Build a Gaming Rig or Get a PS3 ?

[CJCerny]

Biggest advantage to PC gaming is the mods. Virtually none for the PS3. Biggest advantage to the PS3 is that you can expect the game to run without fail as long as you just have the disc. There isn't anything embarassing about gaming on the PS3. I have both.

Honestly, the biggest factor is what kinds of games you play. If you play shooters, its a tossup. The controls "aren't better" for the PC, just more accurate, but everyone is gimped with the controls on the PS3. If you play strategy games, it's the PC. Buy the system that plays the games that you play better--that's as simple as it gets.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Switch the cpu to a 920, the 930 offers no advantage but a higher price. Switch the cooler to a thermaltake frio, little cheaper same performance. Change the psu to a either a corsair AX750 or 750HX. Both are cheaper but equal quality. The AX is gold and the HX is silver rated. I'd get the HX. Personally there's a lot of other changes I'd make but just those should save money without compromising anything in your config.

 

[motasim]

Ok, the list up till now is:

[1] Browsing the net (between games),including downloads.
[2] Better Graphics at 1920x1080 resolution.
[3] Better Controls for FPS and Strategy games.
[4] Allows for Modding.

what else?

 

[Dent1]

motasim,

Looking at your spec it appears that you have a gaming rig already minus the video card.

It would be cheaper to drop in a $100-150 on a GTS 250, 5750 or 5770 and it would be classified as a gaming rig. That willn't buy you a PS3.

Nevermind, didnt realise your rig was in process....how much of this rig have you actually completed?

 

[motasim]

Switch the cpu to a 920, the 930 offers no advantage but a higher price. Switch the cooler to a thermaltake frio, little cheaper same performance. Change the psu to a either a corsair AX750 or 750HX. Both are cheaper but equal quality. The AX is gold and the HX is silver rated. I'd get the HX. Personally there's a lot of other changes I'd make but just those should save money without compromising anything in your config.

Noted thanks, but the difference between the i7 920 & the i7 930 is only $10 here, and the AX750 is the same price as the seasonic X-750 and they are both Gold 750W PSUs, and I'll look into the Frio and might just make the change.

 

[motasim]

motasim,

Looking at your spec it appears that you have a gaming rig already minus the video card.

It would be cheaper to drop in a $100-150 on a GTS 250, 5750 or 5770 and it would be classified as a gaming rig. That willn't buy you a PS3.

Yeah, but the frame rates would be miserable using these GPUs at 1920x1080 in the games I intend to play.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Have you thought about going 1156? Usually performs a few frames better in games than 1366. That should save money. See here http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/47

 

[motasim]

Have you thought about going 1156? Usually performs a few frames better in games than 1366. That should save money. See here http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/47

I did, and you are right. The only obstacle is that I would really like to have a mATX build (if I can find a suitable mini-tower case), and for a mATX MoBo (P55 LGA1156) when the auzentech forte PCI-e sound card takes the second PCI-e slot; the bandwidth of the first PCI-e slot (where the GPU is installed) drops to 8x instead of 16x, which will arguably affect the performance.

 

[motasim]

Ok, the list up till now is:

[1] Browsing the net (between games), including downloads.
[2] Better Graphics (frame rates and details) at 1920x1080 resolution.
[3] Better Controls for FPS and Strategy games.
[4] Allows for Modding and Future Upgrade.
[5] It's a familiar platform and I'm used to it, meaning I can easily troubleshoot it.
[6] Can occasionally be used for media encoding for my iPod and Smartphone.

what else?

 

[Nosada]

With 2200$ I'd do the following:

- Get yourself a nice 24" IPS LCD
- Make sure it has at least 1 DVI/Displayport and 2 HDMI inputs
- Buy a PS3, hook it up to the monitor
- Buy an X360, hook it up to the monitor
- Take the rest of your money, put it into a nice i5/X6 Phenom build with a GTX460/HD5850
- Depending on your tastes, buy the best exclusives for each system, buy multi-platform games for the PC
- Enjoy the best form of entertainment in the best way imaginable

(Disclaimer: In case of wife and/or children in the house, expect nagging in the form of "Are you in front of that thing AGAIN?")

 

[Dent1]

Yeah, but the frame rates would be miserable using these GPUs at 1920x1080 in the games I intend to play.

Which games do you intend on playing? you've probably already said but I can not be arsed to sift through the thread.

The 5770 can handle most games @ 30 FPS+, high detail @ 1920x1080 its no slouch you can add another one for CF at a later date. Cant your TV upscale 720p to 1080p? that will take the pressure off.


BTW other disadvantage for the PSU is:

1.) The cost of games, here a PC game on release are £25-30 whereas on a console its between £50-65.

2.) Playing PC games online means that there are dedicated servers and hence the pings are lower and servers are more reliable. Console versions of games tend to support less players on a given map when playing online.

 

[motasim]

With 2200$ I'd do the following:

- Get yourself a nice 24" IPS LCD
- Make sure it has at least 1 DVI/Displayport and 2 HDMI inputs
- Buy a PS3, hook it up to the monitor
- Buy an X360, hook it up to the monitor
- Take the rest of your money, put it into a nice i5/X6 Phenom build with a GTX460/HD5850
- Depending on your tastes, buy the best exclusives for each system, buy multi-platform games for the PC
- Enjoy the best form of entertainment in the best way imaginable

(Disclaimer: In case of wife and/or children in the house, expect nagging in the form of "Are you in front of that thing AGAIN?")

... I already got myself a 42" LCD 1080p HDTV and I can assure you that if I take your advice, and once my wife sees all these setups; she'll take the kids and leave me immediately ...

By the way I'm already getting nagging from her for sitting in front of my notebook writing these lines.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

With 2200$ I'd do the following:

- Get yourself a nice 24" IPS LCD
- Make sure it has at least 1 DVI/Displayport and 2 HDMI inputs
- Buy a PS3, hook it up to the monitor
- Buy an X360, hook it up to the monitor
- Take the rest of your money, put it into a nice i5/X6 Phenom build with a GTX460/HD5850
- Depending on your tastes, buy the best exclusives for each system, buy multi-platform games for the PC
- Enjoy the best form of entertainment in the best way imaginable

(Disclaimer: In case of wife and/or children in the house, expect nagging in the form of "Are you in front of that thing AGAIN?")

This has potential. You know a 460 can overclock to 5870 levels pretty easily. Just think how much fun it would be unpacking and playing with all that shit. And the 3 platforms for gaming is hard to argue with.

 

[motasim]

Ok, now we are definitely getting some where, the list up till now is:

[1] Browsing the net (between games), including downloads.
[2] Better Graphics (frame rates and details) at 1920x1080 resolution.
[3] Better Controls for FPS and Strategy games.
[4] Allows for Modding and Future Upgrade.
[5] It's a familiar platform and I'm used to it, meaning I can easily troubleshoot it.
[6] Can occasionally be used for media encoding for my iPod and Smartphone.
[7] PC games are more affordable than PS3 games.
[8] Online gaming servers for PC are faster and more stable than those for Console.

what else?

 

[Dent1]

motasim,

Buy a PS3 and connect your 42" to it ($300)

Then spend only $1,000 on a gaming machine with a 22" or 24" monitor.

You'd have atleast $900 which you can use on something else.

motasim, you missed #9, maximum number of players on PS3 games is less. For example Battlefield Bad Company supports 32 players on PC and only 24 on PS3!

 

[motasim]

Which games do you intend on playing? you've probably already said but I can not be arsed to sift through the thread.

The 5770 can handle most games @ 30 FPS+, high detail @ 1920x1080 its no slouch you can add another one for CF at a later date. Cant your TV upscale 720p to 1080p? that will take the pressure off.

Batman (Arkham Asylum & Arkham City), Battlefield : Bad Company 2, Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2, Mafia II, Metro 2033, Crysis 2, Need for Speed : Hot Pursuit, Aliens vs. Predator, Brink, HAWX 2, Nail'd, Blur, Red Alert 3, Rage, DiRT 3, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 , .... forgive me for the long list but I've been away for too long! I know that some games on this list haven't been released yet, but I intend to play them once they are

 

[KingPing]

1) why don't you buy the PS3 and if you don't like it then buy the PC and sell the PS3

2) We can't say to you what's better for you. I have a PS3 and a PC and i spend almost 99% of the time on the PC, gaming, browsing, working, researching, etc. I play FPS a lot, and while i tried to play them in the PS3 the controller sucks, i don't enjoy FPS in consoles.

3) Graphics: those of you who own a PC, a PS3 and COD4 MW, Mafia 2, connect both system to a HDTV and see how crappy the PS3 version looks, on the other hand there are games like GT5, or Killzone 2 that looks great (for console standard). If you are going to play multiplatform games, they will look better on PC.

4) I bought my PS3 for a few exclusive games that i know i will like (GT5, MGS4, Metal Gear Rising, Killzone 2,3, and a few more). But everything else i play it in PC (CSS, COD4, BC2, Killing Floor, STALKER SOC & CS & COP, Company of Heroes, GRID, DIRT 1 & 2, Il2 Strumovik, Lock on, Tropico 3, etc, etc ,etc)

Personally i don't care if i have to pay $800, $1200, or $2000, because i'm a PC gamer and will always be one, but if you have doubts then you have to ask to yourself what games do you like the more and buy a PC or a Console depending on that

 

[Dent1]

Batman (Arkham Asylum & Arkham City), Battlefield : Bad Company 2, Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2, Mafia II, Metro 2033, Crysis 2, Need for Speed : Hot Pursuit, Aliens vs. Predator, Brink, HAWX 2, Nail'd, Blur, Red Alert 3, Rage, DiRT 3, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 , .... forgive me for the long list but I've been away for too long! I know that some games on this list haven't been released yet, but I intend to play them once they are

Those games are not really that intensive, apart from Metro 2033, DIRT 3, Crysis 2 and BFBC 2. At 1080p you can turn anti-aliasing to 2x and you'd still get way over 30-40FPS for the most part on a midrange.

What do you think about my suggestion to buy both in my last post?

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

Well nothing is going to play metro 2033 on max. Which trust me is the only point in playing it, it's just such an awful game. A 460 on the other hand will play all those other games on max, especially overclocked. So I'd downsize the pc plans slightly and give up the mATX build if that's whats holding you back from going 1156. Then you'd have room to work in a ps3 and end the debate.

 

[brandonwh64]

metro 2033 to me was not a great game. It could have been better but i never really did play much of it to get a feel

 

[hellrazor]

Racing games + PS3.

'nuff said.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Racing games + PS3.

'nuff said.

I don't think you should go there.

 

[n-ster]

look, if you would kill for some eye-candy, dont go ps3... The PC can has the potential to be give eyecandy, but a 300~400$ PC might end up worse than a PS3 FYI...

PS3s can browse the web though... and you can download stuff too...

I went PC and PS3... PC for all the games like Napoleon Total War and strategic games like that. I am, however, doubting my choice... All this eyecandy is awesome, but not needed to enjoy the game... I might have been better off with a laptop, or at least a less high end system, I should at least sell my 2nd 5850

 

[WAR10CK]

Buy a ps3 and you won't spend any money on games with the PS Jailbreak but a pc is more powerful than a ps3

 

[ebolamonkey3]

I did, and you are right. The only obstacle is that I would really like to have a mATX build (if I can find a suitable mini-tower case), and for a mATX MoBo (P55 LGA1156) when the auzentech forte PCI-e sound card takes the second PCI-e slot; the bandwidth of the first PCI-e slot (where the GPU is installed) drops to 8x instead of 16x, which will arguably affect the performance.

x8 vs x16 won't impact your performance unless you're running a 5970, even then it's only 1-2%. You won't even see any difference in games.

Go with P55, you'll save on the hardware and it runs cooler. A good i5 750/i7 860 setup will get you all the performance you need (and almost of what you'll get with X58) for less $$.

Then just get a single 5850 and you'll be set.

As for the PSU get the 750HX. The 750AX is just too expensive right now (how much would it cost you btw?), if you can get it for $150 or so then I'd say go for it, but the 750HX is already a splendid PSU.

I'd invest the money saved on a quality monitor.