Thinking about becoming a PC gamer

[DneL]

What i mean by PC gamer is only using my console for exclusives and PC for everything else

I usally only play mmorpgs on PC, and everything else including shooters on my PS3..
Can anyone give me the pros and cons of gaming on pc?

I like having PSN because of the trophies and be able to chat with friends while using my mic.. Is there anything like that for pc gamers?

And to chat do we have to download ventrilio? Or is there in game chat support? For games like bf3.. Ect


Thanks ! Don't mind any of my spelling erros, im typing this from my phone

[Braemm]

Well.. One of the main & regular cons:

The creators of game push you to better pc rigs to experience the full detail of their games. So it's more expensive if you want to keep up with the new games over and over to the max details.

[tiger1526]

generally you need teamspeak/vent/mumble for chat since people usually don't bother using the in-game voip, exceptions being source games, Skype has also become really popular recently.

the whole "it's more expensive if you want to keep up with the new games over and over to the max details." is such a untrue and stupid rumor, i haven't played a game i cannot completely max out with atleast 4x AA, my system is 2 going on 3 years old now with a ati 5850, amd 955 BE and 8 gigs of ram, the whole thing cost me 1300$ including a 200$ case and i bought it when the 5850 came out so now you could probably shave a good 300$ off my build on that alone, so while yes it is more expensive then a console you are also far less limited and will have a better looking game that is more playable, the only game i could say thats really pushed my system is metro 2033 with tesselation on i have to turn AA down to 2x.

the pro's would be modding, usually a smaller but extremely dedicated community, dedicated servers, larger matches and lobbies, custom games, and clans matches are much more open, you can expect games to still be played 8 years from now where on a console the publishers would probably have shut the service down, example being Star Wars: Battlefront II which i have been playing a lot recently still usually has 1 full server at all times and primetime US you will find 3-7 servers with 30+ people on each of them, and of course mouse and keyboard.

for cons i would have to say lack of dev support especially on console focused games like call of duty.

[Paladuck]

There's no need to pick sides. Just have both and PC/console game as your heart desires

Generally though, if a game is released for both PC and console I'm always going to pick the PC version.

[Kashis]

PC is great for doing videos and streaming, better graphics, and a smoother gameplay experience. Being able to setup multiple monitors for games can be useful/cool and being able to play your own music with games is awesome. Yes, you can do that on Xbox360 and with some games on PS3, but that doesn't apply to all games or with the Wii and doesn't allow for the same flexibility with setting up stuff like crossfading or pitch/tempo changing. Though you can just run your audio output from your TV though to your pc for your consoles depending on your set up (it's what I do).

PC users usually do update more frequently than console typically unless you spend a decent amount of money future proofing your rig. The PS3 came out in 2006 and every game that's come out since then is playable on it and will continue to be whereas I don't know anyone with a PC from 06' that can play some of the games we have today on PC without any issues.

I don't like PC controls for certain games but a controller fixes that. That's not a huge deal since there's plenty of gamepads you can use with PC (you can even use XBOX, PS3 and Wii Controls on PC if you prefer them).

Maintenance is also an issue for PCs whereas with consoles most people never bother cleaning dust or have to run defrags, it's not hard to grab a can of compressed air and go to town and set up your defrags/virus scans to run when you are asleep or out. It's something to keep in mind if you don't know much about computers and have never built one before but it's not even hard to do. As long as you keep your PC cool and clean, PC gaming is superb.

Now if we are talking about things from a perspective of being practical, I don't see why you'd spend 900-1000$ on a PC just to get a 10-15% increase in visuals and performance when you have a console that will handle the same game just fine, especially if your sole concern is just enjoying the game and getting a few hours of entertainment out of it and/or not really concerned with graphics and slight drops in FPS here and there.


A PC is worth it if you plan on going all out for gaming and want to get the absolute best experience possible with the most amount of freedom and do heavy online gaming. Consoles are great if you have friends over a lot or travel a lot and like to have access to some gaming. Anyone here ever do hotel parties or set up a flatscreen and a console at your college and have impromptu tourneys*? It's a lot easier to do with consoles since they are easier to carry around and set up for that.

PC Users have Steam for Achievements btw.

*This guy has

[DneL]

Thanks, very helpful information so far

@kashis So steam has achievements?! sweet, for some strange reason i just enjoy having a gamerscore.

Anyways fact is i had to replace my desktop and i did with an AW M17x Still waiting for it to arrive.. So if im going to have that laptop might aswell try otherpc games instead of just mmorpgs

[olaph]

PC gamers generally don't have to upgrade their system as much as those who play consoles.

I had my old rig since the gamecube and I haven't needed to upgrade it once since then to play the latest games.

I have only recently upgraded my rig since I got a free quadcore from work.

[Arri]

How to become a PC gamer in three easy steps!

1. Buy a reasonably good PC
2. Get Steam
3. ???
4. PROFIT!


No, I'm not joking.

[DneL]

steam is the first thing om signing up for one when my new rig arrives, so are there games on Steam that can't be found anywhere else?

[Baratheon]

I like having PSN because of the trophies and be able to chat with friends while using my mic.. Is there anything like that for pc gamers?

And to chat do we have to download ventrilio? Or is there in game chat support? For games like bf3.. Ect

Well if you like chatting on the mic with friends then the PSN is not the thing for that, thats one thing i hate about my ps3 is no real chat service, always having to rely on in game, and getting cut off between loading screens etc..
so yeah xbox and PC has the one up on the psn for talking.
I use skype and TS for PC.

[Mordar]

Well.. One of the main & regular cons:

The creators of game push you to better pc rigs to experience the full detail of their games. So it's more expensive if you want to keep up with the new games over and over to the max details.

one of the main and regular pros:

you don't need to play each and every game on ultra mega hiper max settings and thus spend a boatload of cash to experience a game that will definitely look better than any console on medium settings

[TreyTrey12]

One does not simply become a PC gamer.

[Arri]

steam is the first thing om signing up for one when my new rig arrives, so are there games on Steam that can't be found anywhere else?

If you're only in it for "exclusive" games, quit while you can: the majority of PC games are console ports.

[DneL]

If you're only in it for "exclusive" games, quit while you can: the majority of PC games are console ports.

No, im mainly getting this laptop because i need a new computer.. For everyday use, i'll only be playing games on my free time.

@trey, i gamed on pc's since i was 10

[olaph]

No, im mainly getting this laptop because i need a new computer.. For everyday use, i'll only be playing games on my free time.

@trey, i gamed on pc's since i was 10

Is there any paticular reason you feel the need to be exclusive to any one platform?

If you're only in it for "exclusive" games, quit while you can: the majority of PC games are console ports.

Yeah, no they aren't. That is but a tiny portion of the games available on PC.

[SourChicken]

If you're only in it for "exclusive" games, quit while you can: the majority of PC games are console ports.

That's not true at all; there's way more good PC exclusives than there is good PS3 exclusives.
Hell, the indie market alone is insanely good as of late.

[Kashis]

That's not true at all; there's way more good PC exclusives than there is good PS3 exclusives.
Hell, the indie market alone is insanely good as of late.

But that's just one console, there's also Wii and Xbox360 which have some as well and that's not including the handhelds for this gen. If you were to go back and compare all the great PC games to the great console games, consoles would vastly outnumber PC. Hell, the RPG's alone would be more.

[DneL]

Is there any paticular reason you feel the need to be exclusive to any one platform?


Yeah, no they aren't. That is but a tiny portion of the games available on PC.

Not really, i'll still play my ps3.. & i won't be selling it so will still have both PC and PS3. Just wanted to here you guys intake on it since i won't have much time for both ps3 & PC


First games i'll be trying out on my new Laptop are Tera and GW2

[fengzi597]

How to become a PC gamer in three easy steps!

1. Buy a reasonably good PC
2. Get Steam
3. ???
4. PROFIT!


No, I'm not joking.

haha, A GOOD PC is definitely the most important.

[Arri]

If gaming on the PC won't be your sole focus, then yeah, a laptop will work just fine.

However, if you're ever going to want to play any of the brand new action MMOs coming out with their super amazing wtf graphics to hide their generic, crappy game system (oh wait, did I say that?) you'll want a desktop PC.

[Kashis]

He has a PS3 though, so I'm not really sure where you're trying to go with this..

I was talking about things in general, which was kind of stemming from Arri's post (which I believe was more in the general sense) that you originally replied to so mine is off from focusing on just PS3 exclusives vs PC ones, my bad.

If were talking strictly titles that came out for PS3/PSN from 06 to now vs PC then you're probably right in saying PC has more good exclusive games. However, depending on his PS3 model, if you include PS1 and PS2 (the optional one and important to number of exclusives), then I'd think that'd be a different story.

PC has always had the lock on MMORPGS and RTS and probably FPS (not too sure about those) games for sure, but when it comes down to variety, consoles had it definitely for: RPG's, Strategics gridded and non gridded, adventure, platformers, and fighting games, especially on the PS3. I'm not sure where racing games fit into the mix to be honest though.