Should I get a 360 or PC?

[Brotha Desmond]

I mostly game on a PC, PS3, and PSP, with my overall preference going to the PC but truthfully most of my game time lately being on the PSP. Here goes:

Things to consider:
1. Buy what your friends have and play on, even if it sucks.
2. Buy the machine that plays the games you want. If you want to play Halo and Gears of War, your decision is already made. If you want to play weird indie titles or use mods, then PC.
3. A halfway decent gaming rig will be a few hundred dollars more than an xBox360. Research the components--case, power supply, video card, processor, drives, memory--and get something you would be proud to brag to your friends about. We're talking around $600-$1000 even with economical choices, and more than that if you don't care but just want the best. If the difference between that and the going price of an xBox360 makes a big difference to you and your family, I would understand your decision to go with an xBox.
4. Noise. I've never heard the xBox's fan in a quiet room, but I'm sure fan noise is quieter than even the quietest PCs. I keep fans turned to minimum on my PC and it is slightly louder than the PS3.

Things not to worry about:
1. If you prefer to play games in your living room, the PC plugs into your TV fine. Put the keyboard on your lap and a mouse on a side table, and you are good to go.
2. If you like the xBox controller, a lot of games will let you use it, and more games will let you of you install a mod, but usually the mouse and keyboard is better.

If you are still unsure at this point then go with a PC all the way. Consoles have run their course and their technology is really old, and the next generation will still lag behind PC. Once you play your favorite 3d game with mods on HD with silky smooth frames, you'll know you made the right decision.

Thank you. You have probably been the most useful person.

Until I get a concrete answer though, and not people spouting bias's, I will probably hold off on getting anything. My extreme indecisiveness is going to hold me back for a while.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

If those few simple games are all that you want to play then just get a cheap laptop and a used xbox, you can connect both of them to your TV.

My computer is five years old and it can't even load angry birds.

I would like to see your specs because thats pretty messed up, perhaps there are some issues with your software. My ancient system which i gifted to a relative of mine runs it perfectly fine and its more than 8 years old. I never even imagined that angry birds was such a power hungry beast, lol.

The only info I could find.

Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600)

BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A14

Processor: Intel(R) Core Duo CPU T2350 @ 1.86GHz (2CPUs)

Definitely a problem with your software, AG system requirements doesn't even come close to what you have. I would recommend trying some other version from a torrent so you wouldn't waste more money on something that might not work, since you said it won't even load then it means you have already bought it anyway.

Memory: 2038MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Why did you just quote without leaving a response?

I have no idea, but I have your answer after reading your responses; go for the 360.

Angry Birds should run on that PC which implies there's other issues afoot. Could be you (sorry), could be a broken PC, could be a Windows issue, could be anything... and therein lies the problem with PCs. You have to know what you're doing or have someone available to maintain your system, otherwise you're going to run into problems as it seems you are now. Buying a new PC may enable you to run Angry Birds but how long will that last?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm more of a PC gamer than anything else (although I really enjoy my Xbox and PS3 too - Wii I tired of)but I don't think PC gaming is for you, at least not yet. Experiment with the system you currently have until you have more of an idea of what you want for your next PC and enjoy the simplicity, ease and selection of the 360 for now. Will save you cash too. Oh and Minecraft is on the Xbox Live Arcade too if you didn't realise, along with a ton of other excellent games. The Indie section is also great.

Thanks, will do.

I guess I can get an Xbox then save up again for a PC later on.

 

[Gitty101]

In my opinion, unless there are games on the Xbox 360 that you feel you cannot live without, you should put your money towards a gaming PC. It's a better gaming experience for the most part, you have infinite backwards comparability and to top it off it'll out-perform a console. Even with rumors of a new console cycle about to hit, I still recommend the PC because the safe bet is that the specs will not match up to a current high-end PC.

 

[Latinidiot]

If you want to play games with other people, in person, get an xbox. If you just want to play singleplayer and online multi, get a PC. Unless you have a deep love for some kind of exclusive, in which case you'd already have the corresponding console, the PC has a better and greater selection of games.

 

[Drag]

The only info I could find.

Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600)

BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A14

Processor: Intel(R) Core Duo CPU T2350 @ 1.86GHz (2CPUs)

Definitely a problem with your software, AG system requirements doesn't even come close to what you have. I would recommend trying some other version from a torrent so you wouldn't waste more money on something that might not work, since you said it won't even load then it means you have already bought it anyway.

Memory: 2038MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

Why did you just quote without leaving a response?

His response is now bolded and he's right. Your current computer looks to have more than enough power to run Angry Birds. As for the PC you are looking at, I personally think it's overpriced. You can find better deals out there for that price range.

 

[Nihlus2]

Well, I would say go for the PC in all honesty.

Xbox is (quite) a bit outdated at the moment (not the games mind you), but the technology - as you said yourself, a new one will probably arrive sometime next year or so. Investing in something that has been defunct for the last few years, and kept alive on heavy life support and programmer tricks, does not seem like the wisest option.

Either have patience and wait for the next generation of consoles or grab a PC, those two options will be wiser ones, solely based on longevity of your purchase. Getting an old console right now is not.

Only reason you might want to get a current generation console is if the new ones lack backward compatibility, at this point in time anyway.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Until I get a concrete answer though, and not people spouting bias's, I will probably hold off on getting anything. My extreme indecisiveness is going to hold me back for a while.

Chum, you made a thread asking people for their opinions. I suggest you refrain from that in the future if your response to those opinions is going to be a sneering remark about "spouting biases".

I agree with GoaThief though. Having looked through the thread and your various responses, just get an XBOX. I suspect you had mostly decided on an XBOX to begin with, which would explain your near-hostility towards respondents pushing the PC.

 

[crimson sickle2]

PC definitely, even if you like the controller on the Xbox, the PC can use the Xbox controller and has most of the same games. Even Dark Souls is on the PC now. PC can download free or buyable games off the net. The Xbox dashboard has only gotten worst over time, currently it is more ads than interface. One word of caution though, don't get Bioshock off Steam, no matter the deal.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

Until I get a concrete answer though, and not people spouting bias's, I will probably hold off on getting anything. My extreme indecisiveness is going to hold me back for a while.

Chum, you made a thread asking people for their opinions. I suggest you refrain from that in the future if your response to those opinions is going to be a sneering remark about "spouting biases".

I agree with GoaThief though. Having looked through the thread and your various responses, just get an XBOX. I suspect you had mostly decided on an XBOX to begin with, which would explain your near-hostility towards respondents pushing the PC.

It's not hostility towards people saying pc. It's the fact they wanted me to get a high end one, which is easily over 800 dollars despite me persistently saying that's not what I wanted.

I think only two or three people actually gave points for and against each decision, which is what I wanted to begin with.

EDIT: on reflection there is one game that is PC exclusive that I want, pain killer. In light of this and the more recent responders, I will probably look to get a cheap but good enough pc.

Can anybody recommend a place to check out? (I don't want to build it myself).

 

[BloatedGuppy]

It's not hostility towards people saying pc. It's the fact they wanted me to get a high end one, which is easily over 800 dollars despite me persistently saying that's not what I wanted.

I think only two or three people actually gave points for and against each decision, which is what I wanted to begin with.

To which I, and others, have replied that even an aging machine will have no issues whatsoever, and pointed out that even your PC that struggles with Angry Birds should technically run circles around a 360. I have no idea WHY it struggles with Angry Birds, but it's not because you NEED an $800 PC to run AAA games. You couldn't give away a PC with XBOX hardware today.

The reason I didn't give a lot of pro-XBOX points is because I didn't believe there are any, not at this point in its life-cycle. Console vs PC has some points that break in console's favor, but 10 year old console vs PC is, IMO, a completely one-sided question. I suspect many of the other "spouted biases" felt the same.

 

[Fearzone]

Thank you. You have probably been the most useful person.

Until I get a concrete answer though, and not people spouting bias's, I will probably hold off on getting anything. My extreme indecisiveness is going to hold me back for a while.

No problem bro. Here's you concrete answer, because it looks like you are still unsure:

Get a PC.

If you are making it from scratch, this is what you will need for a pretty good rig that will play everything well. I pulled these items and prices off of Amazon. Shop around and you may be able to trim prices by 10-20%. If you play on 1080p you won't need to overclock with this so stock cooling should be fine. If I were to build a computer today, from scratch, it would be pretty close to this:

Case ($65): Cooler Master Storm Scout.

Power Supply ($110): PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W [you might be tempted to save money on a power supply, but don't, get a good reputable one.]

Motherboard ($100): Gigabyte Intel H77 LGA 1155 AMD CrossFireX DVI/HDMI Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-H77-DS3H

Processor ($220): i5 3570k

Video Card ($230): EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SUPERCLOCKED 2048MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI DP Graphics Card 02G-P4-2662-KR

Memory: ($37): Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-10666 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

Hard Drive: ($80): Western Digital Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA III, 64 MB Cache

Blu-ray Drive ($55): LG Electronics UH12LS29;BLACK/BULK Internal SATA 12x Super Multi DVD Blue with 3D Playback

Operating System ($130): Windows 7 Home Premium Full

So that tips in at $1030, with at least another hundred bucks for taxes and shipping. So that is at the high range of my guestimate. Now if you think "$1030 are you nuts" then all my time here has been wasted and go get your XBox. If all the componentry wets your lips a little bit, even just a little, then you know what you gotta do.

 

[O maestre]

get a good pc, i have had my xbox since 07 or 08 and its collected dust for the last 3 years.

my gaming computer on the other hand is barely turned off, i have access as much more content than i could ever get on the xbox, and thats not counting the user created content such as mods for various games.

if you can only afford one, i cannot get endorse the pc enough, sure you will have to deal with steams occasional bull shit. but trust me its mre tolerable than the xbox live scam, its a paid service with adds and almost and you have to pay for extra content besides your subscription fees. It is a bad deal, and the only reason to get one is for exclusive, of which there are few, and in my opinion the ps3 has better exclusive, and the pc has almost endless exclusives for all kinds of genres

 

[Brotha Desmond]

Thank you. You have probably been the most useful person.

Until I get a concrete answer though, and not people spouting bias's, I will probably hold off on getting anything. My extreme indecisiveness is going to hold me back for a while.

No problem bro. Here's you concrete answer, because it looks like you are still unsure:

Get a PC.

If you are making it from scratch, this is what you will need for a pretty good rig that will play everything well. I pulled these items and prices off of Amazon. Shop around and you may be able to trim prices by 10-20%. If you play on 1080p you won't need to overclock with this so stock cooling should be fine. If I were to build a computer today, from scratch, it would be pretty close to this:

Case ($65): Cooler Master Storm Scout.

Power Supply ($110): PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W [you might be tempted to save money on a power supply, but don't, get a good reputable one.]

Motherboard ($100): Gigabyte Intel H77 LGA 1155 AMD CrossFireX DVI/HDMI Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-H77-DS3H

Processor ($220): i5 3570k

Video Card ($230): EVGA GeForce GTX 660 SUPERCLOCKED 2048MB GDDR5 DVI mHDMI DP Graphics Card 02G-P4-2662-KR

Memory: ($90): Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10)

Hard Drive: ($80): Western Digital Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA III, 64 MB Cache

Blu-ray Drive ($55): LG Electronics UH12LS29;BLACK/BULK Internal SATA 12x Super Multi DVD Blue with 3D Playback

Operating System ($130): Windows 7 Home Premium Full

So that tips in at $1080, with at least another hundred bucks for taxes and shipping. So that is at the high range of my guestimate. Now if you think "$1080 are you nuts" then all my time here has been wasted and go get your XBox. If all the componentry wets your lips a little bit, even just a little, then you know what you gotta do.

I don't want to build it myself. Aside from that, $1080 is nearly twice my upper limit.

 

[Doom972]

I think that the best way to choose your gaming platform is by games.
What are your favorite genres? For RPGs, Strategy (TBS and RTS), hardcore shooters, adventure games and indie games, I recommend the PC. If you want to play action-adventure games, fighting games, and less than hardcore shooters, an X-Box 360/PS3 might be the way to go.
You should also take into consideration which platform's exclusives appeal to you more.

As for my personal preference - I'm a PC gamer.

 

[Fearzone]

I don't want to build it myself. Aside from that, $1080 is nearly twice my upper limit.

Actually $1030, I made a mistake on the memory. Anyway. But this gives you an idea of what it means to be a PC owner. Put you fears aside and join the master race now! The cost of entry is steep but the rewards are boundless.

 

[Gone Rampant]

I'm gonna remind the PC Gamers of a little pal of mine:

Origin.

You can't play Mass Effect, Battlefield, Dead Space or any good EA game without it.

*Sits back, folds arms smugly and waits for PC people to yell me into the core of the Earth*

Also, Microsoft host sales on games and DLCs every week- last week it was Oblivion and Skyrim, and it's how I got Deus Ex: The Missing Link.

I know I'm meant to hate Origin because of freedoms or something but I'm not really sure why. It doesn't do anything. Is it meant to do something sinister?

Is XBOX live supposed to be somehow preferable? Are you making an argument about consoles being a superior open-source experience to PCs?

I'm confused.

I'm not yelling, by the way, but I can yell about something if you want. A good yell can be cathartic.

Think the driving point of that is Origins "Scan, Identify and report" functionality that is built into the client that spys on your installed programs and hardware and reports it back to EA regardless of if you consent to it or not. That is something 360 doesnt do... If for no other reason they essentially already know that info. Doesnt mean MS wouldnt try to do the same, doesnt mean EA is any less wrong for doing it, and it doesnt mean this kind of over zealous corporate control over gaming should not be resisted ANYWHERE it presents itself, be it on Origin, Steam, Sony, MS, etc.

We as gamers HAVE to start taking responsibility for how the industry behaves and what we allow them to get away with, because they are pushing the industry into pretty orwellian territory.

The functionality you are claiming it has was debunked rather firmly, Origin does not scan anything more than its own file on your computer, which steam does as well which is how it identifies if your games need patches or not FYI. Hell I hate origin myself, but just because it makes me split some of my games between two services which makes things inconvenient for me.

Only you can prevent the spreading of misinformation.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/lsoj6/still_thinking_eas_origin_is_harmless/c2vbjty
(here someone busts one of the myths)

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32350712
(In this thread someone posts where Steam does its searches as well)

Origin's run by EA, the company who lives off money and made their own Steam-Expy just because they presumably weren't getting enough from their games on Steam. Have you been on the forums the last few months? Bashing EA's the new ME3 Ending outrage.

I'm not saying LIVE's better, just that the weekly sales are more common then the Steam massive sales that cover everything.

Im not sure if you are trying to be funny or if you are serious...

People hated and bashed EA farrrrr farrr before ME3, harking back to when they first started buying and cannibalizing good studios

Maybe, I'm just saying it because I saw a thread back in May I think called "If you own EA," and most of the responses were that they'd eliminate the head staff of the company.

So what IS the new form of bashing then? I know that unless Treyarch pull something incredible out of the hat Black Ops 2 will be in my firing line when it comes out, but I'm always a bit behind on current topics.

 

[GoaThief]

EDIT: on reflection there is one game that is PC exclusive that I want, pain killer. In light of this and the more recent responders, I will probably look to get a cheap but good enough pc.

Your current PC should be able to run Painkiller.

Not sure about the latest one in the series though but if the others are anything to go by, they're really quite bad games and not worth your time. Original excluded, of course.

Surely you could pick up a second hand Xbox and a couple of games for around $100... seems a pretty good deal for at least a year until the next generation comes out. Remember nobody knows when that will be exactly, nothing from Sony or Microsoft has been shown at E3 or any other Expo so it can't be that close.

 

[Patrick Buck]

I have a pc, and a xbox. When I have to choose between getting a game for either, I tend to go for xbox, because I know that I have the requirements to play it, I don't know that much about computers.

So I guess I'm saying computers tend to be better if you can work them well, but if you're a layman like me, go for xbox.