Thinking about Starting PC Gaming

Ok so last Saturday I went to a internet cafe with my friends and played wow, counterstrike, and age of empires. It was soooo fun.
I have always been playing consoles but now I am seriously thinking about getting a new PC and buy watever it takes to get good graphics.

Thing is I don't know much about computers and don't know if it would be more expensive then buying a Playstation 3 that im going to get later on with a new LCD T.V. How much would it cost to get a PC that I can use for gaming and doing homework stuff.

PS3 + LCD = Around $2500 (canadiannn)
New PC with nice graphic card and stuff = I uno

Please PC gamers educate me about PC's and tell me if it's worth it over getting a PS3

well for a good PC now a-days. think about investing in a

- Intel Core 2 Duo (E6600 is good)

- at least 2 GBs of RAM

- Geforce 8800 (your pick of either GTS or GTX, GTX is better but expensive)

also youll want to consider picking up vista towards the end of the year (wait as long as you can, so most bugs are worked out) so you can play some DX10 stuff (Crysis, Alan Wake etc.)

all this is a bit overkill for the WoW, CSS, and AoE you played, but it will definetely last you a long time, and definetely play those games you mentioned at max with great frame rates.

well for a good PC now a-days. think about investing in a

- Intel Core 2 Duo (E6600 is good)

- at least 2 GBs of RAM

- Geforce 8800 (your pick of either GTS or GTX, GTX is better but expensive)

also youll want to consider picking up vista towards the end of the year (wait as long as you can, so most bugs are worked out) so you can play some DX10 stuff (Crysis, Alan Wake etc.)

all this is a bit overkill for the WoW, CSS, and AoE you played, but it will definetely last you a long time, and definetely play those games you mentioned at max with great frame rates.

DDX2

Just be wise about getting a good motherboard so you have the option to upgrade in the future.  You don't need to have the latest video card or CPU to have a powerful machine.  Most of the prices drop about 6 months after the parts are out, so if you wait for what you want, you can get a good deal.

 It's cheapest to build a PC, but if you don't have the time or the knowledge, you can go to certain sites on the net that will assemble them for y ou.  They typically are cheaper than buying from a brand name distributor, but not always.

[QUOTE="DDX2"]

well for a good PC now a-days. think about investing in a

- Intel Core 2 Duo (E6600 is good)

- at least 2 GBs of RAM

- Geforce 8800 (your pick of either GTS or GTX, GTX is better but expensive)

also youll want to consider picking up vista towards the end of the year (wait as long as you can, so most bugs are worked out) so you can play some DX10 stuff (Crysis, Alan Wake etc.)

all this is a bit overkill for the WoW, CSS, and AoE you played, but it will definetely last you a long time, and definetely play those games you mentioned at max with great frame rates.

Final_Rise

umm..../math skillz

about $900-1000 for those parts, but you'll also need to invest in a case, motherboard, cooling, power supply, etc. all in all, i think its about $1500-$2000. Best take your questions to the PC Hardware forums. They'll be more than happy to assist you in picking out the various parts. but, just to let you know, this is considering you are building it yourself. if you order this from a website it may be a bit more.

First, allow me to congratulate you on actually factoring in the costs of the HDTV with the PS3 purchase! Very few people take that into consideration.

Secondly, you don't *need* to get the bleeding edge in computer parts to get a freakin' fast system. I recently got my new computer and paid about $1600 (not including the two-day shipping...what can I say, I hate waiting). Specs are:

Core2Duo E6600 (2.4GHz proc, 4MB L2 cache (the higher this number is, generally the better you're system will run)

2GB DDR2 800 RAM

320GB HDD

GeForce 7900GS w/ 256MB internal RAM

dual DL DVD-RW drives

And yes, I bought this pre-built from ABS.com. All in all, I've been able to run some pretty demanding games (Supreme Commander on almost the max settings) at acceptable frame rates (consistently above 25). Basically what I'm getting at here is that you don't need an 8800 video card yet...the older generation cards will hold you over pretty well until the price on the 8800-series drops some more. Just bear in mind that when you do finally get an 8800-series, go for the 320GTS...save yourself a couple hundred dollars and the hit in performance is going to be minimal.

o ya, heres some websites that will help you out:

Newegg (order parts here):

http://www.newegg.com/

how to build a PC:

http://tools.corsairmemory.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=12472

One thing to bear in mind when first getting into PC gaming is this is one of the most expensive hobby since you gotto upgrade your PC constantly if you wanna keep up with all the new games.sstravisd

This is not necessarily true. Before I upgraded a week ago due to my computer dying, I had my old computer fo 6 years with only 2 upgrades (adding a hard drive, and getting a 6800GT video card about 2 years ago). With that system I was able to play F.E.A.R. on mostly high settings, Company of Heroes on medium settings, and Supreme Commander on...well...okay, you got me on this one: low settings and on the smallest maps. The longevity of computer systems (depending on where you start off with) is much higher than most people think. You just gotta be smart about it.

EDIT - DDX2, bear in mind that if he's just getting into PC gaming, chances are the prospects of building his own system may be a tad bit daunting.  www.abs.com is the website where I got my pre-built, and their price is about $100-$200 over building it yourself. In other words, you're not being bent over a table with them.

EDIT - (I'd linkify it, but right now gamespot keeps adding "www.gamespot.com/forums/[link_address]" every time I try to link the site.  GRRR!!!

[QUOTE="sstravisd"]One thing to bear in mind when first getting into PC gaming is this is one of the most expensive hobby since you gotto upgrade your PC constantly if you wanna keep up with all the new games.Ein-7919

This is not necessarily true. Before I upgraded a week ago due to my computer dying, I had my old computer fo 6 years with only 2 upgrades (adding a hard drive, and getting a 6800GT video card about 2 years ago). With that system I was able to play F.E.A.R. on mostly high settings, Company of Heroes on medium settings, and Supreme Commander on...well...okay, you got me on this one: low settings and on the smallest maps. The longevity of computer systems (depending on where you start off with) is much higher than most people think. You just gotta be smart about it.

EDIT - DDX2, bear in mind that if he's just getting into PC gaming, chances are the prospects of building his own system may be a tad bit daunting. Here's the website where I got my pre-built, and their price is about $100-$200 over building it yourself. In other words, you're not being bent over a table with them.

LOL..it also depends on how HARDCORE you are, of course it's not necessary but that's just one thing someone might need to consider. And btw, I'm talking about NEW games, like the upcoming Dx10 games: Crysis, BioShock, World In Conflict, Alan Wake...etc....You can still probably play those but you don't have the full experience if you don't have a good rig that can handle, which is for someone like me, is important since I wanna enjoy the game at the fullest experience as possible.

EDIT - DDX2, bear in mind that if he's just getting into PC gaming, chances are the prospects of building his own system may be a tad bit daunting.  www.abs.com is the website where I got my pre-built, and their price is about $100-$200 over building it yourself. In other words, you're not being bent over a table with them.

Ein-7919

thats very true (the PC i just got is a Dell XPS 410). but lots of people on the hardware forums recomend it, and it is a very cost effective method. I'm mearly presenting the option that if he wants he can try it out.

[QUOTE="Ein-7919"]

EDIT - DDX2, bear in mind that if he's just getting into PC gaming, chances are the prospects of building his own system may be a tad bit daunting. www.abs.com is the website where I got my pre-built, and their price is about $100-$200 over building it yourself. In other words, you're not being bent over a table with them.

DDX2

thats very true (the PC i just got is a Dell XPS 410). but lots of people on the hardware forums recomend it, and it is a very cost effective method. I'm mearly presenting the option that if he wants he can try it out.

LOL..it also depends on how HARDCORE you are, of course it's not necessary but that's just one thing someone might need to consider. And btw, I'm talking about NEW games, like the upcoming Dx10 games: Crysis, BioShock, World In Conflict, Alan Wake...etc....You can still probably play those but you don't have the full experience if you don't have a good rig that can handle, which is for someone like me, is important since I wanna enjoy the game at the fullest experience as possible.

sstravisd

"New games" is always going to be a relative term.  When I say that my old system could play F.E.A.R. on near max detail levels, that was when the game first came out and was considered "new."  Company of Heroes was the same way.  And even now, Supreme Commander is a "new game" and my new computer is able to handle that one with room to spare.  What you are talking about are games that are "coming soon"...not "new."  But if we were to take that as the benchmark, we're trying to reach something that is completely unattainable.  When those games come out, the price on the 8800-series is going to be much more affordable than it is now.  So, to err on the side of frugality, my recommendation is to hold off on the bleeding edge tech until it stops bleeding a bit.

650i or the latest 680i(they have bugs and are more expensive). nVidia 8800GTS or a 7950GT. A 320GB SATAII harddrive and a DVD-ROM. A good mid tower case and a good PSU, preferably 500watt plus. 1GB of RAM or 2GB is you can spare the extra money. And last but not least a processor most preferably a dual core and the best value for money dual core is the Intel E6600.

I built a similar PC for a friend and it cost approximately £850 in parts. Thats around $1700 but you can probably get those parts from newegg for alot cheaper in US/Canada. Of course thats just the tower, but keyboard, mouse, monitor, desk and chair don't actually come to that much. Generaly you can pick up a good desk for about £100($200) and a chair for £50($100). Keyboard and mouse can be bought as one for as little as £15($30) while a monitor can be £150+($300).

A PC like that is quite high end so will play those games maxed with good frame rates. 

I thought the PC community is friendly and u guys aren't answering me back. *sniff sniff* :cry:

Oh and wat about gaming LAPTOPS?!Final_Rise

wow im gonna have to do a bunch of studying about this computer stuff in order to know what to get.
Still not sure if I want to choose to buy a PC over a PS3.
Some of you guys are telling me it's cheaper then getting a PC then a PS3 and some of you are not.
If I choose PC gaming do I HAVE to get the latest hardware just to get the most fun out of new games that come out every few months?
How much would it cost to get better graphics then a PS3/360?

Oh and thank you forr all those that replied. Final_Rise

i dont know if you've been listening to the people in system wars, but the upgrade rate for PCs is not nearly as high as you think. If you get a decent enough PC, you wont have to upgrade it for about 1-2 years. You do not have to have the latest hardware to play games. you dont even need the latest stuff to max out games. the latest hardware is overkill in most circumstances. for example. my 7900gs, is a great card. its not DX10 capatable (if it was, i wouldnt be upgrading it later this year), but it is by no means a bad card. with it (and the rest of my PC :) ) i run all my games at high-max at 1680x1050 (just an FYI, this is a much higher resolution than the consoles "HD" 720p). in my first post i recommended a lot of top of the line stuff, but you could easily get by with cheaper stuff. depending on how you look at it, a PC can be cheaper than a PS3, but it can also be more expensive at times.

I dont know if this sounds biased or not, but this is my opinion of what i feel you should do. i respect Sony (i dont agree with alot of their recent moves however), i owned/loved my PS2 for a long time (and still do). With the PS3 however, they seem to have gone downhill. Personally i dont see very many good games coming out for it that will justify the cost of the console and HD-TV needed. For a PC however, there are tons upon tons of games coming out in every genre that look to be excellent. if i were you, i would visit the ABS.com website that was recommended and check out some PCs. perhaps even talk with some hardware smart friends you have, they can provide insight. In the end the choice is yours, but i feel a good gaming PC would be a great investment.

...whoa, that was alot of typing

Woah! Most of the responses are very extreme recommendations for someone who is new to PCs. I highly recommend buying a pre-built PC if you have never built one before so that:

• You can return it if it doesn't work
• You can get support if something goes wrong 

If you are insistent on building your own PC, PLEASE visit a reputable PC building website first. I would recommend the following reading before deciding if you want to build or buy:

• Extremetech Builder's Guide
  
• Anandtech Buyer's Guide

You can argue that pre-built PCs are laden with "craplets" or "crippleware", little programs that bog down your PC and amount to little more than ads, but it's easier to remove them than to build a PC from scratch with no prior experience, or to accidentally fry your new motherboard because you weren't sure about which connector went where.

If you decide to buy a prebuilt, check out slickdeals.net for some good deals (a referral site). 

Either way, I wish you the best of luck and happy gaming! 

YOu don't have to get new hardware every few months to have fun experiences the games you posted do not need goo machines to run. At this stage a medium to high end PC will outdo a 360. Not 100% sure on the PS3 but alll indications point towards it being around the same as a 360 graphics wise.

 Like I said for all these posts focus on the games, if you see lots of games you want now and for the future then buy for that platform, also you may like to take into account that ps3 games cost more but both have free online play.

I thought the PC community is friendly and u guys aren't answering me back. *sniff sniff* :cry:

Oh and wat about gaming LAPTOPS?!Final_Rise

Gaming laptop would be way too expensive to be good for your price range.

Anyhow, it's really not about 'which is more expensive', it's if you would rather put the money you're putting into the PS2 into a PC, and make that amount of money your budget, and paying for that, and asking what the graphics, frame rates, and compatibility would be for that and see if that's enough to be worth it for you..

PC Gaming is fun, but you might just be kinda over excited about some brand new games and new types of games you've never tried before.. You don't really know if it's for you and if it will be fun for a long time, but a gamer is a gamer.. So you'll probably enjoy it either way. But no matter what it is your buying, whether it's a car or a game or a computer or a house.. Don't buy it right after getting really excited about it, that's never a good idea 

Given the early age of PS3 and 360, it's best to get into PC gaming right now and in 3-4 years, you can then safely buy whatever console you want with cheaper games and hopefully cheaper HDTV.

In terms of PC gaming, get a desktop for best performance and experience, here's what I got from Canada Computers last August, you can pick up your parts and ask them to assemble it, costs me around $50CAD(a bit expensive). It can be more expensive depending on the casing.

Here's what I got for around $2000 CAD, tax incl:

- ASUS P5N32 SLI

- E6300 Dual Core(might want to get E6600 or higher right now

- GeForce 7900 GT/GTO

- 2 GIG of RAM

- 250 GB of hard drive

- DVD Burner

- 19in LCD, 2ms, ViewSonic

- Basic keyboard

- A sound card(you can use the sound card of the motherboard if you want)

- A Zalman CPU cooler

- Sonata Casing

- Power Supply 

I'm pretty sure you can get much better than the above for the same amount of money that I paid last year. Things that I already had before was my $200 Klipsch speakers which I love, an optical mouse and Windows XP.

PC games are so much more entertaining (in my opinion). If you have questions on computer stuff, the best place that I've found to ask my questions is here http://forums.softhardware.net/.

A lot of the guys that frequent and run the forums...well, they know a lot about computers and can pretty much answer any question that you throw at them.

About a year and half back, I finally decided that I wanted to get into PC gaming more...so I did a little research and asked some questions; I finally came to a decision about what I wanted to do for a rig. I checked out ibuypower.com, cyberpowerpc.com, alienware.com and a few other spots before I decided what I exactly wanted and who I'd purchase my PC from.

My next PC, I'm going to build myself....but that's still a little ways off.

Good luck on your search.

If you have a couple of friends that actually know about pc's you can ussually get a friend to build one for you for about $50 or so.

When getting into PC gaming you want to focus on 4 aspects.

 I'm going to break this into low end and high end budget markets. Low end will play all games now but will need an upgrade to play future games.

1. CPU - Low End - 2.0ghz AMD 3200+ ($75)  High End - Intel Core 2 Duo ($200)

    Personally I'd go w/ low end and wait for quad core cpu's to drop in price, cpu is important to gaming but not as important as         the GPU

2. Ram - Low End - 1gig ($75)  High End - 2 gigs ($150)

    Don't get generic cheapo ram, but you don't have to get the ultra performance either.  I'd go more into latency and stuff like         that but there's no need to.

3. GPU - Low End - Nvidia 8600 ($200)  High End - Nvidia 8800 ($300)

    This is the most important part to a gaming PC, ATI is just as good depending on the card.  Both these are DX10 cards and         don't cost much more than high end dx9 cards.

The 4th aspect is pretty vague, but is really important and that is the case and power supply.  Most people skimp on these parts and get them as cheap as possible to lower the price of your PC.  You do not want to do this, a bad PSU (power supply) will give you tons of performance problems, and could short out at frustraiting times.  A bad case will overheat your hardware and shorten it's life, along w/ crippling it's performance and kill your chance of over overclocking.  Also you'll want a front panel fan (too keep the hard drives cool, and also give the system good air flow.

I'd recomend only buying Thermaltake and Antec parts for the case/psu there's a couple other companies but they're probably out of your price range. ($200)

On the low end you're looking at $600 w/ shipping and paying your friend to build it.  Even with a high end pc your looking at under $1k, and you'll have quality parts as long as you follow the guide.

Do you guys possibly know any site where I can see how all these graphic cards perform?
Like the Nvidia 8600, 8800, etc.
What kind of graphic card could perform as good as xbox 360's graphics?
Final_Rise

A few days ago, Gamespot posted a hardware column comparing the 8600 with the 8800, 7900, and the x1950.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6169151/index.html?tag=topslot;title;2 (here's the article)

Basically, it was found that the 8600 actually performed worse in most games than the 7900 and the x1950.  For a GPU that will enable you to play games that look as good as a 360, well, since the 360 doesn't use DX10 (as far as I know) the 7-series nVidia cards should be fine (lowest you'd want to go would be the 7600GT) or anything over the x1600 cards from ATi.

That being said, the 8800 line of cards are the best of the best out there for gaming...we'll see how the next-gen ATi cards shape up when that time comes...