Yeah I suspected that. Are there some benchmarks where I can compare my card with another card thats about equivalent to those on the consoles?

Also could you answer my question in the second paragraph? Thanks for the reply!

I have a MacBook Pro with a 2.26 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 8 GB RAM and a GeForce 9400m and I run Windows 8 on it. It can run games like Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 fine. However Witcher 2 is like a slideshow. Even at the lowest graphics settings and a measly 640x480 resolution it is not quite acceptable. Consoles came out in around 2006 yet they can run the game quite well with 720p/30fps. If PC gaming is so good and old hardware runs fine for a long time how come my computer can't run this game? It meets the minimum system requirements, yet it doesnt even come close to console quality.

I don't mind my computer not being able to run the game right now (afterall it has a mobile GPU) but what I am more concerned about is doling out about a grand next year for a gaming PC and then finding out just 3 or 4 years down the line that while consoles continue to run the latest games at medium and acceptable settings, my PC shows a slideshow for the same games.

gog.com has DRM free games. Would that work for used gaming? I could buy a game from gog.com, burn a DVD and then once I am done I could sell it off?

The first RPG I played was Pokemon Blue when I was a kid and I loved it. The other two RPGs I have ever played are Guild Wars and Dragon Quest VIII. Both of them were disappointing to say the least. They just felt like running form point A to B and back and the combat was not engaging, all you did was click around.

So now I would like to start with RPGs all over again. I am willing to keep an open mind and not jump to any conclusions straightaway and am willing to try out an RPG again. Which RPG would you recommend I start off with? Witcher 2? Dark Souls?

A coupld of things I would like the game to have are engaging combat not just simple clicks and secondly I am a little impatient with games I dont want a game where the majority of my time is spent running across a continent so I can save some princess I dont give a crap about. I want something that I can get into quickly and will be enjoyable as a game, if that makes sense.

Lastly in order to appreciate RPGs how should I be approaching it as a beginner? What should my expectations be/not be?

[QUOTE="greengloop"][QUOTE="5SI-GonePostal"]

Well this one is quite simple

Console = Medium settings for its entire life

PC = Ultra/High settings + cheaper games - you pay for ultra settings basically

kraken2109

If I take the same setup but swap out the CPU and GPU with:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825 $220 GTX 660

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502 $300 Core i7 3770

The price comes to $1085 which is even closer to the price of the $1099 Alienware x51.

So the Alienware 'premium' is in the fact that the system gets to you all built and tested and has the cool Alinware chassis. Looks like its worth it for someone just looking for a console replacement.

I tried making a system equivalent to the $899 Alienware x51. But my total reaches $875 (a negligible difference):
Intel Core i5-3330 Ivy Bridge 3.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor$190

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard$110

EVGA 02G-P4-2645-KR GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card$110

Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory$40

SilverStone Fortress Series FT03B Black Aluminum / Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case$170

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power$40

Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM$110

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive$85

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM$20

Total $875

Do I need any other parts and stuff? This isnt worth it :S.

[QUOTE="greengloop"][QUOTE="NamelessPlayer"]I expect TODAY's games to be quad-core optimized. I bought a Q6600 five years ago expecting this, and it looks like I was right. Too bad for those people who paid the same price for an E6850 with half the cores that a Q6600 could easily match just by overclocking, but they probably upgrade CPUs on a more frequent basis. That said, it seems like the Q6600 is really showing its age even when overclocked, thanks to PlanetSide 2. That game wants every last one of your CPU cycles if you don't want slideshow framerates in the most intense battles. Here's hoping Haswell can manhandle it and never dip below 60 FPS.5SI-GonePostal

Well this one is quite simple

Console = Medium settings for its entire life

PC = Ultra/High settings + cheaper games - you pay for ultra settings basically