What makes a gaming rig a good investment in the wake of next gen consoles?

I haven't treated myself in a while. This holiday season, I'm thinking about finally getting into PC gaming. I want the best investment possible. btw, the bolding is so I see the lines clearly.

I want to know:

1. What makes an investment in a $1000+ PCbetter than buying a $400 plug&play xbox 360?
2. **MAJOR** Why has it been worth it to make the extra investments over the years?
3. How long do top of the line graphics cards take to look dated and how much of an advantage( if any) does that pose over consoles?
4. From your previous experiences, how much do you usually spend on upgrades, etc.... and how long after your original purchase is it required to maintain great visual/processor quality?How much look can you recoop(I'm going to an icy hell for spelling and grammar, I know) from selling parts, and what advantage(monetary/performance) does that give over buying into the new console cycle?
5. Price/Game still worth it after hardware costs?
6. Any other tidbits of info that will steer me into finalizing an Antec900/8800GTS-320/Core2 /2gbRAM order on newegg....

First off, buying a PC or console is not an investment, it is a purchase.

Second, if you spend $1000 now, not including monitor, speakers, etc, the games will look and play better then current consoles until the next gen of consoles comes out. In two years, buy a new processor and GPU and you will be fine for another couple. (assuming the socket format does not change).

Anyway, you can do a whole lot more on a new PC than gaming. I've never regretted purchasing, building, or upgrading a PC. Consoles, on the other hand...

I haven't treated myself in a while. This holiday season, I'm thinking about finally getting into PC gaming. I want the best investment possible. btw, the bolding is so I see the lines clearly.

I want to know:

1. What makes an investment in a $1000+ PCbetter than buying a $400 plug&play xbox 360? Games on the PC are cheaper. Online play is free. Better graphics. Advantage of mouse and keyboard for strategy games and First person shooters. A PC can be used for other things, such as internetting, publisher, Photoshop etc....
   
2. **MAJOR** Why has it been worth it to make the extra investments over the years? To be fair it isn't really an investment, the PC is only going to lose value over time. But its still fun!!!
3. How long do top of the line graphics cards take to look dated and how much of an advantage( if any) does that pose over consoles? I've had a 7950GT since January 2007, and it still runs most games at HIGH-MAX settings. PC games will always have better graphics than the consoles because you can upgrade your PC. You cannot upgrade a console.
   
4. From your previous experiences, how much do you usually spend on upgrades, etc.... and how long after your original purchase is it required to maintain great visual/processor quality?How much look can you recoop(I'm going to an icy hell for spelling and grammar, I know) from selling parts, and what advantage(monetary/performance) does that give over buying into the new console cycle?Like i said i've had this system since January, i haven't upgraded anything yet and games still work great! Graphics cards need upgrading the most often. But if you don't mind the lower graphics settings you could go for 2 years or so without upgrading.
5. Price/Game still worth it after hardware costs? It all depends how often you upgrade. But in the UK new PC games tend to cost £30, whereas new Console games cost £50. This all adds up, so with the money you save you can probably afford to upgrade.
   
6. Any other tidbits of info that will steer me into finalizing an Antec900/8800GTS-320/Core2 /2gbRAM order on newegg....

I Hope this makes some kind of sense.

Speak wise ones...... defkt

From a longevity standpoint computers are King. If you do some research into the systems you are buying and make sure that what you are buying is upgradeable and somewhat future proof, it will easily satisfy you for a good 4+ years with minimal upgrading. I am currently putting together a new rig now after running my current rig for 5 years with only 1 upgrade of 200$ for a new GPU. Through those 5 years I have ran all the games I played at high to MAX settings and only now have I been having to drop into med to low which has driven me to build a new rig. Only because I like to run on HIGH to MAX. If you are one to enjoy games even on low and medium setting a good rig can probably last a lot longer.

Thats what got me to build a new rig. Got sick of waiting for AGP versions of graphic cards :P

Thats what got me to build a new rig. Got sick of waiting for AGP versions of graphic cards :P

Dizzy1976

Yeah - I'm just planning to get a cheap AGP version of the HD 2600 and then get a new PC next year :)

$1000? My pc was much cheaper than that and will run anything I throw at it max once I finish it. All depends on the research you do on the products you buy. My setup is pretty damn cheap, but is a monster.

e2140 @ 3.0 ghz $70

Abit IP35 $66 off of ebay

2 gb on kingston ram $60

500 gb sata hdd $45 off ebay

KB and mouse were $30

Already had a dual layer dvd burner costed me $80 back in 06

Right now I have a 7600 gt that was $100 but ill be getting either the 8800 gt or 2950 pro at about 200-250 each.

Even wityh the 7600 gt I run 95% of games max.

PCs are cheap if you know what and how to buy.

So for the low price of $550, most likely even less for you today you could play any game in the world max. Just have to wait on the new videocards. Or just spend an extra $70 and get n 8800 gts.

Thats the part that most ppl overlook when buying consoles. Yeah the hardware is alot cheaper and yes the companies are actually taking a loss on each console sold. BUT, as an owner of these consoles you are continually paying for your hardware with the purchase of each game. :)

I suppose the extra cost is the cost of licensing the game for the console platform ?Cyborg-21

Bingo. Royalties for modern consoles amount to about $10 per game. This may vary based on whatever agreements the hardware manufacturer has with the publisher - for example, I wouldn't be surprised if MS or Sony would reduce or even completely waive royalties for a big name triple A title to be exclusive on their system. Only don't expect to see this translate to lower prices for the consumer.