Lots of games being released lately followed by lots of richer friends buying games.
But it also means a lot of complaining about bad ports and bad optimization, since some games won't run well.
Most of these people have very decent computers.

All this complaining (and lagging of games) makes me wonder if it is really worth it to buy a new gaming computer.
To me, it's starting to look more and more like a gamble.

So forum, what do you think?
Is it still worth buying a game-pc, even though it seems more and more great games might not run?

Just interested in your ideas

High end PCs are just like Sam Adams. Always a good decision.

Especially since you can brew your own beer that tastes just like Sam Adams (which is a great beer btw). So, build your own rig.

I don't quite get your question.

Are you asking if it is worth it to get a high end PC for playing games at high framerates/better performance et.c, or if the best idea is to go for a console?

That part

It used to be: good computer = good performance.
But I'm getting the idea that this is no longer the case.
It seems to me it has changed to this: good computer = greater chance of running it well, but no guarantees.

A little background, as to where this question came from:
I was thinking about buying a new gaming computer. My current machine is 5 years old, and was a medium range gaming machine. So now it is a low-end gaming pc.
One day, I was over at a friend's. He had Skyrim for the pc. His computer, comparable to mine, ran Skyrim pretty well on low settings. Constant just below 30 fps, dropping to just above 20 in cities, and maybe just below 20 when there is a lot of fog.
Anyway, his brother has an almost-1-year-old, high end gaming pc. It runs almost any game better then my friend's pc does. But Skyrim is almost unplayable on this machine. No matter the settings, noticeable and annoying lag is always present.

And I have more experiences like this. My pc runs Borderlands pretty well on medium-low. While another friend of mine, again with a better pc, can't play this game due to graphic glitches and lag.

So, I am a bit worried about spending a lot of money of on a gaming computer, when it seems uncertain if this will guarantee better/good performance with games.

I run Skyrim really well (on Ultra settings, with shadows set to High) and my PC isn't even top of the line, but Skyrim has pretty low specs compared to other modern PC games.

I think with most games they add super high graphics settings so that it will look even better when more people have PCs capable of running them, but those games generally run fine and look great at medium settings.

I love having a high end PC. Not just for games, for everything else. Multi-tasking is great on this setup. I am actually debating if I should just get a second 6970 to Crossfire or wait until the 7970 comes out in a few months. Performance in some games is lacking at 5760x1080. But I am not sure if I want to go back to Crossfire again. Last time I used it, it worked, but I didnt like the increased heat and noise. Not to mention driver problems.

Of course. Even low-end PCs outclass consoles at everything.

Yuck. American Beer tastes like water.

But yes. There still worth getting good PC.

There's no reason why a 1 year old high end gaming PC that's running properly shouldn't be running Skyrim on high settings with a decent framerate. You should tell your friend's brother to scan his computer for viruses and check to see if anything he has running in the background is hogging up resources.

My definition of "high end" is a top card multi-gpu configuration with a i7-2600K or greater CPU playing at greater than 1920x1080 and in my opinion those really aren't worth it. An i5-2500k paired with a GTX 570 or HD 6950 2GB and a single screen 1920x1080 is more than enough for any sane person. Until consoles are upgraded almost any multi platform game is going to be comprised to run on their lesser hardware (Skyrim is a prime example). Even if you play mostly PC only shooters there's a point of diminishing returns on hardware investment. I'm not saying buy/build a crappy PC, but you can get 80-90% of the performance of a top rig for a lot less money by choosing wisely.

Are they worth it? No. Really, you're better off getting a computer that was good for a few years ago, and mostly buying games from the same time. You'll skip over patching BS, have access to more third-party support, will avoid spoilers*, and, oh, yeah, have more money. This is clearly the objectively better way of doing things. The question is, can you handle it?

*People don't talk about old games, and its really hard to remember pvssyr about games your not playing.