| Procrastinato said: Um. I gotta agree with Xoj here. I'll use pricewatch el-cheapo prices.
To put together a PC capable of running games of that quality, you'd need: * a motherboard with a PCIe socket and modern multi-core CPU socket, as well as decent bus speed (you could probably get a reliable one for ~$70) * A quality case, that cools okay. (~$20-40, depending on how many fans and what GPU you get) * Sufficient cooling fans (~$10-$30) * A power supply -- probably 500W-ish for the components needed (~$40) * a multi-core CPU -- the Cell is faster than all but server-grade i7s, but you can probably get by with emulating a 360 Xenon with your PC instead (~$100) * Memory -- probably 2GB, since the OS is such a hog on PCs. (~$120) * a HDD -- a good 120GB is fine. (~$40 secondhand -- you can't really find 120GB drives anymore) * A DVD or BD drive (~$40 for DVD) * A Graphics card at least as good as the higher-end ATI HD 3000 series or NVidia 7800 GTX (~$80-$100 new). In the PS3's case, you'd need more horsepower than a 7800 GTX, because the Cell can assist the GPU on a separate bus. On a 360 you'd need more than a 7800 GTX because the 360s GPU is faster than a 7800 GTX, plain and simple. * Possibly an audio card, if your MB doesn't support decent sound (we'll pretend your MB is good enough) * A network adapter, if your MB doesn't have (we'll say you are an awesome MB shopper, and it also has this) * A wireless game controller, which ships in the console boxes, and is included in the console price as well. We'll use a wired mouse + KB, since they are cheaper than controllers, usually, and PC gamers love to sit 2 feet or less from their tiny monitors, which we aren't including in this price comparison. (~$15 + $15 = $30)
Total (minimums, form above): 70 + 20 + 10 + 40 + 100 + 120 + 40 + 80 + 30 = $510 Kinda... not very close to $300. Even if my minimums are off by a little, or you are an amazing eBay shopper, you're not going to be able to put together a PC even close to what a PS3 or 360 can do, games-wise, for the same price -- even today. |
You contradict yourself a little at one step which is "the Cell is faster than all but server-grade i7s" vs "In the PS3's case, you'd need more horsepower than a 7800 GTX, because the Cell can assist the GPU on a separate bus" So no you don't need a CPU as fast as a server grade i7 because your GPU is taking up that slack. You double dipped a little there, but its ok.
Okie heres a basic build for a smart shopper using quality components, everything is 4.5-5 eggs:
Apevia X-Infinity $60 with 350W PSU
Raidmax Smilodon ATX with 500W PSU $90
Now depending on whether you want a more basic or more powerful build determines which level of case you want.
5 star rating again and comes with onboard graphics and realtek sound so its about the best you can find for this price.
AMD Propus Athlon II X4 2.6 Ghz (~same transistor count as Cell) $99
AMD Phenon II X4 925 2.8GHz $140
HD 5670 512MB $99
HD 5750 1GB $140
Corsair 4GB $99
Western Digital Caviar Blue $55
Total $520 + tax/shipping (Not including rebates)
Total 2 $630 and same deal.
Windows tax: $105
Final total if Windows needed:
$625 + s/t
$735 + s/t
However the final result is > 2-3* overall performance along with 16* memory, 4* video ram, 4* HDD space, uses less power idle, and can be used for more than just games. So the price delta is justified by the performance difference.
Oh yeah and the above systems can play PS2 games emulated, can the PS3? 
