Great post, nice to see some other likeminded PC Master Race users on here ;) In all seriousness, I've not played a game on my PC since I moved as I've not been able to set it up anywhere. I've only recently discovered Skyrim (on the 360) and it's been a breath of fresh air from my usual gaming repertoire.
BoyBlue_1985 said:
The problem I have with PC gaming apart from not having anywhere to actually put a PC is the cost of building a machine that is capable of running the top games properly. I mean looking at well over £2000 plus future add ons. The serious lads add liquid cooling systems and all sorts of stuff.
I generally agree with you Skash its just an expensive habit
Not at all mate. And the future add ons you cite is an advantage, not a curse. I've had the same core components for years now, and have been able to just eek more and more out of it with better graphics cards, bit more ram, bit more hard disk space, etc. I'm at the end now, but even if I get around to building another it won't be anywhere near £2k. Much closer to half that for something that will still blow away a 360.
It should be considered that when a console is first released it's pretty much the best time to compare it to a PC, as it's when the PC has the least advantage of more frequent hardware releases, and the console is a big step up from it's predecessor. If we were having this discussion 6 months ago, a moderate spec PC was so far ahead of a 360 or PS3. Consoles get to claw back the gap once every few years. PC's are doing that every minute Intel or AMD release a better CPU or motherboard chipset, Nvidia release a better graphics card, etc. You can get multiple improvements in the average console life cycle depending on your needs/wants and budget.
Something like Skyrim is a good example actually. I'm really enjoying it on the 360. It translates fairly well to a controller (better on Mouse+KB but not so much like FPS games). I can veg out on my sofa and use my big TV and home cinema system. It's all in all a nice experience.
Unfortunately it's the game that's the weak link, or rather, the consoles interpretation of it. Firstly there are plenty of bits where the console clearly doesn't have enough grunt, and the frame rate drops. I don't mean from 60 to 50, I mean well below 30. If you've only ever played on console it may not bother you too much, but once you've played at 60FPS+ and are used to it, dips below 30 are very noticeable. Secondly, Skyrim has a huge modding community (like many PC games), that have sent it well above and beyond the developers original vision, and allowed it to scale with the increasing power of desktop computers. A fully modded Skyrim is now pretty much like playing a new game. This opens up the avenue of getting excellent value for money from your games, which are not only usually cheaper to start with, but have a life beyond the grave, so to speak.
I'm now trailing what Challenger1978 suggested earlier, hooking my PC up to the TV. Primarily as a very overpowered HTPC, but I'll be giving it a whirl with a wireless mouse and keyboard (or just the 360 controller as it works seamlessly with windows) for some gaming on the TV.
Heed Skashion's advice above about the time to buy as well. Just like consoles. You wouldn't have bought a 360 last month. Takes a little bit longer to get your head around what's around the corner and why you should be bothered, but if in doubt just ask here.
