Is a gaming computer worth it?

Building one would be a lot cheaper than buying one.

I’m perfectly happy with my 360, but a good amount of MMORPGs are only available on PC though. Depends on what you want to play, I guess.

What kind of games do you like?

pc games generally have better graphics, better performance, better controls, better moddability, better multiplayer and sometimes better gameplay as well (lack of processing power for consoles means less sophisticated physics and less sophisticated AI, which together with the weak graphic capabilities means, especially in RTS, limited amount of simultaneous units.)
Pc games are also adaptable to your hardware’s capabilities so if it doesn’t run smoothly enough, turn down graphic settings. in a console you are pretty much stuck with long load times, slowdowns and lag in processor intensive scenes, annoying object and texture popups, etc.
and if you like FPS, playing them with a gamepad is real torture, not to mention that the game aims for you.
besides that and a massive amount of free games, a PC can do many more things than just playing games.

the only reason i have a (used) ps2 is because of some console exclusive games

so is a gaming pc worth it? definitely

@phoenyx

I like FPS, action/adventure, platformers, etc. Not to much of a fan of MMORPGs. Steam has some cool looking games also.

The big thing here is your graphics card. This is going to be the key point of your PC gaming experience. Also buy lots of high speed RAM.

@MrGeneVan That really depends. In some cases, it would actually be a lot cheaper to buy ‘em than to build your own. From my own experience, if you’re looking to spend $800—$1600, it’s actually a lot cheaper to just get it from the manufacturer. A lot of companies now-a-days also include a monitor in their bundle, making it more “worth” it. For example, take Dell. When you work things out, alot of there systems are alot cheaper than putting it together yourself. If try to be on par with them in terms of price, you’re gona have to skimp on parts. For example, take their Studio XPS 9000, which is probably borderline should-I-just-build-or-buy. For $1862.24CAN (after tax), the specs are…

CPU: i7–920
OS: Windows Home Premium (64-bit)
RAM: 12GB DDR3 1066MHz
HD: Bluray Disk Combo
D: 1TB 7200RPM
SC: Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium
VC: nVidia GeForce GTX 260 1792MB

If you tried to build this on your own, it would be pretty hard to use the same amount of money, n get the same specs. For example, getting the cheapest parts that are available at my local computer store, if I were to match the specs that i stated up there, I would be spending…

CPU: i7–920 = $309.99
OS: Microsoft Windows Home Premium 64-bit (OEM) = $144.99
RAM: OCZ (OCZ3M10664GK) DDR3 1066 MHz (2×2048MB) Kit = $89.99×3
HD: Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB (1000GB) 3.5” SATA 7200rpm = $74.99
D: Pioneer BDC-2202 Internal Blu-Ray Disc/DVD/CD Combo Drive = $134.99
SC: Creative Sound Blaster X-FI TITANIUM = $96.99
VC: EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 576MHZ 1792MB 1.998GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E 2XDVI-I HDTV Out Video Card = $295.76 (this is online, so the price is excluding shipping)

Totaling that up, the price would be $1500.29 after tax. Which means you only have about $360 to get a mobo and a case. And considering that most LGA1366 mobos are around $200 (before tax), and most decent looking cases are well over $200…you’re already gona start to go overboard. And that price also doesn’t include a keyboard, mouse, and Microsoft Works. And note that in the build that I stated, the OS is also OEM. Upon that, Dell also offers 1 year warranty. If you mess up your configurations or hardware while assembling the parts, you also dont have that ease of mind that you would have if you bought it from a manufacturer.

So as you can see, in scenarios like this…maybe it would just be cheaper for you buy it from a manufacturer than to assemble your own.

HOWEVER! with that being said…I’m more of an assembler myself =). Even if it costs more, I would probably build it instead of buying it. It’s nice to take the time to pick out your own parts; put them together; and then see a final product that you built with your own hands (with disregards to the transistors and LEDs and other tiny little parts, if you’re gona get all technical with me).

Oh, and in terms of price, if you’re REALLY just looking for something to “play” with, I’d say just stick with consoles. The system I just configured up there could getchu like a PS3 and like…well over 20 games.

Do you like playing with friends? Do these friends have as good of a computer as you? If the answer to these questions is yes and no than a console would be your best bet. otherwise get a computer.

You don’t have to have everything new, buy some used stuff and build your own….

I have GTA 4 for both X360 and PC. My PC is 3 Years old, hardly a beast and yet it blows the 360 out of the water without even trying. I only get games for the console when I can’t wait for their later PC release. Consoles aren’t in the same league but then they aren’t the same price either.

On top of that it doesn’t make sense to play FPS with a gamepad. Once you’ve played them the normal way, with a keyboard and a mouse, you’ll never go back.

I say you should just stick with whatever PC you have.

This is very necessary, because the game can alleviate the pressure, increase the person’s interest!