What do you use your computer for??

MRTULES

So I want to build my own PC but when reading the sticks I relised you need to know what you want from your computer. I would like to know what people are using there computers for? Streaming movies/sport? Watching TV? Gaming?

Why play games on a PC over a Xbox/PS3?
What can you get from a HTPC?
What else should i be using my computer for other than reading boards.ie all day long?

Thanks in advance and forgive my noobishness and spelling/grammer

chin_grin

Some use it for audio\video production so would need a hefty amount of RAM, decent hard drive, processor and\or nifty graphics card.

You could get the typical "default" spec machines if you were on the net all day or just watching video.

Also you're opening that can of worms with the console vs pc gaming, but I'm not going to go in to that.

Fluffy88

Really it doesn't matter what other people use their computers for. It's all about you It doesn't matter if you only use your PC to browse the net, you can still save a bit of money when building your own PC over buying off the shelf.

And there is no point in you building a big gaming rig, if your not going to game on it. That's just wasting your money.
Same goes for video encoding, photo editing, programming, folding or anything else.

You build a computer to suit your needs.

MRTULES

Thanks folks. Well I suppose I should say that at the moment all I use the laptop for is to surf the net. However alot of this is due to the fact that it can't do much else and also I haven't learnt what else is possible, hence why I ask what others are using them for.
I have used video and audio editing software before(adobe and ableton) but would not be using it regularly. Tried to stream/download tv shows/live sports/movies but laptop cant handle it or I dont know the best places to look.

massy086

PORN

Fluffy88

Well if your looking for a new PC and want to take full advantage of it get a nice mid spec pc that's capable of doing a little of everything

At the min, you can get a very powerful PC for quite cheap. Say around €600 would get you a tower powerful enough to game at HD resolutions and pretty much do anything else.
Except porn, they don't allow that.

Sleepless.ie

Paper weight

techfeen

downloading tv series and fb

Big Lar

Gaming

gugleguy

purchased for Gaming in mind - Microsoft FS X, and awaiting X Plane 10.

I also have Wings of Prey and Wings of Luftwaffe on the same machine - have'nt played combat sims for a while now.

right now used with photos and videos production, mostly.

Dude111

I use mine for surfing online and playing good games i love from the 80s


I had an atari and a colecovision and i dont have the units anymore JUST THE CARTRIDGES

When i found emulators for both I WAS QUITE HAPPY to play the games i have here again!! (Atari (2600) is my favourite game console ever)

Isabella1988

Some use it for audio\video production so would need a hefty amount of RAM.
but, most of the time, i use my labtop for reading the electric-books; download the movie or even shopping online, like chanel flap bags ect~
so, the simple computer is suit for me~! *^-^*

Skerries

as Fluffy says get a good all-rounder until you get a feel for what you want out of it and can then upgrade parts later on if you feel you need it.
Gaming on a PC is quite different than a console in that you would be sitting in front of it rather than lounging on your couch but it would allow you to play different genres of games better than on a console
FPS, RPG and RTS games are more designed for the pc configuration of mouse and keyboard along with the better graphics whereas consoles are better geared towards sports, platformers and racing titles due to the controller
There is a lot of high end free games such as Team Fortress 2 that can be played online and free mods as well as cheaper games.
you also seem to know about the streaming and dling of online media which you could have hooked up to your main telly so a big hard drive for storing it all would be good
if you go onto the upgrading and building forum on here and give your budget they will be able to recommend a great home built pc which would be cheaper than store bought

fionny

Im a PC Gamer, no console comes close to a decent Gaming PC.

The reason for this can be both personal choice and also hardware wise... most consoles on the market are pushing on in age and the hardware is old and so games are limited for consoles.

As PC's can be MUCH more powerful games can look so much better by using the potentially superior hardware available.

The other big decider for me is Keyboard and Mouse, nothing compares to a keyboard and mouse for a shooter, console flamers will attack me for this but to you I say there is no way you can say a joystick is as twitch accurate as a mouse, My brother came up with this great point to argue the point.

If you were to choose the fastest way to navigate a computer would you use a joystik or a mouse...

I love gaming on my PC, you have everything from MMO's to FPS to RPG's all taking advantage of the PC powerhouse, you have upgradibility, you have to ability to still use joypad if you want. You can do MUCH more then JUST play games too obviously so its not a one trick pony.

PC gaming is growing again and is already beginning to surpass consoles once more and this is because IN MY OPINION there is no comparrision.

I hope this little insight into my computer life helps some.