console or Pc ?
Discussion
My PS2 is getting on a bit, and is starting to mess about a lot, locks up etc.
I have a reasonably ok pc, p4 3.00gb,512mb, but only has onboard graphics.
Do I retire the ps and upgrade the graphics card on the pc ?
Not really been a pc gamer, always been on ps, whats out there in driveing and fps worth playing?
Also, how about controllers? I always found the ps controller very intuative, unsure about gaming with a mouse ?
The experts opinions please.....
TIA
F
I have a reasonably ok pc, p4 3.00gb,512mb, but only has onboard graphics.
Do I retire the ps and upgrade the graphics card on the pc ?
Not really been a pc gamer, always been on ps, whats out there in driveing and fps worth playing?
Also, how about controllers? I always found the ps controller very intuative, unsure about gaming with a mouse ?
The experts opinions please.....
TIA
F
You can get PS2 esque controllers for the P.C no prob...
Gt legends is a must ...
Grand prix legends like wise....A graphics card upgrade is a must these days with games demanding ..`more power captain!`
rFactor is a really cool game with loads of add on`s coming.....
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=108&t=287003
Gt legends is a must ...
Grand prix legends like wise....A graphics card upgrade is a must these days with games demanding ..`more power captain!`
rFactor is a really cool game with loads of add on`s coming.....
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=108&t=287003
FPS games on a pad are ok, but you will never beat a mouse/keyboard combo imho.
Try some FPS demos on the PC for a while and you will probably never want to go back.
I use the same key setups and mouse controls in all FPS that i have used for years.
It all feels totaly natural and despite me enjoying some FPS on consoles, ultimately
a mouse/keys combo is nicer to use.
The PC has shed loads of decnt FPS and driving games, however if you are an avid gamer you will
be missing out on quite a lot if you rule consoles out completely.
There are certain games that just seem to play much better on consoles than on PC's for a start
and vice versa.
The thing is, for years many gamers who enjoyed the consoles such as the PS1 etc would always look forward to xxx game appearing on the PC because they knew it would often look much nicer.
There were times of course when the consoles made many PC's look bland though, the N64, Dreamcast and 3D0 when it was launched are a few examples.
By the time the PS2 and Xbox were in full swing, often (but not always) they would be behind monster PC's in the eye candy stakes.Mostly this was due to people using normal TV's to display them on and you had no option to change the resolution of the console.
With the latest generation of consoles though, you have machines that are easily capapble of comparing to and beating the graphics the current PC has to offer.
You can now play them in high def on huge screens or simply plug them into your PC monitor and run at much healthier resolutions.Add in the online capabilities and other media possibilities and you have to ask yourself if you need a PC at all to game any longer.
If you enjoy all types of games though, you could simply do like i do, use the PC for various FPS games, racing sims and those red alert style genres where a mouse is well suited and use the consoles for almost everything else.
There is nothing currently on a console for example that offers the same experience as a decent steering wheel/pedal setup and a quick blast of GTL/GPL/Rfactor.For how long though i couldn't say.
I use my Xbox 360 on my monitor and it plugs into the same amp and shares the same speakers my PC does, so if they do ever release a decent wheel/sim for the 360, i am good to go as it will be used in the exact same position as my PC wheel.
Boxing, football, tennis, third person adventures (tomb raider etc etc) and grand theft auto type games tend to be far more playable on consoles though imho.
As for upgrading your PC, it depends how far you want to take it and what you demand/expect.
Gaming at high levels can be expensive.You could upgrade your graphics card and discover your power supply isn't up to running it properly.
You may get a new power supply and discover you don't have enough ram to really help the system along.
You may increase the ram (1 gig is entry level now really) and find out that your cpu is a bit of a bottle neck.
You may want to change the cpu but that means getting a new motherboard.A new mobo may mean changing to a PCIE graphics card instead of an AGP one..
I would stick my neck out and say that you would be happy with your current machine running many of the newer PC games, however you will not be using maximum details, high resolutions and FSAA settings on most of them.
Be prepared to fiddle with graphics options to find the sweet spot in terms of looks vs performance.Often the auto detect settings in some games are very very basic and you can go higher and still have a decent game.
Just remember in racing games, it's ok for example getting it to look nice and run fast during a practice lap, but what will it run like when you suddenly have 30 cars on the starting grid?.
Another advantage of consoles is that the developers do not have to deal with various hardware and software configurations like they do with the PC, so you tend to get the best experience possible without having to mess with various options.
Try some FPS demos on the PC for a while and you will probably never want to go back.
I use the same key setups and mouse controls in all FPS that i have used for years.
It all feels totaly natural and despite me enjoying some FPS on consoles, ultimately
a mouse/keys combo is nicer to use.
The PC has shed loads of decnt FPS and driving games, however if you are an avid gamer you will
be missing out on quite a lot if you rule consoles out completely.
There are certain games that just seem to play much better on consoles than on PC's for a start
and vice versa.
The thing is, for years many gamers who enjoyed the consoles such as the PS1 etc would always look forward to xxx game appearing on the PC because they knew it would often look much nicer.
There were times of course when the consoles made many PC's look bland though, the N64, Dreamcast and 3D0 when it was launched are a few examples.
By the time the PS2 and Xbox were in full swing, often (but not always) they would be behind monster PC's in the eye candy stakes.Mostly this was due to people using normal TV's to display them on and you had no option to change the resolution of the console.
With the latest generation of consoles though, you have machines that are easily capapble of comparing to and beating the graphics the current PC has to offer.
You can now play them in high def on huge screens or simply plug them into your PC monitor and run at much healthier resolutions.Add in the online capabilities and other media possibilities and you have to ask yourself if you need a PC at all to game any longer.
If you enjoy all types of games though, you could simply do like i do, use the PC for various FPS games, racing sims and those red alert style genres where a mouse is well suited and use the consoles for almost everything else.
There is nothing currently on a console for example that offers the same experience as a decent steering wheel/pedal setup and a quick blast of GTL/GPL/Rfactor.For how long though i couldn't say.
I use my Xbox 360 on my monitor and it plugs into the same amp and shares the same speakers my PC does, so if they do ever release a decent wheel/sim for the 360, i am good to go as it will be used in the exact same position as my PC wheel.
Boxing, football, tennis, third person adventures (tomb raider etc etc) and grand theft auto type games tend to be far more playable on consoles though imho.
As for upgrading your PC, it depends how far you want to take it and what you demand/expect.
Gaming at high levels can be expensive.You could upgrade your graphics card and discover your power supply isn't up to running it properly.
You may get a new power supply and discover you don't have enough ram to really help the system along.
You may increase the ram (1 gig is entry level now really) and find out that your cpu is a bit of a bottle neck.
You may want to change the cpu but that means getting a new motherboard.A new mobo may mean changing to a PCIE graphics card instead of an AGP one..
I would stick my neck out and say that you would be happy with your current machine running many of the newer PC games, however you will not be using maximum details, high resolutions and FSAA settings on most of them.
Be prepared to fiddle with graphics options to find the sweet spot in terms of looks vs performance.Often the auto detect settings in some games are very very basic and you can go higher and still have a decent game.
Just remember in racing games, it's ok for example getting it to look nice and run fast during a practice lap, but what will it run like when you suddenly have 30 cars on the starting grid?.
Another advantage of consoles is that the developers do not have to deal with various hardware and software configurations like they do with the PC, so you tend to get the best experience possible without having to mess with various options.
HD this HD that... it's like its new. It's old in the PC world. How many years has 1024x768 been the standard res on a pc? pre 1998. Only now are TVs following! Even Half-Life (1) had the 1600x1200 res option!
PC games are often made ahead of their years, I mean when they come out only a £4000/5000 gaming rig can run them at max graphics and about a year later most people are benefiting. Just think, camageddon 2 and half life!
(Go for PC upgrade)
Edit: Best example I have Driver for PC the graphics kicked the ass of Driver 2 for PS!!!! Driver 2 was much newer .'. should have been better!
PC games are often made ahead of their years, I mean when they come out only a £4000/5000 gaming rig can run them at max graphics and about a year later most people are benefiting. Just think, camageddon 2 and half life!
(Go for PC upgrade)
Edit: Best example I have Driver for PC the graphics kicked the ass of Driver 2 for PS!!!! Driver 2 was much newer .'. should have been better!
Edited by bez_uk on Wednesday 6th September 20:18
Ok, Im slowly thinking pc is the way to go...
Whats all this online gaming stuff?
Who, what, where etc,is it nay good, wassit cost ?
Sorry for all the ????, just thinking that winters not that far away, and with a dodgy ps, got to decide which way to go.
As pc is in spare room, I know which option the mrs would prefer !
Whats all this online gaming stuff?
Who, what, where etc,is it nay good, wassit cost ?
Sorry for all the ????, just thinking that winters not that far away, and with a dodgy ps, got to decide which way to go.
As pc is in spare room, I know which option the mrs would prefer !
bez_uk said:
HD this HD that... it's like its new. It's old in the PC world. How many years has 1024x768 been the standard res on a pc?
Edited by bez_uk on Wednesday 6th September 20:18
Because people demanded it.Now people demand and expect it with the current crop of consoles
due to modern TV's and monitors.
Even the dreamcast could be run on a monitor and made many PC games of the time look
poor and for a fraction of the price.
When friends of mine were spending hundreds on 4 meg ram upgrades for next to useless graphics cards so they could play lego vision games 4 fps faster,
i was playing stunning games on consoles that left their jaws on the floor.
Then the voodoos landed and the bar was raised yet again.Progress they call it.
It's all about embracing new technology, not arguing about it or trying for one-upmanship.
The fact remains, if you are a gamer, you miss out on superb experiences by limiting yourself
to either just a PC or just a console.
They all now offer enough to keep almost anyone happy.
Depends on the games you play IMO.
If you want more realism with car games (Grand Prix Legends, GT Legends, GTR etc), more "simulation" type games like Flight Sim, Total War and things like footy managers then the PC is the way to go.
If you want more arcadey type games then console.
Buy both!
If you want more realism with car games (Grand Prix Legends, GT Legends, GTR etc), more "simulation" type games like Flight Sim, Total War and things like footy managers then the PC is the way to go.
If you want more arcadey type games then console.
Buy both!
bez_uk said:
HD this HD that... it's like its new. It's old in the PC world. How many years has 1024x768 been the standard res on a pc? pre 1998. Only now are TVs following! Even Half-Life (1) had the 1600x1200 res option!
I've thought the same thing myself, the thing is a lot of people have spent money on huge plasmas/lcds and are now looking for ways to justify it, thus the "hd this hd that" in all the shops. I must say, Xbox 360 on a 42" tv at 1280x1024 looks awesome compared to 21" monitor, not to mention i can laze around on a couch while playing instead of stuck at a desk.
bez_uk said:
but to see a 42" monitor you have to sit back a bit... when you have say a 17/19" monitor only a keyboard away from you it's the only thing you can see anyway! (cheaper too unless its the apple 30" HD cinema screen!)
My 360 lives in the living room, so im already about 6-7 feet away from the screen anyway.
Have you seen a plasma display by the way? The colour reproduction is amazing compared to CRT'S (especially for vivid colours like saturated red, etc) Unfortunately you do have to sit a bit away from plasma displays as the moving dither pattern is annoying close up.
Edited by scorp on Thursday 7th September 16:53
Have to agree with you Scorp my 360 on my 42" LCD with decent digital sound and a nice comfy couch is a better "gaming experience" than being stuck in the spare room in front of a tiny 19" lcd monitor.
Although i do seem to spend as much time on said tiny monitor watching the PH world go by!
Although i do seem to spend as much time on said tiny monitor watching the PH world go by!
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