Gaming Computer vs. Gaming Console

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utaustinstud

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Mar 5, 2008
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So I am in bad need of a computer upgrade since mine is ancient. I have wanting to get into gaming but haven't done it simply because my computer is so old. I'm looking at either building a new system built for gaming or building a new system built for word processing, internet, video capture, watching T.V., etc. and buying a gaming console to play my games on.

I'm not exactly sure what my budget is but it's in the range of $600-$800. I've got a Coolermaster Centurion Case and CoolerMaster Extreme PSU 600W. I got it before I realized CoolerMaster is a bad brand for PSUs but I got it from Newegg for the cost of shipping after MIR. The case I also got for $5 after MIR. At the same time I got a CoolerMaster Gemini II CPU cooler for free after MIR. What does everyone think about the cooling performance of the CPU cooler I got? If it sucks, it was free so I don't really care.

Here's what I've been thinking about getting:

Gigabyte P35-DS3L
Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1600 (PCI Interface) or Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 (PCI Express x1 Interface)
2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 RAM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB HD

Do you think I should go with a different brand TV tuner? Also, what are people's thoughts on getting a PCI Express vs. PCI T.V. tuner?

I'm planning on reusing my old DVD burner (IDE).

The things I need the most help on is picking my video card and picking my CPU. If I go with the basic desktop I was thinking of either the E2160 or the E4500. I am leaning towards the former simply because it's $50 cheaper and I can OC it to 3.0Ghz pretty easy with my MOBO choice. Will it make a difference in a basic desktop whether I have 1MB or 2MB L2 cache? That seems to be the only real difference because I'd plan to OC both of them anyway.

As far as video cards I definitely want 2 DVI outs but for a non-gaming rig what kind of video card should I get? I'm planning on installing WinXP Pro 32 bit on my computer again once I build the system but I'd like the video card to be "future proof" enough so I can run Vista Aero well once I upgrade to Vista.

Since (according to the Tom's Wiki PSU list) I have a Tier 5 PSU should I upgrade since I'm planning on OCing no matter what kind of system I get? Or will I run into problems with my PSU in OCing?

I'd like some recommendations on CPUs and video cards for gaming given my $600-$800 budget for the entire build. It seems like I'd be better off spending $400-$500 on a computer and the rest on a gaming console. By the way, I have a 20" LCD monitor running at 1600x1200 resolution so I'd like to be able to play games in full screen mode.

I've been reading a lot of reviews on video cards and it seems like, at least on some games, the difference between two different cards at the same resolution, etc. is the difference between maybe 60fps and 75fps. I am going to notice a real world difference in getting 75fps over 60 fps? What's a good number of fps to have when it comes to real world playability? If I'm looking at a review of a video card at 1600x1200 resolution, what should the fps be in order for the game to be playable?

Thanks for all of your help.
 
That's what I'm leaning towards...getting a gaming console and a decent PC. That way I can also hang out and play games with friends on my T.V. downstairs.

Do you have any suggestions for non-gaming video cards that will run Vista Aero well? If I'm not doing gaming, how much RAM should I get? And should I get GDDR2 or GDDR3, or does it really matter? Keep in mind I'll be watching T.V. and movies on this computer too (I don't know if that makes a difference).

Thanks again.
 
the new 9600GT is apparently quite cheap and pretty powerful (targeted to mid-range users). Also take a look at maybe the 8600GT which is like $50 now.

You should only get 2Gb of memory DDR2-800.

Another upside to the playstation (if you're considering one), cheap blu-ray player, free internet play, and overall just a fine piece of console greatness.... Can you tell I just got one? :)
 
I actually was thinking about the 8600gt. My question is, should I got with 256MB RAM or 512MB RAM? And, should I go with GDDR2 or GDDR3? Obviously the DDR3 is newer and I was planning on going with that. I was looking at the EVGA branded 8600gt's from Newegg--they have 4. The 512MB versions have a Core clock of 540Mhz whereas the 256MB versions have a core clock of 684Mhz. From what I've read on here and other review sites/forums EVGA is probably the best video card manufacturer. Is this true?

And I guess I always can upgrade to a 8800gt or 9600gt video card if I want to start gaming on my computer. Or, whatever else is out when I decide to upgrade. But if I do end up getting a gaming rig, what kind of video card should I get to play at resolutions of 1600x1200 and above? I feel there's no point in getting a card that won't play at those high resolutions because those are the resolutions my monitor is at and if I get a 2nd monitor it'll be a 22"-24" widescreen, thus I'll need to run games at high resolutions.

I didn't know about the free Internet play of the PS3s Beurling. That's the thing that was steering me away from an Xbox 360--I don't want to have to pay for XBox Live.
 
Beurling, I notice you have a 8800GTS 512MB video card and with that kind of card I'm assuming you game on your computer as well?

When I'm looking at reviews of video cards, what kind of FPS rates should I be looking for in terms of playability of a given card at a given resolution? Will I notice the difference between 70 FPS and 80 FPS? What would you say a minimum FPS rate would be for good playing of a game? Or does that just depend on the game?
 
Don't worry about your PSU. I've got a 550w version and the voltages are spot on and rock solid. The PSU while being simple and without frills, does use high quality capacitors etc... shouldn't have any problems. Way too much hype over expensive PSU's in my opinion.
 
Thanks for the help nukchebi0 and Maximus_Delta. I figured that a lot of what was going on in the PSU world is hype. And I figured that I've got a 3 year warranty and so if anything happens to it I can just send it back. And besides, I only paid $8 for it so I'm not that concerned.

Thanks for the info on the playability of games too. I just didn't want to get a new system and get a game on there and see that it was unplayable at my high resolutions because the video card wasn't good enough. I figured anything around 30-40 would be fine simply because that's what is used in TV.
 
Depends if you gonna play mmorpg, fps, sim, racing, etc. with a fps your going to notice some lag at 30-40 fps these days, youll probably get tired of seeing someone run past, turn to shoot and your dead. Also worry about psu, unless your rich and can afford a cheap psu to fry your whole system, why make a computer with sub par parts? The old adage, you get way you pay for still applies, and is a good rule of thumb for building your own pc.
 



Generally, two things can happen when a PSU craps out.
1 - it give you warning signs and if you're smart you replace with a quality unit
2 - it doesn't give you warning signs and it fries your motherboard and possibly CPU


An 8600gt is NOT going to make games playable at 1600x1200, unless Call of Duty (the first one, from 2003) is what you plan on playing. For modern games like Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Fuel of War and similar, you need an 8800gt 512mb, which can be had for $180'ish after rebate.

A good PSU for the cheap is the Corsair 450vx at buy.com that will easily power any single card system (aside from a dual GPU card).
 
why not juist scrap a games console and get a gaming PC? am i the only one who notices that the Xbox/PS3 games are WAY more expensive with crappier gfx (according to the system spec of the user ofc) than PC, whilst also not being able to do word processing? the PC iw s the way forwards...

you have the perfect bugdget base for a good gaming PC... i have similar specs for the Pc and can say it does me proud... and no, the E2160's low cache makes no percievable difference in real world apps... in games it does apparently make a difference, but legionhardware (http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=653) claims this can be negated using higher clockspeeds, while Toms Hardware claims otherwise...
 
The 8600GT won't be a scorching FPS gamer but it will play COD4 just fine. Just use the game optimized settings. Not my choice but several friends are using without a problem.
 


If you "really" want to game; I mean the way real gamers do; then get yourself a decent PC and forget about the console once and for all.
 
Get a wii, they are simple and fun, and the cheapest. Then use the extra couple hundred bucks to get do a little better on the video card/processor combo :)
 

Please don't tell me you were implying PC gaming was cheaper. I hate consoles as much as the next PC guy, but man... as far as TCO goes, consoles are the way... and this is especially true if the next gen console has support for previous-gen titles. Look at people's sigs here... many have $1500+ rigs. In console speak that would be the console and maybe 20 games.
 
rodney_ws you could easily spend that 1500 dollars on a console also over the years, games being 60 bucks a pop and all, plus a 300 dollar console, its just with computers you need that money now, not later on down the life of the console.
 
So if I go with an 8800GT, which one should I get? I was looking at the Tom's VGA charts and the 8800GT looked impressive in the FPS realm using high quality settings (which is what I'd use) but what kind of computer did they use to get those FPS rates? I don't want to get a $200 video card only to find out my performance on gaming is being bottlenecked by my CPU.

Also, the one Tom's used on the charts is an OCed version--660 Mhz and 1900 Mhz which will obviously produce better results than the standard version.

Some questions:

1. How hard is it to OC your video card? And if I do OC it, will I need to purchase a after-market GPU cooler?
2. If I OC it, what will happen to the warranty? I've read most manufacturers will void the warranty--except with XFX and EVGA (correct me if I'm wrong).
3. Should I just go with the cheapest model? Is the only difference between the cards beyond whether they're OCed and by how much, price?

Thanks for ya'lls help.
 
blacksci: I definitely understand the old adage of "you get what you pay for" but is a 600W CoolerMaster PSU bad? I read on Tom's Wiki that you should NEVER buy a CoolerMaster PSU but then I read a review on Tom's where they used a CoolerMaster PSU. I think it was in the same product line as mine, only that one had 1000W vs. my 600W.

And, the PSU I have right now is going for $80 on Newegg and it seems to get at least decent reviews (65% are 4 or 5 eggs) and so I guess I just don't understand how an $80 PSU that gets fairly good reviews (the main complaints are the noise and I have had none of that) could be bad? Sure I paid only S&H for it but that's because of a good sale price and a great MIR.
 
I personally would go with antec, they have quality products, a high efficency rating, great customer service, and good warranties, the psu is nice and heavy and i have never seen a complaint about them, its what i use myself.
 
Console is also nice for driving games too, i prefer by far to play racing games on console then pc, I can get a better "feel" of the car that way.
 
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