My PC was custom-built about 2 years ago by a company I found online - cost around $1,800 all told. It's just starting to show it's age - it's about time for me to finally get around to upgrading my RAM and looking for a more up-to-date graphics card - but even so, I can run Fallout: New Vegas at 1280 resolution with all setting to High, with a... "decent" framerate (the low-end RAM isn't helping very much at this point.)

The OP mentions something in the neighborhood of $3,000 for a new PC - and I think that's probably a little bit pricey. Even if you aren't going to make your own PC from scratch. I mean, there's always going to be that Falcon Northwest rig that I'm going to wish I had the thousands of dollars to blow on - but I think most people can get by just fine with something well under 2 grand, that will more than do the trick.

1:
I recently bought a new pc for about 1700 euros, I selected the hardware and put everything together myself. Core i7 950 cpu. 2x hd5770 gpu and an SSD Nothing can beat my loading times in games now
I play the game at a resolution of 1920*1080 and I have everyting else maxed out.

2:
I own an xbox360 but never use it because I enjoy playing on a pc much more. So far I have not used any mods for FNV but I did used a lot of mods for Oblivion. That kind of fun I could never have on an console.

Even as an entertainment device I would much rather use a laptop and connect it to an hd tv using a hdmi cable. That way you can use a mouse instead of a crappy controller and use a capable browser to view a youtube video, for example.

And ofcourse computers can have better graphics.

I'd pick pc gaming over console gaming any day for all the reasons that have been mentioned. It's just that you ABSOLUTELY have to know about computers if you're playing on a pc, or you'll be in for a lot of stress. Right now my brother fixes just about every big problem for me, but when he goes to college in a few months I'll need to wait for him to get home, and then we problaby won't be in the mood to fix my pc problems.

I started with consoles but switched to PC about 10 years ago... i still bought a ps3 and 360 which i have since sold as i never used them.

My current i7 920 is the first PC i ever bought the parts separately(with help from a friend) and i was shocked by how much better this rig is over my previous ones yet i saved a good ￡300 quid.

Also, PC games are 10-15 pounds cheaper than console games here (UK) and i use all the extra money i save up to buy upgrades in the future.

I normally upgrade my PC maybe every 3-5 years depending on what games i want to play at the time. I always go for game-play over graphics so i don't mind playing a few games on medium settings. Luckily i can max out every game i have on my current rig and i love the mods people make for PC games. I have spent my free time in the GECK over the last few days adding my own super-mutant faction (Masher's Legion) and just simply cannot ever go back to a Console unless i struggle for money. Actually, i am struggling at this moment in time... but still, i'd sell my house before i choose console over PC again. That said, i do not dislike consoles i just prefer the PC over a console.

The keyboard and mouse part is really not true. I even seen tournaments which are played on PC where people play with a controller in FPS Also its not like this game is a real FPS, most of my combat involves a lot of vats, so keyboard doesn't really matter. I do recommend this on PC though, primarily cause of all the bugs. I've been in many situations where the only way to fix it, was with console commands. When the game is working flawlessly though, its not like the PC version is MUCH better, just the fact that you can mod it and better graphics. The same can be said about every game more or less.

I am in the same boat as Davor. I prefer consoles because I don't have a lot of time to play and I am a computer ignoramous. There is no way I could handle building a PC and "tweaking" it. It would end up at the bottom of a ravine. Not all gamers are hardcoe. Some, like Davor and myself, do have other considerations. My wife really wants the Kinect for the exercise games. The point being, it really boils down to what your personal situation is.

Sadly I have to agree with this. I bought a "cheap" 750 Canadian dollar laptop to hold me over until I have the money to buy a great gaming PC. Planned on paying a couple thousand dollars for one actually. The problem is that my laptop plays this game great, and other games I already had. The only thing is the resolution isn't the best but it's good enough. Maybe I should just get a good TV to play it on.

No matter how many times this discussion comes it, in the end it comes down to "You get what you pay for"; consoles are good for convenience sake, and as already pointed out they are a level platform to program for, as opposed to the myriad of pc variations that have to be taken into account when writing a game, but I would rather pay the price and put up with the inconvenience of a pc for the plain simple fact I'm more in control of the content(mods and so on), and of course if you save your hard earned you can also look forward to performance and quality.

I'll admit straight up, even if consoles catch up with pc in terms of performance I would still use pc for the reason I mentioned, more control over content.

My laptop cost $1,700 but I got it for my birthday, I only paid about $400 for it If I remember correctly. It runs everything great at a 1920x resolution on Ultra without AA or filtering. I do have to cool it down, but I use a house fan for that which I place underneath my living room table. Just in case, I am able to overclock it a lot too by almost 157mhz (graphics clock).

It's a Sony i7 quad with 1GB of video memory. Runs pretty good! I just got through the bombardment into Nellis AFB last night, I was amazed and did it smoothly. I like the strip where I was able to kill everyone inside the prostitution casino "Gammora" and also save Ted in the Luxe from being setup to be eaten. Getting the Platinum chip was pretty fun too, I hope I did the right strategy by safeguarding my equipment elsewhere and attacking the dude when I confronted him.

So what is the OP asking for then?

A quote from the Original Poster.

Doesn't "any game on for that matter," count as for other games? It wasn't just for Fallout New Vegas, or am I some how confusing this? I think what I say stands.

Currently playing NV on my PS3, but that's because my normal gaming computer is just an old laptop. And by old, I mean, the monitor doesn't work, it's got 1.5GB of ram (couldn't get the other .5 out to replace with a 1GB), a slow processor and an old graphics card.

I do have another PC at home, and I'm tempted to try out NV on that platform.

Had to chose PC. $3,800 for a pc is way overkill, my $700 rig runs NV at max.

1. Way Better performance, as in FPS and Load Times.
2. Way Better graphics.
3. Mods, some of which fix several bugs and glitches. Some that simply add really cool stuff.
4. More controller options. Pad or KB/M.


By the ways, this goes for most games that are both on PC and consoles. Online games usually also have more players per team and dedicated servers on top of that list I just gave you.

I bought Fallout 3 for my PS3 and loved it, UNTIL, I played the exact same game on PC.

With FNV I didnt even bother with the console, went straight for the PC release, mods, and customizable graphics were a big deal _for me_

I seem to recall FO3 crashing my PS3 a few times, like hard locks where you have to force-shutdown the system, which I dont like to do because consoles are flimsy. If I corrupt data on my PC, Im smart enough to be able to fix it within the same day, with my console, im not so sure

Plus I didnt go out and buy a 'gaming rig' for it. Just using the same PC I put together over 2 years ago. Runs at a decent resolution/graphic quality that would easily be the same I would get from my PS3. I found the PC version of FO3 to look MUCH nicer than the console version (at least on PS3 where we got the worst-deal)

A note: please don't buy a particular system based on DLC. It's fuel for the beast.

Yeah, definitely, building a PC from the ground up isn't for everybody. It requires a lot of patience and technical comfort, and not everyone is willing to invest the time and energy to do that when they can just buy a console or a prefab PC. I feel like a good rule of thumb is, if you're comfortable with DIY stuff, build a PC; otherwise buy a Mac and a console.

But I've got to disagree with your cost estimate. I built a PC with very nice specs that will run MW2 (as a for instance) at max settings without a hiccup for under $700, including a nice monitor. If you're willing to spend some time hunting for good prices, you can definitely stay under $1000 for the whole deal. And buy an OEM copy of Windows, not a retail copy. You'll save a few hunge.

Sure, a console is cheaper, and you don't have to upgrade it, but you also CAN'T upgrade it, if you see what I mean. For example, let's say I spend $800 to build a PC this year. Next year, I spend $200 on a new video card. The year after I might spend $200 on a faster processor, and I've still got very nice specs, more than adequate to run new games at max settings. If I bought a console, I'm dealing with inferior graphics and processing right from the get-go, and I can't upgrade at all. Consoles start out with weaker specs than a PC and can only get worse in comparison. So yeah, you can play any games that come out for that console, until they stop making them, but they won't look as good. You also can't do anything else with a console (like type a paper, or , and you're limited to a more narrow range of games.

And in fairness, if you've spent $1000 on building a PC and you're not meeting minimum specs for games, you're doing something very, very wrong...

indeed not many will buy a nearly $4000 rig.

1. my current rig was less than a $1000 & I bought it from Ibuypower. not the most powerful but it serves my needs well.

2. simply put the big advantage is total control, & in my case gamepads are painful to use

I made a new computer recently with all seperate selected parts and handmade it with friends. it takes a afternoon or two to put it together but it is a lot better computer than a prebuilt/console.

my desktop is top of the line, i had it pre-built, so what it cost me more...but it still owns and i still play it on console. haha 360 is just where it is at unless i am playing certain games.

I'm a PC gamer all the way, the games that first got me into gaming (RPG, strategy, city building) were PC releases and because I'm not into FPS games I don't miss the occasional console exclusive game, because it's not something I want to play.

Also because I've been using PCs for 20 years and am technically minded I am perfectly comfortable upgrading PC hardware and software, building my current PC from scratch to up and running took me no more than 2 hours, including tea breaks.

I've seen the difference in graphics between an Xbox and my PC and all I will say is I'm not about to switch to Xbox.

Cost:

Not sure...I cannibalised my old rig, put in some updated components, and will continue the swappo-chango business probably for another 4 years or so. I look at a cost of around $200 - $400 per year in upgrades or additions to the system to keep it up to date and current. But I didn't have to buy a television to use with my PC.

Advantages:

Word processing, Photoshop, mass media storage, digital video processing, separate monitor to television (oh, and a TV card in the PC as well), complete internet access, Facebook, Most of my gaming friends are on Steam (multiplayer, mmmm, big advantage...), I can use it as a telephone and with skype can actually see who I'm talking with, I can bring my work home and do it on my PC but can't do that on my console (if I had one), if my PC dies I can replace the component that day, I can bank on my PC, etc, etc.

Edit:

Two other things:

1. Modifying my PC will not get me kicked off GFWL;
2. I didn't have to buy another PC simply to come on these forums.