PC Gamers question..

I know most gamers are very cost conscious and look into tons of reviews and player opinions before making a purchase. But I go on websites and see pc's for upwards of $5000. And alot of pc gamers have really fast pcs that are worth alot. I am not critcising u guys but can I just havent seen the value. Everyone has a justified opinion and I was wonderin wats urs.

i have never been a pc gamer really. I jsut played some of age of empires,sims, Rome total war, and tahts abotu it.

But Being a console gamer I just dont see the value in pc gaming. yes I looked thro the main thread on this forum, but i still cant see how its worth it?

I know i is prolly just me but I am sure u guys are finding reat amonts of fun and entertainment or u wouldnt be making the investments.So my question is wat is it abotu pc gaming that keeps gamers hooked.

(maybe some more PC games would improve my spelling)

(maybe some more PC games would improve my spelling)

white_jaguar

I like the self put down, there are a lot of people who like to critisize spelling here.

Anyway Grapichs on consoles don't even come close to comparing with PC graphics, if you have a really good system, additionally the more you spend on a PC, it will stay current for longer (although this isn't always the case).

That being said I go for maybe a $2000-2500 and that seems to be fine for me.

For me online play is better too although for me this takes a bit of a bakseat to the graphics.

You could always go to Newegg.com and order parts and build you own.

First of all, $5000? Come on...you can't be that much of a sucker. You could put together a monster PC at a site like Ibuypower.com if you really wanted to. But, really, it's not needed. Top gaming PC's run between $800 and $2000 depending on how extreme you want to go on performance. If you put it together yourself you cut the cost by even more. Do some research, don't just see a $5000 price and automatically think that all gaming PC's are that price.

Secondly, it's the community. Mods/user created maps/people/KB and Mouse for every game (KB/Mouse > all)/ etc. Very very rarely will you ever have some little kid screaming in the mic to his mom on PC games online like you do over XBL. Everyone is more mature for the most part. Plus, you get the best exclusives and non exclusive games every year (look at scores, they support this). ;)

Lets first debunk the myth of needing to buy a $5000 PC. The only people who do that are idiots with too much money. A real PC gamer would just build his own and save $4000. I'm not going to try and say it's cheap, cus it's not. Though you do get what you pay for. It doesn't make you any less of a gamer if you can't build one. Don't want to offend anyone. It just makes the experience better, imo.

What keeps me hooked? The games, lol. Well you wanted to know. It also has to do with my love of computers. I never really thought about community until someone said that but it's very true. Hard to explain but the community of PC gamers is far different of say XBL. First when you meet a PC gamer you spend an hour talking about whats in your computer. lol I know not the coolest thing. It's a friendlier community, I guess, in its own way. Sure some people are rude, but thats life.

shopping at fry's, you can get a quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card for under $400. Another hundred should get you a case and a DVD burner, and a mouse and keyboard.krazyorange

no, don't buy a Quad-Core. Buy a faster Dual-Core. By the time programs start using quads better chips will be out.

I know most gamers are very cost conscious and look into tons of reviews and player opinions before making a purchase. But I go on websites and see pc's for upwards of $5000. And alot of pc gamers have really fast pcs that are worth alot. I am not critcising u guys but can I just havent seen the value. Everyone has a justified opinion and I was wonderin wats urs. white_jaguar

As others have already indicated, you are basing your view of what a gaming PC costs on the top of the line models. It's like wondering why so many people have cars considering how much they cost when the only cars you have looked at are Porsche's. You may not know much about computers, but hopefully you understand my analogy.

The cost of a Porsche != The cost of a decent car that fills your needs. NO ONE needs a Porsche. And, by the same token, NO ONE needs a $5,000 PC. They sell both for the same reason, some of us have more money than we know what to do with.

i have never been a pc gamer really. I jsut played some of age of empires,sims, Rome total war, and tahts abotu it.
But Being a console gamer I just dont see the value in pc gaming. yes I looked thro the main thread on this forum, but i still cant see how its worth it?white_jaguar

But you just gave some of the reasons in your own post. The games you mention are not available as console games. A LOT of PC games are not available as console games. Certain genres, especially in the simulation and strategy areas, are grossly under-represented on consoles and if you are a gamer that likes those...PC Gaming makes a lot of sense. Especially as those particular genres don't generally require very high-end PC's either.

I know i is prolly just me but I am sure u guys are finding reat amonts of fun and entertainment or u wouldnt be making the investments.So my question is wat is it abotu pc gaming that keeps gamers hooked. white_jaguar

As others have already gone into detail regarding, you can build good gaming PC's for FAR less than the price you think. Keeping in mind that we are in an age where most of us have PC's anyway, whether or not they are used for gaming, you have to also consider that you cannot attribute the entire cost of a gaming PC as investment in gaming. We're going to buy a PC anyway, the question is how much more do you spend so that it can perform well in games, not how much total you spend on the pc.

At the end of the day, I'm not a good one to answer your question though. I have one of those $5,000 PC's, not because I needed it, but because I can, and I don't particularly care if it was worth it.

are a lot of people who like to critisize spelling here.

Anyway Grapichs on blah blahwhite_jaguar

[QUOTE="krazyorange"]shopping at fry's, you can get a quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card for under $400. Another hundred should get you a case and a DVD burner, and a mouse and keyboard.-Master_St3ve-

no, don't buy a Quad-Core. Buy a faster Dual-Core. By the time programs start using quads better chips will be out.

What kind of logic is that? o_0

Maybe, but just maybe, most of us don't really use it just for gaming, and 2 extra cores can make quite a difference in most applications and multitasking.

1) Others already explained that the concept of a 5K $ PC is stupid.

2) I really don't know what games you like, but consoles are worth imo only if you like sport games and fighting games, because that's what consoles mostly have. There also are RPG's that the good ones come on PC too, the rest I don't care and FPS and RTS aren't nearly as good as they are on PC, so you tell me, what do you see in a console?

PC's get the better games of the consoles and they are better, they have awesome exclusives, all the possible genres, but not so great with sport and fighting, so why shouldn't it worth it?

Maybe you have time to answer to 2, because I really don't see what you find good in your console. I have a PS 3 and all I have is DBZ Burst Limit, because that's the only game that I like on it, the others are also on PC and they are better.

[QUOTE="-Master_St3ve-"]

[QUOTE="krazyorange"]shopping at fry's, you can get a quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card for under $400. Another hundred should get you a case and a DVD burner, and a mouse and keyboard.DanielDust

no, don't buy a Quad-Core. Buy a faster Dual-Core. By the time programs start using quads better chips will be out.

What kind of logic is that? o_0

Maybe, but just maybe, most of us don't really use it just for gaming, and 2 extra cores can make quite a difference in most applications and multitasking.

2 Extra cores won't help you do crap. Unless you're decoding and encoding 5+ videos at once, quad cores at useless because dual cores can multi-task just as many applications.

Maybe, but just maybe, most of us don't really use it just for gaming, and 2 extra cores can make quite a difference in most applications and multitasking.DanielDust

Exactly. I sometimes am playing a game while at the same time ripping a DVD to my harddrive as an mp4 while downloading some other game or music. Only my quad-core pc can do all this and also keep the game running smoothly (even Crysis). On my dual core PC just ripping the DVD slows it down (not to mention takes over twice as long), much less trying to do a game and downloading at the same time.

I spent a few hundred dollars more on a quad-core cpu so that I can be over 2x as productive when using the PC. A doubling in productivity with only a small increase in cost seems like a good investment to me.

2 Extra cores won't help you do crap. Unless you're decoding and encoding 5+ videos at once, quad cores at useless because dual cores can multi-task just as many applications.

GodLovesDead

Not true, if you use software that takes advantage of it. As I said above JUST ripping DVD's is significantly faster on my quad core than on my dual core, over twice as fast. The specs of the two systems are very close to the same, with the only major difference being one is dual core and the other quad.

Throw in the fact that I also like to play games and have downloads going at the same time and the quad is a significant advantage over the dual core. Believe what you want, but i have side by side comparison of the exact same tasks to base my view on.

[QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="-Master_St3ve-"]

[QUOTE="krazyorange"]shopping at fry's, you can get a quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card for under $400. Another hundred should get you a case and a DVD burner, and a mouse and keyboard.GodLovesDead

no, don't buy a Quad-Core. Buy a faster Dual-Core. By the time programs start using quads better chips will be out.

What kind of logic is that? o_0

Maybe, but just maybe, most of us don't really use it just for gaming, and 2 extra cores can make quite a difference in most applications and multitasking.

2 Extra cores won't help you do crap. Unless you're decoding and encoding 5+ videos at once, quad cores at useless because dual cores can multi-task just as many applications.

Not really:

It encodes way faster with 4 cores with programs like Divx that are optimized for 4 cores, helps a lot in Photoshop and 3DS MAX and Autocad. But yeah, that's for me because I use those programs. Then again who would need to encode what they encode, in let's say 3 hours, in 1 hour and even less sometimes, not to mention rendering in 3DS MAX.

I still don't understand that logic, when quad cores perform way better than most dual cores at the same price and even the ones that are 2x more expensive than a Q6600 for example. Why isn't it worth it? because you loose max 7 frames in games? I know you are obsessed about frames (you said that you have a few frames less in Vista compared to XP and you hated it :|)but that is BS. Extra power for less isn't bad, especially if at a certain point you will use applications that need a lot of processing power. If you will never use such programs, NEVER, ok, but price/performance, no contest, a dual core isn't worth it.

[QUOTE="GodLovesDead"][QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="-Master_St3ve-"]

[QUOTE="krazyorange"]shopping at fry's, you can get a quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card for under $400. Another hundred should get you a case and a DVD burner, and a mouse and keyboard.DanielDust

no, don't buy a Quad-Core. Buy a faster Dual-Core. By the time programs start using quads better chips will be out.

What kind of logic is that? o_0

Maybe, but just maybe, most of us don't really use it just for gaming, and 2 extra cores can make quite a difference in most applications and multitasking.

2 Extra cores won't help you do crap. Unless you're decoding and encoding 5+ videos at once, quad cores at useless because dual cores can multi-task just as many applications.

Not really:

It encodes way faster with 4 cores with programs like Divx that are optimized for 4 cores, helps a lot in Photoshop and 3DS MAX and Autocad. But yeah, that's for me because I use those programs. Then again who would need to encode what they encode, in let's say 3 hours, in 1 hour and even less sometimes, not to mention rendering in 3DS MAX.

I still don't understand that logic, when quad cores perform way better than most dual cores at the same price and even the ones that are 2x more expensive than a Q6600 for example. Why isn't it worth it? because you loose max 7 frames in games? I know you are obsessed about frames (you said that you have a few frames less in Vista compared to XP and you hated it :|)but that is BS. Extra power for less isn't bad, especially if at a certain point you will use applications that need a lot of processing power. If you will never use such programs, NEVER, ok, but price/performance, no contest, a dual core isn't worth it.

I'm just a stickler when it comes to price. It's true, I don't encode or decode or anything (Though I use Photoshop, and Quadcore won't do ANYTHING for Photoshop). I just don't see the point when you can get an E8500 instead of a Q6600 and OC the E8500 to 4.0 GHZ which would smoke the Q6600 in any game.

And price/performance, dual cores are way better. The E7200 is $50 and can out-overclock the Q6600 by a hefty amount.The Q6600 might have more power but it's unused so what's the point anyways?

[QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="GodLovesDead"][QUOTE="DanielDust"][QUOTE="-Master_St3ve-"]

[QUOTE="krazyorange"]shopping at fry's, you can get a quad core, 4GB of RAM, and a decent graphics card for under $400. Another hundred should get you a case and a DVD burner, and a mouse and keyboard.GodLovesDead

no, don't buy a Quad-Core. Buy a faster Dual-Core. By the time programs start using quads better chips will be out.

What kind of logic is that? o_0

Maybe, but just maybe, most of us don't really use it just for gaming, and 2 extra cores can make quite a difference in most applications and multitasking.

2 Extra cores won't help you do crap. Unless you're decoding and encoding 5+ videos at once, quad cores at useless because dual cores can multi-task just as many applications.

Not really:

It encodes way faster with 4 cores with programs like Divx that are optimized for 4 cores, helps a lot in Photoshop and 3DS MAX and Autocad. But yeah, that's for me because I use those programs. Then again who would need to encode what they encode, in let's say 3 hours, in 1 hour and even less sometimes, not to mention rendering in 3DS MAX.

I still don't understand that logic, when quad cores perform way better than most dual cores at the same price and even the ones that are 2x more expensive than a Q6600 for example. Why isn't it worth it? because you loose max 7 frames in games? I know you are obsessed about frames (you said that you have a few frames less in Vista compared to XP and you hated it :|)but that is BS. Extra power for less isn't bad, especially if at a certain point you will use applications that need a lot of processing power. If you will never use such programs, NEVER, ok, but price/performance, no contest, a dual core isn't worth it.

I'm just a stickler when it comes to price. It's true, I don't encode or decode or anything (Though I use Photoshop, and Quadcore won't do ANYTHING for Photoshop). I just don't see the point when you can get an E8500 instead of a Q6600 and OC the E8500 to 4.0 GHZ which would smoke the Q6600 in any game.

And price/performance, dual cores are way better. The E7200 is $50 and can out-overclock the Q6600 by a hefty amount.The Q6600 might have more power but it's unused so what's the point anyways?

Well, yes, I agree there :P in games it's not worth it, but I don't really buy a PC for 70% just for games, only 30%, all I care about games is the graphics card, but yes for mostly games and HD movies all you need is a dual core and having more power in them doesn't help, only if it is a little faster and gets 2 to 7-8 frames more, but I really don't look at 2/7-8 frames when I get over 70 frames in most games and i won't count Crysis because a dual core or a qad core won't make a difference in frames, even if the dual core would be used more efficient. And in Photoshop it is a little, but just a little faster, when you are looking through 3 thousand brushes :P, but yes overall is not that much better.

Anyway Grapichs on consoles don't even come close to comparing with PC graphics, if you have a really good system, additionally the more you spend on a PC, it will stay current for longer (although this isn't always the case).

mattsnibbs

I don't know about all that. MGS4 for PS3 and Ninja Gaiden II for 360 look pretty darn amazing.

To the OP: I put my computer together for a little over a grand and its smokin' !

Regarding the people that are willing to pay so much for gaming computers, Acer's Predator - http://www.acer.com.au/predator/index.html - seems to indicate that there is a market for it out there.

Now, I cannot understand what the appeal is of a prebuilt gaming computer that retails for about $7000, but it's probably the same thing that drives people to buy designer clothes that are no superior in design, manufacture or quality than something that can be purchased for 1/5th of the price.
Some people have money and like to rub it in the face of those of us that don't.

I bought myself a 17" HP Pavilion mid-last year in the range of $2000-$2750 (I don't want to sound like one of the wankers I was just talking about - the bloody thing raped my savings account and I still cry myself to sleep some nights) that plays some newer games at low settings, and that's enough for me, but the fact that I can still play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and FEAR and **** like that at a good pace on a laptop feels good.

For a desktop I'd never pay more than $1500. Ever.
Except maybe one of those "full spec" Mac Pros, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
(To see why, go to the Apple Pro Mac configuration page and just tick all the highest-level components...)

Regarding the people that are willing to pay so much for gaming computers, Acer's Predator - http://www.acer.com.au/predator/index.html - seems to indicate that there is a market for it out there.

Now, I cannot understand what the appeal is of a prebuilt gaming computer that retails for about $7000, but it's probably the same thing that drives people to buy designer clothes that are no superior in design, manufacture or quality than something that can be purchased for 1/5th of the price.
Some people have money and like to rub it in the face of those of us that don't.

I bought myself a 17" HP Pavilion mid-last year in the range of $2000-$2750 (I don't want to sound like one of the wankers I was just talking about - the bloody thing raped my savings account and I still cry myself to sleep some nights) that plays some newer games at low settings, and that's enough for me, but the fact that I can still play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and FEAR and **** like that at a good pace on a laptop feels good.

For a desktop I'd never pay more than $1500. Ever.
Except maybe one of those "full spec" Mac Pros, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
(To see why, go to the Apple Pro Mac configuration page and just tick all the highest-level components...)

Fragazine

The things that keep me hooked are;

-Graphics
PC's are always on the cutting edge of Graphics.
(That is if you can afford to keep up with the hardware)

-Input
With PC's you have a large selection of control methods.
Keyboard, Mouse, Gamepads, Joysticks, Wheels,
Foot Pedals, Flight Sim Controls, Etc.

-Mods
Many games have mods available for them.
After done beating a game or just bored with it,
you can put new life back into an otherwise old game.

Mods can be anything the creater can think of from Simple things like
Maps, Cars, Weapons, Etc. To Total Conversions
that replace everything to create an entirely new game.

And besides just playing games, "Computers"
is also hobby by itself.

We love to Configure, Overclock, Benchmark, Tweak, Program, Maintain and
Build Computers from parts and pieces.

Thats why you see us spending lots of money on them.
We love are computers not just the games.

I know most gamers are very cost conscious and look into tons of reviews and player opinions before making a purchase. But I go on websites and see pc's for upwards of $5000. And alot of pc gamers have really fast pcs that are worth alot. I am not critcising u guys but can I just havent seen the value. Everyone has a justified opinion and I was wonderin wats urs.

Well, first and foremost, only a complete idiot or someone with a loto fmoney would spend 5k on a rig. The only reason you see those advertised is because it looks cool. Its like a car dealership having a Bentley out front; it looks great, but they only sell three of them a year.

As for justification from a price perspective, I look at it this way:

1. PC Gaming is a serious hobby. Like most serious hobbies, it requires time and money. Fixing up cars, sailboating...the list goes on. PC Gaming is also less casual than console gaming.

2. I dont spend more than 1300 on a new PC, and I dont buy a new PC every year. More like every three years. With that said, just about everyone needs a PC, and even if you go to Costco and get some dinky one, its still going to set you back 500 dollars. If you get a mac, it will set you back 1500 dollars. Add a console, another 300+ dollars, and the price difference isnt that great

3. Games are cheaper. On average, PC games cost 40 dollars. On average, console games cost 55. I remember I was at bestbuy last year and max payne for xbox still costs 50 dollars!

i have never been a pc gamer really. I jsut played some of age of empires,sims, Rome total war, and tahts abotu it.

But Being a console gamer I just dont see the value in pc gaming. yes I looked thro the main thread on this forum, but i still cant see how its worth it?

There really are too many to list, but for starters there is:

1. Multiplayer. We get to choose what games we do. When I played Halo 3 with my friends 360, I thought it was frustrating not being able to browse and filter the multiplayer games. On PC, if I want to play on a West Coast server with a player count greater than 20 but less than 30, on a specific map, I can find it easily. Not to mention that, excluding MMOs, we dont have to pay for a "service" that is completely unnecessary.

2. Mods. Mods are great, mods alone are enough justification for me to completely forgot about considering a console. When Halflife came out, it was a great game. More importantly, it was a good value for a shooter as it lasted many hours. But even better were the mods. Team Fortress ****c and Counterstrike were staples of mine that I played for free for almost ten years! There are mods for everything, simply compare the mods for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblvion; the 360 and PS3 miss out on all of them.

3. Visuals. Even a modest 1000 rig will look better than an Xbox 360 or PS3 on a 500+ dollar TV.

4. Controls. We get a mouse and keyboard, which gets all sort of neat control options. While a controller is nice because you can chill on the couch and play a game with it, I just prefer the preciseness of a mouse and the configurability of a keyboard. Aiming with a controller is annoying, slow, and not fun.

I know i is prolly just me but I am sure u guys are finding reat amonts of fun and entertainment or u wouldnt be making the investments.So my question is wat is it abotu pc gaming that keeps gamers hooked.

For me, its a hobby. Its more than "insert disk and play". Its more like:

1. Insert disk
2. Install
3. Research game and download patches while installing
4. Update the game
5. Play the game, singleplayer
6. Finish game
7. Go online and play
8. When online gets boring, download mods
9. Repeat step 8 for many months
10. Load winamp and play online
11. Get stuck in singleplayer, get to a tough spot, alt-tab and look up a guide

It goes on and on. Consoles are limited, PCs are unlimited in their capability.

Yes, theyre more expensive, but you get what you pay for and PCs I consider a bargain compared to consoles.

(maybe some more PC games would improve my spelling)

white_jaguar

Dude now is like the time to buy :|

get a 8800 GT for 120$, a Dual/Quad for 180$, and 2 gigs for what?!?!?! 20$? get a nice mobo (780i/680i) for 250/200, and then just work out basic stuff

DVD:20

Case w/ PS: 115 (my guess XD)

KB/Mouse: Anywhere from 15-300$ :lol:

a cheap 19inch Widescreen AND RIGHT NOW get Fata1ity pro Headset (the best HS ever) for 20$ (80% off how can u not?)

there your done

Total:850 Aproximately give or take...it's not that expensive dude :D

(I even spent 200 on the moniter XD)

simply put vary few PCs cost 5000$ and you won't need a 5k to play, and I doubt anyone here has dropped 5k on one

thanks for clearing that up everyone. I just see the superficial ads in the pc magazines and stuff. I knew a person who dropped thousands on a pc. Now i will look into building my own pc when I get a new one.

sorry if i offended anybody.

thanks for clearing that up everyone. I just see the superficial ads in the pc magazines and stuff. I knew a person who dropped thousands on a pc. Now i will look into building my own pc when I get a new one.

sorry if i offended anybody.

white_jaguar

its cool, baby. You expressed from the outset that you were curious, not cynical and doubtful :D

thanks for clearing that up everyone. I just see the superficial ads in the pc magazines and stuff. I knew a person who dropped thousands on a pc. Now i will look into building my own pc when I get a new one.

sorry if i offended anybody.

white_jaguar

yeah it's np send me a PM I can get you links for (recommended by me XD) items that you might want and guides to put it together yourself...I think you'll find it quite involving and I consider my PC a somewhat prized possession and keepin care of it is more a hobby then simple gaming it's something I've built and cleaned and put work into it has worth beyond the price of the parts.

I find the technology facinating.

It's awesome how you can take a PC that you probably already have, and add a few things here and there and it looks like an xbox360. It's pretty expensive to have a PC game that came out this year and max it out; that for the most part takes a beastly rig. But it's cool how even with, say, a damn cheap video card and processor, you can max out a PC game from 3 years ago and it just looks so much better then an xbox360 game (Half Life comes to mind).

That, and if you already own a computer, then you already have your foot in the door. Modding computers for the most part requires nothing more then a small screwdriver and some basic knowledge that anyone can find on the net - you don't have to be uber mechanically inclined, but if you are, even better.

It's fun stuff. I started off with a craptastic Compaq computer and it's evolved to a mean machine over time. 50$ here, 150$ there, this here, this there. "Pimp my PC". heheh. It's very satisfying.