Should I get a 360 or PC?

[GoaThief]

I considered getting a new graphics card but this computer has been having problems even using youtube so I don't think that is the sole problem. I was considering getting a new computer due to these issues, which is why I thought that getting a gaming pc would be a good idea.

There is no conceivable reason for why you "should have problems using YouTube" other than user error or your computer being full of viruses or something like that, in which case getting a new one won't help all that much...

Which is what I've been saying for a while.

Sorry OP, but I think you're making a huge mistake buying a new PC. I honestly believe you've been given some bad advice at quite a few points but it's up to you to take heed of what I'm saying. I'm out of this thread, I wish you luck and enjoyment with whatever you decide.

 

[Sparrow]

It would be stupid to not get a PC.

PC will last well into the next console gen, 360 is nearly end of line.

Honestly, this is probably the main reason not to get a 360. A new console will probably be out before you can play all the 360 exclusives you want to, at which point you may as well just get the new 360 and play all the exclusives on there.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I considered getting a new graphics card but this computer has been having problems even using youtube so I don't think that is the sole problem. I was considering getting a new computer due to these issues, which is why I thought that getting a gaming pc would be a good idea.

There is no conceivable reason for why you "should have problems using YouTube" other than user error or your computer being full of viruses or something like that, in which case getting a new one won't help all that much...

Have you tried upgrading to the newest Flash?
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

Everything is up to date. I just have a bad laptop.

 

[Vigormortis]

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.

That's funny...I distinctly recall playing Dead Space 2 just the other day. And what's that? I don't have Origin installed on my machine?

But how can that be? Don't I require Origin to play that game?

Odd.

Anyway, Microsofts Xbox Live sales are often a joke. Ten percent off a game or bit of DLC that was already woefully overpriced on the XBLA isn't really saving the consumers money, now is it?

Besides, Steam, Origin, GoG.com, and other services on PC have sales far more frequently than Xbox Live ever does. They offer up many games or content packs for slashed prices every day. And, more often than not, with far more deep-cutting discounts.

 

[GenericAmerican]

Well a PC is a . . .pc, you can do other things with it. Including watch porn!

The xbox is an xbox, you can play games. . .and pay stupid amounts of money to play those games with other people, and pay even more to watch netflix.

So. . PC.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

I considered getting a new graphics card but this computer has been having problems even using youtube so I don't think that is the sole problem. I was considering getting a new computer due to these issues, which is why I thought that getting a gaming pc would be a good idea.

There is no conceivable reason for why you "should have problems using YouTube" other than user error or your computer being full of viruses or something like that, in which case getting a new one won't help all that much...

Which is what I've been saying for a while.

Sorry OP, but I think you're making a huge mistake buying a new PC. I honestly believe you've been given some bad advice at quite a few points but it's up to you to take heed of what I'm saying. I'm out of this thread, I wish you luck and enjoyment with whatever you decide.

I know. I'm waiting until black Friday before I make my purchase. I'm still leaning towards the pc that wasa brought to my attention, but my indecisiveness will probably have my mind changed at least 5 times by the end.

 

[operationgenesis]

If you do get a PC, I'd suggest maybe getting a wired Xbox controller, at least eventually. I'm pretty sure there are at least a few games out there that control better with the game pad.

 

[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.

That's funny...I distinctly recall playing Dead Space 2 just the other day. And what's that? I don't have Origin installed on my machine?

But how can that be? Don't I require Origin to play that game?

Odd.

Anyway, Microsofts Xbox Live sales are often a joke. Ten percent off a game or bit of DLC that was already woefully overpriced on the XBLA isn't really saving the consumers money, now is it?

Besides, Steam, Origin, GoG.com, and other services on PC have sales far more frequently than Xbox Live ever does. They offer up many games or content packs for slashed prices every day. And, more often than not, with far more deep-cutting discounts.

Oh look, it's the Master Race. Allow me to put myself in the concentration camps, or wear an armband saying that I'm a console gamer. Take your pick.

And as I said, I'm a console gamer. How should I know about what your closet race of modding Steamyness does when I'm not looking?

 

[Tdoodle]

PC at the moment, I don't think 360s have much going for them.

I don't see XBLA as much of a reason to take the plunge on a 360, most of it ends up on Steam in the same year and in sales for much cheaper. Sometimes you have to deal with lame DRM (Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet took me about half an hour to get working) but when you consider the money saved it's kind of worth it. If it was between a PC and PS3 or Wii/Wii-U it might be another matter, but not for 360.

 

[Evil Smurf]

get a pc, because you can do more things with it.

 

[Vigormortis]

Oh look, it's the Master Race. Allow me to put myself in the concentration camps, or wear an armband saying that I'm a console gamer. Take your pick.

And as I said, I'm a console gamer. How should I know about what your closet race of modding Steamyness does when I'm not looking?

Oh the irony of using the "master race" moniker, as if to indicate I'm some obnoxious, insulting twat, when it is you, the console gamer, that resorts to the insults and rude behavior.

For the record, I don't look down on console gamers. Hell, I AM one. I game on PC, 360, Wii, DS, and even some of the older consoles (still). So you calling me a member of the "elitist PC master race" is as ludicrous as it is laughable.

Don't you find it a bit misguided to make presumptuous, even inflammatory, comments about PC gamers and their gaming platform when you openly admit you have no clue what you're talking about? Is the hypocrisy of that lost on you?

Whatever. You clearly prefer to insult anyone who points out your fallacies instead of actually backing up the slanderous statements you make. I'm not going to waste my time any further here.

Good day.

 

[Gill Kaiser]

A cheap PC can do anything that a 360 can do, because that's all a 360 is... a cheap PC. With restrictions by the tonne. Besides the wish to play a specific console exclusive, there is no conceivable reason to get a 360 over a PC at this point in time. This console generation has already overstayed its welcome, and is limping along like a person on life support.

Regarding prices - Microsoft sells 360s for less than they cost to make, which is why the cheap PC will probably cost slightly more than a 360. However, since 360 game prices are artificially increased due to Microsoft charging the developers for the license, PC games are cheaper than their console equivalents. Therefore you will make up the difference over time as you buy games. Also, keep in mind that even a cheap PC nowadays will outperform a 360, as it's not even possible to buy hardware that outdated on the market anymore.

Note: PCs are upgradable, which is good thing, but know that but doing so is not a necessity if you only want to play multiplatform games, since they have to be designed to run on this generation of consoles. All the games you have mentioned so far have had very, VERY low requirements.

I would suggest you do a little research and try to find some cheap but good quality PC components, then build it yourself. It may sound daunting, but it's honestly not difficult.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

I read somewhere that minecraft might not be able to run on windows 8 (Notch's decision). Do you know if this is true? If so I will be looking for windows 7.

No idea, but Windows 8 is pretty fucking dubious so I wouldn't doubt it. Definitely go with 7 wherever possible.

It's not even necessarily that. Whenever a new Operating system has come out (especially for Windows, where a new releases are infrequent and make substantial changes) we don't really know how well it's going to do things, and whether or not anything in it will be fixed. Windows 7 is more than adequate at the moment, so there really isn't a good reason to go for 8 if you have a choice.

Anyway, a couple other things that might affect your decision:

Minecraft is way more demanding on your PC than it has any right to be. Granted, it still should run on just about everything, but it can be really inconsistent and it almost surely won't run as well as you expect it to.

Once the next Xbox comes out, the amount of games that come out for the 360 will start quickly dropping. After about a year of it being out, I expect that you'd be hard-pressed to find anything coming out on it aside from the yearly sport franchises. The big problem is, we have no idea when this is going to happen. Some rumors point to the next Xbox coming out as early as next year, but we really don't know for sure, so there is going to be some level of risk getting an Xbox.

There are fewer and fewer indie games exclusive to XBLA. A few years ago, that was the place for indies. Now, they've started migrating to steam and humble indie bundles, both of which are on PC. So, your indie games selection (which seems like the kind of games you want to play) will be better on PC.

Upgrading isn't nearly as hard or as bad as it sounds. It's mostly a matter of figuring out what parts you can and should put into it, which you can usually find out by asking on the advice forum here. If you get a PC, you'll probably end up being faced with the choice of upgrading or buying a new PC, and upgrading is very, very often the better (and cheaper) choice.

The PC has a large amount of free games that can easily suck away large amounts of your life without sucking large amounts of your wallet.

Using a PC does require a certain amount of confidence that you'll be able to do something without breaking anything (I'm talking software here, not hardware). If you don't think you can learn how to effectively troubleshoot things on a PC (and something, somewhere, will eventually go wrong), I would not recommend a PC.

I hope this helps!

 

[SidheKnight]

I recomment you wait until the next gen consoles come out and make the decision then.

360's are soon to be replaced by 720's or whatever Microsoft calls their next military training device console.

If I had to choose right now, I'd buy a good gaming PC.

Otherwise, I'd wait for the Wii U next generation of consoles and decide then.

Still, the PC rulezz!

 

[Jfswift]

Although I prefer consoles I'd recommend a pc this time. The games are generally cheaper and higher resolution and have mods available. Also the 360 has been out a long time.

Edit: really though it depends on what games you expect to play.

 

[Wanderer787]

PC, hands down. While I enjoy my 360, it's getting aged and a PC is going to provided you longer gaming life and flexibility.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Actually; Microsoft has offered a rather damn good one: 6 months of UNLIMITED music to stream and download from it's Xbox Music catalogue (About 30 million+ songs) with every windows 8 purchase. http://www.ghacks.net/2012/10/23/xbox-music-pass-6-month-free-with-windows-8-purchase/ "It is interesting to note in this regard that Microsoft seems to give customers of Windows 8 six months of unlimited music streaming with their purchase of the operating system"

You can't get that on an xbox without paying!

The thing is, unless I'm reading this wrong (Which I probably am), this isn't a temporary offer, so this opportunity won't go away if you decide to get Windows 8 in six months. So, it still doesn't give any more motivation to use an operating system that has not been in consumer hands for very long, and still could have glaring issues we don't know about (on top of the ones that we do know about). So, I'm still saying that there's no good reason to go with Windows 8 right now.