@ion-storm,

If you want to run full everything then get a gaming rig, because consoles don't run full everything. They just lock you into settings that the console can handle, and in pretty much every case they lock you in at settings lower than absolute max.

Consoles do full everything that they can do :) I can't buy a more expensive PS3 to make the settings on the game higher. Having a game capable of looking better but you can't because your pc isn't good enough sucks. Medium and low may as well be called Fail and Epic Fail. Sure medium may look better than PS3 power sometime but hey, I'm aware my ideas on the subject are strange.

Also I have yet to find a pc gaming rig with the same 4 player split screen action as a console. But maybe that's because I haven't looked hard enough.

Thats a pretty ignorant statement. When the PS3 came out at 600 bucks, I could easily make a 5+ year gaming computer not counting the monitor with that amount. Great thing about the computer is that virtually all software made on it scales. Crysis on medium is still technically better than anything you got on consoles.

Furthermore, if your smart you wouldnt spend the same amount of money on a computer as a PS3. In general the better computer you get now, the more money you'll save for not having to upgrade later down the line. So if you're serious about making a gaming PC, then yes, your computer will be guaranteed to play all the newest games.

Also, PC gaming industry is going up, or have you not been paying attention at all.

@TheRealMafoo,

Glad we agree on most points, as for the one we don't agree on if you take a look at the example of Shio's brother you'll see what I mean. One of my friends just recently upgraded his PC from the exact same video card Shio's bro has actually. It easily played pretty much any valve game, Bioshock, etc..Its not the best place to be as a PC gamer but you can make it work while you save up for 6 months to replace some stuff, which is exactly what he did. My brother is still happily gaming on a 3 year old PC and I asked him this past weekend when he was in town if he thought he might need an upgrade soon and he didn't think he needed it at all.

@Rainbird,

I think you missed the point. I'm not advocating PC over console. I'm saying that people need a PC in todays world anyways. Since the cost of making your standard PC into a gaming rig is cheaper than the consoles it just makes sense to do it if you actually want to play PC games.

At your points specifically, Crytek has stated they think they can run at High but they haven't stated what at what resolution. 1080p is ~2m pixels, 720p is only about 920k pixels. Thats a big difference in performance right there. The resolution I play on with a mixture of high and X-High settings is about 1.75M pixels. It really depends on what resolution they get high settings running on that determines how impressive a job they've done.

On the point of outdated hardware, consoles become outdated just as fast (if not faster than PCs). This is definitely mitigated by software designed for the platform but the PC has the option of incremental upgrades where the console does not.

On the subject of games, I won't argue which has the coolest games since it is subjective. But I will go back to my point that if you don't want to play the PC games then you shouldn't pay the extra cash. But if you do then you should..thats a simple concept that anyone should be able to grasp.

@ MrStick,

I have to agree with Shio that your experience with the PC market is a bit outdated, the market has changed significantly and prices are still moving towards the cheaper side of things meaning in 2-3 years it might even be better than it is now.

@griffin,

A 500W PSU is plenty for a rig with a 9600GT, I have been building systems for a long time, I think I know what I'm doing. As for adding in the cost of all nice keyboards and headsets: Ok fine, now add the cost of 3 extra controllers for the console and the headset as well. This works both ways, lets not play that silly game.

@therepublic,

No that really isn't a problem for the argument, if you buy a pre-built you're already paying for them to build it so you could just as easily call a local PC shop and have them build it if you're not comfortable with it. As for your last line I think it fits perfectly with what I said originally, one of the reasons I listed for not making their PC a gaming rig was ignorance, and your statement there is talking about people without basic knowledge.

@realmafoo,

Crysis on low is PS2? Really?

Here is a few comparison shots (56k Warning, they are big images): One, Two, Three

I need to go back and play my PS2 again, the graphics must've been way better than I thought

@ion-storm,

If you want to run full everything then get a gaming rig, because consoles don't run full everything. They just lock you into settings that the console can handle, and in pretty much every case they lock you in at settings lower than absolute max.

@final-fan,

Repeating this for those who can't read our PMs: You can also buy a gaming rig from the crazy 3Dmark/enthusiast crowd who upgrades constantly. So if you are ok with buying a used PC in the first place you can go straight for the kill so to speak.

As for upgrades, what kind of upgrades are you expecting to need? New OS when Vienna comes out? Typical PC owners will face the same thing so its not really an additional cost just because you game. Upgrade memory? 2GB is $40 right now, in 2-3 years? Much less. As shio and I have pointed out a PCs built in 2003-04 are still running games, just not at the greatest settings. Even then I think there is a fair argument to be made in the fact that PC games cost less and money saved there helps pay for any upgrades needed. I've already saved probably $150 this generation from being able to buy the PC version of games instead of the 360 versions. Bioshock($10), Assassins Creed($15), CoD4($10), Orange Box($15), SS:Double Agent($10), Oblivion($10), thats off the top of my head anyways.

In terms of showing you a PC that runs CoD4 for under $279, no problem. I take your non gaming rig and add $260 in parts and then you have a gaming rig that can play CoD4 at better resolutions and settings than the consoles. But if you want to sit on your couch and play it just get the console version. This single game scenarios are sort of silly when each of us can say show me a console/PC that can play (exclusive game).

@Untamoi,

Considering just about everyone has those things already I can forget them. Otherwise lets start including the HDTV price in the cost of a console..now consoles are far more expensive..but the fact that a TV is used for other things is a valid argument for the TV..but somehow not the typical PC?