Console Wars!!!

[Asher]

I'd like to see you build a capable DirectX 10 gaming machine on a budget.

[lord of the mark]

I dont know about the above, and will let Spikey answer. My impression is that building such, while not cheap, is probably less expensive than building the equivalent gaming PC would have been five years ago. Of course the barebones budget PC is cheaper than a few years ago, also, and the real relevant number is the difference.

A few weeks ago I idly asked what I would need to make my current desktop (less than a year old, but barebones budget) up to the level to play Bioshock. I would need RAM, but no one contested my assertion that Id want that anyway, gaming aside. It mainly seemed to come down to a video card, and we agreed, I think, that one that would work would be cheaper than an Xbox360, though I dont remember what SKU we were discussing. So it all came down to whether I wanted to play OTHER games on the 360, vs the other PC only games that I need a higher vid card for. And a discussion of if I wanted a party game like DDR or GH, and if so, if the PS2 was adequate for that, and what the relative costs of different vid card + console packages were.

Not that Im likely to buy any of those anytime soon, though

[Asher]

Look at the price of the high end video cards. Every generation they sneak higher and higher...

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher
I'd like to see you build a capable DirectX 10 gaming machine on a budget.

Originally posted by lord of the mark
I dont know about the above, and will let Spikey answer. My impression is that building such, while not cheap, is probably less expensive than building the equivalent gaming PC would have been five years ago. Of course the barebones budget PC is cheaper than a few years ago, also, and the real relevant number is the difference.

LotM has it - you don't need a DirectX 10 capable card to make it a gaming machine. And by the time you do because enough games require it then it will be cheaper in real terms than a equivalent machine with say a Radeon 9800 Pro 4 years ago.

I would also make the slightly more sophisticated point that my impression (based on no numbers but I do play a lot of games ) is that systems have more longevity these days. Back before the PC market became a saturated one you had to upgrade every couple of years at least with the pace of progress (and more importantly game makers tapping into that progress).

These days not so much - my old machine (radeon 9800 Pro, 2Ghz Athlon, 1GB RAM) built four years ago will play all my games except a few real resource hogs.

[pg]

Originally posted by Asher
Look at the price of the high end video cards. Every generation they sneak higher and higher...

That's not really true. The 8800GTS is probably one of the best values in video cards in a long time it will usually tie the 8800 Ultra at lower resolutions(1280*1024 and below). Personally I still use 1024*768 for everything(on my old 19" CRT). I don't really see a huge visual difference at higher resolution. A few years back some top end video cards cost over 1000.

I suspect my new PC is going to last years(overclocked Q6600, 8800 GTS, 4GB ram, Vista 64), maybe even 5yrs+. If you want a cheap Bioshock rig just buy a decent video card if you have a dual core cpu already. There are rumors some of the new Nvidia cards will be super cheap but who knows how they will preform.

http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Nvidia_G98_Card_To_Price_Cheaply_At_%24_59/5249.html

[Asher]

Originally posted by DrSpike
LotM has it - you don't need a DirectX 10 capable card to make it a gaming machine.

You can't play Halo 2 on the PC without a DX10 card.

There are more DX10 games coming also. A real PC gamer has a PC capable of playing all the latest games...

[Solver]

Originally posted by Asher

You can't play Halo 2 on the PC without a DX10 card.

You're joking, right? Halo 2 requires Vista, but not a DX10 card.

And it turns out that it doesn't really need Vista either.

[Wiglaf]

Originally posted by Asher
It's getting more and more expensive to have a capable gaming PC. Console ownership just makes more sense.

Console: $400 + TV (from $300 to several thousand) + each game is $60.

PC: $1200 and games are free, assuming you have no compunctions against stealing.

Not a huge difference if you don't own a TV. Also, if money isn't an issue, I like PC games more. Can't find good strategy games like Civ4 or Company of heroes on consoles.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Solver


You're joking, right? Halo 2 requires Vista, but not a DX10 card.

And it turns out that it doesn't really need Vista either.

Well, what about Call of Juarez!

[Solver]

The heck is that?

As I look it up on Wiki: it's from Polish developers Move along, nothing to see here...

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Asher

You can't play Halo 2 on the PC without a DX10 card.

Link or it isn't true.

I think my point stands.

[Felch]

Originally posted by Asher

Well, what about Call of Juarez!

Prove me wrong, and I'll toss up more chaff.

Gotta love Asher.

[lord of the mark]

Call of Juarez

http://pc.ign.com/articles/806/806174p1.html

I think I'll skip it.


THIS, OTOH, may entice Dr Spike to buy a Wii

http://wii.ign.com/objects/864/864766.html

[Asher]

Originally posted by Felch
Prove me wrong, and I'll toss up more chaff.

Gotta love Asher.

Thanks.

What does a wink mean in your culture? I'm curious because apparently it is nothing like Western culture.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Felch


Prove me wrong, and I'll toss up more chaff.

Gotta love Asher.

That's as close as he gets to admitting he is wrong.