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[DietRob]

I just recently became a PC player within the last 6 to 8 months ago. For me I just couldn't be bothered with the technical aspects of getting games to run and run well. It was a lot more user friendly to just pop a disk into my console of choice and not worry about anything else.

I moved over to the PC space because I decided to build my own PC and start understanding more about how they operate. I think my story is much like many other console only players. The PC space can be intimidating but once you start to understand about drivers, how to upgrade your own equipment, ect. Then there is no reason to limit yourself to a console with the exception of console exclusives.

In my experience everything I've played that is Multi Platform plays better on PC. Master Race confirmed.

 

[bone_and_sinew]

Ignorance and being intimidated by the subsequent information overflow. I've never built a pc in my life and the hours of inevitable menu tweaking of configuration for both the pc itself and games scares me. Sure there's guides and forums out there but it seems like it'd be too much of a pain in the ass for me and I'd just get pissed and quit eventually.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

I see people saying this all the time and want to buy one. But do I need a wired 360 controller or can I just buy any 360 controller and plug it in?

If it needs to be a wired controller - where the hell do I find one? All the shops here in Norway has the wireless controller but no wired controller. Anyone have an idea?

Don't bother with a wired controller. You can get a wireless adapter for a 360 pad for $10.

 

[thetrin]

I just assume people either live with their parents still where they have their own room, live in a dorm room, or live in a studio apartment. I have a dedicated office on my second floor, there is no way to run my computer to the TV downstairs.

I just have two computers. My Macbook pro is my work PC, and my gaming rig is next to my TV. That way I don't have to compromise.

 

[hatchx]

For me, it is three simple reasons:


1. I don't like sitting so close to the screen. I know you can hook it up to your TV and whatnot, but the most standard PC gaming setup is too close to the screen. It gives me a headache.

2. Certain genres skew towards PC. I'm not huge on RTS and FPS, so I don't feel compelled to play PC. I like 3rd person action, platformers, arcade racers, etc.

3. I am a mac user, and I use my computer as a tool for work. Not only are macs not great with gaming, but games take up unnecessary space and would hinder my render times if even slightly.

 

[stressboy]

I see people saying this all the time and want to buy one. But do I need a wired 360 controller or can I just buy any 360 controller and plug it in?

If it needs to be a wired controller - where the hell do I find one? All the shops here in Norway has the wireless controller but no wired controller. Anyone have an idea?

I see them everywhere.. but I don't live in Norway so I have no idea.

 

[Salsa]

I'd rather play real games.

oh for fuck's sake

 

[BIONIC-ARRRMMM!!]

See, you have to be intentionally kidding at this point.

Right?

...

Right?

Do these games exist on PC:
-Vanquish.
-Bayonetta.
-Castlevania LoS.
-MvC3
Countless others?

And when good PC ports were released they get released 6 months later (e.g: RE5, SFIV) only to not receive their expansions later on.

Though I won't lie, I can't think of a crappy port off the top of my head, but there's always posts regarding ones.

I'm just sick of the master race shit at this point, it feels like PC gamers are trying to compensate on how they get treated by most developers lol

 

[thetrin]

3. I am a mac user, and I use my computer as a tool for work. Not only are macs not great with gaming, but games take up unnecessary space and would hinder my render times if even slightly.

This btw, is why I have two computers.

 

[EternalGamer]

I see people saying this all the time and want to buy one. But do I need a wired 360 controller or can I just buy any 360 controller and plug it in?

If it needs to be a wired controller - where the hell do I find one? All the shops here in Norway has the wireless controller but no wired controller. Anyone have an idea?

You can do one of two things:

1) buy a wireless USB dongle for your current 360 controllers. You can get these from amazon or ebay and you can even get knockoffs that work ok for as little as $10 (I have a knock off and it works great).

2) buy a wired controller and just plug it in. You can also get these for $20 cheaper than wireless controllers at amazon. The advantage of this is that it gives you another controller for your 360 if you ever need it and it stops from the hassel of having to re-sync between the two devices. I think it is probably the better option even though I own the dongle.

 

[Angst]

Don't bother with a wired controller. You can get a wireless adapter for a 360 pad for $10.

Thanks! Will buy one right now.

That opens up a lot of games for me to buy on PC, but I will still primarily play on my PS3 due to the games coming on PS3. I'll buy The Witcher 2 though now that I can play with a pad.

 

[Roto13]

- No gaming quality PC and I'm not interested in getting one.

- Computers hate me anyway and I constantly have to fight with them to do anything and I don't need that interfering with my gaming.

- Related, console gaming is uniform and simpler, so if there's a problem with the way the game interacts with my hardware, it's probably not just me so fixing it won't require a whole lot of research, if any.

- Outside of maybe The Witcher, there are absolutely no PC exclusives I want to play. Some games I like are superior on PC, like Mirror's Edge, but that's not enough. I also don't play many shooters or RTSes so the keyboard and mouse combo isn't really superior for the games I play anyway.

- If I do find a PC exclusive I want to play that won't be ported to consoles, I'm willing to wait until whatever moderately-priced laptop I happen to be using at the time can play it. You don't really need a gaming PC to play old games.

- Speaking of laptops: I only use laptops, which I'm pretty sure are a pain in the ass to upgrade. I've never tried.

- I apparently have been conditioned not to enjoy gaming on a PC anyway. When I try, I always feel like I'd rather be doing something else. Just the other day I gave Amnesia a try because it was free on OnLive and it ran well (of course, because it wasn't running on my computer) but I felt like I'd rather be playing it on a TV and I haven't gone back to it since the original 20 minutes I spent playing it. I might be tempted to get an OnLive console at some point in the future, though.

 

[NotebookJ2]

The way this topic turned out is exactly why I don't understand the fevor behind PC gaming. I don't think I could ever understand why people have such a need to defend PC gaming when, by their design, are ultimately more powerful than consoles because they serve a purpose beyond gaming.

They are plenty of good reasons why PCs are better than consoles, but a lot of those reasons have nothing to do with games a lot to do with usability. Perhaps I'm just misunderstanding what it is people are trying to get across, but I don't think a person would use a 360 to get their taxes done, for example. Though to be honest, I think that's getting off topic.

I guess I'm just weird in the end, though I honestly hate the master race meme, regardless of whether or not it's in jest.

 

[delta25]

You'd be wrong. An $80 4850 will outdo a PS3/360 easily.

Considering the fact that that console ports on the PC are almost always crap I find this hard to believe. And again, why would anyone build a PC based off the performance of a console, isn't this almost counter productive to what PC gaming is all about.

 

[EternalGamer]

Do these games exist on PC:
-Vanquish.
-Bayonetta.
-Castlevania LoS.
-MvC3
Countless others?

And when good PC ports were released they get released 6 months later (e.g: RE5, SFIV) only to not receive their expansions later on.

Though I won't lie, I can't think of a crappy port off the top of my head, but there's always posts regarding ones.

I'm just sick of the master race shit at this point, it feels like PC gamers are trying to compensate on how they get treated by most developers lol

You don't know about the great PC exclusives because you don't look into them and they aren't covered on console focused gaming sites. And I doubt most PC gamers "need to compenstate," because I'll bet at least 80% of them also own consoles.

 

[mbmonk]

I'd rather play real games. There is nothing close to Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Earthbound, Dragon Quest, Mega Man, Muramasa, No more Heros, Demon Souls, Ikaruga, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, REZ or Jet Set Radio, etc. on PC, so why would I bother with it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=429435

 

[pixelbox]

My problem with pc gaming is that it's just too uncomfortable or requires alot to be. Too many buttons and not enough games that I like on the platform as well. I'm in love with platforms and action adventure games and the one's on pc are just uninspired. They are my reasons.

 

[SneakyStephan]

How were you able to determine that having the game working properly is an "unusual" case? Did you sample data? How many posts are on that forum? How many people bought The Witcher 2?

Let's see, we have a "My Xbox 360 died and I lived to tell the story" thread with over 11,000 posts. I guess that means pretty much all of GAF has a dead 360 and if you don't have a dead 360 your case is an unusual.

Please.

How you keep handling replying to these kinds of posts with silk gloves, careful not to bruise any egos is beyond me.
This is why I love gaf, it's full of saints.

Considering the fact that that console ports on the PC are almost always crap I find this hard to believe. And again, why would anyone build a PC based off the performance of a console, isn't this almost counter productive to what PC gaming is all about.

You underestimate current pc hardware, a LOT.
I have a hd4870 (a bit faster than a 4850) and it's orders of magnitude faster than a ps3 or 360 gpu.
I still game at 1080p (well 1600x1200) with AA and the highest graphics settings, the witcher 2 is the first game since metro2033 that will force me to just play on 'high'.


We call many console ports crap because they don't live up to pc standards.
They lack configuration options, may have a locked framerate, don't give you access to the developer console, don't let you fully bind your keys the way you want to, don't run at as smooth at 1080p with supersampling on a decent rig despite being having ugly console graphics, or are released when they still need a patch to fix performance on ATI cards.
They still look better and run better than on consoles.

See, it's stuff like this that is tiresome to keep explaining, I wish more people would reason and reply based on informed truths rather than assumptions in turn based on hearsay and bad deductions.

 

[robox]

for me, it's the complexity of getting games to run.

i just wanted to play portal. got it off stream for free that one time. but man, it drives my video card crazy and crashes. on a 5 year old game! maybe 1 day, i'll crack down and just get orange box. for ps3.

 

[Semblance]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=429435

This man knows what's up.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Considering the fact that that console ports on the PC are almost always crap I find this hard to believe.

What are you talking about? 99% of platform games are better on PC. You are mistaken. Stop it.

 

[Crash Station]

Just not enough games on PC I'm interested in. I have a total of 3 games on Steam after looking through the entire catalog, one of which I finished. Only games I really play on PC are visual novels which are barely games in the first place.

I'd definitely be more interested if more PC only Falcom games got localized though.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Because many don't have tvs in the same room as their PCs. That's come up in this thread a whole bunch of times too.

I think the problem is that the issue becomes contentious when people phrase it inarticulately and inadvertently make it seem like "ability to connect to a TV" is an automatic win for consoles when it isn't. PCs can connect to a TV. I have mine connected to one. However, when people reply nonchalantly -- as I would be if I ended the post before this sentence -- they ignore that while it can connect to a TV, it's not designed specifically to do that in the same way a console is. Sure, you can build a dedicated HTPC, but when many people are in the market for a computer, they're also looking for a machine that can do productivity tasks better suited for a desk. I mean, who wants to do comfy couch word processing on their big screen plasma? As such, the TV option becomes logistically difficult or impractical for many users.

But that still doesn't change the fact that a quick and dirty "I like consoles because I like gaming on my couch" is an unfortunate phrasing for asserting its superiority.

 

[fin]

Hate to say it, but you skimped on the CPU and GPU by about $100 total. You could have gotten a cheap AMD quad core, as well as a GTX 460 and have spent less than $100 more, and you would be dealing just fine with any game out there.

So $800 in 2010 to get a PC to run everything decently and in some cases better than the consoles?

Xbox 360 $300
PS3 $300
Wii $200

You can buy all three consoles for the price of my recommended $800 PC. The fact that I cheap'd out by $100 pisses me off so much! So do I go and spend another $250 - $300 to upgrade my CPU and video card? Well, I'm not cause I already have all three consoles. I'm going to upgrade EVERYTHING this fall for Battlefield 3. Which is going to run probably $1500. Hopefully, a $1500 PC from 2011 will match a $400 Xbox 720 PS4 in 2012-2013? Or should I wait?

I'm just trying to say that consoles have a huge advantage with price and library. I'm the poster child of how PC gaming can be a gong show. People with their "just fine" $600 PC from a few years ago are slumming it IMO.

 

[scy]

Do these games exist on PC:
-Vanquish.
-Bayonetta.
-Castlevania LoS.
-MvC3
Countless others?

And when good PC ports were released they get released 6 months later (e.g: RE5, SFIV) only to not receive their expansions later on.

Though I won't lie, I can't think of a crappy port off the top of my head, but there's always posts regarding ones.

I'm just sick of the master race shit at this point, it feels like PC gamers are trying to compensate on how they get treated by most developers lol

Japanese console developers ignoring the PC isn't really a surprise; if those are the only games you play then, alright, your point is valid. But the amount of western developers that do consoles and PC typically don't have half-assed garbage PC ports.

Though, to be fair, the disparity between the two has shrunk a lot these days.

Glorious Master Race was always an inside joke kind of thing, never really a real stance of superiority. At least, that was always my take on it.

Honestly, I just don't think I could never not be a PC gamer. And a console gamer. And a handheld gamer. And so on. Too many exclusives I enjoy across the board to just not have them all, really.

 

[mbmonk]

Do these games exist on PC:
-Vanquish.
-Bayonetta.
-Castlevania LoS.
-MvC3
Countless others?

And there is just a long of a list of PC games that aren't on consoles. Just because you don't know about them or haven't played them doesn't mean they fail to exist.

Try again homie.

EDIT: PC has SF4 and is get SF4AE and has Devil May Cry 4 as well.

 

[CitizenCope]

Can we add this to the end of the thread title? PC gamers angry.

 

[Dunk#7]

there you go

or you can also use a regular wii nunchuck, or just use the left analog stick on a regular controller..

That is nowhere close to the same "feel" as a controller.

I like the concept it just does not work. Having a mouse to aim is nice, but trying to press numerous buttons on the mouse and having your other hand just floating freely nearby does not feel right.


I am already an owner of the Frag FX controller for the PS3. It sucks.

 

[RooMHM]

So after graphics cognitive dissonance it's now false perception and made up opinions?

 

[Dipswitch]

I've been playing more and more recent releases via PC on my Home Theater setup. The savings are great, but there is no doubt it's way more of a PITA to fire up a PC game to play on the TV than on the XBox 360 or PS3.

I'm constantly dicking around with overscan and sound/speaker settings in Vista when using my 4870 1GB card because they don't seem to be retained between gaming sessions. My 1920x1200 PC monitor automatically resets to 1920x1080 whenever the TV is switched on and I have to use a POS Lenovo media KB/M dealie to launch games from my couch because my Logitech wireless keyboard won't work several feet away from my computer desk. And I've been troubleshooting a weird display tearing problem that occurs only on my TV for over a year (And that's with D3DOverrider forcing triple buffering and V-Sync on all games).

So yes, you can work around all of these things (And I do), but you shouldn't have to in this day and age. It's simply not for the faint hearted and infinately more complex than popping a disk into your favorite console.

On the plus side, my wired 360 controller works great and I'm very pleased with the baked in support for that controller in most games these days. It's mainly for that reason that I think I'll be playing modern stuff on the PC even when the next generation of consoles arrive.

 

[scy]

I'm going to upgrade EVERYTHING this fall for Battlefield 3. Which is going to run probably $1500. Hopefully, a $1500 PC from 2011 will match a $400 Xbox 720 PS4 in 2012-2013? Or should I wait?

Probably beat it out, honestly. And you probably won't need to spend $1500 but since we don't have specs or anything for BF3 I can't really say. That said, I'd be surprised if my build (Intel i5-2500K, Radeon HD 6950) isn't able to run it near flawlessly and that's all of a $800 investment that won't need to be changed until 5-6+ years from now.

People with their "just fine" $600 PC from a few years ago are slumming it IMO.

Compared to what you can do now bleeding edge wise, sure. But those "just fine" $600 PC from a few years ago _is still comparable or better_ than a PS360 is now in terms of output.

 

[mbmonk]

Can we add this to the end of the thread title? PC gamers angry.

I think "tired of misconceptions about PC gaming" is more my stance.

 

[thetrin]

Do these games exist on PC:
-Vanquish.
-Bayonetta.
-Castlevania LoS.
-MvC3
Countless others?

And when good PC ports were released they get released 6 months later (e.g: RE5, SFIV) only to not receive their expansions later on.

Though I won't lie, I can't think of a crappy port off the top of my head, but there's always posts regarding ones.

I'm just sick of the master race shit at this point, it feels like PC gamers are trying to compensate on how they get treated by most developers lol

- Witcher
- Witcher 2
- Dawn of War
- Dawn of War 2
- Starcraft 2
- Crysis
- Crysis Warhead
- Vindictus

Do these games exist on consoles? Consoles are obviously inferior lolololol

Oh wait, no they're not. They both have exclusives. This is a dumb argument.

 

[DjangoReinhardt]

I dabble in PC gaming via a Windows 7 partition on my iMac. Steam is great and I love the amount of free content I can access. Between my hardware set-up and the fact that I mostly use PC for a handful of Valve games, I think my PC experience is about as hassle-free as it gets.

That said, I absolutely prefer the console experience. People can say "lol comfy couch" all they want to be dismissive, but that element is true for me. I also never have to worry about settings or whether a given game is going to run. The freedom restrictions of the closed system environment on console are more than worth it for the gains in convenience.

 

[kinggroin]

No sense of community, none of my RL friends have capable gaming PCs.
I still play the occasional game on PC since Steam/GoG/D2D regularly have deals too good to ignore.. but while playing the game I always wish I could share the experience with friends which I regularly do on XBL.

Not really related to th OP, but this will be Nintendo's biggest problem next gen; NOT horsepower longevity.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

Can we add this to the end of the thread title? PC gamers angry.

PC gamers are angry...why? Most of us game on many platforms and prefer gaming PCs because, you know, we actually have one and have spent enough time with them.

All I've seen in this thread is a lot of ignorance from console-only gamers.

 

[.la1n]

Same here.

My PC is good enough to run Visual Studio and thats it.

Same, I use it as a valve machine pretty much since they tend to be mostly what is playable on it. I can't be bothered to upgrade when my favorite genres right now are on console - fighters, jrpgs, third person action adventure.

I would like to put together a decent priced gaming media pc at some point to hook to my television for when I want to play a multiplatform game on PC.

tl;dr: I'm lazy, also avid PC gamer since I was old enough to use a keyboard/mouse so i'm not ignorant as to how cheap it is to put together a very capable PC.

 

[BloodySinner]

You can buy all three consoles for the price of my recommended $800 PC

It's a COMPUTER. You do a whole lot more than just play games.

Considering the fact that that console ports on the PC are almost always crap I find this hard to believe. And again, why would anyone build a PC based off the performance of a console, isn't this almost counter productive to what PC gaming is all about.

You're full of shit.

 

[thetrin]

I dabble in PC gaming via a Windows 7 partition on my iMac. Steam is great and I love the amount of free content I can access. Between my hardware set-up and the fact that I mostly use PC for a handful of Valve games, I think my PC experience is about as hassle-free as it gets.

That said, I absolutely prefer the console experience. People can say "lol comfy couch" all they want to be dismissive, but that element is true for me. I also never have to worry about settings or whether a given game is going to run. The freedom restrictions of the closed system environment on console are more than worth it for the gains in convenience.

This is fair, but most PC games are actually insanely convenient to set up. Most games even auto detect the best settings for your system. You can then go with that, or say "fuck you game" and ramp up the settings to make it even more awesome.

1) Download from Steam
2) Start game.
3) Watch game auto detect settings.
4) Play.

 

[TheExodu5]

I'm just trying to say that consoles have a huge advantage with price and library. I'm the poster child of how PC gaming can be a gong show. People with their "just fine" $600 PC from a few years ago are slumming it IMO.

Price, yes. Library? Debatable.

Also, you simply overpaid for some parts. $115 for a 5570 in July 2010 is highway robbery. The E6500 was also a 4 year old CPU back in 2010...it was not a good buy.

And again, this is part of the barrier to entry into PCs. This is why a lot of people don't get into it. There is simply too much research to be done when it comes to building a PC.

 

[Always-honest]

PC gamers are angry...why? Most of us game on many platforms and prefer gaming PCs because, you know, we actually have one and have spent enough time with them.

All I've seen in this thread is a lot of ignorance from console-only gamers.

And a lot of good reasons for not gaming on a pc. see, it doesn't have to be black or white.

 

[Dizzy]

- Very inexperienced when it comes to getting the most out of a computer or building my own, so I'd have to spend over £1000 for a PC built for gaming.

- Grew up on consoles so I like console games. There very....err...in your face? PC games seem to have a much more serious presentation with more depth but also more to learn. I prefer games with more action. Basically I was happier with Fable than Morrowind. I would have preferred Fable to be as big as Morrowind, but the combat and less stats are what I prefer. I do like PC games but console games are where my hearts at.

- Prefer the variety of games on consoles and the genres that are more widely available.

- Lastly I find console games to be more reliable than PC games. They seem to crash a lot more or just have more bugs in general. Sometimes even when the PC is well above specification the games still seem to get bad random slowdown, worse than the same game on a console.

 

[Salsa]

That is nowhere close to the same "feel" as a controller.

?

the grip is different, not much else. Basically the same as using a wiimote, wich is super comfy considering you can move your hands independently. Ive tried it, it feels great. If youre having issues with the keyboard i strongly recommend it.

 

[StevieP]

You can buy all three consoles for the price of my recommended $800 PC. The fact that I cheap'd out by $100 pisses me off so much! So do I go and spend another $250 - $300 to upgrade my CPU and video card? Well, I'm not cause I already have all three consoles. I'm going to upgrade EVERYTHING this fall for Battlefield 3. Which is going to run probably $1500. Hopefully, a $1500 PC from 2011 will match a $400 Xbox 720 PS4 in 2012-2013? Or should I wait?.

A) You're not going to need to spend $1500 on a top-end PC unless you live in a country where computer parts are doubled their MSRP.

B) The PS4/720, unless they have a TDP of >500W, are not going to come close to an $800 PC that you build *today*. The technology curve is much lower than in the past, and consoles are always limited to a <200W TDP. Even if console manufacturers decide they're going to sell at a $300 loss again, the laws of thermodynamics are working against them in a console environment. Your $120 GTX 460 *today* will have and draw far more juice than Sony/MS' 2013/14 console.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Considering the fact that that console ports on the PC are almost always crap I find this hard to believe.

*shrugs* I have a 4850, the exact card he quoted you, and I played RE5 on all settings maxed 60fps 1680x1050 (with a 360 controller) and it looked significantly better than it did on my 360.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

-Lack of money (I can barely afford to buy games on release at the moment)

-Lack of time (Usually have no more than 1-2 hours spare during the evenings so there's no point buying another machine at the moment)

-Lack of Japanese games (I play games from all regions, but my favourite games still tend to come from Japan and are usually console or handheld exclusive)

-I have a Laptop (Already have a personal computer)

If I had money to spare I would probably purchase a gaming PC this year since I will have a lot of spare time in the Summer, but alas....I won't have money to spare this year =(

 

[Dunk#7]

It's a COMPUTER. You do a whole lot more than just play games.

OR

You could buy a cheap computer for all the general tasks that do not require insane hardware.

And you could by a couple of consoles that are dedicated for gaming and built for it.


You would still be able to save money and be able to perform all the tasks you need.

 

[EternalGamer]

So $800 in 2010 to get a PC to run everything decently and in some cases better than the consoles?

Xbox 360 $300
PS3 $300
Wii $200

You can buy all three consoles for the price of my recommended $800 PC. The fact that I cheap'd out by $100 pisses me off so much! So do I go and spend another $250 - $300 to upgrade my CPU and video card? Well, I'm not cause I already have all three consoles. I'm going to upgrade EVERYTHING this fall for Battlefield 3. Which is going to run probably $1500. Hopefully, a $1500 PC from 2011 will match a $400 Xbox 720 PS4 in 2012-2013? Or should I wait?

I'm just trying to say that consoles have a huge advantage with price and library. I'm the poster child of how PC gaming can be a gong show. People with their "just fine" $600 PC from a few years ago are slumming it IMO.

Without out a doubt you have to be more careful about what you buy with PC parts. But you can also buy crazy $100 HDMI cables and $200 joysticks for your Xbox if you didn't know what you were doing. Have you ever seen parents in a game section at christmas and sales clerks that take advantage of them? They buy all kinds of shit they don't need. You wouldn't, of course, because you probably know something about what you need to have a good console experience. The same is true of PC: you have to know what you are looking for.

You also aren't considering all the hidden costs of console gaming. All console games cost AT LEAST $10 more than the PC counterparts. Much of the time the cost difference is much higher. If you want to play online on the 360 it is $50 a year. On PC it is free. Then there are console harddrive upgrades, controllers, battery packs, headsets, etc.

Yeah the PC costs you a bit more upfront, but not in the long term. And the performance you get is going to blow away anything those $300 consoles can do because they are running on hardware that is about 10 years old at this point.

As for your situition, don't buy a whole new machine. That is a total waste. Keep the stuff that is already fine: monitor, keyboard, mouse, case, RAM, harddrive, DVD ROM, etc. Just buy a new motherboard/processor combo and a videocard. The $50 a year you'd spend for LIVE along would pay for a new nice videocard every 3 or 4 years.

 

[mbmonk]

This is fair, but most PC games are actually insanely convenient to set up. Most games even auto detect the best settings for your system. You can then go with that, or say "fuck you game" and ramp up the settings to make it even more awesome.

I bought Brink on Steam, and fired it up. I didn't even touch the graphics settings. I eventually looked at the settings menu but didn't make any changes.

 

[BloodySinner]

I call bullshit on this one, unless you like running most of your games at the mid/low settings

As a console user, wouldn't you be already used to that?

OR

You could buy a cheap computer for all the general tasks that do not require insane hardware.

And you could by a couple of consoles that are dedicated for gaming and built for it.


You would still be able to save money and be able to perform all the tasks you need.

Yes.

The total would just come up to or exceed that of a "high end" sub-$1000 system.

Brilliant.