Help with a hard decision please

IgsTer

Hey..

well im stuck in a bit of a predicament here..i have a good bit of money on my hands which ive been saving up for a good while for..and now want to make my mind up on what to buy..

for the last few months ive been stuck whether to get a..

PS3 and five games,acceries etc and a 40inch lcd for me room to play it on...

or a

Gaming pc with above average components..

ive been back and forward on what to get..and now that the ps3 is coming up to release i want to make my final decision up now..

so what do you guys think i should do..or what would yous do if in my place?

Thanks

Retr0gamer

IgsTer wrote:

Hey..

well im stuck in a bit of a predicament here..i have a good bit of money on my hands which ive been saving up for a good while for..and now want to make my mind up on what to buy..

for the last few months ive been stuck whether to get a..

PS3 and five games,acceries etc and a 40inch lcd for me room to play it on...

or a

Gaming pc with above average components..

ive been back and forward on what to get..and now that the ps3 is coming up to release i want to make my final decision up now..

so what do you guys think i should do..or what would yous do if in my place?

Thanks

You could be waiting a while for 5 PS3 games that are worth playing.

Dont be at yourself

At least the PS3 is future-proofed, unlike a gaming PC, which will be showing it's age just 12 months down the line.

PS3. Or a 360 and a Wii.

X-Ecuti0ner

gamin pc trust me. Playin online is playing buy yourself in your room. Being in clans is pretty good aswell. consoles get boring and games don't last long unlike pc games.

Zillah

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

At least the PS3 is future-proofed

Only because the developers are forced to cater to out of date equipment.

tba

You can't upgrade a PS3

Zapp Brannigan

X-Ecuti0ner wrote:

gamin pc trust me. Playin online is playing buy yourself in your room. Being in clans is pretty good aswell. consoles get boring and games don't last long unlike pc games.

What?

tman

Definitely go for a pc.
then again, seeing as you're factoring a 40" lcd into the price, I'd almost lean towards that...

Rev Hellfire

It all depends on how long you wish your investment to last.

I'm in the same boat myself and have been pretty much purely a PC man until now.

But this time around I've decided to go the PS3 route. My reasoning is as follows, I can upgrade my PC once more and certainly will be able to get all the eye candy I want from the current crop of games but one year down the line things will be moving down the slider for detail and once more I'll be faced with looking at an upgrade the following year. The PS3 will certainly outshine anything the PC offers at present and in the upcoming short (and near mid) term.

Certainly the PC will catch up but the advantage for me is I'm buying into a fixed quantity which I believe will be cheaper longer term than doing say 2/3 more upgrades on my PC. Certainly games are dearer for a console (20 quid or so more not unheard of) but I don't buy many these days so it’s not so much of an issue.

I've looked at the 360, but it seems to me to be the same as the xbox before it i.e. PC games at console prices, lots of FPS and very little innovation. The wii while looking smart has a certain novelty value which I'm not sure will last long term.

All in all I’m quite looking forward to laying my hands on a PS3 come the 23rd, which isn’t something I couldn’t say about a new graphics card for example, but then again maybe since its all new to me it’s an easier sale since its such a different beastie.

jesus_thats_gre

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

At least the PS3 is future-proofed, unlike a gaming PC, which will be showing it's age just 12 months down the line


a Wii.

The Wii that is essentially a souped up Gamecube and considerably less powerful than any other current gen console or any modern PC?

I know what you mean though

Dont be at yourself

The Wii that is essentially a souped up Gamecube and considerably less powerful than any other current gen console or any modern PC?

A redundant argument, the Wii offers gameplay experiences that are unavailable anywhere else. It's USP is not graphics, it's the interface.

LoGiE

If it was me I'd buy a PC... Tough choice though.

Tusky

PC everytime for me.

vasch_ro

would u be getting the 40 inch LCD anyway ?
if not do u intend to watch movies on the PC ?
I reckon you can't go wrong with a console .....

steviec

I'd go with the PS3, it will play games of the same standard as your PC right now, and continue to play far better ones down the line without the need for an upgrade.

sprinkles

PS3. As Nekki said you'll be forced to upgrade your PC in a years time. It's futile.

I'd go for the wii and the 360. There's already a good few quality games out on both so you'll hit the ground running.

tba wrote:

You can't upgrade a PS3

you don't need to.

koneko

Wii + 360, definitely.

What is your current PC like?

IgsTer

well looks like pc is winning the poll

well my current pc is really a piece of crap..onboard gfx,celeron d processor and 512mb ram..the only game i play is enemy territory and have been playing it since i got this computer about 2 years ago..and have loads of mates on it..and i can play average with the fps i get which isnt good but its lets me play ok..the only reason why i want a pc is to play alot better on enemy terrirtory and maybe play some quake wars when the server that i always hang on with mates is empty..which is usually empty in morning until 2pm or so..so i could play quake wars until then..but thats really all thats going for me with the pc...the reason i want a ps3 so bad is because there are alot of games that i would really like to play..where as just two on the pc..

vasch_ro..i doubt id get the 40" lcd if i werent getting the ps3..im only getting it because it will really show off the ps3's gfx..and if im gonna be spending 600+ on a console games and stuff i may as well get the best i can out of it..and also i dont intend to watch movies on the pc..i watch all my movies and stuff down stairs on the plasma..i really only intend to play an extra game on the pc which is quakewars..because right now im able to come on the pc and play enemy territory when i like..and although it aint really a new and great game..i like playing it because i know loads of people..

i could always save up lets say 800 euro or so after i get the ps3 and tele etc and get your everyday average pc..that will play enemy territory better and maybe even play quake wars..

but if i choose to go down the pc route ill never have enough money to buy a 40" lcd again.. well not for a good few years..so its a now or never type of thing on which way to go..

its a pretty hard decision

koneko

There are only 2 PC games you want to play? Really? None of the great games that have come out in recent years, none of the great ones that are coming out?

What PS3 games are you referring to that you'd really like to play? I don't doubt the potential of the PS3, and I think at some point in the future it will have a great catalogue of games, but that time isn't now. If you really want a PS3, fair enough, but don't let the hype or your love for shiney new things suck you in though, there are better things to spend your money on right now IMO, and you could get a PS3 later when more games are released for it.

Stephen

It depends on the kind of games you like to play. I have a PC and a 360 (had both xbox and PS2 before the 360) and I spend 90% of my gaming time on the PC, as I like to play multiplayer online FPS games (keyboard + mouse ftw). The 360 is nice in that you can download demos and stuff from live on it, and it is currently tempting me to buy something from the xbox live arcade for the first time ever - Worms, but I still definately prefer my PC.

That said my PC is pretty beefy and i usually upgrade it every year and a half or so.

Q_Ball

Zillah wrote:

Only because the developers are forced to cater to out of date equipment.

You have your own thread.

Back on topic, its a tough call. If you have a pretty recently-out-of-date-ish (:D) pc, why not get a ps3 and maybe one or two games and spend the rest on upgrades? There's not 5 games worth getting on the PS3 as is, plus its going to be pretty hard to get for a while.

thelordofcheese

In this situation, I'd go PC. [well thats not strictly true, i'd buy a wii, a few games and spend the rest on beer and hookers, but i digress]

Currently the Ps3 mostly unknown, and as many people pointed out, you'd be hard pressed to find 5 decent games for it at launch and probably for the 6 months or so afterwards.

A decent PC will last you 3-5 years or so, if you build it right [and there is a whole forum here for just that sort of shennagins] and depending on which genres you favour, plus you'll have a fairly wide range of games to pick up at a cheaper price than Ps3 games, even if most of them are FPS's.

Then once the Ps3 has had a chance to settle down, and maybe drop to a reasonable price you could have another look then. Or pick up a Xbox360/Wii instead.

sprinkles

you should definately wait to buy the PS3. It will drop in price and at that stage there will be a few games out on it that you will want. I'd recommend the 360 and get the telly too. Don't waste this golden opportunity for that big screen

Stephen

Does the PS3 offer a VGA/DVI cable? I ask as I use my 360 exclusively on my widescreen LCD monitor that it shares with my PC

koneko

No, but the PS3 has HDMI, so you could get a HDMI to DVI adapter. But AFAIK your screen needs to be HD compatible (HDCP processing) to do that. You'd need to hook up the sound seperately (optical) then.

IgsTer

so many different posts with different but good and true views

its either ps3 or pc..i dont think ill be getting a 360...well games that i would get at launch would be formula one,motorstorm,probably oblivion (because i never played it and sounds good ) and then maybe graw2, fight night or nba street..i know some of these arent the best games but id say i could spend a good bit of time playing them..and games that id really like to play during the year like lair,spiderman 3,final fantasy 13,mgs 4,gta 4 etc..that said i could also spend alot of time on quake wars and other games coming out for the pc..

and yeah i would like to play some top rated pc games that have been released in the past..and new ones coming out in the future..but like im not thinking about playing them where as with the ps3 i think about playing games on a 40" lcd in me room with the sound full blast

my heads wrecked on what to get

uberpixie

IgsTer wrote:

and yeah i would like to play some top rated pc games that have been released in the past..and new ones coming out in the future..but like im not thinking about playing them where as with the ps3 i think about playing games on a 40" lcd in me room with the sound full blast

my heads wrecked on what to get

Do you have a big enough room for a 40" LCD?

You do need to be a distance of around 8 feet away to be able to view it properly.

No point getting a huge telly if you are squeezing it into a tiny bedroom.

If you intend playing games on a 40 inch telly, then get a PS3 or a 360.

A PC if you spec it properly, you can upgrade every 1 + 1/2 to 2 years depending how hard core you are into games.

As long as you don't insist on playing PC games at the highest possible settings at all times, then you can great millage out of one.

In all honesty, if you can, get your cake and eat it too: get a PS3 and a PC and get the best of both worlds.:D

Headshot

you could get a 1080p tv and a ps3 if you want

i bought a 37" 1080p tv for only 1330 euro
im delighted with the tv

its not a 40" tv but its close

and a ps3 costs around 630 euro(shops will probly add a bit on)

IgsTer

that sounds good..were exactly did you get this 1080p 37" tele?

Headshot

http://www.technikdirekt.de/main/en/lcd-plasma-tv/lcd-tv-ab46/122850/-/Article.html?


there ya go mate ,just click Ireland and the tv will show up__________

not a well known make but look it up on http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=425074&page=7&highlight=xoro

humanji

IgsTer, is it just me or do you have absolutely no intention of getting a PC? You just seem to want to get a PS3. Well, just get the damn thing. I'd say you'd be mad (and quite lucky) to get one now, and would be much better off waiting for the next load come out, price drops and more games are available.

But still, with the money you want to spend on a PS3, games and 40" LCD, you'd get a kick as PC that'll do you several years.

koneko

Indeed, it seems you have made up your mind already before asking, why ask for advice?

Enjoy whatever you go with, in any case.

ShiverinEskimo

Without doubt, a PC.

Had a beast of a pc before I went travelling and I miss it so much - Housemate here in Australia bought a 360 and I'm playing Oblivion on it - oh how I miss playing it on my PC.

Instead of a PS3 with a decent TV I'd go for a PC with an excellent monitor. Much better experience.

IgsTer

it may seem like im swaying towards a ps3 at the moment because thats the way im looking to go right now..the fact is that i keep changing my mind to either get a pc or a ps3 every week or so..and right now its the ps3 because i seen that home thing and stuff at gdc for the ps3..but im sure ill go back to getign a pc when i see a trailer for a game for that

steviec

What type of games are you into?

With a PS3 you'll have the games you already mentioned right away, and down the line there will be MGS4, Final Fantasy XIII, Gran Turismo 5, Little Big Planet, God of War 3, Loco Roco, the next Team Ico game, GTA IV, Assassin's Creed, Rathcet & Clank and all of the usual sports games, plus many others. If you like adventure games or Japanese RPGs or sports games or more innovative titles its the way to go.

With a PC you'll get Supreme Commander, Crysis, Spore, no doubt the next Civ game, basically if you're into FPS, RTS or Sims then a PC will probably suit you better.

koneko

Let's not forget Bioshock goddamnit, every time I think about it I feel all tingly inside.

Headshot

koneko wrote:

Let's not forget Bioshock goddamnit, every time I think about it I feel all tingly inside.

any news on the specs needed for bioshock?

koneko

They haven't announced them, but I expect the system requirements will be quite high, it looks gorgeous graphically from what I've seen, Unreal Engine 3.0, and let's not forget the amount of water and water effects (they'll need something beefy).

0ubliette

Well rather than bang on about hdmi and cables and resolutions, heres something some people tend to forget about, the games:

Motorstorm: 88%
Def Jam Icon: 49%
Virtual Fighter 5: 87%
Virtual Tennis 3: 85%
Resistance: 89%
Call of Duty 3: 82%
The Godfather: 66%
Ridge Racer 7: 79%
Need for Speed Carbon: 58%
Full Auto 2: 36%
Genji: 60%
Sonic: 47%
Tony Hawks Project 8: 80%
Marvel Ultimate Alliance: 72%
Untold legends: DK 59%
Fear: 72%
Blazing Angels: 52%
F1: 50%
Gundam: 28%
Fight Night Round 3: 78%
Tiger Woods '07: 81%
World Championship Snooker: 75%

Thats the review scores from the psm launch edition. Thats what youd have to look forward to in the coming months.
If it were a choice between gaming pc and ps3, id go for the pc. Ps3 just cant justify its costs with games like these.
Or get a pc, and a 360. 360 would set you back a quarter of the price of a ps3, and has better games.

CombatCow

Get a high-end pc with a 24" widescreen dell monitor (which will do 1080p) and get a wii and hook it up to the component on it........ sorted!


CC

humanji

0ubliette wrote:

Well rather than bang on about hdmi and cables and resolutions, heres something some people tend to forget about, the games:

Motorstorm: 88%
Def Jam Icon: 49%
Virtual Fighter 5: 87%
Virtual Tennis 3: 85%
Resistance: 89%
Call of Duty 3: 82%
The Godfather: 66%
Ridge Racer 7: 79%
Need for Speed Carbon: 58%
Full Auto 2: 36%
Genji: 60%
Sonic: 47%
Tony Hawks Project 8: 80%
Marvel Ultimate Alliance: 72%
Untold legends: DK 59%
Fear: 72%
Blazing Angels: 52%
F1: 50%
Gundam: 28%
Fight Night Round 3: 78%
Tiger Woods '07: 81%
World Championship Snooker: 75%

Thats the review scores from the psm launch edition. Thats what youd have to look forward to in the coming months.
If it were a choice between gaming pc and ps3, id go for the pc. Ps3 just cant justify its costs with games like these.
Or get a pc, and a 360. 360 would set you back a quarter of the price of a ps3, and has better games.

And I've played Resistance and Motorstorm and they, by no stretch of the imagination, deserve scores that high. Resistance is too overhyped and Motorstorm, although fun, doesn't have much of a singleplayer mode, and multiplayer does get boring after a while.

As was said before, the next clump of games that are released for the PS3 will be mindblowing, but right now, it just doesn't seem worth it.

LookingFor

I would say, if anything, Resistance is underhyped once you delve deep into the online multiplayer and come to appreciate what it has to offer. It is the best online console FPS to date, IMHO.

Motorstorm is indeed shallow, but an awful lot of fun.

If you want 5 PS3 games worth playing, then it more or less satisfies that criteria at launch. I'd pick up Resistance, Motorstorm, Virtua Fighter 5, Oblivion, Virtua Tennis 3 and a smattering of downloadables (flOw, Tekken DR, Super Rub 'a Dub - have no idea what that last one is like, but it looks cool).

Dont be at yourself

Add to that the fact that 5 years from now your PS3 will be able play all the latest games coming out, while your 5-year old gaming PC will just about be able to run the latest Microsoft Office, and that's about it.

With an eye on the future, the PS3, or any console, is a much better buy than a gaming rig.

IgsTer

thanx lads for all the advise and comments..

i know the ps3 hasnt got many excellant launch games..but down teh road it will have alot of games that i would really like to play..but if i dont get one now with a 40" lcd i will never have enough money again to get it like i can now..such as the lcd screen and games etc..

im into fps only for pc not consoles..i use to be big into rts games but i think i wouldnt like em as much now..and for the console im big into anthing that isnt fps..racing,adventure,sports..you name it ill play it

Dcully

Add to that the fact that 5 years from now your PS3 will be able play all the latest games coming out, while your 5-year old gaming PC will just about be able to run the latest Microsoft Office, and that's about it.

With an eye on the future, the PS3, or any console, is a much better buy than a gaming rig.

My third gaming rig of 6 years old plays world of warcraft,day of defeat,counter strike,BF2, to name a few games perfectly without a hint of an upgrade.

If you can afford a top gaming rig and can afford to keep it up to date with upgrades then a PC beats consoles everytime.

Online gaming [with proper controls] on dedicated servers,clans,guilds,downloads,patches,demos and Mods the list is endless.

Just my 2 cent

Dont be at yourself

My third gaming rig of 6 years old plays world of warcraft,day of defeat,counter strike,BF2, to name a few games perfectly without a hint of an upgrade.

Yeah, but most of those games are older than the earth itself.

The inescapable fact that, if you buy a PS3 (or 360 or Wii), you will be able to walk into GameStop and buy the latest releases every single week for the next 5 years, knowing it will run on your console. With a PC, you'll be fine for a year or so, then you'll be shelling out for RAM, graphics cards, multi-core processors and no doubt physics cards if you want to keep up to date.

0ubliette

Dcully wrote:

My third gaming rig of 6 years old plays world of warcraft,day of defeat,counter strike,BF2, to name a few games perfectly without a hint of an upgrade.

If you can afford a top gaming rig and can afford to keep it up to date with upgrades then a PC beats consoles everytime.

Online gaming [with proper controls] on dedicated servers,clans,guilds,downloads,patches,demos and Mods the list is endless.

Just my 2 cent

Theres calculators out there that could probably run wow not exactly a technically demanding game..ditto CS & dod, unless you mean the saucified versions. CS sauce isnt even that demanding, dod sauce is a bit more of a test thanks to the hdr.
Also imo clans and guilds drag down the gaming experience, but im not gonna go into that.
Demos are available on consoles too.
Mods are going to become available on the 360, at least for UT2007 anyway. After that, who knows.
Dedicated servers are available for a range of 360 games and will be more prevalent with the advent for games for windows too. and thats jsut my 2 cents

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Yeah, but most of those games are older than the earth itself.

The inescapable fact that, if you buy a PS3 (or 360 or Wii), you will be able to walk into GameStop and buy the latest releases every single week for the next 5 years, knowing it will run on your console. With a PC, you'll be fine for a year or so, then you'll be shelling out for RAM, graphics cards, multi-core processors and no doubt physics cards if you want to keep up to date.

Sad, but quite true.

Dcully

Not exactly old games dude.
Lol it even plays Oblivion on medium settings.
Furthermore im should of said DOD and CS are source versiosn,again not exactly old games
Oh yeah HL2 plays fine too.

My current main rig is 1.5 years old and has not been upgraded in that 1.5 years.
All i added was a 22" lcd monitor
It plays any game on the planet at max setting ,FSAA and AA maxxed @ 1650X1050.
Im pretty sure i will get another 1.5 years easily if needed too.

You stick with your consoles im more than happy to pay for a top end gaming rig and upgrade it when needed

Dcully

So your points are it boils down to cost?

If so why but a fiat when you can afford a Ferrari [every year]

humanji

Oh, and a key argument settler is the fact that there's a hell of a lot more porn you can download with a PC!

0ubliette

Dcully wrote:

Not exactly old games dude.
Lol it even plays Oblivion on medium settings.
Furthermore im should of said DOD and CS are source versiosn,again not exactly old games
Oh yeah HL2 plays fine too.

My current main rig is 1.5 years old and has not been upgraded in that 1.5 years.
All i added was a 22" lcd monitor
It plays any game on the planet at max setting ,FSAA and AA maxxed @ 1650X1050.
Im pretty sure i will get another 1.5 years easily if needed too.

You stick with your consoles im more than happy to pay for a top end gaming rig and upgrade it when needed

Ah but i have a high end pc on which i already play all those games, too
And unless you have windows vista, i can already think of one game ont he planet it CANT play...the lowly halo 2