Gaming Computer vs. Gaming Console

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consoles always seem like the newbie gamers choice.

For example: Halo comes out... and suddenly EVERYONE is a "gamer".

Ill stick to the mouse and keyboard.

Plus you can mod your PC to your liking without voiding some warrenty, or worry about getting kicked off xboxlive
 


Console = JRPGs
Computer = Western RPGs.

Consoles are also better with fighting games (unless you count MUGEN).
PCs are infinitely better with FPSes, though.
 
Get the 8800GTS (G92)....price has droped alot in the past month,they were $220 last week.

There are free coverter programs that will let you copy and run the consol stuff on your computer.
 

Couldn't agree more 😉. Although you can be IP blocked depending on the game,etc...
 
Consoles for anything local-multiplayer (nothing like a few rounds of Smackdown or Smash Bros. with friends).
Computers for anything else
 
blacksci: I believe I've used Antecs in the past and they've all been great. I guess my question is: "How do I judge a power supply?" I look on review sites and obviously not every PSU is tested and not every model is tested. I bought the CoolerMaster because I needed a new PSU because my old one was dying and I didn't have much money to spend at the time and I needed one QUICK. I also thought "hey, CoolerMaster makes some decent coolers and fans and so I thought they were a 'reputable' brand.

If I go into my local computer store and look at PSUs what do I look for? I know that you should look for one that's heavy but it seems like there are good PSUs out there that aren't $150. I desire a good value on my PSU--NOT a cheap one. It's true you get what you pay for in PSUs but with all these sales and MIRs it's hard to tell what's good and what's not. PLUS you can't exactly open up the PSU in the store to look at the quality of the capacitors. And even if you could I wouldn't know how to tell the difference.

And as for a gaming computer vs. a gaming console it seems to me that a console is better for some games than others. From the little gaming I've done I'm not a big FPS fan on consoles. But I also really like having friends over and playing games and I feel that's easier done in your living room on a big screen T.V. vs. a 20" monitor in your office. I really couldn't agree more with heartburnkid.
 
The 3 things i looked for when i bought my power supply was this, 1. whats is the efficency, if that power supply has a higher efficency rating, it has quality parts. 2. What do there waranties look like? a reputable power supply will have a good warranty, anyone who makes crap wont stand by there product. 3. I trolled in forums for 3 months looking at peoples reviews. reallife experience in my opinion beats any test hands down, see what people are saying about it in the newegg reviews, computer enthusiasts are quick to say if a power supply is crap or not, since we all want to protect our investment and get the best experience possible, corsair is also a good brand, with antec, and also ocz, these are my personal top choices. All three have great warranties, and have been known to put out a quality product, i would stay away from thermaltake and roswell, as both seem to have a 50/50 chance of the power supply making it past your first month, but read customer reviews, no one knows it better, or is going to tell it to you straight like us customers, after all, we all get pretty pissed if a product is sub-par.

As a side note, try fps on the comp if you havent already, i find it a much more enjoyable experience with a mouse then a controller.
 
Once again, thanks for your help blacksci.

I've been reading some reviews on PSUs on Jonnyguru and one thing he says in one of the reviews is you can't really judge a PSU by brand alone. He reviewed a CoolerMaster PSU and he gave it a good review yet on the tiered list of PSU makers that Tom's Wiki has, it says CoolerMaster is tier 5 and you should never buy one.

I think my main problem with selecting a PSU is finding a review. It seems most of the reviews I've seen are for either 450W and below PSUs or for PSUs that are 750W and above. And I don't need a 750W PSU but I think I'll need more than a 450W one especially if I get an 8800GT or 8800GTS.

Do you think a 600W PSU will be enough if I get into OCing if I only have one video card? Or will I need to upgrade to a 650W or 700W one?

Thanks again for ya'lls help.
 
Well im running a antec earthwatts 500 w psu with quad, a 8800gts, 4 gigs of ram, 2 harddrives and a antec 900 case, everything works fine for me, and my quad is overclocked to 3 gigs, so if you dont plan on runnin anything more intensive then that, i think you should be fine, for this system i knew i needed 500w to 550w anything more and i was just throwin money out the door.
 
Thanks for the help. Obviously the more powerful the PSU the more expensive but I guess it's just hard to know how much to get. The calculator that many people post links to told me I needed like 750W for my system and I plugged in that I was running a Core 2 Duo OCed to like 3.5Ghz, 4 gigs ram, 3 hard drives, and a few fans & USB devices, and one 8800GT I think and that just seemed like overkill. And I used all the recommended settings (I think I did anyway).

What is the general consensus on here about reviews from www.thinkcomputers.org and www.hi-techreviews.com? I googled my PSU (the coolermaster) and found a review of it on those sites and they both seemed to like it. But again, I'm not sure if they're that reliable when it comes to reviewing things.
 
Honestly, if you're not going to play games on your PC, there's no reason to use windows. Ubuntu linux has everything you need out of the box + desktop effects that puts vista aero to shame, real big shame. I can run ubuntu 7.10 with 3d desktop and rotate the desktop cube at 40+ fps on an athlon tbird 1ghz and a ATI 9100pro.

Here's some videos on what desktop effects you can use:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QAu8pvD358&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn2F-y73Tnw&feature=related


Also, here's a video that shows you how easy it is to install:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njv1A-bjnzw&feature=related

I would suggest at the minimum to download the ubuntu ISO and burn it onto a CD, you can actually boot into the OS FROM the cd without having to install it. Of course, it'll run much slower off the CD.

In the case you like using ubuntu, you can actually take your 600 dollars, buy a ps3, a second controler and a couple of games to go with your tv downstairs and still enjoy astonishing eye-candy on your PC without having to invest a dime into it. (Except perhaps the dime you'll spend on a blank CD)
IMHO, it is by far the smartest things to do as you'll be able to use word processing, spreadsheets, web browsing, bittorrent, etc... that comes pre-packaged for absolutely no money.
And if you do feel like playing games, you can always try out wine (Windows emulator to put it simply), dosbox to play dos games.
I got a nintendo, super nintendo and PSX emulator working flawlessly with USB controler on my computer.
For computer games, I got doom3, quake4 and Nexuiz working flawlessly.
Through windows API emulation, I got: Guildwars, counter-strike 1.6, source, hl, hl2, quake 1,2,3 , starcraft, diablo.
One that's highly recommended is Nexuiz, it's a FPS based off Quake1 engine. Although it's heavily modified and can be compared to UT2004 graphics or better. Very fun to play. And free =]
 
I say get a gaming pc and a xbox 360 controller. You can always hook your pc up to your TV (will look great on a 1080p tv). Plus you're on a PC hardware site, so how could I tell you to get a console. . .

If you're new into PC gaming, try some of these games, Oblivion (wasted a whole summer playing this game its great), HL2 Orange Box, Enemy Territory (its free tons of people play and tons of fun), and COD4. And with a 360 controller you can even get your favorite EA sports games and play them too :)
 


A better "feel" with a **** gamepad or a sub par console wheel? Probably only possible with an arcade racer that breaks and steers for you. As far as "real" sims are concerned, there's only one choice and that's a PC, GTR2 and a Logitech G25. Anything else is for pussies :)



Could not agree more wholeheartedly.

 
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