Proof that PC gaming is Cheaper than Staying with your Console

[Rapture]

Except I won't, especially in a two-year time frame.

[Sufi]

Except I won't, especially in a two-year time frame.

I'm not saying you will. I'm saying it's not going to last you "three to four years at least".

Who knows, maybe the technology has gone further than what we need for a while but that's what I thought back then too.

[Rapture]

The motherboard in my prebuilt from 2007 would still work to this day, and that was a cheap mobo. I used that computer for four years. Given the hardware, the one I'm on now can last me as long or more. By the time I do upgrade, I can recycle parts and cut costs. What you pay for the next console(s), I will likely pay less or about the same.

Dude, there are still people running on GTX 9800s and and other aged hardware.

[Sufi]

The motherboard in my prebuilt from 2007 would still work to this day, and that was a cheap mobo. I used that computer for four years.

Except it won't be as good now and will sport older hardware (i.e. USB 2.0, GDDR3 400Mhz RAM about 4GB max, SATAII etc.)

Given the hardware, the one I'm on now can last me as long or more. By the time I do upgrade, I can recycle parts and cut costs. What you pay for the next console(s), I will likely pay less or about the same.

You have to pay up if you want things to last that long...I don't think a $120 mobo will last you 4+ years from now...unless you like paying more for accessories.

Dude, there are still people running on GTX 9800s and and other aged hardware.

Here's the problem with this scenario. You can get better cards than the 9800 for cheaper but you need the newest hardware.

I would not have wanted to buy the 9800 GTX when they were popular...because they cost a shit load of money.

The trick with PCs is that unless you buy the latest and the greatest, it's not going to last you 5-6 years.

What you have now, will not be good enough to play the next-gen games that will be out in the next two years or more. Definitely not with all the features...and we all know how crazy it gets with all the extra bells and whistles.

[Rapture]

Sufi, I don't think you're understanding me here. You replace what needs to be replaced. PC hardware doesn't suddenly hit a brick wall after a couple of years. You can run on older hardware and juggle in new pieces when necessary. It's all about responsible management, which is something I and many others have down. At some point, I'll replace my GPU. At a later time, I'll replace my motherboard and CPU. If I'm out of college and I have a secure means of making money, then I might skip the entire process and just outright built a whole new rig. It's very possible and very easy. PC gamers have been doing it for a very long time now.

[Sufi]

Sufi, I don't think you're understanding me here. You replace what needs to be replaced. PC hardware doesn't suddenly hit a brick wall after a couple of years. You can run on older hardware and juggle in new pieces when necessary. It's all about responsible management, which is something I and many others have down. At some point, I'll replace my GPU. At a later time, I'll replace my motherboard and CPU. If I'm out of college and I have a secure means of making money, then I might skip the entire process and just outright built a whole new rig. It's very possible and very easy. PC gamers have been doing it for a very long time now.

I get that part but what you're not understanding is that you will be stuck with older hardware (not the newest tech) in a couple of years.

Just like I can't get the latest 8GB 1600Mhz RAM for $49...I can only buy the 4GB 1066Mhz for the same price.

You won't get the latest tech, you will be stuck with the range that your motherboard could take and you will be paying more for less.

How is that confusing?

Didn't you read my 4870x2 example?

Every motherboard is stuck in a range of parts you can get for it...after a couple or so years, unless you bought the best mobo at the time (high $), you can't buy the best accessory of that time. You are stuck with what your motherboard supports.

You must have a magical motherboard because mine has limited upgrade-ability.

[Xelios]

lol alright, I'll go back and show you why. You're the one that went into the future with your prices.

Because if I wanted the features that are available now (by buying an AM3+ motherboard), I would have had to spend around $200.

Because you want it, not because you need it. I want a new car, but I don't need it. Is it going to cost me more? It sure as hell will.

So that it would last me 3-4 years. My problem is that I can't even upgrade most of my shit because I'm stuck with an older mobo that was pretty decent 2 years ago.

I bought an ASRock motherboard 3 or 3.5 years ago, and I paid maybe 130 for it. It's still running well, and I've upgraded my components to what I want it to be. You made a bad decision.

So while your $120 mobo is good enough now, it wasn't $120 back then...and didn't have half the features you get now.

Once the tech moves forward, your $120 mobo will go through the same process I did...where you will need a new mobo to get the latest stuff.

You want the latest stuff. If you want it, you will pay for it. If you want good enough (which beats out the PS3 in terms of visual quality), then a decent board is still good enough.

[Rekmon]

Except it won't be as good now and will sport older hardware (i.e. USB 2.0, GDDR3 400Mhz RAM about 4GB max, SATAII etc.)


You have to pay up if you want things to last that long...I don't think a $120 mobo will last you 4+ years from now...unless you like paying more for accessories.


Here's the problem with this scenario. You can get better cards than the 9800 for cheaper but you need the newest hardware.

I would not have wanted to buy the 9800 GTX when they were popular...because they cost a shit load of money.

The trick with PCs is that unless you buy the latest and the greatest, it's not going to last you 5-6 years.

What you have now, will not be good enough to play the next-gen games that will be out in the next two years or more. Definitely not with all the features...and we all know how crazy it gets with all the extra bells and whistles.

Why _must_ you upgrade? Your 3 year old motherboard and a decent video card from 3 years ago will still be able to pump out better graphics than either ps360. You don't actually have to have allll the eyecandy turned on

[itachi73378]

I was just looking for parts yesterday and contemplating whether I should build a decent gaming PC. I realized that if I want a PC that will last a good while (5 years) I have to spend $1000 (with tax) in total (building from scratch) and still need to buy moniter, keyboard etc. And that $1000 was a very modest spec PC with
HD6850 GPU
8 gigs RAM
medicore mobo
1TB HDD
i5 2500
450W power supply
As you can see its far from "cream of the crop" and yet it costs me an arm and a leg
so yeah I might aswell buy a $400 console next gen that will last me a good 7 years

[Rapture]

You won't get the latest tech

Exactly. When I feel it's become too dated then I'll replace it. Unitl then, I'll run its course for a few years.

Didn't you read my 4870x2 example?

I did. It doesn't apply to me though.

Every motherboard is stuck in a range of parts you can get for it...after a couple or so years, unless you bought the best mobo at the time (high $), you can't buy the best accessory of that time. You are stuck with what your motherboard supports.

You must have a magical motherboard because mine has limited upgrade-ability.

No, I just bought a motherboard that I know can handle a future GPU upgrade.

I was just looking for parts yesterday and contemplating whether I should build a decent gaming PC. I realized that if I want a PC that will last a good while (5 years) I have to spend $1000 in total (building from scratch) and still need to buy moniter, keyboard etc. And that $1000 was a very modest spec PC with
HD6850 GPU
8 gigs RAM
medicore mobo
1TB HDD
i5 2500
450W power supply
As you can see its far from "cream of the crop" and yet it costs me an arm and a leg
so yeah I might aswell buy a $400 console next gen that will last me a good 7 years

That can't be right. That's only a bit better than the 500$ PC I built for my friend over half a year ago.

[itachi73378]

6850 = $150
i5 2500 = $230
1TB = $120
mobo = $120
8gig RAM = $45
case = $70
power supply = $50
Total with tax = $850
Now you can easily reach $1000 with accessories.

So atleast for me PC is just too much of an investment

[Fon]

Funny title. That isn't proof of anything..

PC gaming will always surpass consoles in performance but I still prefer the latter for simplicity. They also have games of my taste so that all depends on the gamer and which services and games they prefer.

[itachi73378]

Funny title. That isn't proof of anything..

PC gaming will always surpass consoles in performance but I still prefer the latter for simplicity. They also have games of my taste so that all depends on the gamer and which services and games they prefer.

And I prefer the controller WAY more than keyboard and mouse and you just cant expect every PC game to come with gamepad support. Ofcourse you can find mods that allow it but again its too much of a hassle.

However one way PC gaming can be cheaper is

torrent all the games!!!

[Sufi]

Because you want it, not because you need it. I want a new car, but I don't need it. Is it going to cost me more? It sure as hell will.

It wasn't that I wanted it. I needed a new GPU and 4870x2 is shitty compared to today's standards...but it was cheap for me so I figured I'd get it.

Then I realized that I couldn't get it because it needed two PCI lanes. I'm talking about the problems you run into when looking at your options.

I bought an ASRock motherboard 3 or 3.5 years ago, and I paid maybe 130 for it. It's still running well, and I've upgraded my components to what I want it to be. You made a bad decision.

At the time, I bought something that I thought would run me for a long while...and it can, just the issue is that I didn't realize that if I don't keep up with the technology, I'll be stuck with older cards and while they will work fine for the most part, I would hate to pay more for older tech that doesn't do as good as newer tech.

I'm simply showing an example of a problem you run into being a PC gamer.

You want the latest stuff. If you want it, you will pay for it. If you want good enough (which beats out the PS3 in terms of visual quality), then a decent board is still good enough.

Yes and I'm fine with it...although you will run into issues that I mentioned above.

Why _must_ you upgrade? Your 3 year old motherboard and a decent video card from 3 years ago will still be able to pump out better graphics than either ps360. You don't actually have to have allll the eyecandy turned on

Read above.

Exactly. When I feel it's become too dated then I'll replace it. Unitl then, I'll run its course for a few years.



I did. It doesn't apply to me though.



No, I just bought a motherboard that I know can handle a future GPU upgrade.

What motherboard do you have?

[Xelios]

It wasn't that I wanted it. I needed a new GPU and 4870x2 is shitty compared to today's standards...but it was cheap for me so I figured I'd get it.

Then I realized that I couldn't get it because it needed two PCI lanes. I'm talking about the problems you run into when looking at your options.


At the time, I bought something that I thought would run me for a long while...and it can, just the issue is that I didn't realize that if I don't keep up with the technology, I'll be stuck with older cards and while they will work fine for the most part, I would hate to pay more for older tech that doesn't do as good as newer tech.

I'm simply showing an example of a problem you run into being a PC gamer.


Yes and I'm fine with it...although you will run into issues that I mentioned above.

You're missing the part about you making a bad decision. Because my motherboard may be a 4 year old model, but I sure as hell can drop a 6870 into it tomorrow if I so wished. And I can have up to 16GB of RAM in it as well.

[Rapture]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128502

When I bought it, it was on a light sale for 120$. As you can see, there's nothing preventing me from installing a future GPU into that.

[Lethal_NFS]

Funny title. That isn't proof of anything..

PC gaming will always surpass consoles in performance but I still prefer the latter for simplicity. They also have games of my taste so that all depends on the gamer and which services and games they prefer.

The title is saying that pc gaming is cheaper. Really nothing about performance.

A new Mobo doesn't require new RAM, and a high-end Mobo model can support future CPU lines for the next few years. When you game on the PC, you need to consider these things and buy the best hardware you can, and by best I don't just mean power.

It depends on what you have now and what you upgrade to. It would be naive to say that you never have to upgrade the ram or motherboard. Some newer cpu's require a different socket motherboard. Someone may be using DDR ram and now they need DDR2, as an example. Who is to say that is not time for an upgrade?

You are assuming that everyone has this hybrid pc that is compatible with everything. That is simply not reality.

[mickice]

Cant remember the price but it was like $60 on steam for the QuakeCon pack last year with 34 games.
I know I pay more for games to run through SONY but to counter that 90% of my console games are published by SONY and only on Playstation.

[Rapture]

You are assuming that everyone has this hybrid pc that is compatible with everything. That is simply not reality.

I didn't assume that; you presumed it. I merely offered this method as an option for PC gamers to take, and there are many who do.

[Sufi]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128502

When I bought it, it was on a light sale for 120$. As you can see, there's nothing preventing me from installing a future GPU into that.

PCI Express 3.0 cards are already out.

I think your perception is different than mine.

You're missing the part about you making a bad decision. Because my motherboard may be a 4 year old model, but I sure as hell can drop a 6870 into it tomorrow if I so wished. And I can have up to 16GB of RAM in it as well.

I can have upto 16GB of RAM as well, just that I'm stuck with 1066MHz.

And cards that will go with 1 PCI Express lane.

[Xelios]

PCI Express 3.0 cards are already out.

I think your perception is different than mine.


I can have upto 16GB of RAM as well, just that I'm stuck with 1066MHz.

And cards that will go with 1 PCI Express lane.

PCI Express is backwards compatible, and you'll still get the same performance from the card.

Also, I fail to see any real issue here, other than you complaining about your motherboard.

[Sufi]

PCI Express is backwards compatible, and you'll still get the same performance from the card.

Also, I fail to see any real issue here, other than you complaining about your motherboard.

How is BC going to help me?

I'm saying that once you get a motherboard, your motherboard will (in a span of two years) be ousted from being compatible with the newer line of available video cards(even in the mid-range) because your motherboard will be outdated.

So while I'll be all fine and dandy upgrading...it's just that I can't do that unless I buy a new mobo.

So the real issue is the mobo, not the GPU itself. I would love to just upgrade my GPU whenever I could.

[Xelios]

How is BC going to help me?

I'm saying that once you get a motherboard, your motherboard will (in a span of two years) be ousted from being compatible with the newer line of available video cards(even in the mid-range) because your motherboard will be outdated.

So while I'll be all fine and dandy upgrading...it's just that I can't do that unless I buy a new mobo.

So the real issue is the mobo, not the GPU itself. I would love to just upgrade my GPU whenever I could.

Because you can still drop a PCIE 3.0 card into an older motherboard. My board is still 4 years old, and I can still put a brand new card into it. The issue again is that your motherboard is an X1, and again, you made a poor choice back when you bought it.

Now, your selection may be limited to the area in which you reside, in which case, that will ring true for you. But for many other people, it simply isn't.

[Rapture]

Plus, PCI 4.0 won't catch on for a few years.

[Sufi]

Because you can still drop a PCIE 3.0 card into an older motherboard. My board is still 4 years old, and I can still put a brand new card into it. The issue again is that your motherboard is an X1, and again, you made a poor choice back when you bought it.

And you'll be paying for the performance that you'll never get.

Now, your selection may be limited to the area in which you reside, in which case, that will ring true for you. But for many other people, it simply isn't.

I donno about you guys but if I wanna buy a PCIE 3.0 video card, I would want the full benefits.

Though my issue was with the amount of sockets. Which is fine and I probably did make a poor decision (since I had an SLI back in 2005 and I never used it so I thought I wouldn't need it next time) but that's an issue with PC gaming, you're always making choices and can make the wrong ones.

What I'll be happy about next-gen of consoles is that once they come out, whatever games that will be on it, will be made to fit them perfectly so I never have to feel duped because I'm paying less to get less but at least I'm getting the full benefit.

With PC, it's sort of like a gamble. For the most part, it's not that bad of a gamble that you feel unsatisfied but once I realized that it's sort of like a race where you'll always end up on the wrong side in the end, I figured I'd just use it for use other than gaming.

Now if somehow they make it to where you can easily upgrade your PC without hassle, I'd probably give it some attention again.