| Legend11 said: Ok I'll bite... Put together a PC (you don't have to include monitor) that cost $349 that can play all the games coming out on PC decently (that includes Stranglehold). In that PC you'll have to include the cost of a computer case, power supply, dvd drive, ram, motherboard, cpu, videocard, keyboard, harddrive, mouse, fans, and an operating system (no free OS with Wine or similar bs either, they choke and have problems with some (many?) PC games, so either XP or Vista). Good luck... |
Just curious who said $349? And linux works fine for games if you know what you are doing, but since we are going mass user we can ignore it.... But gamers are going to have existing copies of windows to install on the new PC, and for that matter are going to be canabalizing parts anyways...but all I ask is you assume people aren't dumb enough to throw away their existing windows info and are smart enough re-use it. Gamers should know better than to just merrily buy a brand new copy of windows with every PC.
But to meet your hardware requirements you get...
$71 - Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Windsor 2.2Ghz) [AM2]
$47 - MSI K9VGM-V [AM2]
$75 - Wintex AMPO 2GB (1GB x 2) DDR2 533
$20 - HIPRO True 400W PSU
$17 - LITE-ON CD/DVD Drive (48x/16x)
$50 - 160GB Seagate Barracuda
$115 - eVGA 8600GT 256MB (You can get even better deals on refurbs)
$10 - Case from any local shop, even used works here (just check it first).
And you don't really need fans for this system, the GPU and CPU come with them and they are usually more than sufficient, but if you do need them they are probably included in that used case you bought.
Grand Total - $405
Now, realise this. Every penny more you spend on a system like this gives you enormous jumps in power over what you were getting for what you paid. This system is well below the $ per performance line. Think of it as a logarathmic curve, at the low end you can spend a little bit more $ for a lot more power, but as you spend more you are getting diminishing returns. With a PC like this today, you are not getting the most out of your money, but when you absolutely must adhere to the budget, it gets the job done.
But also realize that this system does SO much more than a console, it is a home PC for the family and with the myriad of free software availiable you can do a great deal with it for very little or zero extra cost. It really is far beyond shortsighted to even compare what a PC does to what a console does, at least outside of the realm of games where there are at least some obvious correlations.
PS - I said $650 for a gaming rig, so imagine what I could do with the processor/video card with the extra $250 bucks tossed in.
PPS - All parts/prices were found on newegg.
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