What are the pros/cons of being a PC gamer?

I have been a strictly console gamer from PS1, N64 to Xbox and PS2. I have yet to jump into the next-gen, so I have decided instead of getting a 360/PS3, I'm going with a computer to play games on. I needed a new PC anyway. It won't be top of the line by any means, but I'm no graphics whore. I figger a dual-core processor w/ 2 Gigs of RAM and an 8600GT being displayed on a 19" widescreen monitor will be plenty, and it's also all my budget will allow.

So what are the pros/Cons? I'm a HUGE Shooter fan, so the wealth of PC FPS's available is looking great. I already have a USB controller, because I'm not sure I'm good with keyboard & mouse. Maybe I'll become accustomed to that setup.

1 con I can think of would be the fact it's difficult to just bring your PC over to a friend's house to play...

Another thing - what's this I hear about Windows Live? Is it like Xbox live w/ achievemnets and stuff? Is there voice chat online in PC games?

Sorry for the plethora of questions, just never gamed on a PC before. Here are a few of the titles I will be checking out.

Orange Box, Bioshock, COD4, Gears of War, Far Cry, Crysis, DIRT

Pros:1000 times more functionality than consoles, games have better graphics and options,getting into upgrading your PC is more addicting then playing games, its like having a 69 camaro and upgrading it the rest of your life...(it doesnt have to be a dam 69 camaro), and a bunch of other things people will probbelly start syain in 36.7 nano seconds.

cons: uhhh.... maybe a little harder on the wallet, but hardly a con. And you actualy have to be kinda smart in dealing with sudden problems that happen rarely.

as for windows live, it is only working in GoW right now I think... but itl be mainstream ina year or two. Its fun, go geta camaro case too.

PC gaming is pretty awesome, but it's much more tuned towards PC enthusiast than console gaming which has a fairly casual crowd.

The pro's are you get alot of very exclusive games with giant communities like WOW, Half-Life, Starcraft. You'll get custom content from a range of sources, and most the high level games have tons of replay value through multiplayer, mods, or even just single player depth. Also if you keep your PC on the upper edge you'll get better graphics than on consoles.

For a person that doesn't have much PC experience there's tons of cons. Just keeping your PC in running order can be a hassle if you don't know what you're doing. You can run into malware, virii, or other crap that'll mess up your gaming experience before you know it. Mods can be a source of problems also. I've had to re-install plenty of games due to bad mods. Installing, and customizing games tends to be something that console gamers get irked about when they first start out. They really hate waiting, or figuring out how to install games. Then there's the whole mess of getting the right configuration down for the best visuals since console players have never had the option they rarely know about things like resolution, AA, vsync, and tons of other stuff that is pretty much second nature to most PC gamers. Most the time you can just go w/ the recommended settings, but if you play enough games, you're going to run into problems eventually. Achievements are prett much crap on windows live, and with Vista you still need to be pretty handy w/ a pc to get it to run consistently. Games come out fairly steadily, but most of the PC community seems locked into specific games and really few games that come out actually have large active communities. I can't think of any new IP that's really made a name for itself in the pc community in the past 5 years though there might be one or two I'm missing. Also a ton of new titles claim to be the next big thing but we'll see where they are after their first year. If you're going to be a pc gamer you're going to have to learn PC hardware, and you'll probably be looking into upgrading your rig w/in the next 2 years. If you don't do this smart these costs really add up in a hurry. I can tell you few PC gamers actually know how much they spend per year on PC parts, and tend to play down their spending.

I tend not to recommend PC gaming to those that aren't really interested in become PC enthusiast themselves. I've seen a lot of people try to jump into it with no will to learn PC stuff, and they tend to drop out when it's time to get new hardware.

Pros:

You get to play PC-exclusives.

Graphics on a beefy PC are way better than any console (I know you said you're no gfx-whore, but it's a positive thing imo).

You'll get to catch up on a lot of older PC-classics, there is an amazing amount of fantastic PC-games you've yet to play. That alone can keep you occupied 'til you get a GPU that can max Crysis and then some...

Online (if you're into it) is better on the PC and it's mostly free.

KB + mouse is better than controller in FPSs. I'm comfortable with both, but you can't beat the mouse for precision.

Games are cheaper for the PC.

I could go on and on.

Cons:

You have to sit up while playing games that require a lot of twitch play, like FPSs.

Controllers do not work with most RPGs, the interface is often too complex and a lot of devs do not even bother to make their games controller compatible. Which is a shame if you ask me. I like to sit with my feet up and relax when I play RPGs. 5+ hrs of gameplay on a crappy chair is painful for your back and shoulders.

Hardware is not cheap, but what hobby is, right?

Coop is not usually supported on PC and unless you have a laptop, it's a pain in the ass to bring the PC to your buddy.

You don't get to play console-exclusive titles.

All in all, I'd say go for it. I probably forgot some pros/cons, but it's not really important. PC-gaming is great and if I had a gun to my head and had to choose between my 360 and my PC, I'd go with the PC. Still, I'm glad I have a console, I get to play Mass Effect this weekend. :)

pros: better fps, rts, rpg - better games overall

cons: no fighting games and ea sports

This is a travesty! Six posts in and no one has mentioned mods, one of PC games' biggest selling points. :DJP_Russell

Hahaha agreed.

Pros: Best games, Graphics, ect.

Cons: Have to stay up to date. Meaning u have a really good gfx card processer ect.

This is a travesty! Six posts in and no one has mentioned mods, one of PC games' biggest selling points. :DJP_Russell

Ops, forgot that one. But mods can be both a blessing and a pain at the same time, Morrowind can look so much better and have so many more quests, houses and whatnot with mods, but try to install 70+ mods. A LOT of work... Still, it's better to have the option to not install mods than not having any at all. :)

The first thing I thought when I read this post was mods. You can improve the game yourself just by installing your own mods. More pros are better graphics if you can afford it, the more flexible multiplayer and online interactivity, and personally I like using the mouse and keyboard combination better than joysticks and buttons (especially for FPSs).

Cons would probably be the need to upgrade your PC in order to play newer games. You don't need to upgrade your console to play newer games. Your game will crash on PC due to hardware which rarely happens to me on consoles. You don't get the joy of a TV unless you have a fine quality and sized monitor.

And I only play PC - don't have any consoles except an N64. :)

PC gaming is all about options. You choose your PC parts, you choose your drivers, you choose your monitor. You choose your settings, and you choose what mods and tweaks you use. You choose how you get your get games, and you choose what method you use for controlling those games.

All of these are pros or cons depending on how you look at it. If you want all the options and variables you can shake a stick at, then there's no substitute. If you just want to put in a disc and play without having to make any choices whatsoever, then it's just going to seem like a hassle.
Teufelhuhn

Seconded. PC gaming is great if you don't mind using some time to get things work. If something doesn't work, you'll have to do some research to get it fixed, but that's actually why I like PC gaming so much.