In the very informative Win8 thread in Current Events there is a discussion which, I think, looks at consoles and high-end pcs for computer games. The pictures of the high end pc running games are very good. My problem is that the Home Treasurer (Mrs. D) will not countenance an expensive high-end pc (especially if I tried to justify expenditure based on games quality). I have an old P4 which runs XP and Linux distros nicely but which won't run any decent games (even the brilliant FlightGear will not run due to the specs on video being so low). A console seems to be a decent alternative. Would experienced gamers be able to advise on this? I'd love to get a beast pc but it ain't gonna happen, so if a console would do it (allow me to join the ranks of gamers who run the latest and greatest) I would very much appreciate any advice. Thank you.
Despite my hatred of all things Microsoft, I like the performance of the Xbox. I do not like that while they advertize the box with the ability to stream netflix and hulu plus, they require you to pay microsoft for a gold membership (monthly) in order to use the embedded apps to the services you already pay for. They want a whole lot of information to get setup too. If it weren't for kinect (and kinectimals in particular) I would not have the device. However you can apply a couple of hacks to get (from what I have seen and read) a lot better graphics performance. My only advice, whatever console you get, would have more to do with hardware advice. Do not close it up in a cabinet somewhere. Make sure if it is in an enclosure, it is not much of an enclosure, or it is well ventilated (with fans). Heat is a real problem for these devices, left running for any amount of time. For the time being the kinect module is very hackable, and people use it to do really cool things.
It all comes down to what you want to do with the console and what games you are interested in. Some of it is personal preference, but I can give my thoughts on the matter... When it comes to games, the majority are released on both systems, however, there are a few notable exceptions. Each system has a handful of major exclusive titles. For example, the Xbox has Halo, Gears of War, and Forza/Gotham racing, while the Playstation has God of War, Gran Turismo, Metal Gear, and Uncharted (not an exhaustive list, but these are some of the bigger titles). One thing to keep in mind, is that the Xbox requires a monthly fee for most online services, including Netflix, Hulu, and even playing most multiplayer games, while the Playstation does not. Also, if it is something you are interested in, both systems are capable of streaming video/audio media from a storage device or networked PC/server. The Playstation seems to support a larger set of media codecs, profiles, and container formats, but depending on what types of files you want to stream, or how you're streaming them, that point may be moot. In addition, the Playstation can play Blu-ray discs, while the Xbox is limited to DVD (technically, it does support HD-DVD with an external drive, but that format is long defunct and no longer made). Also, I know the Playstation definitely supports 3D video content, but I'm not sure if the Xbox does or not, I haven't tried. I personally like the Playstation user interface more, but the Xbox has much better social features and integration with games. They both have movement-based control devices, though the Xbox Kinect beats the Playstation Move, hands-down. Some things to keep in mind though, both are add-ons with an extra cost, and neither work with everything - games must be developed specifically to use these devices, which equates to only a small subset. I want to mention that these kinds of discussions comparing the two consoles can often attract people who are "fanboys" of one system or the other and are far from objective when giving advice. I own both systems, so I'm fairly immune to that. Personally, due to the games I enjoy most and heavy use as a media device, I prefer the Playstation over the Xbox. Hopefully you can use the information provided to help you make an informed decision. Lastly, just something to consider - though neither has been officially announced yet, the next version of both consoles are expected to be released most likely by the end of the year (in time for the Xmas shopping season). More concrete info will be released soon though, in case it may affect your decision.
Don't rule out the option of getting a cheaper PC. Most games these days are created with the intention of being released on consoles and, as such, are limited by hilariously outdated console hardware. Keep in mind that the current generation of consoles is nearly 10 years old. If you have the ability to put it together yourself, you can get a computer for a few hundred dollars that will be able to play absolutely anything.
I would have to agree that you can put together a decent gaming rig sub 500 dollars... but... just understand... it's your first tattoo. It is practically free. You know why printers are so cheap... because you need the ink. We are ink junkies. You also go into it with a slave mentality... well... the dvd blew... it was what... 8 bucks? You expect it to die. You are now indentured to that machine to replace parts when they go bad. Then you get used to the performance... and maybe you play on a "real" system... and, of course, windows is born dying... it gets slower... and outmoded by the newest game... and suddenly you need something with a little more punch... and its over. You are covered in (*)(*)(*)(*)ing ink.
Thank you for taking the time to present those views, they're extremely helpful and I am much better informed for them Oh, forgot to make a note - something like Halo would be neat, I'm late on scene with top end games so that sort of game would be good. I love flight sims too but don't know if a console would run any of the major ones.
Halo is specific to xbox/pc... focus on xbox. All of the majors, outside of the proprietary labels, exist for all... modern warfare x, call of duty x, rainbow six x... they will have versions for everything. As posted above, each system has their own proprietary games. If you LOVE games... you should have both systems... at least. God of War x is beast (even if they are short)... and halo has set several bars. There are new iterations coming. If you can wait another 9 months, you will have the latest "thing", and if you don't you will have the almost 10 year old "thing" that works well. Personally, I would get a pawn shop whatever, and play the diodes off it till December.
I would hold off on buying anything for now. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/new...st&utm_medium=index_carousel&utm_campaign=all
Just something to consider... I remember when the PS3 came out... there were like 6 games available for it... for what seemed like forever.
It's possible, but I'm more hopeful in that regard this generation. It looks like Sony finally decided to stick with more standard PC x64 hardware this generation. Both the PS2 and (especially) PS3 were notorious to developers for the tough programming curve due to custom hardware. Devs will more easily be able to push out quality games now. Specs: http://kotaku.com/5985769/playstation-4-tech-specs-released Unfortunately, they haven't given any details on the video card yet, other than "AMD next-generation Radeon based graphics engine", which is very vague.
I own all 3, the 360, the PS3, and the Wii. They are all great systems. The Wii being more suitable for children. For my money the 360 is the most enjoyable system. Mostly due to XBoxLive, and yes there is a subscription fee if you want to be a Gold member and use certain apps, but its really pretty cheap, like $60 a year for a family account which lets you have 4 gold members. The graphics between the two systems are for all intents and purposes equal. Usually what I recommend to people who ask is if you have friends that are gamers, get whichever one they have, because you will LOVE playing with them online. Although my understanding is that some companies such as EA Sports are working on allowing different systems to play online together so that won't b
Unfortunately, that will never happen. There have been many developers this generation who have publicly stated that the Xbox 360 and PS3 (and PC) versions of their games could technically support cross-platform play, but neither Microsoft nor Sony will allow it.
LOL........what? That doesn't even make any sense. I build PCs as a side job and I can tell you that console owners end up dishing a hell of alot more money out in "repairs" in the long run. I don't know a single 360 owner that didn't end up having to get a second system that they paid for out of their pocket because their previous one crapped out on them after the warranty period expired. Some of them are on their third system already. That is a horrible failure rate for any piece of electronics. I remember spilling all sorts of crap inside my N64 and even dropping it down the basement stairs and it still worked flawlessly for years. They don't build em like they used to. Even if something does go wrong under the warranty period you can kiss using your 360 for two or more weeks while you wait for it to come back from being fixed. The couple of times I got bad parts from online or a store I was ready to roll again in a matter of a few days at most. (online RMA) Find someone who can build you a PC if you buy the parts for cheap off of Newegg or Tigerdirect. It doesn't even have to be the local high school nerd, you can often have a PC built at a local computer store for a price which will also give you a the piece of mind of a warranty. I would highly recommend though that you do it yourself. Its a bit daunting the first time around but there are tons of youtube videos on how to build PCs (wish they were around when I started) and make it alot easier. Also, buying a 360 or PS3 now seems pointless since the PS4 is being released in Q4 of this year. If you are dead set on getting console why spend $250 bucks now on seven year old ancient/prehistoric technology you might as well wait and spend $450 on something that is far superior and more current.
It makes perfect sense, your comprehension notwithstanding. I can buy 3 xbox360's for the cost of your budget PC, which also is likely to face warranty issues and is bound to an operating system born dying. It has been mentioned that newer consoles are about to be released. It also rivals PCs (surpassing budget ones) in performance of the most recent games... so the "ancient" argument is rather ridiculous. The xbox360 also comes with a warning not to leave it on for more than 6 hours. What happens is that the processor ends up retaining so much heat that it literally desolders itself. Terrible design flaw... that I will agree with you on.
His arguments are flawed from the word go. Of course both the XBox360 and the PS3 are both old technology. Or rather, older technology. But anyone who is considering buying one now is NOT one of those people who must have new technology as soon as it comes out. They are either A) People who are just getting into gaming or B) People who are replacing a broken system that they have a game library built up for. People who wanted the newest bought their systems when they first came out and will do so again when the next gen comes out. Not everyone is in that group of buyers. As for quality issues. I just replaced my drop date fat boy PS3 last summer , so essentially it cost me $100 a year to own it. I didnt get into the 360 thing until 2010 and am still using that system. So paid $299 for it and it's still running 3 year later. The over heating issue is in the past IMHO.
Wii - It is extremely ridicous how easy it is to hack the wii to play free games, you can softmod it. 360 - You can easily flash the dvd drive to allow any 360 to play free games but you could get an online ban if you don't burn the 360 game discs right or keep up with certain software updates if you burn the discs right and you occasionally update your firmware you should not ever get banned, or you can J-tag only the older 360s and play games off of an external hd if do a little bit of soldering and spend $10-$20 for materials but this way you are more prone to getting banned from playing online, or you could do the Reset glitch Hack on almost all 360s and you can play online and have no risk at all of being banned online because your system can "dual boot" to a normal 360 to a hacked one. PS3- If the firmware is before a certain version you can softmod it to play free games, not sure about newer firmwares PSP-easy softmod DS - r4
I build PCs as a side business and I have owned consoles in the past (N64, PS, PS2, Wii, SNES, Genesis, Dreamcast, Saturn and even a used Jaguar system that I got a few years back) For current gen I have a friend with a PS3 so I can get my Dark Souls fix over there. My understanding of technology is waaay beyond yours most assuredly. You can buy an in incredibly outdated piece of hardware that has very poor graphics, no physics capablity to speak of, costs extra if you want online service (XBOX anyways I think PS3 is free still). Or you can spend $600 and get a PC that will be far more powerful than an Xbox or PS3 and here is the important part......YOU CAN DO OTHER STUFF WITH IT BESIDES GAMING......so you get more bang for you buck. Netflix is horrible to use on the consoles with that crappy UI compared to the normal version you see on your computer screen. Get a nice laptop and you can hook it up to your HDTV and use a wireless controller and play games that look alot better than with the consoles because they are true HD instead of just upscaled. It is also much easier to start up games on PCs now than consoles. All you do is click the icon and you are good to go. With a console you have to get up and change out discs all the time. Even with a game installed on a HDD the load times are absolutely ridiculous unless you use a SDD but since those are several hundred dollars if you can afford to blow that on a SSD for a console you can afford a really nice computer. Even the PS4 coming out in Q4 of this year isn't any more powerful than a high end PC and in fact the graphics processor is actually last gen technology. When 360 and PS3 came out very few gaming rigs could match its power. With PS4 alot of rigs will not only match its power but surpass it as well. However, at $450 starting price which is what I saw on one website that is a very good deal..........$300 for a seven year old system is NOT a good deal. Buying a current gen system is just a complete waste of money especially since the PS4 and probably the "720" are not backwards compatible. Those $60 dollars games (rip off as I get all my games for far less on STEAM sales including new releases) will soon be collecting dust.
Heh. Most assuredly not. A shiny penny if you can tell me what this does and why... it is what I am working on right this minute. http://pastebin.com/MM5nebUP I program in dozens of languages. I seize and utilize hardware because I understand on a methodological and physical level how it works. I design and fabricate hardware as well. I hack it. I whore it. It is just sort of... what I do as an engineer. This is the crux of the argument really. I believe in using the right tool for the right job, and you believe in putting all your eggs in one basket at the whim of Windows. That is stupid. That is really all there is to it. The OP referred to this thread, where I have already had and won this argument... http://www.politicalforum.com/curre...leaves-millions-out-dry-6.html#post1062241800 You want to tell me that the Xbox shots above are "very poor graphics"... now... while I agree that the consoles cannot do physics... neither can PCs. I can get much more bang for my buck with a console and a nettop running linux... for... about half of your bucks... and do more... than you... and not have to deal with the viruses and poor design flaws of your windows box. CAD and the like are the only real areas where what I am saying does not hold true... in which case I would suggest people use the right tool for the job as well. It is not an issue of affording. It is an issue of purposing. I have lots of PCs... lots. This is enough resolution for me to not have to deal with windows ever again. You can argue with that if you want... but I think you are silly. You do bring up a valid point, and because I am intellectually honest I will address it. The current slew of consoles upscale everything from 720p to 1080p. The games themselves are natively this resolution. This only really matters above 32" on the display... which brings up another point... you are NOW suggesting buying another computer to hook up to your tv, and wireless controllers... and using IT instead of a console, which sort of goes against your initial argument of "bang for your buck" as you have ANOTHER computer for use with your games on TV. Mobile hardware, btw, is not on par with desktop PC hardware. Except that the PS4 is using a desktop CPU, and some rather ambiguous "ATI next gen" GPU... you have no idea whether or not it will be backwards compatible. Guessing has really no place here.
I will bow to you programming skills as I only have taken visual basic so far and am just starting java this semester. Most of my stuff is with Garry's mod and Bethesda games. If you want to see some really impressive coding you need to check out Wrye's tools for the TES and Fallout games. People are still trying to figure out all that stuff and he did that all by himself. Not being backwards compatible which is a HUGE negative and another major argument for PC gaming. Even games that aren't supposed to run on newer systems like old school games like Baldur's gate with a bit of fiddling can run fine on new systems. Hell the new Baldur's Gate enhanced editions basically just repackaged what modders have done already and sold it for $20. (still bought it anyways because I really loved those games). Unless the guy lied or mispoke that isn't guessing. I can't stress enough how much a negative that is considering that your typical player has probably spent well $300-$400 if not more on games over the years. Now they won't be able to play them on the new system which means having to keep to systems sitting around taking up room. That is just asinine in my view. http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02...wards-compatible-with-retail-or-digital-games I used to run Linux RH on a second HD but I got sick of constantly having to get wrappers and making stuff work with it. I haven't had any issues at all with Windows 7 at all and am more than happy with it. Windows 8 is an even numbered Windows so by default it sucks but the nice this is that like you running linux, even if someone gets a new PC with Windows 8 on it they can simply reinstall W7 instead. I have been told that more recent iterations of linux are fairly hassle free so I might check it out again. As bad as Microsoft might be I console myself in that at least I don't have a Mac. Apple is a far worse company than Microsoft. Not sure where you are saying that PCs can't do physics unless you have an ATI card I suppose. I have NVIDIA with the whole "physx" thing and the games that do have it it does make explosions and stuff alot more exciting. A laptop connected to a HDTV does what consoles do much better, much faster and you can get more games as well. The vast majority of games on consoles are just rubbish and filler games. At least I get some interesting indie games like Amnesia on the PC.
I think I need a bloody big flat tv screen with a console so I can go and do the whole immersion thing and blast the crap out of anything that doesn't look human (and some which do) on that big screen. I will stick to my LinuxXP pc and my W7/Linux laptop for business and other purposes but I think - and thank you to everyone who contributed - it's big, fat, flat screen and mega explosions (I am a very simple soul) on the console for me. Now the hard part. I have to talk to the Mrs.
Fair enough... I think we were misunderstanding each other on several points. The desktop CPU and ATI next gen was referencing the PS4... http://kotaku.com/5985769/playstation-4-tech-specs-released For the record what that code does and why... when linux systems boot, udev has a flaw, in that it creates a race condition as modules are loaded on the same type of device... so if you have, for instance, more than two sound cards... they will fight for position (card 0, card 1, card 2) and where they land is random. This organizes the modules to load in specific order and creates a udev rule to assign the hardware to the virtual slots in order, so you do not lose sound ever. Why have more than 2 soundcards? Well... sometimes it is as simple as having an onboard that a user has not disabled, and an add-on card... and some usb device creates one as well... but for our purposes we are able to block off channels of hardware to be used by virtual devices throughout the home... so one server can pipe audio to any room in your home via a sqeezeslave type device... but of course in order to send to the right room, the hardware has to be in the right place
I had something like that way back with Windows XP once where two pieces of hardware were using the same number (USB port and one of my sound or video cards) and cause boot errors when I had something plugged into one particular USB port. I had to manually change one of them to another number. Doesn't Linux allow you to do that? I think pretty much every MB out there has a soundcard on it now. At least ASUS and Gigabyte (only two brands I use) seem to all have them. I wasn't even going to get a souncard for my current PC because the onboard one was actually really good but Oblivion had some glitch where it just had to have a soundcard or it wouldn't play.
That is annoying... if you can identify the code which identifies the hardware I can probably supply a patch. I also only use Asus boards. They almost lost me a few years back when they had all those bad (fake) capacitors on all their boards. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague Of course several manufacturers had issues... but asus was product wide, and it seemed to take forever for them to recognize and address the problem.
Another vote for Asus. My last one a few years ago was a Gigabyte (also good) only because I got a great deal on it, but other than that I buy Asus boards exclusively.
There was an option to change the port number in the boot menu, I think, this was way back in 2004 or 2005. ASUS is slow to address issues as this was a known issue on their forums for a couple of years and it wasn't patched until just before I ended up giving my PC to someone else after I built my replacement. Still they are better than some of the other brands I have tried because they were cheaper and either gave me issues or couldn't OC worth crap. I make my PCs last as long as possible so I learned early on to not cheap out on the MB. This most current build I learned that I will no longer get PSUs that are not modular. I spent more time doing cable management than I did building the damn thing. If I didn't canabalize my PCs for parts I was tempted to simply snip off the extra wires.
