I just bought a new machine from these guys, I added some extra memory, cost me under a grand.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/sameday01.asp?v=d
The only negative so far is the CPU fan is LOUD and Vista and quite n cool dont like each other, so I would get a quiet fan option ahead of time (self modding is a pain).
Its been a pretty cool experience so far. I get to give away old systems and parts to friends and family (with no service agreement beyond the initial install :) ) And for the first 6 months of my purchase, I have a tiny god for a system at the LAN parties.
Some things obviously don’t need upgrading like mouse, keyboard, monitor (mine is a 5 year old kickass CRT). This cycle, I probably will go for a widescreen LCD as an upgrade, but other than that, its just the usual floor box stuff.
Yeah, I wouldn’t think you’d be that bad off. I’ve got an Athlon 3500, 2 gigs of RAM (not that expensive anymore I don’t think), and just got the 7950 like MrJoshua.
I have not run across anything I want to play that I can not run in 1680x1050 on at least above average settings (including things like Company of Heroes, Oblivion, etc. that I presume work the system pretty well).
Sure, I play Civ IV sometimes. I’ll throw in the occasional RTS or RPG. Indeed, there’s a ton of strategy games for the PC, but most of them not named Supreme Commander don’t really require a beefy PC so I wouldn’t be cutting myself out of those games by not upgrading.
Sims don’t push my buttons much, though, I have to admit.
Anyhow, I don’t have an HDTV yet, but I did just get a 24" widescreen LCD that I could share with the 360, to avoid conflicts with Teh Wife and her seemingly endless obsession with British crime dramas :)
Don’t forget that included in that cost isn’t just the assembly, but driver development and testing, particularly with e.g. Vaio and other high-end brands. For example, Windows ME shipped OEM with Vaios was actually stable because of the extra testing Sony put into it.
I give Sony a lot of shit, but Vaio is one department that has done well and still does well. My boss, who worked for Intel and had to work with Sony’s Vaio group directly for hardware qualification, also gives 'em top marks.
Pretty much my M.O. too, and I agree. You usually can buy at the price break on processors, go big on vid and sound and sneak off around $1,000-1,300. Then a new monitor either a few months before or after, then let new peripherals dribble in (KB, mouse, etc.)
I dropped PC gaming awhile ago and haven’t looked back since. I like console games because they’re easier to put down and the entry costs are ridiculously low compared to PC gaming in general.
Another plus that you might want to consider is the resale potential of console hardware and games vs. that of PC’s. PC hardware goes for next to nothing compared to what you paid for it and PC games are just about impossible to sell once you get sick of them.
I’ve been trying to sell preorder edition Civ 4 + Warlords for weeks now for $50 plus shipping and only a few lowballers have even feigned interest. I listed them up on Half.com this past weekend and have decided to just wait it out. Every console game that I’ve listed for sale in the past two years has sold within one week for a good enough price to get me a nice chunk of my money back for something new.
Meanwhile I’ve got about a dozen 360 games to purchase this summer/fall alone, nevermind whatever will come for the Wii.
If you build you own PC, even though you’ve never done it before, it will probably last longer than a 360, with it’s design flaws…
Shrug. I’ve seen a lot of PC hardware fail.
Me too. But the public perception seems to be that the 360 fails too often and that it was designed as cheaply as possible without giving reliability any weight.
Curiously, the only PC games I ever want to sell are the action games you also find on the console. Everything else seems to have enough replay value that I hang onto them forever, or until the next updated iteration comes along. So I guess to me console games are short lived, quickly experienced and forgotten, whereas my favs on PC stay on the hard drive and get played over the next few years. I guess the money off resale might mean something if I was strapped, but as it is I’d never give up my collection.
To give you an idea, currently installed: LockOn, IL2, MSFSX, BOB2, GTL, GTR2, TOCA3, Oblivion, Mount&Blade, STALKER, Far Cry, BIA:EIB, StarShatter, MTW2, CoH, Riddick, RE4, Pirates!. Most of these have skirmish modes, mission builders, lasting multiplayer communities, mods available, random quick start modes = infinite gaming= less need of latest current mediocre release = saves me money
If we’re considering all aspects of price it’s also worth noting that you can likely write off the cost of a new PC on your taxes as a unreimbursed business expense, no so much with the xbox. While this doesn’t make up for the difference in price between a PC and an xbox it does help to mitigate it.
So are boring games generally. I honestly am not tracking with you - console games are less interesting and compelling, so consoles are good?
I have been very lucky. Same for my friends. Hardware failures have been very rare. I have had a TNT2 fail and one hard drive. Nothing else.
Software failures, Windows blue screens, DirectX updates, video card drivers, now that is where all the PC complications are. Just a crazed AMC hot rodder, I willingly take up these burdens to enjoy my PC gaming experience.
I didn’t say anything about PC or console games sucking or mention quality or fun at all. Where are you getting that?
My two reasons for switching platforms from PC back to consoles was 1) cost and 2) lifestyle.
I think I misunderstood what you meant when you said console games are easier to put down.
I’ve been a hardcore PC gamer since the late 80s, however, I bought my first console, a XB360 last year, and I havent been happier in quite some time. Games like Saint’s Row, Crackdown, and Vegas are keeping me very busy. I would of never taken the console plunge if PC gaming hadnt been in such sad shape, to me, the worst shape I think it’s ever been in…The only PC games I’ve played in the last year that were worth anything to me were Titan Quest and the newly release UFO: Extraterrestrials (trying to relive that X-com feeling). I only wish less action and better strategy games would be made for the console, titles like Silent Storm and Civilization, that would almost ensure I never look back.
-Chris
Get the console. Yea, you can get a very good PC for a fairly decent price, but it’d still be twice what a 360 costs and what will you play on it that you can’t play on a 360? For the most part… not much. And virtually all PC games nowadays are buggy as shit and run like ass.
My friend used to be a huge PC game nut but now with an HDTV, surround sound, and 360, he simply doesn’t care. Personally speaking, I built a very solid PC for gaming early last year but have been thoroughly underwhelmed by what’s out there. Within three or four months I burned through all the games I wanted to play but couldn’t because of my hardware. I got a 360 for Christmas and it’s taken up about 95% of my gaming time since - I own Dead Rising, Crackdown, Tony Hawk 8, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, and Saint’s Row. All are AAA games and released the past 6 or 8 months. The PC can’t match that. There’s no reason to think that’s gonna change, either.
In 2007 and beyond every third PC game will be an MMO anyway… get a 360 and don’t look back.
I was in a similar situation with the original xbox and I went with the console. It was definitely the right decision for me with XBox live and the number of co-op games out there.
But the thing is I end up doing the PC upgrades anyway because there are always those few games that will never be on a console that I really want to play, and I need my play experience to be as maxed out and smooth as possible to fully enjoy it.
So in the end, the consoles delay my upgrade, but also make the (sort of) cost of each PC game that much more. I might soon upgrade roughly 700$ worth of hardware just to get a better experience with NWN2, Armed Assault, and STALKER.