Umm...I can run FSX maxed except traffic at 1680x1050 at 20-40FPS on my $2000 rig...GuitarFreak2

Maxed except traffic. I love it. Then thats not really maxed, is it? :D And there is a bit of a difference between 1680x1050 and 2560x1600 - 1.7 megapixels vs. 4. So what exactly does this mean?

And I also broke 13k in 3dmark. If I had the Q6600 and another GTX, which would bring the total to $3000ish, I bet I'd break 16k. ..GuitarFreak2

And if I had a rocket ship, I could go to the moon. What is the point? That for $3,000 you can break 16K on a PC running a 22" LCD?

Ok. I won't argue with you. :? So I'll put you down on the side of those who think its NOT worth it, I presume?

I'm sure there are some master overclockers that could get the same performance out of a $3,000 PC that you get out of your $8,000 one. ;)XBebop

Sure they can. But they wont be able to do it at 2560x1600 for $3000.... :D

...Even so, the system I'd listed there would not only perform just as well, but he's getting both XP and Vista (which Dell sure as hell won't do) AND still coming out ahead in price.codezer0

codezer0, thanks for putting that list together. You put some effort into it and it shows - this is the kind of list that merits serious discussion.

Yes, that system seems to perform as well, if not better than the H2C and is cheaper. I am not going to dispute that. I never have.

What is clear is that once you do the list RIGHT, like you have, it certainly is not HALF of what an H2C would cost. When you consider the convenience of having someone else build it, and 4 years of onsite warranty, the difference is even less. To some people that difference, whatever the actual number is, is WORTH it. To others, its not. As long as we all understand the difference is not half like some other ridiculous comparisons I've read. Sure, I can build a computer for half it I cut corners, get a smaller monitor, forget SLI, etc. etc. etc. Heck, I could go as low as $400 if I got an XBox 360. That's not the point. The point is if you are going compare, do so seriously and compare apples to apples, or as close as you can come given the difference in manufacturers. THEN we can have a serious productive discussion.

So, THANK YOU! :D

...I wouldn't marry someone that would be so controlling and demanding of my time that I couldn't troubleshoot my computer problems...that kind of woman can suck my ass for all I care.D9-THC

Wow, profound knowledge from someone who obviously has never been married. I dont want to personalize this, so I'll try to be nice.

When you grow up, you will notice there are other things that compete for your time, like spending time with your wife, playing with your dog, working, paying bills, mowing the lawn, etc. NONE of this means you have to give up PC gaming - it just means you need to prioritize and decide what is important to you. If you can find time to take care of your business (personal and professional), then come home and build/maintain/support a PC AND play all the PC games you want, then congratulations! You have just discovered the 40 hour day. For the rest of us, 24 hours is all we get in a single day, so we have to ration it....

I wish had 5000 to spend because I just built a pc on newegg with these specs for under 5000

qx6850

8gb ddr2-800

dual 8800 ultra with water cooling

dual raptors

x-fi xtreme gamer fatal1ty sound card

and other very nice things.

achilles614

Ahhhh, other very nice things. The devil is in the details. I assume the other nice things include a motherboard, a PSU, a case, a keyboard, a mouse, an OS, optical drives, etc.?

How about a monitor? With dual 8800 ultras, I suspect a $1200 30" LCD is included in those $5000? Right? So that means you got that very nice PC for UNDER $3800? With a $1500 CPU? Wow, I am impressed. Congratz!!!

(I, of course, am being sarcastic...) :D

There is no doubt that for playing games only, the 360 is a better value than a PC. The hardware is cheap, more stable, and lasts longer without having to upgrade.

The consoles, however, are not as flexible as a PC - the PC can do a lot more things than a console. However, if you already have a PC to do your work, email, browsing, etc., then adding a XBox to your collection is not a bad idea.

I personally prefer first person shooters, and those I HATE to play on a console. I prefer the mouse and keyboard. However, Oblivion for example I prefer on the XBox 360 - that is a game that lends itself better for a living room experience with a big screen HD TV.

In the end it will depend on how much of a gamer you are, what kind of games you like, and which interface you prefer. Having options with the PC is better, in my opinion, but like you say, more expensive.

I understand the economy perfectly, and overpaying companies like dell does nothing for it. shanelevy

Overpaying, I guess, its relative. Dell didnt get to be the biggest PC maker on this planet by overcharging.

Also, to Zboater, if you are happy with your product, then good. You made a decision that I would never ever make and I think it was a bad one, but if it suits you, then I'm happy for you. shanelevy

Thank you!!! :) That's the spirit!!!

BTW, I do think that your computer would last WAY longer if you played with a different monitor. Technically, you could probably get a couple years out of that machine maxing games just by downgrading the monitor size when games start coming out that get less than 30 fps on that 30" display. shanelevy

Yeah, I hear ya. When I got the 30" LCD I knew I was going overboard a bit. But I gotta tell you, now that I've been using it for several months, I can't go back to something smaller. Once you get used to it, you get hooked. I played some games at lower resolutions (like 1900x1200) and they didn't look that bad (like Star Wars Battlefront II, where some missions did not like 2560x1600 at all). I was also playing the World in Conflict demo, and no matter what resolution I played at, the average fps on the built in benchmark came in at 30fps. Must be some built in limitation on that game. For now, the rest of the games I have (except Microsoft FSX) play at 2560x1600 just fine. We'll see what Crysis does to it... :D

Just curious ZBoater, but what do you do for a living?

cheers

-D'artagnan

-Dartagnan-

Oddly enough, I'm into computers.... :D