Question for PC gamers...

[HeXen]

And first let me say that I myself am a PC gamer...

But do you start asking yourself "Am I crazy for wanting/needing to buy a new $350 GPU just so that I can play the newest game when the (game) looks and plays pretty darn good on a console that costs about the same as my video card alone?"

Do you ever begin to question your ROI?

I mean when you look at games like Borderlands you realize that TOP END graphics are NOT a requirement for a game to be fun. Would Dragon Age: Inquisition be any LESS fun with Borderland style graphics...?

And I KNOW you can do so much more than play games on your PC but do you think there might be a MIDDLE GROUND device at a price point between the CONSOLE ($395) and a nice gaming rig ($1300) some day?

If they would come out with a quality, reliable mouse and game pad (WSAD, Run, Jump keys) for consoles, I would be VERY tempted...

I don't know, I just feel there comes a point where FPS and shadows begin...over shadowing...the FUN of gaming.

Hope to hear your thoughts...

Thanks!

Compared to many, many other hobbies. Gaming is pretty darn cheap. I know a guy that's building a scale train and scenery in his basement and he spent more in 8 months than I did in 5 years of gaming.
I used to build up old muscle cars, it was nothing to blow hundreds just for a carburetor alone. RC toys...again can cost a fortune if your really into it, $800 just for a controller? wtf?
Marin Aquariums, even fishing can cost you some serious investments.

Any hobby you get into seriously often costs serious bucks so even if I spend $2k every couple of years on gaming, be it for consoles/PC or both, I'm still ahead in comparison. I actually spend a ridiculous amount of money on various platforms.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Compared to many, many other hobbies. Gaming is pretty darn cheap. I know a guy that's building a scale train and scenery in his basement and he spent more in 8 months than I did in 5 years of gaming.
I used to build up old muscle cars, it was nothing to blow hundreds just for a carburetor alone. RC toys...again can cost a fortune if your really into it, $800 just for a controller? wtf?
Marin Aquariums, even fishing can cost you some serious investments.

Any hobby you get into seriously often costs serious bucks so even if I spend $2k every couple of years, I'm still ahead in comparison.

Thanks for getting this back on track

 

[ImpulsE69]

Every hobby I do that costs more than my gaming (which still takes up most of my time spare time in some cases).

Musical/band gear
Motorcycles
Camping
Pinball Machines

Of those, pretty none have any real ROI except maybe the pinball machines given the current lacking of them. In any hobby though you do it for the love, not the getting your money back.

 

[flexy]

high-end graphics cards have indeed gone up in price SIGNIFICANTLY compared to...say, ten years ago.

I remember back then I bought the top-of-the line Radeon cards but they were NOT €550 (FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY) like, say a GTX 980 today. If you buy a GTX 970 for "only" €300 you're already making a compromise since a 970 is obviously not "top of the line". Those prices ARE insane, in particular since a GPU is never a worthy investment. Nothing becomes obsolete faster than GPUs.

 

[tential]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay0NMUhVEJo

yeah, I'm just making stuff up, clearly I don't know how to use my PC.

So... you post a video from 2011 of Skyrim?
You load up Skyrim vanilla?
On a PC?
Are you sure you know how a PC works?

Who loads up Skyrim Vanilla on a PC anyway? You truly don't understand how PC gaming works.

BRB buying a PC to play Vanilla Skyrim...
BRB using a gfx card with 3GB VRAM for VANILLA SKYRIM and not using mods.

FutureFields... if you're not a troll, I feel bad for you.

 

[dud]

OP, FWIW I haven't bought a current gen video card in over 12 years. Why? Of all the PC hardware categories out there video cards "depreciate" the fastest. A new card comes out on January 1st for $300 but by the end of the year may be half or less. A video card one generation old may be a fraction of the cost of a new one and perform as well in the games I play. Caveat: I tend to play older games that tend to not the GPUs of current games for smooth performance.

 

[futurefields]

So... you post a video from 2011 of Skyrim?
You load up Skyrim vanilla?
On a PC?
Are you sure you know how a PC works?

Who loads up Skyrim Vanilla on a PC anyway? You truly don't understand how PC gaming works.

BRB buying a PC to play Vanilla Skyrim...
BRB using a gfx card with 3GB VRAM for VANILLA SKYRIM and not using mods.

FutureFields... if you're not a troll, I feel bad for you.

whats wrong with playing a game the way it was intended, without mods?

that way when you talk about the game with your friends, you arent talking about some version only you played. it's about having a common experience with other people this is a huge part of gaming.

you guys keep throwing these little digs in with your posts "i feel bad for you.." etc...

its really pathetic

 

[tential]

whats wrong with playing a game the way it was intended, without mods?

that way when you talk about the game with your friends, you arent talking about some version only you played. it's about having a common experience with other people this is a huge part of gaming.

you guys keep throwing these little digs in with your posts "i feel bad for you.." etc...

its really pathetic

Brb buying a pc then turning down all the settings to match console.
Got to play it how the developer intended!

#Futurefields #itsreallypathetic

 

[futurefields]

Brb buying a pc then turning down all the settings to match console.
Got to play it how the developer intended!

#Futurefields #itsreallypathetic

alright

 

[TestKing123]

whats wrong with playing a game the way it was intended, without mods?

that way when you talk about the game with your friends, you arent talking about some version only you played. it's about having a common experience with other people this is a huge part of gaming.

you guys keep throwing these little digs in with your posts "i feel bad for you.." etc...

its really pathetic

Why are you ignoring the fact that Bethesda's own patches and free texture pack DLC's, which is "vanilla" Skyrim, improves visuals beyond what was available at launch, and beyond its console counterparts?

Is it because you pirated the game and therefore cannot get official patches?

 

[Cerb]

whats wrong with playing a game the way it was intended, without mods?

For one, that as a TES, it's not intended to be that way. They don't give away modding tools for nothing.

But, for another, you can get it at least this good without mods, without sacrificing distant shadows, and with no discernible performance decrease:
http://www77.zippyshare.com/v/68065643/file.html
That's a base install, with 3 lines changed in SpyrimPrefs.ini. Those lines worked fine on my old C2D w/ GTX 460, though the video was not taken with that. Completely removing the jitters from shadows does require ENB, however. Even with that, there are ENBs that work well on lesser GPUs (I prefer the way they look, even now that I don't need to worry about it, personally, since the eye candy heavy ones tend to go too far, IMO).

that way when you talk about the game with your friends, you arent talking about some version only you played. it's about having a common experience with other people this is a huge part of gaming.

Actually, yeah, we do just that; even comparing the effects of conflicting mod 'families' (FOOK v. FWE, Requiem v. SkyRe, etc.), and mods we've found that another hasn't that are fun to add. That is part of the shared experience. GTA fans do the same. They might as well be different games, because we treat them differently, and play them differently, as customizable games on the PC.

 

[tential]

Why are you ignoring the fact that Bethesda's own patches and free texture pack DLC's, which is "vanilla" Skyrim, improves visuals beyond what was available at launch, and beyond its console counterparts?

Is it because you pirated the game and therefore cannot get official patches?

You would destroy the developers with an HD texture pack?
Wow TestKing123.... you're really pathetic. #futurefields

And come on, I'm sure the official patches are available for piraters too. A quick search shows every patch is available online including HD texture pack. But that's not what the developer intended.... Vanilla Skyrim or bust.

 

[futurefields]

Why are you ignoring the fact that Bethesda's own patches and free texture pack DLC's, which is "vanilla" Skyrim, improves visuals beyond what was available at launch, and beyond its console counterparts?

Is it because you pirated the game and therefore cannot get official patches?

dude the shadows are the same, i have it on Steam we all know about the texture pack which still leaves a lot to be desired

 

[tential]

dude the shadows are the same, i have it on Steam we all know about the texture pack which still leaves a lot to be desired

Ugh, not what the developer intended, better downgrade my visuals.
#FutureFields

 

[tential]

Go for it.

I've found the mods to make it happen!

 

[Rakehellion]

Do a Google search for "Skyrim mod" and you'll see nothing but a bunch of pictures of naked ladies.

 

[Rakehellion]

dude the shadows are the same, i have it on Steam we all know about the texture pack which still leaves a lot to be desired

Then play a game that doesn't have crap graphics. You know that one's on PS3, right?

 

[brandon86]

There's no way I would ever think my gaming PC is a waste of money. I buy games at literally 1/6th of the price of console games most of the time and I hate the graphics of consoles. Even my second PC; A $750 steam machine in my living room for big picture gaming plays everything smoother and nicer, yet doubles as my XMC/Kodi/downloaded movies streamer. Then also streams my NFL game pass games. Consoles are actually killing the gaming industry due to the ridiculously high royalty fees that designers have to pay just to put their game in a green or blue Case and sell it in stores. I read somewhere that console games fees are so high that when a game is 59.99 on console; The developers make the same amount of money out the door as when it's 34.72 on PC.

Add onto that the fact that with Steam my games will never be unplayable on a 'next-gen' console because the manufacturer doesn't want to support you buying old cheap games. I'll add an article on Reddit I found which really points out some of the strengths/weaknesses of each.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/guide

 

[tential]

There's no way I would ever think my gaming PC is a waste of money. I buy games at literally 1/6th of the price of console games most of the time and I hate the graphics of consoles. Even my second PC; A $750 steam machine in my living room for big picture gaming plays everything smoother and nicer, yet doubles as my XMC/Kodi/downloaded movies streamer. Then also streams my NFL game pass games. Consoles are actually killing the gaming industry due to the ridiculously high royalty fees that designers have to pay just to put their game in a green or blue Case and sell it in stores. I read somewhere that console games fees are so high that when a game is 59.99 on console; The developers make the same amount of money out the door as when it's 34.72 on PC.

Add onto that the fact that with Steam my games will never be unplayable on a 'next-gen' console because the manufacturer doesn't want to support you buying old cheap games. I'll add an article on Reddit I found which really points out some of the strengths/weaknesses of each.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/guide

Try using a Ceton InfiniTV4 with ServerWMC (or whatever PVR you want I like that one though). You can then use XBMC+Live TV in your living room and get rid of your cablebox there. Chances are, you're paying for the box+DVR (if you use that) and you can get rid of both and just use a cablecard. Cutting down the need for renting those silly cableboxes is huge(even bigger if you use DVR on them).

 

[digitaldurandal]

I am pretty late to the party here.

I used to play games on console, with the exception of RTS.

When the PS3 came out I said, if they have full keyboard and mouse support, I will just switch. However they did not come out with the support. So Instead of buying the PS3 I went the Eyefinity route. Eventually periphreals that enable keyboard and mouse support (although kind of janky) came out but it was too late as I was now hooked on gaming with 3 monitors.

So.. I would switch to console on the following conditions.

MUST - No camera that is always on watching me, thank you.
MUST - Native keyboard and mouse support for all games
MUST - Do not charge me for my own internet access
PLUS - 3 monitor support

Edit to add one more

MUST - 60 fps 1080p

 

[Fire&Blood]

There is inherently more value in PC. Up until a few years ago, if you wanted to hate on PC's on the internet, you had to use one. Console vs. PC is a perception problem.

Now if one insists on stripping the PC of countless other utilization and compare only gaming ability, initially a console may look better on paper but over time that advantage dissipates greatly.

My budget PC in the sig is nearing it's 3rd year, I just upgraded my video card from a 7950.

I'll happily go for the biannual $330 GPU upgrade over the console alternative. Can't put a price on 1440p (4K soon) and PC versatility and customization options.

Gaming is supposed to be the console's forte but this gen looks bad vs. PC. If you gave me both next gen consoles right now, I still have a hard time coming up with more than 5 games that I would want to play, 5 being exclusives that aren't on the PC.

Affordable 4K monitors, DX12, mainstream DDR4, new CPU's, die shrink GPU's, G Sync/Freesync wider adaptation, these are all things happening already or coming soon.

All of this will be PC mainstream while this gen of consoles is in it's 3rd year.
They can slash the prices down to $99 for all I care, PC gaming will be on another level at that point. Even if the cost of ownership doesn't curb the console value proposition enough to justify the higher entry fee on the PC side, the appeal of PC specific features should do the job.

 

[digitaldurandal]

high-end graphics cards have indeed gone up in price SIGNIFICANTLY compared to...say, ten years ago.

I remember back then I bought the top-of-the line Radeon cards but they were NOT €550 (FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY) like, say a GTX 980 today. If you buy a GTX 970 for "only" €300 you're already making a compromise since a 970 is obviously not "top of the line". Those prices ARE insane, in particular since a GPU is never a worthy investment. Nothing becomes obsolete faster than GPUs.

I remember when the 5850 Ultra was over 500 bucks. That was about ten years ago.

 

[digitaldurandal]

...
My point is consoles are an even playing field.

On a professional level most games that are played competitively like CS on the PC are usually turned all the way down by pro players.

Once you get into real money competition they even are going so far as providing the hardware, it does two things, even playing field and no cheating.

As far as casual gameplay, I don't think it matters honestly.

 

[BSim500]

I just fired up vanilla Skyrim a couple weeks ago, the shadows still look like that.

Open SkyrimPrefs.ini (under My Documents\My Games\Skyrim) and modify / add the following settings:-

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowMapResolution=4096
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=8

Problem sorted...

 

[digitaldurandal]

Open SkyrimPrefs.ini (under My Documents\My Games\Skyrim) and modify / add the following settings:-

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=1024
iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096
iShadowMapResolution=4096
iBlurDeferredShadowMask=8

Problem sorted...

What are you, some kind of wizard?