Stopped PC gaming...

[MrMiyagi]

Short blurb...no one cares....but I never thought it would come to this

Basically I've stopped PC gaming all together (except CS:S sometimes). It's too frickin' expensive...it seems like my rig played games good for about two years only....now it just plain stinks and I cant even run anything new on it.

I'm now gaming on my 360 and love it...tons of good games....and PC port games that run super smooth. Yeah, I hate the controller...but I got used to it amazingly.

Good riddance to my PC for gaming...you now surf the internet, copy DVD's, and edit photos quite nicely....that's all you're worth anymore...even a $500 video card wont help you...you are too old in other places that are not worth fixing.

/End

 

[DaveSimmons]

Your 360 is running at either the widescreen equivalent of 1024x768 or 640x480.

I'm guessing the reason you feel you need to upgrade all the time is because you "need" to run at much higher resolutions on your PC.

If you let your PC run at 360 resolutions you could get at least another year or two of life out of your video card.

 

[Oyeve]

I hear ya. Even going to video game stores I see PC games burried in the corner. I have to buy my PC games online now because in NYC the consoles get top priority. Its a bummer because my PC is probably more powerful than the next gen consoles. I just bought a used Xbox 360 and am waiting for my VGA cable to arrive so I can play 360 games in HD. I may give up gaming on the PC as well. Never thought it would come to this either but you are right, keeping up on the PC is getting too costly. I will always have one and will still game on it but unless the PC comes back with good games nd not port overs I wont be spending much on it.

 

[AlgaeEater]

Ok

 

[Exodor]

I've upgraded my PC twice in the past 6 years. I've yet to run into a game I can't play on my current "behind the times" PC.

If you're trying to run everything on a 24" LCD at super-high resolutions then yea, you're going to need to upgrade.

If you don't always need to run high-res at 120 FPS then there's no need to upgrade that frequently.

 

[jkresh]

Consoles have some advantages in that they all have the same hardware so developers can get the most out of it, while with pc's they have to allow for many variations in cpu and gpu power. Also near the beginning/middle of a console generation its hardware is up there with high end pc's for gaming purposes so its a great deal (near the end of a generation the consoles might be cheap but they cant compare vs a pc for graphics). All that being said most pc games will run ok on mid range hardware at moderate resolution (1024x768...) and depending on your specs a $200 graphics card every 2-3 years will keep you fairly up to date.

Note I have a 360 and a Wii, and may get a PS3, I also will likely have a dx10 card before Crysis so I am not biased on way or the other, I game on both.

 

[Mandin62]

It does cost alot. I just try not to think about it. I bout my system in October and i am already feeling the need to upgrade. I will probably spend 500-600 in august to upgrade my proc and gfx card. Its a pain but he its worth it, I think.

 

[Hemsky]

Well, its a hobby. If you can't afford it then yeah it really isn't for you.
Just like vehicles, if you can't afford to maintain that Ferrari maybe you should stick with the Neon.

In all honesty, nothing satisfies me more than having a rig that outperforms a 360. you're stuck with that thing for almost 5-6 years. I can't stand the graphics already on the 360. Seems very outdated.

 

[razor2025]

PC Gaming doesn't need you. There are plenty of games made only for PCs.

 

[Slammy1]

I find my gaming changes as my PC gets older. I tend to focus on media now anyways. It's been 4 years since my last system upgrade (upgraded the video once), I can still run some fairly taxing games at NR for my LCD (1920x1080) with a few downward adjustments. Watching the current gen consoles is actually really painful when I go over to friends. I don't think the hobby would hold if all I did was gaming. Truth be told, gaming is the lower portion of my PC usage but I just consider that getting older. No need for latest greatest.

 

[bob4432]

i am kind of feeling the same way with the 360. my computer in sig is a bit dated, but i can't even run graw2 or rb6:vegas @ 1024x728, nor can a buddy of mine that has basically the same machine except a 7900GTX and a raptor, so the 360 is doing a good job imho on a hd lcd. plus, at least, graw2 offers much better options for play than the pc version, the pc version of that game is about a 2/3 game compared to the 360.

since the only pc game i play i still bf2, it will be interesting if i bite the bullet and get a new gpu when quake wars or frontlines comes out...

 

[Mandin62]

I think the main problem with pc gaming now is that we are stuck dealing with all of the console ports. It?s destroying pc gaming. PC gaming is and should remain separate from console gaming. I understand the need to maximize profits and all that but still why can there be any PC exclusives. If it does start as a multiplatform game you can bet it will end up there. And the whole games for windows thing is a joke. Games have to be able to compatible with the 360 controller!!! Why are they doing this to us? I love PC gaming it is the only gaming platform I own and I intend to keep it that way (ok I do own every console from the Atari 2600 through PS2 but I don?t play them). Games that are made for computer only, should and most of the time are superior to those that are made for consoles and computers. As for the vision of there being one system in the future that will rule them all. I hope not. I want PC and console gaming to stay as separate as possible just as I do my graphics card and my CPU.

To be honest I am looking forward to destroying 360 gamers when Microsoft gets its act together when it comes to the Live network. Don?t take any of this the wrong way I love Microsoft products and I think they do a great job and I hope they only continue to bless us with the most superior gaming platform around, Windows.

Long live AWSD

 

[Roguestar]

I upgrade every two years and I've not had to break the bank to do so and I usually ride the wave of high-detail high-res on new games until just before I upgrade when I'm comfortable to run at medium details. Picking your parts and upgrade schedule well results in a better PC than a console and upgrading is about the same price.

 

[imported_Imp]

Ya, two years seems to be the 'acceptable' performance-upgrade period. I bought cheap and my 1.5-ish year old rig is starting to chug at medium settings, but only in certain games and areas, otherwise it's still good. Consoles last 5-ish for a nice ~$400-500 (average). The local stores have also downsized their PC selections. My local EBs have gone to a single shelf now while all consoles take up the rest...

 

[MrMiyagi]

Originally posted by: razor2025
PC Gaming doesn't need you. There are plenty of games made only for PCs.

LMAO...thanks.

I'm glad PC Gaming needs you and you support it. Congratulations.

 

[bob4432]

i defiantely agree, but it seem like now the lowest gpu you can run a recent (within the last year) game decently @ even 1280x1024 is a x1950xt 256MB card. thankfully they are ~$200. i have not even had my x1800xt a year, and when i got it was good price of $250, so i guess that is the biggest gripe. ~$250-$350/year for a gpu. it is not that i don't have the $$, i am just getting tired of putting out $$$ every year for things that have such a negative roi. usually stuff i buy has at least and = roi or if not a + roi that is immediately worth more than what i have paid. i have been into computers for well over a decade and know the cycle, but it seems that instead of 2-3yrs, it is 1-1.5yrs for a needed upgraded.

it seems like just yesterday ddr2 came out, now ddr3 is out...

i can still play bf2 on my pc, but i know quake wars and frontlines is probably going to be a $400 investment for me, and $400 that will be worth $200 in 3mos. that is what bugs me. i get the $400 mark by figuring $50 for the game and $350 for a 8800gts 640MB card....if these games are offered on the 360 platform, which i think they will be, i will probably go that route.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Ever wonder why consoles sell far better than PC for gaming? Forget about the graphics, games and the costs....Because it's far less hassle to play a game on a console than on a PC.

The Joe Average is going to get confused by the selection by the endless selection of video cards alone, much less the even more endless minimum requirements, compatibility, case-opening to install cards, DX 10/9.0c/b/a/8/7, drivers, game bugs, drivers, copy protection stuff he is going to face just to start playing a damn game.

This Joe Average is more than probably dead tired after work to figure all this crap out, (probably also burned by the bad experiences, too) so he goes out to buy a Wii instead; all he needs to do is to plug the cables. Only self-delusional PC fanatics will say there is nothing wrong with PC gaming today.

 

[gneGne]

If you don't enjoy gaming on the PC anymore, then ofcourse you shouldn't be paying alot of money for the high-end stuff.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy
Only self-delusional PC fanatics will say there is nothing wrong with PC gaming today.

I love upgrading my machine and planning how to put more stuff in there. It's what I enjoy. Don't presume for a second that just becuase you don't enjoy it that there is something wrong with it. If you don't like upgrading and buying new stuff, sounds like you need a Mac.

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy
Only self-delusional PC fanatics will say there is nothing wrong with PC gaming today.

I love upgrading my machine and planning how to put more stuff in there. It's what I enjoy. Don't presume for a second that just becuase you don't enjoy it that there is something wrong with it. If you don't like upgrading and buying new stuff, sounds like you need a Mac.

Same here, I always am in a good mood when I know a part is coming FedEx or UPS that day. While it is not easy on the wallet, it is a hobby, and hobbies are expensive. Just like coke and booze. Lots of different price points for the respective hobbies too.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: Captain Howdy

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy
Only self-delusional PC fanatics will say there is nothing wrong with PC gaming today.

I love upgrading my machine and planning how to put more stuff in there. It's what I enjoy. Don't presume for a second that just becuase you don't enjoy it that there is something wrong with it. If you don't like upgrading and buying new stuff, sounds like you need a Mac.

Same here, I always am in a good mood when I know a part is coming FedEx or UPS that day. While it is not easy on the wallet, it is a hobby, and hobbies are expensive. Just like coke and booze. Lots of different price points for the respective hobbies too.

Furthermore, my wife and I both partake in Guild Wars. So it is something that we do together. We also have our computer crunching various Distributed Computing project. Nothing like have your SO say that she wants a dual core processor for her birthday so that she can crunch more. Or when I built my recent gaming machine, and I told her that my graphics card was faster than hers (she asked), and she got this sad look on her face.

Sorry OP, but gaming on PCs is great! You just can't have a fast, quiet, cheap computer. Pick two, and go with it, as I recall seeing in someone's sig around here.

 

[Blain]

:laugh: If you can't run with the BIG DOGS, stay on the porch :laugh:

 

[Elias824]

I love pc gaming, its what I was raised on. I have a ps2 and an xbox as well, but mostly I love ripping apart my computer and trying to find out how to get that extra 1fps. The thing that bugs me most about pc gaming right now though is all the xbox ports too. Not so much that that playing an 360 game on a pc is bad, just the fact that most of them are very poor ports. I have to run rainbow six at 800x600 with my rig which is actually very nice x1800gto2 740mhz/666mhz. Yet a buddy of mine with a 6800nvivida card can run it a 1280x1024. Plus the requirement for sm3.0 so all of my friends with older computer cant do a terrorist hunt with me on rainbow six.
Plus you cant get games like company of heroes or dawn of war for a console, it just wouldn't be able to play it

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I hear ya. Even going to video game stores I see PC games burried in the corner. I have to buy my PC games online now because in NYC the consoles get top priority. Its a bummer because my PC is probably more powerful than the next gen consoles. I just bought a used Xbox 360 and am waiting for my VGA cable to arrive so I can play 360 games in HD. I may give up gaming on the PC as well. Never thought it would come to this either but you are right, keeping up on the PC is getting too costly. I will always have one and will still game on it but unless the PC comes back with good games nd not port overs I wont be spending much on it.

Not only that, but for your $1000 PC you're not getting that many games that can take advantage of it. At least you know that on a 360 that there will be new games every month. Some good some bad, but at least there's more games. That's why I went back to consoles myself. I still have my PC, but I do love my 360.

 

[Smartazz]

I'm thinking about just leaving my system alone all together too, but I don't think that I'm going to get into X360 gaming(even though I own one). The only game I play anymore is Battlefield 2 for PC. I have an upgrade itch right now, but I won't let it get the best of me.