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[tehrik-e-insaaf]

I think the OP is right in the message, but not on the excuses. You cannot say PC gaming is inexpensive cause you will invest 900 dollars on a platform that will last five years. I mean, that's a retarded argument. 900 dollars is a lot of money to invest in a platform.

I came in thinking the OP would talk about how nowadays you can get a PC for less than 300 dollars that let's you play games like Call of Duty 4, Crysis or Bioshock with medium/high settings and at a decent resolution.

When I last bought a PC it was around 2002, and I paid like 350€ and couldn't almost play any 3D game. Some years later I bought a 60€ graphics card and could play some games setting them really low.

Just mere weeks ago I spent 270€ in a new PC, and I'm able to play any game being released today with medium/high settings.

Sorry, but this is the true story on why PC gaming being expensive is a myth now, not because you can spend 900 dollars on a platform that will last you five years.

Err you understand I factored in a top of the line LCD in that right? I also assumed you upgraded the video card after 2.5 years... and yes it came out to be the same price as console (more or less)...

Anyways the reason I focused on high-end stuff was to show that you don't have to settle for a gimped experience and you can still pay the same amount

 

[Zoc]

I built my computer almost 2 years ago at this point and I am still maxing out every new game that comes out. The only upgrade I've made from my initial purchase of $600 is a $200 8800GT late last year (after selling my 7900GS for 80 bucks to a friend). So basically I've put $720 into my PC Gaming over the past 2 years and am still at the top of all the new games coming out. In two years time an Xbox owner would of put about $500 Into their console and Live alone not counting $10 extra on every new game purchase (PC games still aren't $60). I want to see an Xbox do even a tenth of what my PC does in terms of productivity.

I agree with the larger point, but you aren't making a good case. I have a PS3 I bought used for $300, and the only extra I've spent on it is $50 for a second controller and $5 for an HDMI cable. Also, the average price I paid for my eight disc games was $32. I've spent about another $30 on 4 PSN games and not a cent on DLC.

PC gaming is still more expensive than console gaming, it's only that the price gap has shrunk massively. Meanwhile, the benefits have stayed the same.

 

[I AM JOHN!]

You cannot say PC gaming is inexpensive cause you will invest 900 dollars on a platform that will last five years. I mean, that's a retarded argument. 900 dollars is a lot of money to invest in a platform.

Not really, considering that you're not going to just be using the PC to play games, unless you're weird. That's my problem with the whole "THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY" argument; it completely ignores the fact that you can do way more than just play games on a PC, whereas you're not really going to be doing much more than that on a console.

 

[Houston3000]

This gimping scenario is why I mentioned Crysis, as I don't see many games other than those released by Blizzard not seeking to be at or around Crysis level in a year or so.

Also, my current PC, an HP, cost 800 last week and had the best graphics card out of all the mid-range PCs available, an 800 gt, and I still can't even play the original half-life 2 on anywhere near max (1280x1024) at 30 fps.

This fact makes me feel like shit, as I'm sure it does to many others, especially those with even more expensive PCs that have integrated graphics.

Er... please link that computer. The "best graphics card out of all the mid range PCs" last week was a Radeon HD 4850 which completely destroys HL2 (it would be horribly humiliating to poor old Half-Life) . The best mid range graphics card from 6 months ago was the Geforce 8800GT and eats HL2 for breakfast. The best mid range card from over a year ago will be able to max out HL2 at 60FPS :lol

I can play HL2 at medium/high settings at that resolution with my $550 LAP TOP with integrated graphics at 30FPS

 

[Man God]

$130 for a DS.

$20-$40 games. Free online. No upgrades needed. Feel free to hate. :lol :lol

Spoiler

PC gaming is affordable these days. Limited genres, poor ports, and hardware snaffus tend to make it look bad, but I like this pricing argument vis a vis the 360. Keep up the good fight!

 

[Stoney Mason]

Your argument would make sense if the casual person who walks into Best Buy buying a PC is looking to get incredible performance out of their games in the first place...

I think those people are more likely to purchase a Wii instead of a 360 or PS3 anyways... But that's just my opinion...

If someone is really serious about buying a PC and want to play any kind of games on it, they will visit let's say HP or Dell's site and upgrade and get a pretty decent deal if they aren't wanting to build it entirely themselves...

It's not about getting incredible performance. It's about getting even decent performance or decent performance to play the games at the level that people are expecting. The subset of people who are building their machines compared to a console audience isn't even worth mentioning. There is a larger class that might know how to upgrade and pick better video cards and more memory and options like that when buying from Dell or HP but the prices in those machines start esclating rather quickly when you buy these pre-built machines. I'm constantly amazed at friends around me who buy PC's and bring them home and they have these crappy on board video cards that can't really run anything recent gamewise even remotely decently.

And once again getting these games up and running is not nearly as easy for the casual person as we think. Once again most GAF types will never have these issues but the general public is way less tech saavy and alot of those people still like to play games.

 

[dionysus]

I agree with the larger point, but you aren't making a good case. I have a PS3 I bought used for $300, and the only extra I've spent on it is $50 for a second controller and $5 for an HDMI cable. Also, the average price I paid for my eight disc games was $32. I've spent about another $30 on 4 PSN games and not a cent on DLC.

PC gaming is still more expensive than console gaming, it's only that the price gap has shrunk massively. Meanwhile, the benefits have stayed the same.

It comes down to each individual gamer. It is possible for PC gaming to be cheaper than console gaming for someone why buys a lot of DLC, his games day 1, and is computer savvy.

As the OP correctly pointed out, if one is a laptop only user, PC gaming is much much more expensive than console gaming. Cause you either have to buy a gaming laptop, or a gaming rig and a laptop.

But for a lot of hardcore gamers on GAF, the price difference for PC gaming and console gaming is not great, and that was what I was trying to show in my cost break down on the first page of this thread.

 

[JBuccCP]

I guess you could say if you're coming into it with a blank slate, not having a console or PC, you could save money by buying a PC by not having to buy a PC. What I mean by that confusing sentence is that even if you buy a console you're still going to buy a PC for browsing and shit. So if you take that $400 that you spend on the console and instead divert some of it to get a better PC to game on you can save some money that way. Like instead of buying a $500 PC and a $400 console just buy a $800 PC to game and do the regular computer stuff.

The fact of the matter is for your average guy out there whether he plays on console or PC gaming is an expensive hobby.

 

[zoku88]

Just a technicality, the 4850 isn't a midrange card. It's high-end. The x8xx in the Radeon scheme are the high-end cards.

The x6xx and the x5xx are the midrange offerings for Radeons. The 4000 version of those are launching in September (midrange cards are usually not offered right at the series launch.)

 

[TheHeretic]

Gaming PC's aren't all that expensive considering we all own PC's anyway, but what they are is time consuming. There is no unified structure so you have to spend time patching, finding drivers, and troubleshooting. Sometimes it can be a rewarding experience having a problem in a game and then solving it in a few minutes, other times dredging through forum posts, blogs and porn sites in search of answers is a painful experience.

 

[sprocket]

lets play a game some one put together a gaming pc with links for under $800. and ... go!

 

[Esperado]

MSI MBOX G31M3-F Intel Socket T(LGA775) Intel G31 Black Barebone - Retail - 104.99 (comes with motherboard, case, and 400w power supply)
Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2180 - Retail - 69.99
OCZ Gold Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ26672048ELGEGXT-K - Retail - 40.99 w/25.00 MIR
ASUS EN8800GT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 119.99 w/$20 rebate & free Alone in the Dark
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM - 24.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - 54.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail -24.99
Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B for System Builders 1 Pack - OEM - 84.99

525.92 + Shipping on Newegg
-$45 if the rebates go through
-$84.99 if you own a retail XP or Vista disc
440.93 + Shipping vanilla no OS, 395.93 + Shipping AR
This computer can run Crysis at decent settings.
This processor can most likely be overclocked to around 2.5 ghz without increasing cpu the voltage.

 

[Wallach]

lets play a game some one put together a gaming pc with links for under $800. and ... go!

What would be "required"? Monitor? Input devices? OS? All of the above?

 

[dionysus]

Gaming PC's aren't all that expensive considering we all own PC's anyway, but what they are is time consuming. There is no unified structure so you have to spend time patching, finding drivers, and troubleshooting. Sometimes it can be a rewarding experience having a problem in a game and then solving it in a few minutes, other times dredging through forum posts, blogs and porn sites in search of answers is a painful experience.

Another unmentioned benefit!

 

[cryptic]

Er... please link that computer. The "best graphics card out of all the mid range PCs" last week was a Radeon HD 4850 which completely destroys HL2 (it would be horribly humiliating to poor old Half-Life) . The best mid range graphics card from 6 months ago was the Geforce 8800GT and eats HL2 for breakfast. The best mid range card from over a year ago will be able to max out HL2 at 60FPS :lol

I can play HL2 at medium/high settings at that resolution with my $550 LAP TOP with integrated graphics at 30FPS

Cheaper than I thought. But it was 600 when I bought it and not on outlet.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...07306/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Mind, I could only buy from Circuit City.

 

[Jirotrom]

Now seriously, let's think about this for a minute. What does it cost to acquire a top notch PC with an excellent graphics card and accompanying upgrades that will last you at least 5 years where you can achieve resolutions similar to what you achieve on consoles?

Maybe about 600 dollars (if we go for something high-end, but upgrade the video card after 2.5 years)? Hell let's say it's 900 with a solid 25 inch Samsung LCD

no

 

[sprocket]

What would be "required"? Monitor? Input devices? OS? All of the above?

no monitor. lets say all new lcds come with pc inputs and we all have one.

 

[zoku88]

Cheaper than I thought. But it was 600 when I bought it and not on outlet.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...07306/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Not much else for selection there, eh?

Eh, that's an 8500... that's not high-end... That was midrange. That would be on par with the laptop 8600M GT, I would think. You should prolly get better framerates, but that might be because of bloatware from HP *shrug*

 

[tehrik-e-insaaf]

Gaming PC's aren't all that expensive considering we all own PC's anyway, but what they are is time consuming. There is no unified structure so you have to spend time patching, finding drivers, and troubleshooting. Sometimes it can be a rewarding experience having a problem in a game and then solving it in a few minutes, other times dredging through forum posts, blogs and porn sites in search of answers is a painful experience.

I'm not even gonna ask... :lol

 

[Wallach]

Cheaper than I thought. But it was 600 when I bought it and not on outlet.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...07306/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Not much else for selection there, eh?

So... that computer with an 8800 GT and you're having trouble with HL2?

You need to call them. Even with HPs weird pre-installed crap taking up RAM you should be able to run 60 FPS locked with v-sync. Probably at least 4xAA.

 

[Zoc]

It comes down to each individual gamer. It is possible for PC gaming to be cheaper than console gaming for someone why buys a lot of DLC, his games day 1, and is computer savvy.

As the OP correctly pointed out, if one is a laptop only user, PC gaming is much much more expensive than console gaming. Cause you either have to buy a gaming laptop, or a gaming rig and a laptop.

But for a lot of hardcore gamers on GAF, the price difference for PC gaming and console gaming is not great, and that was what I was trying to show in my cost break down on the first page of this thread.

Best post in the thread so far, and it also explains why these threads devolve backbiting so quickly. People that use their PCs all the time for work or non-gaming hobbies, versus people whose PC needs are met by a ten-year-old iMac, will have completely different perspectives on the cost of PC gaming.

 

[Houston3000]

I agree with the larger point, but you aren't making a good case. I have a PS3 I bought used for $300, and the only extra I've spent on it is $50 for a second controller and $5 for an HDMI cable. Also, the average price I paid for my eight disc games was $32. I've spent about another $30 on 4 PSN games and not a cent on DLC.

PC gaming is still more expensive than console gaming, it's only that the price gap has shrunk massively. Meanwhile, the benefits have stayed the same.

Yeah, I could build my computer now for probably $400 brand new and buy dozens upon dozens of $30 games, play hundreds of free to download games, and play $10-15 a game on STEAM for digitally distributed games like on PSN. I don't want to even get into used parts, I'm sure I can check Craigslist and Ebay and build an awesome computer out of old used computer pieces if I wanted to but I'm not into that market for reasons of reliability.

The fact of the matter is, not counting the amount of games purchased per console, I've spent the same on my PC gaming habit that I have on my PS3 or Xbox 360 over the last 2 years and my PC is a MUCH more valuable machine. Like I said it does more than play games, the fact that it isn't more expensive is impressive enough.

 

[cryptic]

Eh, that's an 8500... that's not high-end... That was midrange. That would be on par with the laptop 8600M GT, I would think. You should prolly get better framerates, but that might be because of bloatware from HP *shrug*

I already said that I realized it was mid-range, but unless I wanted to spend about 400 more, this was my best option as far as graphics go.

So... that computer with an 8800 GT and you're having trouble with HL2?

You need to call them. Even with HPs weird pre-installed crap taking up RAM you should be able to run 60 FPS locked with v-sync. Probably at least 4xAA.

That's an 8500 GT.

 

[Jirotrom]

Now I will see this.... PC components have definitely dropped in price since my last upgrade, its very nice actually and seems that this will be the continuing trend.

 

[fresquito]

Err you understand I factored in a top of the line LCD in that right? I also assumed you upgraded the video card after 2.5 years... and yes it came out to be the same price as console (more or less)...

Anyways the reason I focused on high-end stuff was to show that you don't have to settle for a gimped experience and you can still pay the same amount

Well, my 19' LCD costed me 160€ two years ago, and you know, it works fine for me.

Again, I think you're not talking about PC gaming, but about elitist PC gaming. These are two conventions that should be differentiated, because they're not the same. The notion that elitist PC gaming is cheaper now is a given, what I mean is that nowadays the entry barrier is set much lower. You can have a really good PC gaming experience for little money, while 6 years ago you had to invest a lot to play games that were not old. Like I said, when I last bought a PC, I couldn't play anything that was being released at the time, now I can play Crysis, wich is the most demanding game, at medium settings. That's the difference and the evoklution I see in PC gaming.

But well, if your focus is put in elitist PC gaming, then we're talking two different things.

Not really, considering that you're not going to just be using the PC to play games, unless you're weird. That's my problem with the whole "THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY" argument; it completely ignores the fact that you can do way more than just play games on a PC, whereas you're not really going to be doing much more than that on a console.

I've seen this argument raising here and there, but I think it's not a good argument, really. The problem is that you could pay the minimun the market has to offer and still you'd be getting something that is 100+ times more powerful than what the average user needs.

Let's keep it real, I use photoshop for high quality drawing, with lots of layers, and still my 8 years PC worked just fine for it. Some people use their PCs to make music. But beyond that, what do people use their PCs for? chatting, browsing the net? writting something?

The notion of the need to upgrade a PC for non-gaming duties is based on the fact that most people don't know how to treat well their PCs and eventually they'll begin to malfunction because viruses, temps collapsing the OS and by random deleting and bad use of important archives. People will think the PC is broken and they need a new one.

 

[Houston3000]

It comes down to each individual gamer. It is possible for PC gaming to be cheaper than console gaming for someone why buys a lot of DLC, his games day 1, and is computer savvy.

As the OP correctly pointed out, if one is a laptop only user, PC gaming is much much more expensive than console gaming. Cause you either have to buy a gaming laptop, or a gaming rig and a laptop.

But for a lot of hardcore gamers on GAF, the price difference for PC gaming and console gaming is not great, and that was what I was trying to show in my cost break down on the first page of this thread.

That's a perfectly valid point, and probably the reason I see the value in my PC.

I use my PC for everything plus gaming and it's barely any more expensive (if at all) than my consoles which I use ONLY use for gaming. To me my computer is not a gaming machine, it is my all purpose machine with a $200 component in it that allows me to play games...

For someone that literally only uses their computer as a internet machine (like browsing GAF on their old notebooks) the value may not be there.

 

[zoku88]

I already said that I realized it was mid-range, but unless I wanted to spend about 400 more, this was my best option as far as graphics go.



That's an 8500 GT.

You should probably reinstall Windows (without the bloatware.)

You'd get better than 30 fps... for sure...

I mean, I play TF2 at 1680x1050...

 

[Zoc]

The fact of the matter is, not counting the amount of games purchased per console, I've spent the same on my PC gaming habit that I have on my PS3 or Xbox 360 over the last 2 years

Are you sure you're counting the 360 and PS3 separately, and not lumping them together? I don't know about the 360, but I'm surprised someone could spend $720 on a PS3 over two years. You said you'd spent that much on the PC and that wasn't counting games.

 

[Houston3000]

Cheaper than I thought. But it was 600 when I bought it and not on outlet.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...07306/catOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Mind, I could only buy from Circuit City.

If you bought it a week ago for $800 have them price match it for you... I know at least Best Buy will price match your purchase within a month.

That's not a mid range graphics card though, it's a very low end card just so you can get video out of the computer. If you have a PCI-E slot replace that with a ATI Radeon HD 4850 for $160 at Newegg. It'll be awesome

Edit: HL2 is old though, you should still get good performance, my aformentioned laptop video card is worse than that and has a manageable 30FPS

 

[ElyrionX]

These days, it's not so much the cost of PC gaming that ruins it for me but the hassle of PC gaming. Hardware/software compability, hardware technical issues, game performance optimization, hardware upgrade issues, game patches (far quicker and easier on consoles) and all the troubleshooting that goes along with it.

I also would not include the price of a TV in the console cost equation. Every house has a TV and every console out there will work with that TV already in the house so it's really not a cost associated with console gaming.

You may argue that every house also has a PC. But unless that PC was bought in the last couple of years, not every game out there today will work with it. You could also argue that to make it compatible with modern games, all you need are a few upgrades but it's not as simple as that since there are so many issues to consider (hardware compatibility, bottlenecks, etc).

The upgrade cost is also far higher on a PC. With my current Full HD TV and my 5.1 setup, the whole thing could conceivably last me five to ten years with only a change in console hardware required every generation. For a PC, you got to upgrade the whole damn thing (RAM, processor, mobo, graphics card) or else you will face bottleneck issues.

Also, regarding point 3 about the cost of upgrading individual components in the PC. What happens if that new graphics card or RAM you buy to replace the faulty old one ends up not working with your current setup due to hardware compatibility issues? Do you upgrade the whole damn thing then or just moan over the amount of money you've wasted on purchasing that new piece of hardware?

 

[dionysus]

Are you sure you're counting the 360 and PS3 separately, and not lumping them together? I don't know about the 360, but I'm surprised someone could spend $720 on a PS3 over two years. You said you'd spent that much on the PC and that wasn't counting games.

I spent $499 + 4 controllers at I think $60 so that is $740 and that is the very first day I owned it.

 

[Esperado]

Also, regarding point 3 about the cost of upgrading individual components in the PC. What happens if that new graphics card or RAM you buy to replace the faulty old one ends up not working with your current setup due to hardware compatibility issues? Do you upgrade the whole damn thing then or just moan over the amount of money you've wasted on purchasing that new piece of hardware?

What if you buy an Xbox game and you only have Playstation?

 

[cryptic]

If you bought it a week ago for $800 have them price match it for you... I know at least Best Buy will price match your purchase within a month.

That's not a mid range graphics card though, it's a very low end card just so you can get video out of the computer. If you have a PCI-E slot replace that with a ATI Radeon HD 4850 for $160 at Newegg. It'll be awesome

Edit: HL2 is old though, you should still get good performance, my aformentioned laptop video card is worse than that and has a manageable 30FPS

If I replace the graphics card I'll need a new power supply (500w?) and some new fans I guess. I'm completely clueless when it come's to the fans, and please don't mention soldering.

 

[Zoc]

I spent $499 + 4 controllers at I think $60 so that is $740 and that is the very first day I owned it.

Jeez, I forgot how expensive full-price PS3 gaming could be. At that rate I can see PC gaming being attractive, all right.

 

[Fredescu]

I will always be a PC gamer because I like to think I'm smart about my upgrades. I've spent $50AU in performance upgrades over the last two years, for a second 7900GT to run in SLI. I can still run everything that I want. It helps that I didn't like the Crysis demo.

I still use my 21" CRT and I lurve it. I will be pretty annoyed when I had to replace it with an LCD as I hate being tied into a res unless I dont mind things looking a bit shitty.

 

[ElyrionX]

What if you buy an Xbox game and you only have Playstation?

....................

 

[dionysus]

If I replace the graphics card I'll need a new power supply (500w?) and some new fans I guess. I'm completely clueless when it come's to the fans, and please don't mention soldering.

I am not sure what setup you have, but in general most people don't need a new PSU or more fans. It can be misleading about what is required cause hardcore PC games like having ridiculous PCs so that put all kinds of gratuitous cooling and whatnot.

 

[Windu]

Yeah I recently bought a new computer after not upgrading in about 4 or 5 years. The prices have come waaaaaaayyyy down. It is very nice to see.

 

[Esperado]

....................

Software compatibility issues. PC parts are standardized. You only have to look at a spec sheet for your motherboard to find out if a part doesn't work. Lots of parents probably have the problem of not knowing which games systems and software work, and the biggest hurdle is actually doing the 30 seconds of research to find out if something works or not.

 

[cryptic]

I am not sure what setup you have, but in general most people don't need a new PSU or more fans. It can be misleading about what is required cause hardcore PC games like having ridiculous PCs so that put all kinds of gratuitous cooling and whatnot.

I'm pretty sure I have either a 380w or 400w power supply and I don't think those will cut it for a 4850.

 

[Stoney Mason]

I'm pretty sure I have either a 380w or 400w power supply and I don't think those will cut it for a 4850.

I got a 4850 recently and had to install like a 500W just to be safe. It still runs crazy hot deafult but there is a fan hack to lower the temp.

 

[ElyrionX]

Software compatibility issues. PC parts are standardized. You only have to look at a spec sheet for your motherboard to find out if a part doesn't work. Lots of parents probably have the problem of not knowing which games systems and software work, and the biggest hurdle is actually doing the 30 seconds of research to find out if something works or not.

That's not what I'm talking about. It's not as simple as putting in a new piece of RAM into a PC. That new piece of RAM may not work well with your current sticks of RAM and you may end up with freezes and BSODs and I'm speaking from experience. Same goes for motherboards and graphics card. The whole damn thing has got to work well together.

Also, you make it sound as if knowing whether a graphics card will work with your current mobo is as simple a task as finding out whether a 360 game will work with a PS3. It's not.

EDIT: Also, in response, what happens if you buy a PC game when you only have a Mac?

 

[Esperado]

I got a 4850 recently and had to install like a 500W just to be safe. It still runs crazy hot deafult but there is a fan hack to lower the temp.

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.20GHz
EVGA nForce 790i SLI Intel DX48BT2
ATI Radeon HD 4850
Seagate 7200.9 120GB 8MB 7200RPM
4 x 1GB Corsair DDR3-1333 7-7-7-20
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1
PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1200W

This system draws 227 watts at load. With the 4870 it draws 278.6 watts.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=22

That's not what I'm talking about. It's not as simple as putting in a new piece of RAM into a PC. That new piece of RAM may not work well with your current sticks of RAM and you may end up with freezes and BSODs and I'm speaking from experience. Same goes for motherboards and graphics card. The whole damn thing has got to work well together.

Also, you make it sound as if knowing whether a graphics card will work with your current mobo is as simple a task as finding out whether a 360 game will work with a PS3. It's not.

EDIT: Also, in response, what happens if you buy a PC game when you only have a Mac?

PCI Express x 16 - check.

For the second part. I was merely mirroring what it's like for an outsider looking in to the console compatibility thing and comparing it to you as an outsider of the computer parts compatibility thing. Once you jump that first hurdle everything is much easier.

 

[zoku88]

That's not what I'm talking about. It's not as simple as putting in a new piece of RAM into a PC. That new piece of RAM may not work well with your current sticks of RAM and you may end up with freezes and BSODs and I'm speaking from experience. Same goes for motherboards and graphics card. The whole damn thing has got to work well together.

Also, you make it sound as if knowing whether a graphics card will work with your current mobo is as simple a task as finding out whether a 360 game will work with a PS3. It's not.

You're talking about RAM compatibility issues? That's really rare. Most RAM problems just come from faulty RAM..

And yea, finding if a gfx card works with your mobo is pretty simple. Basically, you just have to see what kind of slot it has...

 

[Stoney Mason]

Also, you make it sound as if knowing whether a graphics card will work with your current mobo is as simple a task as finding out whether a 360 game will work with a PS3. It's not.

Yep. These tasks that people on GAF find very easy to do are not the same for regular people. They neither have the knowledge nor the interest.

 

[cryptic]

I got a 4850 recently and had to install like a 500W just to be safe. It still runs crazy hot deafult but there is a fan hack to lower the temp.

Yeah, that's what worries me. I need this computer to last a while as it doubles as a family PC.

EDIT: Wasn't there some problems with the heatsink on the first releases of the 4850 that will be rectified with a new, improved batch? I remember reading this on some review site...

 

[Grayman]

That's not what I'm talking about. It's not as simple as putting in a new piece of RAM into a PC. That new piece of RAM may not work well with your current sticks of RAM and you may end up with freezes and BSODs and I'm speaking from experience. Same goes for motherboards and graphics card. The whole damn thing has got to work well together.

Also, you make it sound as if knowing whether a graphics card will work with your current mobo is as simple a task as finding out whether a 360 game will work with a PS3. It's not.

EDIT: Also, in response, what happens if you buy a PC game when you only have a Mac?

I've never had a problem with compatibility. I am not building systems in mass but I have upgraded most components, and sold old things to friends without having problems ever.

 

[Wallach]

As requested... mind you I am building this with $800 in mind, so I'm going for performance that comes in under that and not strictly the cheapest build:

MSI MBOX LGA775 - Case/Motherboard/PSU - $104.99
Intel C2D E8400 CPU - $169.99
XFX 8800 GT 512MB w/ Call of Duty 4 - $129.99
Seagate Barracuda 640GB SATA HDD - $84.99
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 RAM - $87.00
Samsung 22x DVD Burner w/ LightScribe - $29.99
Vista 64-bit SP1 OEM - $99.99
Logitech basic KB & Mouse (optical) combo - $12.99
CA 68w Sub + 2 Speakers - $38.99

Total: $758.92

Note - total does not include $40 of MIR from RAM or GPU.

I didn't really spend much time on it so it's probably not even close to optimal, but it's very simple to create a gaming-class rig if your ceiling is $800 w/o monitor.

 

[Stoney Mason]

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 @ 3.20GHz
EVGA nForce 790i SLI Intel DX48BT2
ATI Radeon HD 4850
Seagate 7200.9 120GB 8MB 7200RPM
4 x 1GB Corsair DDR3-1333 7-7-7-20
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1
PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1200W

This system draws 227 watts at load. With the 4870 it draws 278.6 watts.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=22

That's a good setup. I've definitelty had issues myself on the stock systems I've owned in the past trying to cheap out on the power supply though.

 

[zoku88]

Yeah, that's what worries me. I need this computer to last a while as it doubles as a family PC.

EDIT: Wasn't there some problems with the heatsink on the first releases of the 4850 that will be rectified with a new, improved batch? I remember reading this on some review site...

It was the drivers. They didn't turn up the fan enough. You could fix this by going into the .ini file(s)