Choosing a Gaming Console (or PC?)

[Kama]

So here's an interesting question, which some of my fellow gamers may or may not be able to help me with.. I currently own a Wii, and I've been contemplating buying another system - the question is, which? I'm torn between building a Gaming PC, or buying a 360/PS3. At this point, I'm leaning very heavily towards building a PC. It's cost-intensive, but I'm also a heavy PC user (as my current line of work directly involves computers, it's not uncommon for me to spend 5-8 hours on a computer each day) - it wouldn't be my first computer build (that being 10+ years in my past), but it would certainly be my first Gaming build. That being said, I'm not the kind of person that if I were to take that route would go out and buy a pre-built PC.

Should I spend the $250 on a PS3/360, or invest in a Gaming PC? Any advice is welcomed, but I'd prefer solid reasons as to why rather than just "you should do this".

And on a further note, are there any hardcore PC gamers out there that could offer some advice (or any at all, for that matter) on picking out parts for a mid-range gaming PC, if I decide to go that route?

(I should note that the games that I'm currently most interested in playing are Call of Duty: Black Ops/World At War, Left 4 Dead 1/2, and virtually anything with zombies, because I am a have-no-shame full-blooded zombie freak, as well as various other FPSes/RPGs.)

[Slowlight]

No contest, build a PC. One word - Skyrim, with the huge modding community around the Elder Scrolls series it gives years and years of content for free but on consoles well... Horse Armor for 5 dollars.

Seems pretty obvious to me.

[Kama]

Originally Posted by Slowlight

No contest, build a PC. One word - Skyrim, with the huge modding community around the Elder Scrolls series it gives years and years of content for free but on consoles well... Horse Armor for 5 dollars.

Seems pretty obvious to me.

Heh. Well, the main thing that puts me off about going PC is that I will undoubtedly go with a Full-Tower ATX (which for those that don't know is a massive hunk of steel almost as tall as my desk).. and those, combined with parts I've priced will easily put me in the $800-1000 range. That and I have no idea what kind of hardware I'll actually need to run most games, which makes the decision even harder.

So that's 1 for PC. Any others?

[Irlazy]

I say get an xbox. I need someone to destroy horde 2.0 with me. Also going to need good battlefield 3 squadmates. Also get borderlands. Always fun to play some borderlands.

Also it is much cheaper. I am saving to build a gaming PC right now because as far as I an concerned with a PC it's all or nothing. No sense building an average one for 400 when you will inevitably have to upgrade it. Can't go wrong with any of those choices though. The PC will be more powerful and more versatile but way pricier.

[Iro]

PCs have better performance and are more cost-effective in the long run. If you're not as literate on the hardware side of things, nerdier friends of yours would probably be willing to direct you to good hardware for a gaming rig if you were to tell them your budget.

[Clubbz]

To be honest, it depends on what kind of gaming you like, and what kind of gamer you are. For casual gaming, a PS3/360 is a better choice, but if you intend to be a hardcore gamer a PC is probably a better choice.

Personally, I mainly use a PS3. I like the controller, the games available for it, and it suits me for how often I play.

[Kama]

Originally Posted by Irlazy

I say get an xbox. I need someone to destroy horde 2.0 with me. Also going to need good battlefield 3 squadmates. Also get borderlands. Always fun to play some borderlands.

Also it is much cheaper. I am saving to build a gaming PC right now because as far as I an concerned with a PC it's all or nothing. No sense building an average one for 400 when you will inevitably have to upgrade it. Can't go wrong with any of those choices though. The PC will be more powerful and more versatile but way pricier.

Well, you know.. Battlefield 3 is coming out for PC too. Although I do agree there's no sense in building a low-end PC (if you're going to game on it) if you have to turn around and upgrade right away. However, if you invest in a good Motherboard and CPU, then the graphics card is the only thing you'll really have to upgrade, which is easy enough.

Originally Posted by Silico

PCs have better performance and are more cost-effective in the long run. If you're not as literate on the hardware side of things, nerdier friends of yours would probably be willing to direct you to good hardware for a gaming rig if you were to tell them your budget.

I've heard from others that it's more cost-effective in the long run, which I can definitely see being true. I'm a computer geek myself, and any excuse to get inside the chassis of a computer is a good one for me - another reason I was leaning towards a PC, because I love building computers. The only thing I don't have a decent amount of knowledge of is GPU/Graphics Cards, which I may or may not be able to get advice on from friends on.

Originally Posted by Clubbz

To be honest, it depends on what kind of gaming you like, and what kind of gamer you are. For casual gaming, a PS3/360 is a better choice, but if you intend to be a hardcore gamer a PC is probably a better choice.

Personally, I mainly use a PS3. I like the controller, the games available for it, and it suits me for how often I play.

Any other reasons you like the PS3? Everything I'm hearing so far is pointing towards me getting a PC; I'd like to hear some input on the pros/cons of the other consoles as well.

And.. well.. I'm definitely a hardcore gamer. That's the reason I started thinking about a PC build in the first place, because I know I'll use it.. but more importantly, I've decided I need more zombies. Yes yes. MORE ZOMBIES! Which means.. PS3/360.. or.. Steam. One of the three.

[kiez]

Essentially, PCs are better in most every aspect of gaming than consoles, except for porting, which is a rather unimportant aspect of what you should look for in buying a system for gaming. If you have the know-how, and don't mind updating software, you should go with the PC. It performs better on almost every level and the controls are usually more precise and customizable. However, consoles are always more hassle-free because there is never any mucking around in settings, and as long as you have been treating it well, your console should perform as well as any other identical unit. Additionally, you can purchase things for your console without having to know the ins and outs of your console's specifications, because games released for your console are designed to work specifically on your console. If you want max performance as well as a huge modding and add-on community, and don't mind the extra work, go the PC route. Just know that it will go out of date fairly quickly. Within a year, games could start appearing that you will have to lower settings for. If you want simple and consistently high performance for the least amount of hassle, go console. I prefer X-Box 360, but have no problem with PS3. I vote for which one fits you best when you consider these points.

[Clubbz]

If all you're really interested in is getting more zombie games, then PC is the choice for you. Most of the console zombie games are cross-platform and have PC version availabe, not to mention if you do a small google search, there are plenty of zombie games for the PC available.

As for why I like the PS3, it's just how I've always gamed. I've always preferred the sony exclusives to the Xbox exclusives, and I've never been comftorable playing FPS on a computer.

[Newnagaraga]

For An Average Gaming Computer (These are rough specs)

Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
4GB DDR3 1333
Nvidia 9600GT 1GB or ATi 4670

300-450$

For A Good Gaming Computer

Core i5-650 3.2 GHz
4GB DDR3 1600
Nvidia GTX 260 or ATi 4870
600-750$

For A Great Gaming Computer

Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost)
8 GB DDR3 1600
Nvidia GTX 580 or ATi 6870x2

For A superb Gaming Computer
Core i7-980 3.33GHZ
16 GB DDR3 1600
Nvidia GTX 590 or ATi 6990

[Kama]

Originally Posted by kiez

Essentially, PCs are better in most every aspect of gaming than consoles, except for porting, which is a rather unimportant aspect of what you should look for in buying a system for gaming. If you have the know-how, and don't mind updating software, you should go with the PC. It performs better on almost every level and the controls are usually more precise and customizable. However, consoles are always more hassle-free because there is never any mucking around in settings, and as long as you have been treating it well, your console should perform as well as any other identical unit. Additionally, you can purchase things for your console without having to know the ins and outs of your console's specifications, because games released for your console are designed to work specifically on your console. If you want max performance as well as a huge modding and add-on community, and don't mind the extra work, go the PC route. Just know that it will go out of date fairly quickly. Within a year, games could start appearing that you will have to lower settings for. If you want simple and consistently high performance for the least amount of hassle, go console. I prefer X-Box 360, but have no problem with PS3. I vote for which one fits you best when you consider these points.

Based on what you're saying, it really does sound like PC is going to be the best option for me. As for it going out of date, all I should have to do (theoretically) is replace the graphics card and possibly the processor and be able to run at the same settings, right? Or at least buy a second card and run an SLI/Crossfire configuration, since the case I'm looking at will have more than enough airflow.

Originally Posted by Clubbz

If all you're really interested in is getting more zombie games, then PC is the choice for you. Most of the console zombie games are cross-platform and have PC version availabe, not to mention if you do a small google search, there are plenty of zombie games for the PC available.

As for why I like the PS3, it's just how I've always gamed. I've always preferred the sony exclusives to the Xbox exclusives, and I've never been comftorable playing FPS on a computer.

That's not all I'm interested in, but it's definitely a big motivator. The whole Survival Horror genre has always been one of my favorites, right up there with MMO/RPGs.

Originally Posted by Newnagaraga

For An Average Gaming Computer (These are rough specs)

Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
4GB DDR3 1333
Nvidia 9600GT 1GB or ATi 4670

300-450$

For A Good Gaming Computer

Core i5-650 3.2 GHz
4GB DDR3 1600
Nvidia GTX 260 or ATi 4870
600-750$

For A Great Gaming Computer

Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost)
8 GB DDR3 1600
Nvidia GTX 580 or ATi 6870x2

For A superb Gaming Computer
Core i7-980 3.33GHZ
16 GB DDR3 1600
Nvidia GTX 590 or ATi 6990

Thanks, I'll definitely keep these in mind.

Here's kinda what I was looking at:

Case: Ultra U12-40670 BLACK Edition Full-Tower ATX/mATX Case

MoBo: Asus M4A88T-V EVO USB3 Motherboard

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor

RAM: Kingston KHX1600C9D3B1 4GB DDR3 RAM

Grapics: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB

Optical: Asus DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS Internal 24x CD/DVD Drive

Power: OCZ ModXStream Pro Power Supply 600-Watt


Suggestions are welcomed. ^^



Update: Well, I've made up my mind. It's probably going to take me a while, but I'm definitely building a PC. I'll be buying the above mentioned case this week, and see where it goes from there. Thanks everyone for your responses, I may just post some pictures when I'm done if anyone would like to see. ^^

If anyone else has build-specific suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

[Irlazy]

I would advise no less then 8 GB of ram. Also and makes a sweet 6 core processor if you don't feel like upgrading for a half of a decade.
On a side note battlefield 3 is playing awesome in its beta atm.

[Iro]

^ 6-core is unnecessary. You'd only really see its effectiveness if you do quite a bit of video editing/rendering. Quad-core is about as good as it gets if you want to game.

8 gigs of ram is also unnecessary. There are very few games that'd ever take more than like 2 gigs of ram, so unless you're multitasking, you don't particularly need it. 'Course, you might as well get more than 3 if you're going 64bit. 4 is fine.



Also, I strongly recommend an Intel processor rather than the AMD one you're considering. They're far better for overclocking, and they tend to be better performance-wise. Here's a comparison of the i7 to your phenom: Link
The i7 is better in every benchmark. Even the i5 beats it in almost every category: Link.
If you have to have a phenom, there's a promotional deal on newegg.

I like the GPU. I saw it on newegg for $138. That's good.
PSU is fine, but I think it's $80 on newegg while it's $65 on Amazon. Might want to look into that.

Other than that, looking good.

[Kama]

Originally Posted by Silico

^ 6-core is unnecessary. You'd only really see its effectiveness if you do quite a bit of video editing/rendering. Quad-core is about as good as it gets if you want to game.

8 gigs of ram is also unnecessary. There are very few games that'd ever take more than like 2 gigs of ram, so unless you're multitasking, you don't particularly need it. 'Course, you might as well get more than 3 if you're going 64bit. 4 is fine.



Also, I strongly recommend an Intel processor rather than the AMD one you're considering. They're far better for overclocking, and they tend to be better performance-wise. Here's a comparison of the i7 to your phenom: Link
The i7 is better in every benchmark. Even the i5 beats it in almost every category: Link.
If you have to have a phenom, there's a promotional deal on newegg.

I like the GPU. I saw it on newegg for $138. That's good.
PSU is fine, but I think it's $80 on newegg while it's $65 on Amazon. Might want to look into that.

Other than that, looking good.

Well, if I go with an Intel CPU then I'll have to find a different motherboard. Not saying I don't agree with you, as I generally prefer Intel all the way; but my reasoning behind the Phenom was that it's specifically compatible with the motherboard I was looking at.

I would absolutely go with an i7, but there are a couple things that turn me off, the foremost being that it costs about double what the Phenom does. Being on a budget and building a computer is hard, but being on a budget and building a gaming computer with no prior experience in that particular area is even harder.

The other issue with the i7 is that as a general rule of thumb, I'll spend about the same on a motherboard as I will on a processor, and I was carrying that logic over to a graphics card as well - spending significantly more money on any one component seems like a recipe for a bottleneck.

Now, I could probably get away with an i5 if I can find an alternative motherboard, and if there are any hardware geeks out there who could help me out in that department I'd be greatly appreciative. Then I just have to decide if the Graphics Card would need an upgrade.

As for RAM, I'll probably end up maxing it out as soon as I can realistically afford to do so. I may end up doing some rendering in the future, and I run some fairly memory-intensive software at times, as well as some serious compiling; but that's not really a major concern, and 4GB should be plenty for the time being. And just thought it should be mentioned that I almost always run a 64-bit OS, with few exceptions. The laptop I'm typing this on is a 64-bit Linux OS (currently running at 78 Degrees Celsius, and worrying me a bit >.>).

And thanks btw, I appreciate everyone's responses. ^^


So, after doing a bit more research, I'm looking at going with these:

MoBo - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 Motherboard
CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K BX80623I52500 Unlocked Processor
Graphics - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti Free Performance Boost Video Card

Those three parts alone look like they will cost me $635, without tax. :/