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[blame space]

http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-p6710f-Desktop-PC/product_918389

what is a good power supply and video card to throw in this bad boy for $100?

seems like a pretty capable $500 machine if i can get everything lined up

 

[Freshmaker]

Can't we all get along? Seriously, though, I shall bring a stupid nitpick to this thread and a request for help. I have two cats. My one cat I think wants her own WoW account or something. I even crack my laptop or try to install a Steam update, she's Sammy Davis Junior doing an impression of Tom Hanks from Big on crack on my keyboard. I don't get it. It's like Asus used catnip to solder the parts of my machine together. Half of my Witcher 1 playthrough was the time I took to shoo her away. Short of calling the cat whisperer, I don't know what to do.

Spray bottle with water in it.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

A lot of that pie graph includes fucking awful Facebook games which aren't entirely relevant to the question the OP was asking. Microsoft moved a lot of non-MMO, non-garbage development to consoles. Would it be better if those games were still primarily PC focused? Sure it would, but that is not what happened. Until Microsoft get $10 from every PC game sold, it is unlikely to change. Valve has more incentive than anyone to keep things PC centric, and they are releasing everything day and date with consoles because that is where the market went.

They release everything on console because there's no reason not to, not because releasing only on PC isn't economically sustainable. Exclusive games make no sense to anyone but first parties and developers that want to fully exploit the capabilities of a certain platform.

 

[Izayoi]

Everyone listing large display/couch/whatever are aware that you can use a large screen TV to connect to a PC right? And there are such things as wireless mouse/keyboard.

Just saying...

 

[Wallach]

Can't we all get along? Seriously, though, I shall bring a stupid nitpick to this thread and a request for help. I have two cats. My one cat I think wants her own WoW account or something. I even crack my laptop or try to install a Steam update, she's Sammy Davis Junior doing an impression of Tom Hanks from Big on crack on my keyboard. I don't get it. It's like Asus used catnip to solder the parts of my machine together. Half of my Witcher 1 playthrough was the time I took to shoo her away. Short of calling the cat whisperer, I don't know what to do.

Buy her a cheap keyboard to play with whenever you're on the PC, if only for the laughs.

 

[faceless007]

I don't think gaf is particularly disdainful towards Nintendo, actually, not that your strawman isn't already entirely without merit.

Well I see a fair amount of disdain and apathy towards Nintendo. The fact that you don't doesn't automatically make an argument a straw man.

But this thread isn't really about the big picture, is it? It's intellectually dishonest to argue as if all along when people were saying PC gaming they meant facebook games as well. No, this thread (like most threads on neogaf -- and this isn't a bad thing) is about the sort of games neogaf cares for.

The thread is about what the people posting in it want to make it about, which has migrated to a discussion on sales in the industry at large. It's rather presumptuous and fallacious to assume ipso facto that because someone is posting on NeoGAF they can't possibly be interested in certain categories of games or that for that reason they don't count.

You want to restrict the conversation of sales and the industry to games the majority of NeoGAF is interested in, which is a category that conveniently overlaps substantially with games that consoles were designed for. You can do that if you want, but it's rather myopic. Which would be in keeping with the views of many of the console-only proponents in this thread anyway.

 

[blame space]

i want to play pc games, they look pretty and fun.

 

[Izayoi]

Can't we all get along? Seriously, though, I shall bring a stupid nitpick to this thread and a request for help. I have two cats. My one cat I think wants her own WoW account or something. I even crack my laptop or try to install a Steam update, she's Sammy Davis Junior doing an impression of Tom Hanks from Big on crack on my keyboard. I don't get it. It's like Asus used catnip to solder the parts of my machine together. Half of my Witcher 1 playthrough was the time I took to shoo her away. Short of calling the cat whisperer, I don't know what to do.

My cats are not attracted to my normal desktop keyboard. Anything with wireless functionality my cats seem to be attracted to. They lay on my laptop, on my phone, etc.

I wonder if there have been any studies on that, actually.

 

[SaintMadeOfPlaster]

Everyone listing large display/couch/whatever are aware that you can use a large screen TV to connect to a PC right? And there are such things as wireless mouse/keyboard.

Just saying...

Yes, we're aware, but that just adds even more to the costs involved with computer gaming.

I mean, right now I just have a MacBook Pro. I would have to buy a nice monitor, a kick ass computer, cables to transfer the video from my computer to my TV, and a controller that I can sync with my computer.

Why would I do that when I already get tons of enjoyment from console gaming? There aren't enough PC exclusive titles that really have the "WOW" factor to justify the costs involved as far as I'm concerned. Sure, I have to play games with inferior graphics, but that's something that I'm easily more than willing to deal with.

I guess I'm just not as "hardcore" of a gamer as I should be...

 

[Izayoi]

i want to play pc games, they look pretty and fun.

You should check out this thread. Ask for help! We're more than happy to give it.

I would have to buy a nice monitor, a kick ass computer, cables to transfer the video from my computer to my TV, and a controller that I can sync with my computer.

Why would you have to buy a monitor if you're going to use your TV? Kickass computers aren't really that expensive; see the thread I linked above. Any cable that you're going to use on your TV is almost a guaranteed standard for your PC. You'll likely need nothing more than what comes in the box. You can get an Xbox controller for like $25.

 

[IchigoSharingan]

One of the cooler things about PC gaming is the community. Since you actually have to afford your own build, chances are you are a working adult. That means the chances of listening to the N-bombs of a 13 year old kid are pretty darn low.

I am only reminded of this wonderful advantage when I play SSF4 on Live! at my friends pad. Yuck. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[blame space]

One of the worst things about PC gaming is the elitism. Since you think you're entitled to a false sense of superiority, chances are you are an asshole. That means the chances of actually caring about playing and discussing games are pretty darn low.

I am only reminded of this wonderful thread I made on NeoGAF at my pad. Yuck. Good advice from people!

 

[Mr_Zombie]

I've been gaming on a pc for 20+ years and have never edited an ini file. Ever.

It's funny how many people post the "fiddling with ini files" argument while ignoring the fact that very few games require you to do that (the only game that comes to my mind right now is X-men Origins: Wolverine that for some reason kept swapping X and Y axis when I was using old Saitek gamepad). Very often editing ini files is a backdoor to configure additional stuff that can improve the game but aren't necessarily to enjoy it in the beginning (for example, you could speed up the scanning process in ME2 yourself instead of waiting for BioWare to release a patch).

 

[IchigoSharingan]

I'm glad the foul-mouthed pre-teens have a foul-mouthed person to defend them! Birds of a feather..

 

[Wallach]

One of the worst things about PC gaming is the elitism. Since you think you're entitled to a false sense of superiority, chances are you are an asshole. That means the chances of actually caring about playing and discussing games are pretty darn low.

I am only reminded of this wonderful thread I made on NeoGAF at my pad. Yuck. Good advice from people!

How many beers have you put away tonight?

 

[Mr_Zombie]

A lot of that pie graph includes fucking awful Facebook games which aren't entirely relevant to the question the OP was asking.

But you are aware that the "consoles" parts also include various shovelware, party games, motion games etc? Games like Just Dance 2 (that occupied top places in UK sales charts for several weeks), Wii series, Kinect Sports and other casual games that are so often viewed with scorn by the "hardcore" crowd? So why should we play double standards now?

 

[blame space]

i've had like four beers, who cares? i think i make a good point. i asked for help and people pretended to care about my wallet instead of helping me within my own parameters.

it's something you guys seem to view as an exclusive club, while i just want to play games i've never had access to.

 

[Wallach]

i've had like four beers, who cares? i think i make a good point. i asked for help and people pretended to care about my wallet instead of helping me within my own parameters.

it's something you guys seem to view as an exclusive club, while i just want to play games i've never had access to.

Point out to me where you see the evidence of people acting like PC gaming is an exclusive club. You posted a question and you got an answer, where someone directed you to a thread specifically designed to help people build PCs across basically the entire spectrum of budgets. What's the problem? If there was a club mentality someone would tell you to fuck off and figure it out yourself. People tend to do the opposite around here.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Point out to me where you see the evidence of people acting like PC gaming is an exclusive club. You posted a question and you got an answer, where someone directed you to a thread specifically designed to help people build PCs across basically the entire spectrum of budgets. What's the problem? If there was a club mentality someone would tell you to fuck off and figure it out yourself. People tend to do the opposite around here.

To be fair to blame space he did actually ask that question in the PC build thread a few days ago and basically got scoffed at and told to go away.

 

[Nabs]

To be fair to blame space he did actually ask that question in the PC build thread a few days ago and basically got scoffed at and told to go away.

Did you see the thread he made before that?

 

[Izayoi]

Wait, I'm confused. You were being sarcastic? I'm sorry. ;_;

 

[ElectricBanquet]

I realize I'm kind of weird about this, but one of the things that turns me off to a lot of PC gaming is any kind of DRM that requires authentication with a server to install/play, because one day that server's not going to be there anymore. I realize that's not something exclusive to PC's, since the same kind of thing applies to downloadable games on consoles (which I've swore off buying), but it's a real problem to me when so many retail PC games have that kind of DRM, and since the PC market is going so heavily toward Steam and other similar services.

That being said, I am actually planning on getting a new PC somewhat soon anyway just because my current PC is like ten years old so I really need to replace it anyway. When I do I am really interested in playing a lot of the stuff on GOG and maybe just tracking down copies of some other older PC games, but I doubt I'd be playing a lot of newer stuff so I'm really not going to be interested in putting much money into a gaming rig.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Did you see the thread he made before that?

This would be a lot easier if we still had post history

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430438

I see now.

 

[Secks4Food]

http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-p6710f-Desktop-PC/product_918389

what is a good power supply and video card to throw in this bad boy for $100?

seems like a pretty capable $500 machine if i can get everything lined up

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-871-_-Product

This card's pretty decent; not the best, but unbeatable in its price range and it doesn't require a new power supply.

 

[Trent Strong]

Point out to me where you see the evidence of people acting like PC gaming is an exclusive club. You posted a question and you got an answer, where someone directed you to a thread specifically designed to help people build PCs across basically the entire spectrum of budgets. What's the problem? If there was a club mentality someone would tell you to fuck off and figure it out yourself. People tend to do the opposite around here.

Normal people don't want to build a PC. They consider building a PC to be a pain in the ass. If PC gaming GAF really wanted to get more people into PC gaming, then they wouldn't go around recommending that Joe Six Pack build a PC and start throwing a bunch of technical terminology at him, they'd just recommend a good pre-built PC for him to buy.

 

[Izayoi]

Normal people don't want to build a PC. They consider building a PC to be a pain in the ass. If PC gaming GAF really wanted to get more people into PC gaming, then they wouldn't go around recommending that Joe Six Pack build a PC and start throwing a bunch of technical terminology at him, they'd just recommend a good pre-built PC for him to buy.

The problem with pre-built PCs that are capable of running games is that they're way outside of anyone's price range. It's unrealistic. It is not hard building your own computer, especially nowadays when practically everything is snap-in - very few, if any, screws required. You take the stuff out of the box, you plug it in, you turn it on. Unless you're building a space computer with water cooling and tri-SLI and a RAID array you generally aren't going to be spending any more than half an hour tops putting it together.

There are pre-built PCs you can buy, but they are very expensive and unless you really can't be bothered and absolutely want to waste hundreds of dollars, there is no reason to buy them.

 

[blame space]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-871-_-Product

This card's pretty decent; not the best, but unbeatable in its price range and it doesn't require a new power supply.

thank you for the response

is this card better or worse than a gtx 9800

my friend will sell me a gtx 9800 for like $25

EDIT: even if the PSU is 250w??

 

[Wallach]

Normal people don't want to build a PC. They consider building a PC to be a pain in the ass. If PC gaming GAF really wanted to get more people into PC gaming, then they wouldn't go around recommending that Joe Six Pack build a PC and start throwing a bunch of technical terminology at him, they'd just recommend a good pre-built PC for him to buy.

I don't think PC GAF at large has a problem with pre-built PCs. His particular problem is that he is looking to only sort of go halfway with that mentality; he wants to buy a pre-built PC that he needs to do manual work on from day 1. People generally aren't going to recommend that because you're paying more for the pre-built part and not really getting the benefit of a no maintenance experience out of the box. If you're willing to get into the case to do that kind of work there really isn't a lot of reason to do the rest because it is hardly much more work and you'll get a better PC out of it for less money. If someone is really averse to the idea of working with the internals of a modern computer they'd be better off looking for something that can game out of the box. The middle ground in that case is the worst scenario to put yourself as a buyer, so it doesn't surprise me at all people would try to deter him.

 

[Izayoi]

thank you for the response

is this card better or worse than a gtx 9800

my friend will sell me a gtx 9800 for like $25

EDIT: even if the PSU is 250w??

Whoops, I read that wrong.

The 9800 GTX is a better deal, if you can get one that works for that cheap.

Even with a 250W PSU you'll be fine.

 

[blame space]

It's more than twice as powerful as a 9800 GTX. See here.

Even with a 250W PSU you'll be fine.

nice! thank you~

 

[Beth Cyra]

Well I'm not fully against PC gaming. I play WoW, and I played ME 1 and 2 on PC.

That said I mostly skip PC gaming because my favorite franchises aren't released on it, are late, and/or my friends wouldn't get the PC version.

 

[Secks4Food]

thank you for the response

is this card better or worse than a gtx 9800

my friend will sell me a gtx 9800 for like $25

EDIT: even if the PSU is 250w??

Wow I din't even know quad core processors could work on 250w, but yeah, the card draws all of it's power from the PCI-e slot so as long as you have one of those (and you will), you're good to go. I'm pretty sure the newegg details say it requires 400w but that's just to cover their asses, do some research online/read user reviews and people will claim it works on low wattage PSUs.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

^^^According to these benchmarks, it's slightly better than the 9800 GTX, but not by much; I'd just assume get a brand new card, personally. Plus, I think 9800 GTX's might require a 6pin connection (ie a seperate connection to the PSU to draw more power), I could be wrong though.

Edit: Also the 5670 is capable of DirectX11, while the 9800 GTX only does DX10.1, so that's something to consider.

 

[Wallach]

It's more than twice as powerful as a 9800 GTX. See here.

Even with a 250W PSU you'll be fine.

Wha? I don't think a 5670 is anywhere near twice as powerful as a 9800 GTX. I mean a 5770 isn't twice as powerful as a 9800 GTX.

 

[Izayoi]

nice! thank you~

Wait up! I misread the product number. The GTX is better, especially for that price.

Sorry about that.

Please don't buy it. I'm going to feel terrible if you have to go through the trouble of cancelling because I fucked up.

Wha? I don't think a 5670 is anywhere near twice as powerful as a 9800 GTX. I mean a 5770 isn't twice as powerful as a 9800 GTX.

Yeah, I misread it as a 5870 for whatever reason. My bad.

 

[Zep]

I boot my custom built machine, turn on my DS3(like you would when using your PS3 and yes wireless) and let it act as a mouse/PS3 controller. All I needed was a bluetooth dongle(bought it off amazon for $3 w. shipping) motionjoy and Xpadder. Whats better than that when you just want to play!

 

[Izayoi]

I boot my custom built machine, turn on my DS3(like you would when using your PS3) and let it act as a mouse/PS3 controller. All I needed was a bluetooth dongle(bought it off amazon for $3 w. shipping) motionjoy and Xpadder. Whats better than that when you just want to play!

Some modern motherboards actually have a bluetooth controller built right in.

 

[Trent Strong]

I don't think PC GAF at large has a problem with pre-built PCs. His particular problem is that he is looking to only sort of go halfway with that mentality; he wants to buy a pre-built PC that he needs to do manual work on from day 1. People generally aren't going to recommend that because you're paying more for the pre-built part and not really getting the benefit of a no maintenance experience out of the box. If you're willing to get into the case to do that kind of work there really isn't a lot of reason to do the rest because it is hardly much more work and you'll get a better PC out of it for less money. If someone is really averse to the idea of working with the internals of a modern computer they'd be better off looking for something that can game out of the box. The middle ground in that case is the worst scenario to put yourself as a buyer, so it doesn't surprise me at all people would try to deter him.

Ah, I didn't know the specifics of blame space's situation. I just assumed it was another nonsensical blame space joke post. I guess doing it half pre-built and half do it yourself would be the worst of both worlds.

The problem with pre-built PCs that are capable of running games is that they're way outside of anyone's price range. It's unrealistic. It is not hard building your own computer, especially nowadays when practically everything is snap-in - very few, if any, screws required. You take the stuff out of the box, you plug it in, you turn it on. Unless you're building a space computer with water cooling and tri-SLI and a RAID array you generally aren't going to be spending any more than half an hour tops putting it together.

There are pre-built PCs you can buy, but they are very expensive and unless you really can't be bothered and absolutely want to waste hundreds of dollars, there is no reason to buy them.

You're right, of coures, but there are probably a lot of people like me out there who would rather shoot themselves then build a PC.

 

[blame space]

how is that "half doing it myself"? it comes assembled and OS-installed out of the box. all i have to do it plug in a graphics card.

how is that the worst of both worlds?? why should you even comment on how bad the worlds are? it seems like it will work for me and my needs/price range

 

[blame space]

If someone is really averse to the idea of working with the internals of a modern computer they'd be better off looking for something that can game out of the box. The middle ground in that case is the worst scenario to put yourself as a buyer, so it doesn't surprise me at all people would try to deter him.

ok now i see.. can you show me a unit that's already built (or only requires one upgrade) that can match that HP for that price

 

[Izayoi]

You're right, of coures, but there are probably a lot of people like me out there who would rather shoot themselves then build a PC.

Well, what kind of price range are you looking at it? Are you absolutely that averse to building your own machine? Newegg has a fantastic series of videos that takes you through everything from what a computer is, what the components inside are (and which ones you need to worry about most), to actually building it and installing your operating system.

If you don't want to build one yourself no matter what, I can recommend some prebuilt ones. There are certainly better prebuilts than what most people think of initially (Dell, HP, Alienware, etc.).

 

[Aspiring]

I'm not getting involved in any arguments, but the reason I console game and not PC is the hassle of it. System requirements, installs, new hardware so more money, it's a hassle. Just give me the game insert it and let me play.

 

[KevinCow]

The problem with pre-built PCs that are capable of running games is that they're way outside of anyone's price range.

Well, there you go. There's a major reason people prefer consoles.

It is not hard building your own computer

...if you're familiar with the innards of the computer, and/or have a close friend who can and is willing to help you figure out which parts to get.

Doing it yourself, you have to understand what all those ZX57000 kinds of numbers mean, or you might wind up with a motherboard that doesn't fit in your case, a graphics card that isn't compatible with something else, or RAM that doesn't fit in your... wherever the RAM goes. And you'll encounter questions like, how much is enough RAM? Should I get the 8000 graphics card, or should I spend the extra $200 on the 8500 card? How does the Company A 8500 card compare to the Company B ZF40 card?

It's far more complex than you think it is, because you're used to doing it. Trying to get into it when you have little to no familiarity with the workings of a computer is pretty damn overwhelming.

And yes, I'm aware that these numbers I've used don't reflect actual graphics cards or whatever. You know why that is? Because that's what it looks like to me, a person who doesn't already understand these things. It is literally a foreign language to me.

 

[evil solrac v3.0]

One of the worst things about PC gaming is the elitism. Since you think you're entitled to a false sense of superiority, chances are you are an asshole. That means the chances of actually caring about playing and discussing games are pretty darn low.

I am only reminded of this wonderful thread I made on NeoGAF at my pad. Yuck. Good advice from people!

you've been trying to troll teh pc build thread and nobody is buying your bullshit. you should quit while you're ahead. you were given advise and refuse to take it.

 

[Trent Strong]

how is that "half doing it myself"? it comes assembled and OS-installed out of the box. all i have to do it plug in a graphics card.

how is that the worst of both worlds?? why should you even comment on how bad the worlds are? it seems like it will work for me and my needs/price range

I'm just agreeing with Wallach. He seems to know a lot more about PCs than I do. Besides, at one point I thought that I could just 'plug in a graphics cards' into my PC too, but it turns out that my PC only has a 300 or 350 watt power supply, so I can't plug any good graphics cards into it.

 

[Izayoi]

ok now i see.. can you show me a unit that's already built (or only requires one upgrade) that can match that HP for that price

Here's some stuff that wouldn't require an upgrade at all, and you would be far better off than with the HP. It's $150 more expensive but you would be set and wouldn't need to worry swapping parts or anything like that.

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Gamer_Mage_D335

 

[thetrin]

...if you're familiar with the innards of the computer, and/or have a close friend who can and is willing to help you figure out which parts to get.

Doing it yourself, you have to understand what all those ZX57000 kinds of numbers mean, or you might wind up with a motherboard that doesn't fit in your case, a graphics card that isn't compatible with something else, or RAM that doesn't fit in your... wherever the RAM goes. And you'll encounter questions like, how much is enough RAM? Should I get the 8000 graphics card, or should I spend the extra $200 on the 8500 card? How does the Company A 8500 card compare to the Company B ZF40 card?

It's far more complex than you think it is, because you're used to doing it. Trying to get into it when you have little to no familiarity with the workings of a computer is pretty damn overwhelming.

And yes, I'm aware that these numbers I've used don't reflect actual graphics cards or whatever. You know why that is? Because that's what it looks like to me, a person who doesn't already understand these things. It is literally a foreign language to me.

Except that you're on GAF, which means you have an entire community of people willing to help you. So basically, what IS the excuse at that point?

The thread isn't asking why Joe Six Pack isn't playing PC games. The thread is asking why YOU'RE not.

 

[M°°nblade]

Everyone listing large display/couch/whatever are aware that you can use a large screen TV to connect to a PC right? And there are such things as wireless mouse/keyboard.

Just saying...

I've been experimenting with a HTPC the last couple of months (I spend 1600 euro's on hardware) but overall it's still so unpractical for gaming that I only use it for web browsing and watching movies.

- Mouse and keyboard don't work well from a couch.
- Full HD resolution is pointless since the letterboxes are too small for anything bigger than desktop view ratio.
- Setting up wifi devices was a pain in the ass because of the interference but at least it works for now.

I basically wasted 250 euro on an amd 6950. Thank god I didn't spend money on an SSD. If would have increased the collateral damage on my wallet by 150 euro's.

 

[blame space]

lol "trolling".

i am trolling for presenting my situation, what i want advice about, and being frustrated that almost no one will answer my questions

thanks to everyone that has been helpful, when i get the machine i want to play games with u guys.

 

[Trent Strong]

Well, what kind of price range are you looking at it? Are you absolutely that averse to building your own machine? Newegg has a fantastic series of videos that takes you through everything from what a computer is, what the components inside are (and which ones you need to worry about most), to actually building it and installing your operating system.

If you don't want to build one yourself no matter what, I can recommend some prebuilt ones. There are certainly better prebuilts than what most people think of initially (Dell, HP, Alienware, etc.).

Thanks for the helpful reply, but I already bought a pre-built Dell a little over a year ago and wouldn't want to buy another PC for a while. I didn't know anything about graphics cards at the time I bought it, so I'm stuck with a GTX 260 and a 350 watt power supply. It does well enough though.

 

[Izayoi]

...if you're familiar with the innards of the computer, and/or have a close friend who can and is willing to help you figure out which parts to get.

Doing it yourself, you have to understand what all those ZX57000 kinds of numbers mean, or you might wind up with a motherboard that doesn't fit in your case, a graphics card that isn't compatible with something else, or RAM that doesn't fit in your... wherever the RAM goes. And you'll encounter questions like, how much is enough RAM? Should I get the 8000 graphics card, or should I spend the extra $200 on the 8500 card? How does the Company A 8500 card compare to the Company B ZF40 card?

It's far more complex than you think it is, because you're used to doing it. Trying to get into it when you have little to no familiarity with the workings of a computer is pretty damn overwhelming.

And yes, I'm aware that these numbers I've used don't reflect actual graphics cards or whatever. You know why that is? Because that's what it looks like to me, a person who doesn't already understand these things. It is literally a foreign language to me.

Watch the YouTube video I linked. I'm watching it right now and it's a great introduction. If you have any questions after that I'd be more than happy to answer them.