PC Gaming

Shiminay

OK, getting back on topic...

One more hugely important factor to consider OP - what do your friends play? If you've a lot of friends already on your PS3, then stick with that - especially if you're moving away, you're gonna want to be in touch with them more often to catch up on the craic at home etc.

CastorTroy

Ah never thought of that.
Another factor is games you want to play. While you can get games like Arkham City on PS3 and PC, which exclusives would you prefer? While personally, I can't really say PS3 has many more exclusives coming(The Last of Us and Last Guardian are the 2 big ones I'm aware of), when choosing between PS3 and 360, I went PS3 because I wanted to play games like Infamous, God of War 3 and Uncharted than Gears of War and Halo.
So look at games on both PC and PS3 and see which interest you more.

Magill

May aswel invest the extra few bob and build a gaming rig if your going to spend money on a PC anyway.

Retr0gamer

OP just go self built if you have the technical know how. Despite what has been said you will not find a cheaper PC that is prebuilt with the same specs.

Procrastastudy

Retr0gamer wrote: »

OP just go self built if you have the technical know how. Despite what has been said you will not find a cheaper PC that is prebuilt with the same specs.

As this seems to be passoniately argued I'm really curious as to how people come up with this. I'm genuinely interested.

OEMs have the economies of scale and pay almost nothing for OS licences...

Oh and I'm not suggesting Packard Bell, HP Dell or alike I'm talking about the smaller manufacturers in the UK building to order.

Smiley Dave

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

As this seems to be passoniately argued I'm really curious as to how people come up with this. I'm genuinely interested.

OEMs have the economies of scale and pay almost nothing for OS licences...

Oh and I'm not suggesting Packard Bell, HP Dell or alike I'm talking about the smaller manufacturers in the UK building to order.

Because businesses sell to make a profit, you also don't have to worry about design costs, wages, overheads etc.

Procrastastudy

Any chance of link to a recent example so I can cost it out vs a couple of manfacturers in the UK? PM is fine as the boards seem to be strictly a self build only zone!

Links to what suppliers your using would also be nice. For me and the OP.

Serious question: do you actually pay for a windows licence? I have to be honest I never used to but recently I have.

Retr0gamer

Every PC I've built with my own hands has been significantly cheaper than a similar pre-made PC. I also didn't have to worry about getting fleeced by paying well over the odds to upgrade RAM for the machine (upgrade later yourself you say? Still ends up more expensive because all RAM ports are taken so you end up throwing it out). I also don't get stuck with a GFX card that is a few generations out of date. I even have the option of buying one second hand, there's tonnes of bargains on second hand GFX cards out there. Also I don't have to put up with pre-installed software I don't want and crappy drivers for integrated components.

Procrastastudy

You really can get around that by using the right builder. I'm suprised no one has set one up here. May be market size?

Good point on the second hand gfx cards though hadn't thought about that one.

Just to be clear for the OP don't buy pre built from PC World, Dell or alike thats not what I'm suggesting.

ShadowHearth

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Any chance of link to a recent example so I can cost it out vs a couple of manfacturers in the UK? PM is fine as the boards seem to be strictly a self build only zone!

Links to what suppliers your using would also be nice. For me and the OP.

Serious question: do you actually pay for a windows licence? I have to be honest I never used to but recently I have.

basicly top of the range and almost fastest PC you can have for gaming. 900eu with windows included. If you prove me wrong, fair play. Addition to this, it is fully customizable and every single item can be replaced and upgraded individually. This is something i put together in 1 min, if i look more in to i can get even better.

Item|Price
Xigmatek Asgard, ATX, ohne Netzteil, schwarz|€31.61
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€52.03
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€81.59
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€187.99
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 CL9|€38.01
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€87.54
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz|€17.48
XFX CORE RADEON 7870 1000M 2GB D5 2x mDP HDMI 2x DVI|€305.23
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€83.64
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€904.11

Artur Foden

If you want to get into PC gaming is ask for lots of advice about anything you are unsure of. Go to various forums and listen to peoples suggestions to what a good PC build would be.

Don't go for pre built like dell/alienware bollocks as they can cost more than necessary. IF you don't know how to build a PC yourself look out for shops in town which will put it together for you.
8gb of RAM is cheap nowadays and one of the most popular graphics cards these days (according to steam) is the ATI radeon HD 5770. Worth thinking about at least.

A good CPU won't cost much either, something like a i5-2500k should be able to play all games.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=842
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc

Oh yeh and prepare your wallet for a battering when steam sales come round.

MikeCork2009

Thanks for all the info. It's much appreciated. Hadn't thought about building a PC myself. I did toy with the idea of building a PC a few years ago but thought against it as I didn't want to end up with an expensive mess. I've opened up a PC before to change a HD or put in a DVD burner but thats it!! I was looking at prebuild ones online, that you can customise but they all seemed quite expensive. However, ShadowHearth's post has got me seriously thinking about building now.

ShadowHearth wrote: »

basicly top of the range and almost fastest PC you can have for gaming. 900eu with windows included. If you prove me wrong, fair play. Addition to this, it is fully customizable and every single item can be replaced and upgraded individually. This is something i put together in 1 min, if i look more in to i can get even better.

Also, had not thought much about exclusives, but have looked at PC games available and am quiet happy with the selection.

Will def have to head over to PC Building & Upgrading for more info.

ShadowHearth

MikeCork2009 wrote: »

Thanks for all the info. It's much appreciated. Hadn't thought about building a PC myself. I did toy with the idea of building a PC a few years ago but thought against it as I didn't want to end up with an expensive mess. I've opened up a PC before to change a HD or put in a DVD burner but thats it!! I was looking at prebuild ones online, that you can customise but they all seemed quite expensive. However, ShadowHearth's post has got me seriously thinking about building now.



Also, had not thought much about exclusives, but have looked at PC games available and am quiet happy with the selection.

Will def have to head over to PC Building & Upgrading for more info.

Do m8, we got a form there, which you can fill in and then we can work around what sort of budget you got and what stuff do you need. we will directly link you to items to buy. then again if you will need help building machine, then ask around and if one of us is in your area, then we will be happy to help to build it m8, thought price is high - a cup of tea and a biscuit .

Shiminay

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Oh and I'm not suggesting Packard Bell, HP Dell or alike I'm talking about the smaller manufacturers in the UK building to order.

What sort of companies do you mean? Genuinely interested - obviously the UK is a bigger market, so it does seem a lot more of a viable business, over here though there aren't any niche performance pc builders I can think of because I couldn't honestly see a market for it when there are so many nerds like us who'll build our own anyway

NTMK

I worked this out before that a prebuilt than a self built is only cheaper at <€500 (including monitor OS keyboard mouse) anything over that and you can built the better rig for the money or the same rig for less

ShadowHearth

NTMK wrote: »

I worked this out before that a prebuilt than a self built is only cheaper at <€500 (including monitor OS keyboard mouse) anything over that and you can built the better rig for the money or the same rig for less

that is the only time prebuilt system can be small bit cheaper ( very little ), but still highly worse in upgradable way. Its this way: cheap people pay twice. It will be cheaper initially, but then when system becomes old, it becomes a paper weigh, so you will have to buy a new system again, wheres self built ones have all of the componenets upgradable individually and old parts can be recycled.

Procrastastudy

Shiminay wrote: »

What sort of companies do you mean? Genuinely interested - obviously the UK is a bigger market, so it does seem a lot more of a viable business, over here though there aren't any niche performance pc builders I can think of because I couldn't honestly see a market for it when there are so many nerds like us who'll build our own anyway

Mesh, Chillblast etc.

I may have to admit defeat though as the closest I'm getting is €778 inc shipping same spec as shadow but preover-clocked CPU and GPU.

The GPU is a measly 6850 so he's walking all over me there.

ShadowHearth

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Mesh, Chillblast etc.

I may have to admit defeat though as the closest I'm getting is €778 inc shipping same spec as shadow but preover-clocked CPU and GPU.

The GPU is a measly 6850 so he's walking all over me there.

the only reason i had short ( and prickish answers :rolleyes: ), because i was at work, and could not provide long answers and use script to make a build.
Self build is always the way when you talking about gaming builds, its cheaper and has a benefit of upgrading m8.

Procrastastudy

I honestly still disagree ref the upgrading these boutique manufacturers in the UK do some fantastic machines. If you dont want to go though the hassle of building your own machine they are one option. I have to admit they have got more expensive ref your own build than I remember.

I have to admit thats a great price on a 7870! Komplett won be getting anymore of my business :P

If I think there was some cross purposes on people thinking I was suggesting the major players like dell etc which I would agree are a waste of time.

ShadowHearth

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

I honestly still disagree ref the upgrading these boutique manufacturers in the UK do some fantastic machines. If you dont want to go though the hassle of building your own machine they are one option. I have to admit they have got more expensive ref your own build than I remember.

I have to admit thats a great price on a 7870! Komplett won be getting anymore of my business :P

If I think there was some cross purposes on people thinking I was suggesting the major players like dell etc which I would agree are a waste of time.

add 20eu in that website where i did build and they will build it for ya, sometimes they got special deal - 5 eu.
even so we always ( me mostly i guess ) suggest to build it yourself, even if its first ever build. That will be a stressfull hour or two, but after that even naked man in a rain coat won't scare you. plus there are so many guides online, step by step videos on youtube and basic building became plug and play, so its very easy and worth doing it.
then again nothing beats the feel - "damn, i am playing on the machine that i build myself!!!"

Shiminay

s'all good, no one's died

Credit to the examples you linked, their prices are solid and for someone who's unfamiliar with self building, you're not paying much over the odds for the labour and of course a guarantee if/when something goes wrong.

marco_polo

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

I honestly still disagree ref the upgrading these boutique manufacturers in the UK do some fantastic machines. If you dont want to go though the hassle of building your own machine they are one option. I have to admit they have got more expensive ref your own build than I remember.

I have to admit thats a great price on a 7870! Komplett won be getting anymore of my business :P

If I think there was some cross purposes on people thinking I was suggesting the major players like dell etc which I would agree are a waste of time.

In fairness I can see where you are coming from , I had a quick look through Chillblast and as pre built PC goes they are much better than the complete crap you would get from one of the large OEMs like dell for the same money. There are certainly no independent retailers operating here who wouldn't completely rip you off.

http://www.chillblast.com/Chillblast-Fusion-Battlefield-Special-Limited-Edition-PC.html

1150 euro is not a disgraceful price, but going component for component (or as close as possible) I still beat it by about 190 euro on HWVS though

Item|Price
Cooler Master HAF X, ATX, ohne Netzteil|€152.99
ASUS P8Z68-V LX, Sockel 1155, ATX, DDR3|€90.77
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€187.99
8GB-Kit G-Skill Ripjaws PC3-10667U CL7|€42.88
Corsair Builder Series CX600 V2, 600 Watt|€58.12
Club 3D GeForce GTX 560 Ti Green Edition, 1GB GDDR5|€196.79
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 3 6GB/s|€93.72
Samsung SH-223C bare schwarz SATA|€20.88
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€83.64
Scythe Mugen 3, für alle Sockel geeignet|€34.42
Total|€962.20

Procrastastudy

Can we all be friends again? :P

And what is an infraction btw...

JK I'll not derail this thread further. I have to admit I'm beaten here on any meaningful advantage to going even with one of the boutique manufactuers if the websites will build for you for €20. At least the OP has hard and fast numbers now on both options.

Krusader

ShadowHearth wrote: »

add 20eu in that website where i did build and they will build it for ya, sometimes they got special deal - 5 eu.
even so we always ( me mostly i guess ) suggest to build it yourself, even if its first ever build. That will be a stressfull hour or two, but after that even naked man in a rain coat when scare you. plus there are so many guides online, step by step videos on youtube and basic building became plug and play, so its very easy and worth doing it.
then again nothing beats the feel - "damn, i am playing on the machine that i build myself!!!"

The first POST test is always a scary moment when you build a PC, then when it works it's one of these moments
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/005/365/awwyea.jpg

Headshot

Coming fom a background of consoles and pc gaming, I do miss social interaction the consoles give. I don't have to go on team speak to talk to my friends

Dcully

Headshot wrote: »

Coming fom a background of consoles and pc gaming, I do miss social interaction the consoles give. I don't have to go on team speak to talk to my friends

I log onto skype or Teamspeak,Ventrilo etc, crystal clear sound quality too.

ShadowHearth

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Can we all be friends again? :P

And what is an infraction btw...

JK I'll not derail this thread further. I have to admit I'm beaten here on any meaningful advantage to going even with one of the boutique manufactuers if the websites will build for you for €20. At least the OP has hard and fast numbers now on both options.

i will admit that that website is not that bad, but that is not much of "pre built system", its just a place, which use proper components and charge a bit extra for building it. i would not even put that crown in to "pre built" section.
when most of us talk about "pre-built systems", we are talking about dell, acer, HP stuff. problem with those, that they will use custom Cases, custom mobos, custom connection. all this to make it non-upgradable on purpuse.

anyway, war-axe is burried and PC people should unite and not fight with each other, we got bigger enemies! those god damn CONS*** gamers!!!!*

* just joking.

ShadowHearth

Dcully wrote: »

I log onto skype or Teamspeak,Ventrilo etc, crystal clear sound quality too.

this. even now i am just watching Dara o'Briain on second monitor and surfing web and replying on boards on main monitor, while still being in ventrilo server with 5 lads, who just playing WoW atm.

PC is even more social, then console, just need some time to build up your friend base

Headshot

Dcully wrote: »

I log onto skype or Teamspeak,Ventrilo etc, crystal clear sound quality too.

Sorry I should made my post clearer , I don't like team speak, I rather the chat during a game on the console eg cod. I know you may meet a lot more dickheads but you can still come across grand folk. For example I met a Dutch lad while playing black ops on the ps3 and he's on my friends list now

Skerries

ShadowHearth wrote: »

this. even now i am just watching Dara o'Briain on second monitor and surfing web and replying on boards on main monitor, while still being in ventrilo server with 5 lads, who just playing WoW atm.

PC is even more social, then console, just need some time to build up your friend base

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRsPheErBj8