Should I get a 360 or PC?

[Twilight_guy]

Go make a list of games you want. Be sure to check on internet sites for list of games on both systems, so you don;t leave any out. If one clearly has more games, choose that one. Otherwise, if you don't have a computer of any kind, choose the computer as it is useful for other purposes (but only if this is a first computer and not an upgrade/second computer). If neither of these are relevant then flip a coin.

Do not, however, ever ask these forums as they have very strong and devises opinions and are going to confuse you more then then giving you a straight answer.

 

[Waaghpowa]

A PC is always the better choice considering you can do everything with a PC, not just gaming.

 

[The_Lost_King]

PC PC PC PC PC PC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I used to be a console gamer, but recently(mostly because of steam and Skyrim) I changed over to pc and have no regrets other than having a crappy rig. Seriously I see no advantages of a console other than there are some series I prefer on console(mostly because I don't have a thing that connects a xbox controller to the pc). I am not saying consoles are bad, I never will, but I just feel PC is superior.

 

[Gatx]

PC. It's a better investment. A good PC will give you, I dunno, half a decade where you can run everything at high, and maybe another five years where you'll turn it down to medium. The 360 on the other, is due to be replaced in a year or two, or at least that's what everyone is saying.

 

[Strazdas]

Get a PC.
reason 1: Xbox is very old and outdate. there is going to be a new one out soon.
Reason 2: PC is more powerful evne for the same money. for a bit more money it can be twice as powerful and more. if you want to play new games and dont ahve to buy new comptuer in 2 years this is important.
reason 3: PC games are cheaper and get cheaper faster. There is also internet download instead of pieces of plastic.
Reason 4: PC can work with keyboard+mouse, controller, wheel and many other devices, depending on your preference and game. Xbox....... cant work.

 

[vasiD]

Are you kidding? Dear god man, buy a PC!

Best investment I ever made was my PC, it runs anything ever, without it giving me shitty ads all the time.

The 360 is about to become obsolete anyway! Your PC can ALWAYS be upgraded. And if it's a controller you're hung up on you can use any controller you want with a PC.

Dead serious here, not just being a member of the "PC MASTER RACE" or whatever: My PC gets played far more than any game system I've ever had, it is worth so much more to me than any system I have ever bought, and that's not just because of how much I spent on it. This thing does everything; I can make music, edit photos, edit films, I can even MAKE and modify games.

Do yourself a favor mate: Buy a PC.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Unless you really really want to play the Halo series, PC wins with no competition.

 

[VladG]

For anyone curious this is the PC I had in mind.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229285&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

I would save my money. Once the next console gen hits that PC will be severely underpowered. It's not great right now (it won't run many current AAA games on high detail, though you should be able to run anything if you lower the graphical settings)

Get a second hand 360 and save your money until the next get of consoles hits. Then you can either buy a next gen console or invest in a beefier PC (you'll be able to get something better for the same price anyway)

Or get the PC now but be prepared to invest some upgrade money in a year or two.

 

[Joccaren]

Get something with an intel CPU, the current architecture AMD is just lagging so far behind that computer won't be even slightly resellable and maybe even almost instantly outdated. The graphics card is woeful.

You save more by buying more. Lets say you get a top of the line computer right now around $2000. Sounds like a lot? Think again. You can sell that computer in 2 years for $1000 dollars used, and you can take that $1000 and reinvest into a new top of the line computer for 2K.

If you buy a $600 computer however, it'll be completely useless in every possible way in 2 years and no one is going to touch it with a paddle.

EDIT: Actually you don't even have to spend $2000 right now. This is prime time for purchasing because prices are low. An intel Ivy Bridge (say, an i5 3570K) with a Z77 chipset motherboard (Asus P8Z77 series is awesome) and 8 gigs of DDR3 ram, a GeForce 660Ti, a Samsung 830 series SSD and a terabyte HDD should not cost more than $1000. It will at least be resellable for $500+.

And the best possible advice I can ever give you is: build it your own damned self!

Exaggeration much?
Firstly, an AMD CPU is fine. No, they are not as good as Intel CPUs ATM, but dependent on what you intend to use the PC for, an AMD can get you along just fine for less cost.

Secondly, spending 500 here is better than the alternative you provide later in all reality. Spend $1000, get $500, spend $1000. Your initial investment is higher, and each consecutive purchase adds the price of this rig to it. If you were looking for a 1337 machine, maybe you'd consider it. For the OPs purpose however - Minecraft, Bastion, Angry Birds - you have absolutely 0 need for a $1000 gaming powerhouse.

A $600 computer now is unlikely to be "useless in every possible way" in 2 years. It will not run games on high, and some games not even medium, settings by that point, however less graphically intensive indie games - like what the OP seems interested in - will run perfectly fine, as will all the general use programs you find online. Even AAA games will still run, albeit on lower settings.

If the OP were looking for a powerhouse PC for playing BF3, TW2, Skyrim with heavy graphics modding or other titles, I would agree with you on such points. However, as the OP is not looking to even max out AAA games, going by what he has said, the build will do perfectly fine for its intended purpose.

And whilst building a PC yourself is preferable, not everybody has the time to put into learning this, nor the desire to learn. Its not hard, but some people simply don't see it as a skill they want/need, and would rather pay extra to have someone else do it instead.

 

[Signa]

Depends on the PC, but assuming you can afford the best performance for its price, this isn't even a question. There are the exclusives that the 360 offers, but aside from those, you will be blown away at how powerful and invigorating it is to have a gaming PC. A friend of mine just built one himself, and he was practically giddy at having for the first time in his life, a state of the art machine.

But if Halo is what you are after, don't hesitate, go for the 360. Whatever mind-blowing experience the PC master race can promise won't stack up to not having the games you want.

 

[VladG]

snip

Don't think it was me you wanted to quote.

 

[Joccaren]

No.

Decided to quote anyway.

*snip*

Intel's architecture is so superior to the FX architecture, that you need a 40% higher clock speed from the FX to reach the performance of the Ivy Bridge. The AMD processors are not some value-per-dollar revelation that some think it is, in fact it's very appropriately priced if not overpriced.

In the context of the OPs problem, yes, it is an exaggeration. The OP is not interested in building/upgrading a PC:

A lot of people are saying that I will need to upgrade my pc, which is not a hobby I want to get into.

He is not looking for a top of the line rig to max out AAA games:

On one hand the pc has games like Gary's mod, minecraft (the better version), RTS'. While people seem to like the 360 I know that rumors say the new one will be coming out holiday of next year.

As for the exclusives I'm interested in for the 360:

Bastion, Trials Evolution, XBLA in general I guess, and Halo.

I only want PC pretty much for angry birds and minecraft. I know Xbox has minecraft but the pc version is better.

And he is unable to spend more than the $600 for that rig:

I can't afford both. Okay I guess I can but I either won't be able to pay for electricity or for any games, which kind of defeats the purpose.

As said, for a high powered gaming machine, your advice is correct. For what the OP is looking for, you're off the mark. It is irrelevant how much more powerful Intel's CPUs are if he has to pay a lot extra, or build the PC himself, to get it, seeing as those are not desired outcomes for him. The idea that the PC will be useless in 2 years or less is an exaggeration, especially for the purposes the OP has listed for wanting a PC.

 

[Joccaren]

Reposting my latest edit as it seems you missed it:

The beauty of the system I built is that it doesn't need the graphics card at all in the above case.

If he really wants to, he can use the iGPU on the Intel 3570K paired with the 2000 MhZ CL9 RAM that is already there, not use a graphics card at all, and get upwards of 40 FPS in Battlefield 3 on medium-high settings.

That is a saving of $300 additional! Thus it is down to the price range of his previous build, and still a computer that is much snappier due to S.M.A.R.T. (which AMD flat out doesn't have, if you want an SSD to cache your HDD your only option is to buy a 2000 dollar RevoDrive from OCZ) and the superior CPU can do all he wants it to. (and more) - he still didn't have to spend more than he initially wanted.

Does the OP still have to build the machine?

A lot of people are saying that I will need to upgrade my pc, which is not a hobby I want to get into.

Whilst not the best attitude to have towards buying a computer, it is understandable and something that still applies.

 

[Tentaquil]

Gaming PC. This isn't a discussion. This isn't even a proper decision. There is only one answer.
/thread

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I probably should have been more clear in saying that I don't want to get AAA games on the computer. Only stuff like Gary's mod, minecraft, and angry birds. The only reason why i'm unsure is because I don't want to send upwards of $550 for a handful of $20 games. On the other hand the 360 is fairly cheap now, which is the only reason for considering it.

 

[octafish]

I don't know, flexibility, productivity, free online gaming and the GOG and Desura catalogues versus Halo. I never could see what people saw in Halo. If you want indie stuff PC beats consoles pants down, and of the two consoles the PS3 has ThatGameCompany.

EDIT: Angry Birds? Surely you mean World of Goo?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I probably should have been more clear in saying that I don't want to get AAA games on the computer.

Why not? You WOULD want them on the XBOX? This is confusing.

The best analogue I can think of for this question of yours is a guy 7-8 years ago asking if he should buy an MP3 player or a discman. The discman is cheap!

I like my XBOX but it was woefully outdated technology at the time it was BRAND NEW, never mind now, almost a decade later. It's not a question of "I must forever be upgrading my PC, for she is a demanding mistress" but rather a question of "I CAN upgrade my PC, rather than having to wait X years for a new console cycle".

And as others have mentioned, I can get 10+ games for the price of a single console title during Steam sales. Even used games don't come close to touching the markdown you can get on PC games with digital distribution.

For me it would be a no brainer. But then I've been a PC Gamer all my life.