it all free anyway. I'd still chalf multiplayer out to PC though. And visuals, but again, only if your PC is actually up to scratch which, if I'm being honest would cost a fair bit more than a console.
You could probably tell that I don't favor one over the other, I'm just giving my honest opinion of my experience with both. I just don't like the work involved in making a PC good enough for gaming. I would much rather spend the money on a console and be done with it. I guess it boils down to that ever apt sayings PC gamers love to spout; Your mileage may vary. Funnily enough, it applies justas much to consoles as it does to PCs these days.
You mean like the old Amiga/CGA graphics version? Because back then, that's all we could play it with.
And we loved it.
Played it in black and white on a mac, actually. Now who's walking both ways up hill in the snow?
It's really good living in the real world and not in the FUD distopias the PC haters pull out of their asses.
EDIT> And yeah, in real life you can also PLUG A 360 PAD ON THE PC AND USE IT GASP!
Fuck the FUD.
Really? Every time I play a game, I take the side off my PC and reroute all the wires to maximize efficiency. Then I turn the crank on the front to power up. Then I program a custom BIOS and OS specific to the game I plan on playing.
I have always been mostly a PC gamer... I have always been into the techy side of it and while I am by no means "hardcore" or "a modder" i have also hand built my PC's as it is both cheaper and the only way to get all the bits you really want. Plus it demystifies the whole thing for when it does (and it will) go wrong...
If something is available on all three, I get it on the PC, for one it is usually cheaper and I can run it higher resolution and smoother...
If I am getting something on the console I will tend to get it on the PS3, mainly because most things that come out on the 360 also come out on the PC.
The 360 is religated to 360 only exclusives. Again, because I can use my wireless 360 control on the PC, playing the same game as the 360, even getting my achievements if the game is Live enabled... this together with the game likely being cheaper on the PC and the higher resolution thing make the decision an easy one... Classic example, GTA4... I play in on my PC (through Steam so no disks) using the 360 controller at way high resoltution and smoothness than on the 360...
Also, i have still not gotten my thumbs around first person shooters on the gamepads... Third person, fine... but I am pretty goood with a mouse and keyboard and a FPS... So going through the crap of having to learn to play them again with my thumbs... too much...
Dudes... what
15 hours?
It takes maybe 2 hours tops, and that's if you are a mess like me. It's what, 10 separate pieces?
Case, mobo, ram, graphics card, hard drive, psu, processor, cd drive. And they pretty snap into place :P
You dudes need computer building steroids or something
Yes having flawless camera control with the mouse sucks?!
Platforming on keyboard sucks. It sucks for Mario, too.
I'm kind of slow and deliberate when putting together a PC. For me it takes about 4-5 hours, from taking the stuff out of the boxes to booting up Windows. That's assuming no interruptions or unforseen problems (which are rare).
Are you also including the time required to research what parts you are going to buy?
I did the exact same thing. Unlike the old Athlons and Pentium 3 I'd been futzing around with before, I didn't realize that modern chips had an aux power connector - even the Atom does.
OTOH, after playing on computers other people had put together for nearly two decades, it was pretty dang gratifying to build my own machine.
It's not that bad, or that hard, to hit a button on a keyboard instead of a button on a gamepad. I played Sands of Time and Two Thrones on the PC as well without any exorbitant difficulty or discomfort.
If you are careful, PC gaming can be both cheaper than consoles and visually superior. God knows the multiplayer is better as well, if that's your kind of thing.
No. I base my computers on the Ars Technica guides, tailored for what is available in Canada and what I'll be bringing over from my previous build. That takes a couple of hours, maybe. I don't consider researching what you're going to build part of the build process.
I'm sure building from scratch, buying the parts from a place that checks compatibility between components like Lamdatek or whatever it's called, would be smooth sailing. But then I have issues with cost. Building a ehole new computer costs at minimum 400 pounds here in the uk. Thats a new elite with around 10 games.
I wish that really was true. I would love to play Bayonetta, but it doesn't really look like there's ever going to be a PC version of that. And it's not uncommon for the PC versions of games not to come out until months later.
The punchline is: I have a computer anyway, and it costs some amount of money in order to have something I like using, so why not use it for gaming? If you're more a netbook/laptop sort of person, then the argument for a console is obviously stronger.
Also Steam. Steam is the greatest thing.
never regretted it, peewi's totally right in saying swinging across a room and lobbing batarangs at thugs feels wrong on a keyboard
but yeah FPS games with a controller?
DO NOT WANT
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
You're right, I guess I meant that everything has exclusives, but between PS3/360/PC you get a ton of overlap. Plus, the PC exclusives (like Starcraft) stand up pretty well to the competition, IMO.
I have an xbox360 just for bayonetta
What I do is pick a CPU and go from there. And there aren't that many "compatibility issues" anymore these days. If I go with a Core 2 Duo, I'll quickly find a MoBo that supports it, then pick the RAM based on the MoBo. That's it. I'm not gonna look at 15 different MoBos first and then check which ones support my chosen CPU. Setting a price range first also helps a lot. All GPUs are PCIE 16x. All HDDs and optical drives are SATA.
I agree. But our trade-off appears to be cheaters (a la Modern Warfare 2).
I say that having never touched MW2 on a platform, or MW1 for that matter. I guess people cheat, but not "hey I'll use this program to automagically aim at your head" type of way.
Yeah building a PC these days is really not hard at all. Storm is 100% right, but what I suggest is starting with a PC, finding a motherboard you can afford that supports it (many component sites can help with built-in filters in their product searches), AND THEN visit the motherboard's manufacturer page and find the "compatible" (read: suggested and tested) memory modules for the board. Everything else is literally plug and play.
And again, this goes back to what you actually want out of your gaming system. I imagine there isn't too much overlap between people that want to play Bayonetta on the hardest difficulty, and people who want to play Starcraft online.
Despite cries of "OMG It's dying all the good games go to consoooooollleeeesss!!", the truth is that there's huge overlap between the platforms. And that overlap is necessary because the games industry can't work as much by exclusives as it used to. In real terms, whichever of the three platform we're comparing (PS3, 360, PC) that you choose, you're not missing out on many of the big hitters. After that it's a case of preferences.
Also when someone mentions that consoles have more exclusives it doesn't mean that everyone should quote them and list all the PC exclusives that they want/like. There are a shitload of games that are console exclusives. It doesn't matter what pros you think the PC has (better controls, cheaper, mods etc) it all comes down to the games they want to play.
Mentioning that you can also use a gamepad on the PC connected to your TV on your couch doesn't really work in your favor as much as you want it to. First you would need to swap the cables everytime you swapped from your TV to your monitor. Second lots of games don't have support for gamepads which means you have to configure it yourself. That flies right in the face of just putting the game in and going.
There is a reason Apple has been so successful lately, because their shit just works. Its not the best tech and its not the cheapest but it is the easiest to use. IMO the PC/Console argument has a similar result. There will always be PC elitists you have to prove that their choice and do everything but better. There were some of them in this thread (alot of you are reasonable folk that understand its all about what the individual prefer). These people probably hate the iPhone since there are other better phones and hate the iPad since there are other better tablets etc. They don't seem to get it that the console owners don't really care.
Good lord, you enjoy playing the victim. The only person in this thread saying "the PC is doomed!" is you, and you say it over and over and over. We get it already.
Sorry about that, I couldn't hold it in anymore.
At any rate, I built a PC for the first time. I spent probably four hours researching parts and getting instructions, and then another four hours building it. Then I fired it up to discover that the hard drive was bad. After replacing it (with the exact same hard drive) a week later, I turned it on to discover the computer was making a very loud buzzing noise. After close to a week of trying to figure out what the hell was going on I had to take it to a computer shop. Eventually (they were baffled by the problem too), they found out it was being caused by my motherboard randomly deciding it didn't like the default BIOS settings. Took me over three weeks of frustration before I had a functioning computer.
I realize not everyone gets a Murphy's Law computer, but yeah, no more computer building for me.
or you just use xpadder which makes any game compatible with a controller
The point is that upgrading you cheap computer to the point that it is more powerful than a console is cheaper than buying a console. And I mentioned that the main drawback of this is that you need to stick with a desktop while you might prefer a cheap laptop instead.
[edit] Oh and grats to the OP for a spectacularly efficient trolling job. Nice work!
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
More along the lines that "The consoles have the vastly superior games collection", and people have definitely been saying that in this thread.
I can't say I consider myself a "victim" as such. I've pretty much always said that the platforms are largely down to what you're looking for.
Good lord you need to calm down.
The OP's queston was whether PC gaming is worth the effort...
This is always going to be an opinion, but as an owner of both, I find no real downside to PC gaming other than the cost of a kick ass machine. But there is no requirement to have a kick ass machine, my last build lasted 3 years.... Only recently did i have to start configuring new releases on Medium...
It is only my personal preference that had me fork out for a new rig.
I think the real answer is that it is not nearly as much bother as might you think to be a PC gamer...