Misconceptions about PC gaming.

[Jumplion]

I thought I saw some people call other people "console-tards", infact I'm pretty sure (but it could be my eyes), but even if there weren't in this particular thread I see it all the time and it's annoying.

Then you quote those who do, notify them of it and don't go insulting people that have nothing to do with it? Doing stupid shit because elsewhere does stupid shit somewhere else doesn't make it any less stupid, you know.

That is true, though I'm pretty sure I called people "PC-tards" (infact, the PC-tards comments weren't directed to anyone specific just people in general) weeks ago when this thread was abuout on the 5th page or something. I don't recall calling anyone "Pc-tards" recently.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

To be fair to Alpha, most console games do look really nice as they're being played thru a TV, there's a difference between technically better and actual looks. Not agreeing as such, just making a point as to the differences between seeing something on hi res monitors and an old TV. a bit of blur hides a multitude of sins

As for the OP:

1. My new PC cost me £179, +£10 for an extra 1gb memory, +£55 for a half decent 1gb Nvidia PCIex card. That's £250 for something running almost anything at basic levels.

2. Agreed, I only did it because my old one was getting a bit flaky an unreliable and figured a new PC would be cheaper and less hassle than a mobo/cpu upgrade.

3. I generally tell non techy people amazed at my skills, that building a PC is like playing with Meccano for the most part, you just plug bits in and tighen some screws, most things will only fit in one space, or they're colour coded. I've met looks of disbelief when asked to upgrade someone's memory and been done in ten minutes and charged em £15, 10 for the memory and a fiver for me for being great, heh.

4. Really, if you're a console gamer, just get a machine with either Vista or XP, if you want a simple life, don't complicate matters with linux or others if you want a gaming machine. Not knocking linux etc, but for most gamers without the knowledge, I'd recommend an off the shelf machine with Windows.

5. Patches after the first few are usually extra content, and console games that can't be patched can have unfixable problems, remember we don't get this kinda support in many industries. (course we dont get shoddy stuff shipped as done in many industries either, but that's a different thread.)

6. You're a gamer, if you can hear anything above gunfire and explosions, you're not doing it right! Turn it up! (Really, check the machine and tighten some screws, usually its a loose fan.)

7. Crysis - load of old buttnuggets with added shinies, go play HL 2 or Deus ex 1, or TF2 and enjoy some multiplayer (admit to not facing the actual point, but I'm still right)

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

I got a question I would like to pose it is bewteen 3 Quad-Core CPUs.(3 Have come down to be cheaper then a Duo that can barely do the same.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103249
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103244

What would be the overall best for CashVsPreformanceVsAnythingelsethatmightnotbeuseful?
(I would be using Vista 64 bit, Because eventually I will be using duel cards, So I don't want it to chug.)

 

[Danny Ocean]

Q6600. Only slightly slower for a bigger cache, and easier to OC than the AMD cores. Get a second opinion though.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Q6600. Only slightly slower for a bigger cache, and easier to OC than the AMD cores. Get a second opinion though.

Alright, I was looking at the AMD cores because one was quite a bit cheaper.

 

[zoozilla]

6. Noise- Only a poorly cooled PC will make a lot of noise. Hell, my Dell is drowned out by the 360.

My PC happens to be annoyingly loud. My 360 does too, but... I wonder why my PC is so loud? I don't see why my desktop sounds like a jet engine when I'm playing a 10-year old game like Fallout.

 

[PersianLlama]

This is NOT a thread about which is better.
Nor is it a thread exploring steriotypycal nerd culture.
It is a thread to discus common misconceptions that are often cited by people in arguments involving it.
This thread comes from someone who (as Yahtzee puts it) "is white enough to afford all the platforms".

Anyway, without further ado:

1. A gaming PC doesn't cost the earth- in the UK, ~£350 can buy a lower mid range PC. That's not the kind you get in schools which are just Toasters in a bigger case, it's the kind you can easily play games on medium/high on. A higher end Pc is about £7-800, and you'll be able to play most- if not all games- on high. The massive £2000 prices come from pre-built models and those that are on the bleeding edge with custom paint jobs, special (liquid) cooling and multiple graphics cards. Big retailers such as dell are also known for overpriced products. Also, computer components are more expensive here anyway, so don't just double the price to get the cost in dollars.

2. A gaming PC isn't upgraded every year- unless you're really desperate to stay on the cutting edge. A new GPU every 2-3 years, and/or cpu every 3-4 is fine, and even then you don't have to, you'll still be in the game.

3. It doesn't take an IT genius to do- granted, it's not as easy as consoles: just pop it in and it's done, but it's not as hard as people make it out to be. It didn't take me long at all to get my head around intel/amd cpus and motherboards and Ati/nvidia cards. After that, there are very few issues to worry about unless you buy hardware more than 3 years old. (eide drives etc..)

4. Software compatibility- is only really an issue if you don't run windows, and even then you can use wine. (I run Ubuntu and Vista hp, sp1)

5. Patches- A lot of games now come with automatic patching for the PC. If they don't, there are things like gameshadow or Xfire that do it for you. Remember that consoles patch their games and firmware too.

6. Noise- Only a poorly cooled PC will make a lot of noise. Hell, my Dell is drowned out by the 360.

7. Crysis- Crysis is a unique game, no other game taxes systems as hard as Crysis. Period. A PC that cannot run Crysis will most likely still be able to run all other games. With new hardware being released cheaply due to a sudden surge in competition, it isn't even that expensive to get a system capable of playing Crysis on high.

You sir, are full of win.

 

[PersianLlama]

Q6600 all the way.

I concur.

 

[RufusMcLaser]

2. A gaming PC isn't upgraded every year- unless you're really desperate to stay on the cutting edge. A new GPU every 2-3 years, and/or cpu every 3-4 is fine, and even then you don't have to, you'll still be in the game.

This is the only statement I take exception to. In my experience (which, being over a decade, makes me some sort of Methuselah in internet terms) the motherboard required to support the "current" CPU & GPU changes every 2-3 years as well. It will also require, like as not, a new kind of RAM. The peripheral interfaces may even have changed; see IDE vs. SATA. I know this because I upgrade every 2-3 years. Last time around I got caught in the teeth by the AGP to PCIExpress move.

The rest is spot on. And, if you're new to PC gaming, you can have a LOT of fun with old titles which don't require Crysis-supporting hardware. Which is what I do with my 1.6gHz laptop when I'm traveling.

 

[Yargaflarga]

Good points, but I would rather go for a controller over a mouse and keyboard any day.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

2. A gaming PC isn't upgraded every year- unless you're really desperate to stay on the cutting edge. A new GPU every 2-3 years, and/or cpu every 3-4 is fine, and even then you don't have to, you'll still be in the game.

This is the only statement I take exception to. In my experience (which, being over a decade, makes me some sort of Methuselah in internet terms) the motherboard required to support the "current" CPU & GPU changes every 2-3 years as well. It will also require, like as not, a new kind of RAM. The peripheral interfaces may even have changed; see IDE vs. SATA. I know this because I upgrade every 2-3 years. Last time around I got caught in the teeth by the AGP to PCIExpress move.

The rest is spot on. And, if you're new to PC gaming, you can have a LOT of fun with old titles which don't require Crysis-supporting hardware. Which is what I do with my 1.6gHz laptop when I'm traveling.

The last time I got caught in the teeth, it was DDR1 to DDR2. But I think PCI Express will be staying with us for quite a long time :]

16X+GX2=Graphics make the game its *****.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Hey guys, Could I put the HDD from my PC into a new one that i'm making? Or do I have to save all the information to something?( I would be taking save files to Age Of Empires 3/Other stuff like that.)

Or do you think it could be saved to a usb drive and then inserted into the folder?

 

[Danny Ocean]

You should be able to slot the hard drive right in.

6. Noise- Only a poorly cooled PC will make a lot of noise. Hell, my Dell is drowned out by the 360.

My PC happens to be annoyingly loud. My 360 does too, but... I wonder why my PC is so loud? I don't see why my desktop sounds like a jet engine when I'm playing a 10-year old game like Fallout.

Try opening it up and taking a look at the fans and CPU heatsink (The big metal block in the middle of the motherboard) If they're clogged with dust, try cleaning them out to restore airflow.

I'll re-post my piccie of the internals of my off-the-shelf-dell.

Spoiler: Click me

I think in most PCs the hard drives are mounted horizontally (ATX) rather than vertically (BTX?) as in mine.

 

[-Seraph-]

Q6600 all the way.

Q9300 for me ^_^

 

[EvilEngineNumberNine]

I think in most PCs the hard drives are mounted horizontally (ATX) rather than vertically (BTX?) as in mine.

ATX and BTX are motherboard formfactors. They don't determine the placement of your hard drives and other compnenets, just where the slots and sockets are on the motherboard. Although this DOES change which side of the case the MoBo is screwed to, and the placement of the I/O panel on the case. Thigs like HDD orientation and PSU placement are determind more by what case you buy.

 

[clarinetJWD]

Hey guys, Could I put the HDD from my PC into a new one that i'm making? Or do I have to save all the information to something?( I would be taking save files to Age Of Empires 3/Other stuff like that.)

Or do you think it could be saved to a usb drive and then inserted into the folder?

Depends on your current hardware, what you're going to, and what OS. XP is the worst offender in this regard, but Vista isn't without fault. The hard drive will work fine, but a lot of times with big upgrades, you'll just bluescreen when booting up.

Plus, it's usually much better to start new hardware on a clean install. Either back up that hard drive (just drag and drop), or install to a new hard drive, and use that as secondary. It's usually quite simple to retain your save games (I just upgraded and reformatted 3 times, and it was simple to keep all my files for Assassin's Creed, all Steam games, The Witcher, Crysis and Warhead, Mass Effect, Spore, and World in COnflict. It's rare that a game will make it particularly difficult to transfer over.

 

[EvilEngineNumberNine]

Hey guys, Could I put the HDD from my PC into a new one that i'm making? Or do I have to save all the information to something?( I would be taking save files to Age Of Empires 3/Other stuff like that.)

Or do you think it could be saved to a usb drive and then inserted into the folder?

Depends on your current hardware, what you're going to, and what OS. XP is the worst offender in this regard, but Vista isn't without fault. The hard drive will work fine, but a lot of times with big upgrades, you'll just bluescreen when booting up.

Plus, it's usually much better to start new hardware on a clean install. Either back up that hard drive (just drag and drop), or install to a new hard drive, and use that as secondary. It's usually quite simple to retain your save games (I just upgraded and reformatted 3 times, and it was simple to keep all my files for Assassin's Creed, all Steam games, The Witcher, Crysis and Warhead, Mass Effect, Spore, and World in COnflict. It's rare that a game will make it particularly difficult to transfer over.

He's right, the easiest way is to use a new HDD for the build and then add your old one in after as a secondary. As a note, back up all your save files anyway. i just did a reinstall and lost my saves for Bioshock, R6: Vegas, and all of my Trackmania data. My Neverwinter Nights and Dawn of War saves were just fine though.

 

[Goronian]

Let me tell you about MY PC gaming history.

I first got a PC in 96, pretty basic, NC+W95, good for a kid.

Turn 99, every new game I buy runs like it's been beaten with its own leg on minimum, so we buy a new one.

2002, my PC can barely handle NOLF2, the hardware is barely working and 6GB HDD barely holds a game. Of course we buy a new one.

Enter 2006, of course I need a new one. No good CPU, GPU or RAM will fit on my old motherboard anymore. And as I'm old enough to make my own decisions, me and my buddy decided to do a custom PC in a special store (good brand, good reputation, not a lot of people return any problems.). And now the story itself.

I bring my fresh-from-the-store PC home, run it and within a span of a week it dies. Literally, nothing runs on it anymore and the whole thing freezes in two minutes of use. Mind you, my buddy is not bad with PCs hardware and he bought a PC from the exact same store and helped me with everything. Of course I'm pissed, but a little BIOS reset (*cough*battery-out-of-a-mainboard-then-back-in*cough*)turns it back to life with a sudden need of reinstallation of Windows. Okay, I thought for myself, and continued without any troubles.

For two months, that is, until my mainboard did a ritual seppuku. Dead PC, seals are broken for I needed to undust it once in a while, forced to pay 30 bucks for a check on what's wrong with it, get the money for the mainboard back (not ALL the money, of course, taxes this, taxes that.), bought a new mainboard. Wrong one, lazed around for a week and exchanged it for a proper one.

So far, so good, PC works okay for nearly a year, when suddenly, while I was playing Monster Madness (yes, I remember the details, shut up) it crashes. Okay, I say and proceed with my life until it does it a few times and then refuses to boot at all.
The GPU FRIED.
And, of course, warantee already expired. Gathered a money for half a year, finally bought myself a new one (alongside with some extra RAM), turned out the GPU was made in China, Korea and Taiwan at the same time. The burned one, not the new, of course, I never bothered opening THAT one.

Three months later, computer shuts down after playing any 3D-heavy game for five minutes, eventually even HoMM3 for five minutes, eventually shutting down at random time intervals. I bring it to the repair place (after a month, because it's on the other side of Moscow, and hurling it around in a subway is really tiresome.), the guys find out, that the little fan is broken, but nobody sells them anymore. So I have to go to electronics marketplace and get myself a used one, with the cord that goes to the mainboard SOLDED from mine. But, big surprise, it doesn't help, because, as it turns out, the guys who worked on my PC previously never bothered to fix the fan on the CPU properly. Whoop-de-doo.

And that's, why I prefer console gaming, thankyouverymuch.

EDIT: No trying to start a war, or anything. Just want another thing not to be a misconception about PCs. And that is "prepare to load it on your back every six months to repair it religiously, most of the time not even knowing what the problem is. And it will cost you most of your money."