| Squilliam said: You can play COD4 at 1280/1024 (GT5P resolution with 8xAA and 16xAF at 50+~ FPS on a $110-150 9600gt |
We will have to agree to disagree here. As someone who has been buying gaming PC's for over 20 years, I understand the cost involved.
I have also noticed all the gamers who have high end rigs have chosen to ignore this discussion. Probably because Sqrl and the others can't figure out how keeping a high end gaming PC only cost 600 every 3 years ;)
The reason I quoted your text above, is because I wonder, are you recommending that the OP goes out and buys that card? My guess is not. For value, he needs to buy a more expensive card.
Yes, I can look back and find hardware that's a little older and put together an "ok" PC that will play 6 month old games, but if I want to play all the latest high end PC games on high settings, I can't use a 9600gt.
Also, I bought my PS3 in 2006. In 2011, I will be able to play all the latest games on it, at the highest settings available ;)
Try that with your 5 year old PC. Lastly, I can buy used PS2 and gamecube games for 10 bucks. With all the new releases coming out on the PS3/360/Wii, and the backwards compatibility, I am not going to run out of games.
Not bad for a total investment of $1,350, that will not need an upgrade for 5 years. (and thought that time I can play all the games that come out for the system).
Don't get me wrong, I love PC gaming, and will always have a gaming rig. Gaming is my #1 hobby, but money is not really an issue with respect to this hobby (all things considered, it's a cheap thing to do). I just spent $700 on a driving wheel and chassis to play GTP5 (and any future racing game for the PS3 or PC), so I am not saying don't spend the money if you want a gaming PC.
The OP asked it if was worth it, meaning he has a budget. If he wants the best gaming setup for his money, all three consoles is the way to go.
Edit: What I meant by cheap, is I used to play Paintball competitively. That ran me close to $6,000 a year to do. I have friends who race on the weekends, and often spend $20,000 a year on there hobby. Gaming, when compared to those things, is a bargain.
Oh, and another thing I wanted to throw in. We will just use the 360 for this example. When I got mine in 2005, it was as good as any PC on the market at that time, and cost $500, a bargain for it's day. Today, I can play games on the exact same piece of hardware that looks a lot better then what I played on that hardware when it came out. This is a phenomenon that just does not happen in the PC world. Yes, better looking games come out, but to take advantage of them you need to upgrade.
