Computers and consoles- thoughts?

[Amazon warrior]

Now then, I would really appreciate some opinions and advice from you guys- I\'m a bit stuck at the moment. The situation is as follows:

My laptop is beginning to show signs of wear and tear- I\'ve had it for a couple of years, and it\'s been my main computer for all that time, so it\'s seen a lot of use. Now that I\'ve got my nice cosy job in Germany, I\'m thinkng that it\'s time to splurge on a shiney new desktop PC, and this is where I need some help. It\'s been a while since I last perused a computer mag, so I don\'t really know what the latest and greatest hardware is. I\'m capable of building my own PC, but I\'ll happily buy a ready-made box if it\'ll do what I want. And that\'s my next problem. Initially, I thought that what I wanted was a PC that could run, if not the *newest* games, then at least titles from, say, last year without embarassing itself. I started having a look at games I would be interested in, such as Bioshock, to try and guage what kind of specs I might need, and ran into a storm of people complaining about the DRM and other nonsense, which is a non-issue on consoles.

So, now I\'m wondering whether it would be better for me to get a fairly standard PC and buy an XBox 360 as well, because a lot of the games I\'m interested also have releases on it, and in some cases run better on a console. However I\'ve never been much of a console gamer- I prefer keyboard and mouse controls, and I like the immersion you get from being 1\' from the screen instead of 6-8\'. I also believe that a game can look better on a PC with decent specs than it does on a console.

To add to the confusion, I\'m not quite sure of my budget yet- I\'ll probably save up for a few months first, by which time I should have a better idea of what I want/need. I\'ve been looking on http://www.arlt.com/ to try and get some idea of what\'s available and for how much. They\'ve been recommended by a guy at work, and they have a store in Mannheim, so they\'re pretty convienient from that point of view. If their systems look good, let me know!

So, to recap: High-end PC or low-end PC+console? And if high-end PC, what specs should I be looking for?

Thanks very much in advance for any advice!

 

[Roger Bunting]

These are the specs for the current A-list Enthusiast PC on PC Pro\'s website. It\'s from a company called Chillblast.

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 overclocked to 3.4GHz, 4GB 800MHz DDR2 RAM, Asus Rampage Formula Republic of Gamers motherboard, 1GB Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics, 750GB Samsung Spinpoint HD753LJ hard disk, Samsung DVD writer, 24in Samsung SyncMaster 245B TFT, Saitek Eclipse II keyboard, Razer DiamondBack mouse, Creative T7900 7.1 speakers, 2 x PCI-E 16x, 2 x PCI-E 1x, 2 x PCI, 8 x USB, 2 x DVI-I, 1 x HDMI, 2 x FireWire, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet, S/PDIF, PS/2, Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, 2yr RTB warranty.

 

[freakinacage]

get a pc. most games end up on the pc eventually so you dont have to worry about only buying compatible games. if you want, you can always get console controls

i bought my pc about 2 yrs ago and it still runs every game on the market (as far as i am aware)

not only that but as it\'s a pc, i can use it for all sorts of things, like surfing the internet and word processing etc ultimately the pc always wins imo

as for spec, i cant help. i am pretty crap at looking at technical stuff. as the staff at a local shop.

 

[Springbok]

I have found that just by building a pc by component spec alone, is a bit hit and miss. For example, if your machine has 2gig of bog standard ram, its gonna be a far cry from using say, the Corsair range of memory sticks. It all depends on your budget though, if you really want to get a high-end gaming rig, I would suggest checking out the Alienware website for a custom built machine. As for consoles, I\'ve got a xbox360, if I had the money, I would have gone for the PS3 seeing that it runs blueray. The titels available for both are great but the downside you need to consider, is that you will need an HD cable and TV in order to get the full experience from them.

 

[supervike]

I have been a \'computer gaming enthusiast\' for several years, and have gone through several incarnations of my desktop. (at premium prices!)

HOWEVER...I now feel that the latest consoles have rivaled computers, to where I don\'t think the \'PC game\' is as far superior as it once was.

I bought an XBOX 360, and haven\'t felt the urge for ANY PC Gaming. I also haven\'t felt the urge to keep upgrading the very expensive personal computer.

Gaming in my comfy chair on my high def tv, far outmatches the hunched over the PC in a office chair.

 

[gohkm]

To be honest, the latest generation of consoles are far more powerful than even a souped-up PC - some research group built a whole computer cluster using PS3s.

I\'d venture to say get the high-end PC since it\'s got more functionality than simply gaming. If it\'s just gaming you\'re after, I reckon you\'re better off getting a couple of consoles (PS3 and Wii come to mind) rather than a PC. As Supervike pointed out, there\'s precious little that can beat lounging in a big comfy sofa, having a blast on the PS3 hooked up to a 45\" plasma.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Amazon warrior
So, now I\'m wondering whether it would be better for me to get a fairly standard PC and buy an XBox 360 as well, because a lot of the games I\'m interested also have releases on it, and in some cases run better on a console. However I\'ve never been much of a console gamer- I prefer keyboard and mouse controls, and I like the immersion you get from being 1\' from the screen instead of 6-8\'.

Agree on all counts. I\'ve played a couple of games on both PC and console and apart from the PC version sometimes being a little deeper purely as a game, there were nearly always more controls and interaction possible with the keyboard.

Plus mouse aiming > joypad stick/wheel thingy any day of the week! I\'m being very FPS-oriented here, sorry

Originally posted by Amazon warrior
I also believe that a game can look better on a PC with decent specs than it does on a console.

This is still largely true if you have a good graphics card (and the rest of the machine has some grunt, so the FPS is high enough for the resolution and settings). Also assuming you\'re using a CRT or a very good flatscreen - cheaper flatscreens aren\'t good for gaming.

Originally posted by Amazon warrior
To add to the confusion, I\'m not quite sure of my budget yet- I\'ll probably save up for a few months first, by which time I should have a better idea of what I want/need.

Well FWIW if you build from components I think you should be able to build a machine with decent specs for under the €2000 mark. But a lot depends on what exactly you\'re getting and your suppliers.

Personally I would highly recommend you go with XP still and hold off going to Vista for as long as possible.

Einion

 

[Elly3438]

Im a big PC junkie and have been for some time... but here why I think you need.... BOTH!!!!! :drunk:

I agree that in FPS games, the mouse/keyboard can\'t be beat. But that\'s not really what is being sold on PCs these days... the games sections have dwindled down to nothing, and the only thing I look at are RTS games... mostly it\'s just MMORPGs, and I say HELL NO to that crap, it ate away too much of my life!!

Now the 360 is kickass, I love it... I used to call it the \"scatbox\" and refused to get it, but now I have one and I use it primarily to play games on. Not only can I lounge around on the couch and play, but the game selection is much bigger and easier to load up.
Another thing is, killing baddies on a 42\" plasma, or rockin out to some Boston just wouldn\'t cut it on a PC monitor (granted you can get TV-out, but then you\'d have to have your TV and computer right next to eachother)
I really don\'t notice much graphics difference, even blown up on the TV. I play Forza 2, Mass Effect, Rock Band, Crackdown, and other games just fine on the 360 and they look great. (especially with the 1080p output!!! )

Now, there are games I prefer on the PC, like Oblivion. The downloadable content is just insane, and superior to that of the 360\'s. Also, Id never play something like Starcraft 2 or Dawn of War on a console... that\'d just be silly.

So, they both rock, one\'s a little less pricey than the other, and you will eventually have to deal with the \"red rings of death\" (though I got mine back in a few weeks and it\'s worked perfectly ever since, knock on wood lol) if you get a 360, but if you spend wisely and get a good PC it will last a long time... (mine is 5 years old and STILL goin strong! it\'s slowin down though... tehee)

Anyways, I\'ve rambled! sorry!
~Jeffrey~

 

[james sequeira]

I love my pc for RTS games hands down, but you cant beat a powerful console for full out fighting, shooting and racing crazy games.

 

[Legacy Account]

Console, console, console. It\'s simply more economical than high-end PC gaming over the span of the console\'s life. Consoles much more conducive to post-pub social play as well.

The 360 is an excellent machine. I\'d stay away from PS3 until they sort out their online gaming (if that\'s what you\'re into...).

I\'d steer clear of the Wii as well. There might be 3-4 games that are worth buying, and that doesn\'t warrant the price of entry for me. I won\'t be replacing it until Nintendo pull their finger out.

 

[Yramrag]

If you are only going to play games, i would say go with a console, but if you do anything else, go with a PC.

Being a non-annualised salary man who is not always needed in the office (i.e. i get paid overtime) nothing better than saying \"taking this home to work on tonight\" and not having to stay at work to finish something, or \"not coming in today, working at home\", that is why a nice PC is good for the soul.

As another consideration though, while playing a game on your console in front of a 42\" plasma is nice, it isn\'t as cheap as playing the same game (if you can get it) on your PC with a 22\" LCD. Your electiricity bills will slowly start to add up to a significant sum.

 

[Legacy Account]

My 32\" TV uses 3 cents an hour. My 19\" monitor uses 2 cents an hour.

Hardly significant is it? At most it might run to 20 bucks a year...

 

[Mosch]

I would base this decision purely on the kind of game you want to play. Strategy games tend to run well on a lower end PC, while FPS are hungry hardware hoggers. If you prefer other kinds of games (jump and runs, rpgs, beat em ups...) I\'d say go with a console. Actually consoles run many fps just fine, but the controls will never reach \"PC\" (keyboard and mouse) accuracy - except for the Wii, but this one kinda suffers from shovelware, so you\'ll really have to research what you\'re going to buy. Also, consoles have the social aspect of local multiplayer.

So... what kind of games are you interested in?

 

[Jericho]

The biggest selling point for the Wii is having the buddies over for a night of gaming. Mario Party, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Xmen Alliance, and some other button mashers are fantastic fun to bust out with a few friends. I would agree that there\'s only maybe a dozen or so games worth owning for the Wii at the moment, but considering how cheap the console and the games are compared to the competition? It\'s worth it.

Between 360 and PS3, I really don\'t care much. If you want Blu Ray, then it\'s a no brainer. I\'m happy with my 360, and I\'ve never really had a problem with it. Occasionally if I\'ve been playing all day then I get a disc reading error, and then the game loads fine once I give the machine a bit of time to cool down. I don\'t have many games for the 360, but then again I don\'t do nearly as much video gaming as I used to. I will probably be buying the Penny Arcade off Xbox Live Arcade shortly, so that should be a good week or two worth of fun.

I really don\'t think PC gaming is all that hot any more. Once in a while I get sucked into a MMORPG for a few months, but generally I\'m bored to death with RTS games and pretty much every other type of game is on console.

Honestly I\'d say buy a medium-end PC and a couple of consoles. Whichever one fits your specific needs best, whether it\'s Blu Ray (PS3), button mashers to play with friends (Wii), or online experience (360).

If you do a lot of other demanding stuff on the PC (like graphic design, rendering or music/video editing) then by all means splurge and get a good system, because you\'ll be using it for more than gaming.

 

[Cleezy]

I would say a reasonably spec\'d pc and console.

My best mate has a high end gaming pc but has recently gone into buying a console. He only plays two games on the pc and thats CS and WOW.

The consoles have it over the pc when it comes to online because everybody is playing on the same spec\'d machine and it then comes down to individual connection.

Also for the price of a console the power is better than that of a pc. Though of course adding a HDTV bumps that up but you dont have to buy the most expensive ones.

I have a ps3 and i love it, i dont game on a pc at all in fact i stopped using it all together in favour for a mac, sometimes a play cs when at my mates but i much prefer playing call of duty on my ps3, its more comfortable and i play on a bigger screen.

Thats my opinion anyway a good running pc for net browsing and other needs for a pc, then a console (preferably he ps3 for its blue ray and exclusive games-MGS4 and killzone2 ff13 etc)

 

[MPJ]

One word for you...

iMac.

The new 24\" iMac at 3.06GHz with a Nvidia 8800 512mb vid card is pretty freaking sweet and of course Macs just work. If your desperate to run Windows for some deranged reason (games) then you can with the Intel iMacs so you havn\'t lost anything. In fact I\'m logging out of CMoN in a few mins to reboot into Windows so I can play the new Age of Conan game on my Mac using XP.

\'PC\' bad, Mac good. :drunk:

OH yeah, I have an XBox 360 too, but after the first 6 months it pretty much became a dust collector even with 3 kids in the house.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by MPJ
One word for you...

iMac.

Tough crowd for that suggestion

Einion

 

[Legacy Account]

\"...and of course Macs just work...\"

Except when they don\'t. Which is a fair bit in my experience.

 

[gohkm]

Seriously? A lot of my colleagues have caved in and bought Macs since they run a Linux kernel. I\'m almost at the point of getting one myself. How often do they fail?

Apologies for hijacking the thread a bit!

 

[Multifracture]

My mac is gorgeous i work in the IT industry (Ingram Micro if you want to get a better idea) and while we use PCs at work most of us have Macs at home due to them being more reliable. With the introduction of dual boot systems you can still run windows AND retain the reliability (as long as you have a decent virus software)

As far as consoles go get a 360 PS3s are expensive and games manufacturers are already pulling all their online content from the Sony and onto the Xbox 360 (GTA has no online support for PS3 but all the downloadable content on 360) plus its better at online gaming AND is mostly backward compatible (not to mention hundreds of great arcade games) I can\'t see the PS3 getting much support other than its Blu Ray and even then when the price drops middle of next year they will be obsolete.