New PC vs. PS3 vs. 360

So I just custied up (spent more than i should to have something nice looking) and bought a Dell XPS 8300 with the following specs:

XPS 8300 Intel Core i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)

12GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHZ, 2x4GB/2x2GB

DELL 24-IN WIDE, ST2420L

AMD Radeon HD 6770

1.5TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive 7200 RPM

Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 bit, English

Blu-ray 8X BD-R, DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability

Now, this is the first rig I've had since my laptop died about 6 months ago, and is quite a step up from that. Been playing on consoles for the past few years since the laptop I did have wasn't all that. I'm fairly certain that this rig will blow my consoles away, but how much? i mean, i understand that the graphics card is not top of the line, but it's the best they offered when I was ordering. Have Portal 2 downloading through Steam as I type this.

So what say you System Wars? Should I switch to pc gaming at this point and leave my investment into my consoles behind? Is it PC > Xbox 360 > PS3? I'm fairly certain it is, though I do enjoy all systems.

Also, what games should I play? It's been a long time since I've shopped around for PC games...

Nice system. Completely outmatches the console comparisons.

You should play Tribes Ascend. On high settings it looks fantastic.

Its a good PC that will definately outmatch console settings, but if its for gaming it wasn't really a good choice. The 2600 comes at a $100 premium over the 2500 with no benefit other than hyperthreading, and I recommend atleast a 6870 for gaming as the 6770 is sort of weak in comparism to most other gaming cards.

never heard of it but it does look pretty amazing. so it's still in beta? i'll grab a code when i get off of work today. thanks!

If ya don't mind; what's the approximate cost of your new rig ?

If ya don't mind; what's the approximate cost of your new rig ?

SecretPolice

was right at $1400 shipped...came with bose speakers as well. kinda high but not too bad, i think...

It is a useless PC that will be old next year and will not run Witcher 3 even in low

Get a xbox 360 for PC games until xbox 720 arrives and then buy this one to play cutting edge games for 8+ years

It is a useless PC that will be old next year and will not run Witcher 3 even in low

Get a xbox 360 for PC games until xbox 720 arrives and then buy this one to play cutting edge games for 8+ years

loosingENDS

[QUOTE="SecretPolice"]

If ya don't mind; what's the approximate cost of your new rig ?

slantedandencha

was right at $1400 shipped...came with bose speakers as well. kinda high but not too bad, i think...

Games hmm, The Witcher 1 & 2 plus I'd be very interested to check out SW:TOR but you may not want to get involved with those life stealing MMO's :P

[QUOTE="slantedandencha"]

[QUOTE="SecretPolice"]

If ya don't mind; what's the approximate cost of your new rig ?

SecretPolice

was right at $1400 shipped...came with bose speakers as well. kinda high but not too bad, i think...

Games hmm, The Witcher 1 & 2 plus I'd be very interested to check out SW:TOR but you may not want to get involved with those life stealing MMO's :P

[QUOTE="SecretPolice"]

[QUOTE="slantedandencha"]

was right at $1400 shipped...came with bose speakers as well. kinda high but not too bad, i think...

bluemantan

Games hmm, The Witcher 1 & 2 plus I'd be very interested to check out SW:TOR but you may not want to get involved with those life stealing MMO's :P

Do you not have a 360 or PS3? If not then I wouldn't really worry about getting one too much. PC offers plenty of gaming especially if you haven't played any PC games over the last few years. The 360 is getting toward the end of its product life, so buying a new one may not be worth it depending on how much you play. If you already have a 360 or PS3, then there is no reason to be so polarized in your gaming choices.

Portal 2 plays fine on consoles

shoulda just kept your xbox

while i wholeheartedly agree with this, the main reasons i went with a pre-built rig are that i now have an 8 month old kid, so the time required to maintain a rig that i built would be kinda slim, and also i enjoy the sweet warranty that i got with it (2 years full in home support etc). it's also nice that money isn't an issue this time around, me and the family are good to go. i am, however, thinking about picking up an nvidia gtx 560 ti. should i do it?

Can't you just play on all of them?

Good luck playing Witcher 3 and 4 on that build. Meanwhile, xbox720 will play Witcher 3 and 4 flawlessly. I'll give you 6 months until you upgrade. $2000 PC incoming.

Avoid dell at all costs.

The GPU is kind of weak but that can switched out later.. Heil68

yeah, like i said i'm thinking about dropping some coin on an nvidia gtx560 ti, but not sure if it's worth it. thoughts?

So I just custied up (spent more than i should to have something nice looking) and bought a Dell XPS 8300 with the following specs:

XPS 8300 Intel Core i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)

12GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHZ, 2x4GB/2x2GB

DELL 24-IN WIDE, ST2420L

AMD Radeon HD 6770

1.5TB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive 7200 RPM

Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 bit, English

Blu-ray 8X BD-R, DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability

Now, this is the first rig I've had since my laptop died about 6 months ago, and is quite a step up from that. Been playing on consoles for the past few years since the laptop I did have wasn't all that. I'm fairly certain that this rig will blow my consoles away, but how much? i mean, i understand that the graphics card is not top of the line, but it's the best they offered when I was ordering. Have Portal 2 downloading through Steam as I type this.

So what say you System Wars? Should I switch to pc gaming at this point and leave my investment into my consoles behind? Is it PC > Xbox 360 > PS3? I'm fairly certain it is, though I do enjoy all systems.

Also, what games should I play? It's been a long time since I've shopped around for PC games...

slantedandencha

No one can tell you whether you'll switch or not except yourself. Plus, if you have the consoles + the PC, why switch at all? I'd keep them all.

good point. my time is kind of limited on gaming these days, so i have to be deliberate in my choices.

[QUOTE="Heil68"]The GPU is kind of weak but that can switched out later.. slantedandencha

yeah, like i said i'm thinking about dropping some coin on an nvidia gtx560 ti, but not sure if it's worth it. thoughts?

while i wholeheartedly agree with this, the main reasons i went with a pre-built rig are that i now have an 8 month old kid, so the time required to maintain a rig that i built would be kinda slim, and also i enjoy the sweet warranty that i got with it (2 years full in home support etc). it's also nice that money isn't an issue this time around, me and the family are good to go. i am, however, thinking about picking up an nvidia gtx 560 ti. should i do it?

slantedandencha

And why does having a computer you built yourself mean you have to spend more time to maintain it?

It is a useless PC that will be old next year and will not run Witcher 3 even in low

Get a xbox 360 for PC games until xbox 720 arrives and then buy this one to play cutting edge games for 8+ years

loosingENDS

and this shall be the new sig. :P

fvcking dumbass :lol:

[QUOTE="slantedandencha"]

while i wholeheartedly agree with this, the main reasons i went with a pre-built rig are that i now have an 8 month old kid, so the time required to maintain a rig that i built would be kinda slim, and also i enjoy the sweet warranty that i got with it (2 years full in home support etc). it's also nice that money isn't an issue this time around, me and the family are good to go. i am, however, thinking about picking up an nvidia gtx 560 ti. should i do it?

cain006

And why does having a computer you built yourself mean you have to spend more time to maintain it?

dunno, didn't think that one through too well. i just automatically assumed that since i haven't built one in several years that i wouldn't be that great at it, which is more than likely false. i'm gonna give a few games a go with the currect gpu in it and see how that goes.

i also use solidworks for my job, so gpu is quite important...though i have no desire to go with a quadro.

Royal rip offMonsieurX

you're probably right, but i'm ok with it. i'm pretty happy with my purchase at the moment.

i would get a PS3 since the online is free

i would get a PS3 since the online is free

CKYguy25

have one already...360 as well.

[QUOTE="cain006"]

[QUOTE="slantedandencha"]

while i wholeheartedly agree with this, the main reasons i went with a pre-built rig are that i now have an 8 month old kid, so the time required to maintain a rig that i built would be kinda slim, and also i enjoy the sweet warranty that i got with it (2 years full in home support etc). it's also nice that money isn't an issue this time around, me and the family are good to go. i am, however, thinking about picking up an nvidia gtx 560 ti. should i do it?

slantedandencha

And why does having a computer you built yourself mean you have to spend more time to maintain it?

dunno, didn't think that one through too well. i just automatically assumed that since i haven't built one in several years that i wouldn't be that great at it, which is more than likely false. i'm gonna give a few games a go with the currect gpu in it and see how that goes.

i also use solidworks for my job, so gpu is quite important...though i have no desire to go with a quadro.

[QUOTE="Heil68"]The GPU is kind of weak but that can switched out later.. slantedandencha

yeah, like i said i'm thinking about dropping some coin on an nvidia gtx560 ti, but not sure if it's worth it. thoughts?

Good luck playing Witcher 3 and 4 on that build. Meanwhile, xbox720 will play Witcher 3 and 4 flawlessly. I'll give you 6 months until you upgrade. $2000 PC incoming.

FashionFreak

decent PC, but that price made me gag

So what say you System Wars? Should I switch to pc gaming at this point and leave my investment into my consoles behind?

slantedandencha

You won't just immediately switch to PC gaming (and may never), so keep your consoles.

It all just depends on how much you discover on the PC. There's more games and content on the PC than all the consoles combined, but it's not up in your face. You have to go search for it.

Of course Steam makes it easy to find games, but there's still a massive amount of games that Steam doesn't have.

Also, mods and other content you typically have to search for online, so if you find a game you love make sure to look for anything that might make it even better.

You could also try out GoG.com if you were ever interested in older PC titles, but could never get your hands on them when they were new.

Never understood why these prefab gaming systems cheap out on the videocard. Throw in less memory and a smaller hdd or something, don't skimp on the most important part.

Dell :lol: the only good thing they produce is Ultra Sharp monitors lol. Return this crap and build your own, should only take a couple hours. You may not even able to run a 560ti if your psu is sh*t (which is probably the case) and that's why they weren't offering anything higher than a crappy 6770.

Seriously... never get a Dell... I'd would return that if you still have a chance.

You didn't want to build your own Rig, you should of got one of these Alienware X51 mini gaming Desktop

http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/fs

Yes, you probably could have done better if you built it yourself. But as you've said you don't really have the time and it's your money anyways. Plus I assume you got at least a 3 year warranty, which my encouters with Dell warranty have been pretty good when I fried my laptop MOBO twice. So if you're happy with what you got and what you spent, more power to you.

If you are planning to upgrade your GPU make sure to check your PSU first to make sure you have enough power. If your 6670 works fine for now for what you need, you can always wait since the AMD 7000 series is still rolling out and Nvidia "Kepler" 700 series should be coming in spring/summer.

Do you use this for anything besides gaming? I'm just wondering because of the i7 2600 and 12Gb of RAM

You need to check out the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. All three are on Steam.

Cryostasis is a nice little gem. Amnesia can give you your horror fix. Serious Sam 3 is so much fun, you must try it. Hard Reset is another great game with a classic feal. Killing Floor is similar to L4D, it goes on sale all the time on Steam. If you like tower defense games, check out Dungeon Defenders and Sanctum. The Witcher 1 & 2 are amazing. Check out Firefall as well as Tribes (I think Blacklight: Retribution just finished its closed beta and the open should be up soon).

Others worth note: Zeno Clash, Xotic, Torchlight, Minecraft, Terraria, Shattered Horizon, the Penumbra series, NightSky, Magika, E.Y.E., Cave Story+, Capsized, and The Ball. All are on Steam and all are great games.

Give me your Steam account I can give you a key to the beta for Super Monday Night Combat. I have three keys

Yes, you probably could have done better if you built it yourself. But as you've said you don't really have the time and it's your money anyways. Plus I assume you got at least a 3 year warranty, which my encouters with Dell warranty have been pretty good when I fried my laptop MOBO twice. So if you're happy with what you got and what you spent, more power to you.

If you are planning to upgrade your GPU make sure to check your PSU first to make sure you have enough power. If your 6670 works fine for now for what you need, you can always wait since the AMD 7000 series is still rolling out and Nvidia "Kepler" 700 series should be coming in spring/summer.

Do you use this for anything besides gaming? I'm just wondering because of the i7 2600 and 12Gb of RAM

lostrib

Yes, I"m a Mechanical Designer and use it for Solidworks, CAMWorks and AutoCAD daily. I did a small amount of research about the PSU before I bought it and according to everyone I've seen discussing it, it is compatible with the GTX 560 TI, though in all honesty after running Portal 2 for a bit and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I'm feeling ok about what's in it now. I'm sure it would struggle to run BF3 on high settings, but it ain't bad.

Good luck playing Witcher 3 and 4 on that build. Meanwhile, xbox720 will play Witcher 3 and 4 flawlessly. I'll give you 6 months until you upgrade. $2000 PC incoming.

FashionFreak

loosingEnds, is that you?

Yeah that's a pretty good machine but you might want more RAM if you want to run more than 4 Battlefield 3 exes at once.

You can play PC games and console games, y'know. No need to choose one over the other. Be a real gamer and just enjoy good games, not get caught up in the hardware and the silly fanboy drivel.

Unless you have severe time constraints that drastically limit your playtime, there is no reason to limit your gaming tastes as well. Many good experiences found on consoles that won't see a PC release and vice versa.

slantedandencha

while i wholeheartedly agree with this, the main reasons i went with a pre-built rig are that i now have an 8 month old kid, so the time required to maintain a rig that i built would be kinda slim, and also i enjoy the sweet warranty that i got with it (2 years full in home support etc). it's also nice that money isn't an issue this time around, me and the family are good to go. i am, however, thinking about picking up an nvidia gtx 560 ti. should i do it?

[QUOTE="lostrib"]

Yes, you probably could have done better if you built it yourself. But as you've said you don't really have the time and it's your money anyways. Plus I assume you got at least a 3 year warranty, which my encouters with Dell warranty have been pretty good when I fried my laptop MOBO twice. So if you're happy with what you got and what you spent, more power to you.

If you are planning to upgrade your GPU make sure to check your PSU first to make sure you have enough power. If your 6670 works fine for now for what you need, you can always wait since the AMD 7000 series is still rolling out and Nvidia "Kepler" 700 series should be coming in spring/summer.

Do you use this for anything besides gaming? I'm just wondering because of the i7 2600 and 12Gb of RAM

slantedandencha

Yes, I"m a Mechanical Designer and use it for Solidworks, CAMWorks and AutoCAD daily. I did a small amount of research about the PSU before I bought it and according to everyone I've seen discussing it, it is compatible with the GTX 560 TI, though in all honesty after running Portal 2 for a bit and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I'm feeling ok about what's in it now. I'm sure it would struggle to run BF3 on high settings, but it ain't bad.

It's a tad bit better than my computer, and mine will play any game out atm.

If you can live with not playing a tiny handful of games at high-max settings then you're good to go.