Should I buy a gaming PC?

[cfowner]

I have always been a console gamer. But I am looking to get a PC. Mostly for Modding games, specifically skyrim. Of course I will use this PC for more than gaming, I'll use it for searching and probably school in the future. But I don't know if it is worth the money. My brother says he is buying a ps4 , and when it comes to online gaming, I'll

most likely be using that. Also, some of my favorite games aren't on PC, like. Red Dead Redemption and possibly GTA V. Although my brother also is buying gta. Money is of couse an issue, (when is it not,) but I should be able to afford it. I can work with my dad. I have about 350 dollars right now and I am thinking my budget is around 700. (I can cap that if needed) But then there is other things I want to spend my money on, like clothes for school. (700 dollar gaming PC or new T-shirt? Hmmm) I will probably be putting it together myself, so I'll need to buy individual parts. All in all do you think I should buy a PC? If you did was it worth it? Should I stick with consoles? Thanks.

[hoofhearted4]

well you are on a PC forum, so most users here are gunna say hell yes over consoles. however, many of us do own consoles. i own a PS3 as well and do plan on a PS4 eventually.

 

 

now ill be the first to say, i wouldnt trade my PC for anything. i did lots of planning. and planning and building it, and anticipating it was almost as much fun as actually playing it. i knew i was going to enjoy it. i had a laptop i played games on before that, so i was already slightly into PC gaming. at that time i was a HUGE console (PS3, no xbox here) gamer. now though, i would say ive almost completely abandoned my console in favor of PC. something i didnt think would happen, but to me, PC gaming is just so much better. my PC is a good one though, it cost me right around $1200 ($1600 after all the frills, but not necessary stuff) it can play anything on Ultra no problem, and that definitely helped me switch to PC gaming. but ive now started getting games i played on PS3, and playing them on PC and enjoying them more then i ever did. it started with FO3 and FONV, but recently Borderlands 2. a game i beat and played the hell out of on PS3, i have recently played on PC and had even more fun then i had on console. the graphics were better, the controls (keyboard and mouse) felt much more smooth to me. even finding matches were faster (granted many people had bought the game at the same time i did, it was on Sale on Steam, so there were a lot of new players my level)

 

 

if money is tight this is what you could do as an option. build a Basic PC. put in a good CPU, RAM and whatnot. leave out the GPU though. even without the GPU you could be looking to spend $500-$700 right there, depending whether or not you need to get a monitor/mouse/keyboard/etc. with that PC, you will still be able to play some games on low settings. your CPU should be able to handle games on low. this will let you know if PC gaming is for you. if its not, you still have a strong PC that will do everything school and browse related you could have wanted. and you wouldnt have wasted money on a GPU you wont use otherwise. however, if after this "trial" period, you think playing games on PC is for you, then you save up for a good GPU. doing it this way will not only let you have a sort of trial period with your PC, but it will also lower the upfront cost of your PC, which is what scares many people away. also, splitting it up will allow you to get a possibly better GPU as well as a better PC as a whole, since you will be using your entire original cap for more of the PC (since youre saving the GPU for later)....this is actually what i did. when i built my PC, i couldnt afford the GPU right away. so i was only able to do light gaming at first. but waiting a month, i was able to save up for a good GPU, instead of settling for less to get it right away.

[Vindekarr]

I was a console gamer for the first few years of my gaming career, I bought my first dedicated gaming PC in 2004 and I've been an almost exclusively PC gamer ever since. There are a wide variety of awesome things about the PC.

 

-Due to STEAM and the fact that a lot of PC games are diskless, buying games is a great deal cheaper.

-Once built, a PC can be upgraded modularly whenever needed, and incrementally improved to meet rising system requirements.

-You design your own PC to your specifications, everything from the power output to the colour on the on/off switch, it's your machine to design.

-The power of a PC is vastly in excess of what games require. You can perform ridiculous graphics mods without the slightest hint of lag.

-Buying a console is like buying a brand new car. They're cheap, reliable, and they do everything you want them to.

-Buying a gaming PC is like buying a sports car. It's expensive and you'll spend more time tinkering with it than using it, but it gets in your blood, and when it is finished the result is vastly superior to a console for graphics, load times, game availability and compatibility.

-You can use console controllers with any PC. They're fully compatible and go in the USB slot on the front/back.

-Due to the concept of "backwards compatibility" you can play games from yesteryear without needing to make any adjustments or own old, unreliable hardware.

[cfowner]

I was leaning on saving my money for something else, but know I am strongly considering a PC again. I just don't know.

[JimboUK]

Modding is where the PC really shines, rather than putting up with whatever developers throw at you or waiting for poor quality overpriced DLC you can customise the game anyway you please and have the experience you want. When I play on consoles now I feel limited, I certainly wouldn't want to play Skyrim on one.

[JediMasterChief2]

I say go for it, if you can afford it. I was a console gamer until mid-late 2011. I read an article in the now-defuncted Gamepro magazine before PC World bought them out, and that sent me on my path to working towards a gaming PC (though I will admit, my reasoning back then was very different from my reason for sticking with it. Came for the portiability of a laptop, stayed for the customizablility of the experience). I do offer one piece of advice, though. Your operating system (presumbally Windows) should not be a decision taken lightly. Windows 7 vs. Windows 8. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Windows 7 has a fairly easy-to-use interface for mouse and keyboard without third-party solutions, and is compatiable wiith many legacy games, as well as a gurantee for compatiability for newer games for the next several years. Though performance is still very good, it can be slow at times, especially when turning on. Windows 8 has excellent performance and a super-quick boot time, however, compatiability with legacy games is nowhere near as good as Windows 7, and the interface can take sometime getting use to, unless you go for third-party solutions. I use Stardock's Start8 for my start button, as well as Stardock's ModernMix, which improves mouse usage with modern apps, especially vital ones like PC Settings, which is needed to turn your Wi-Fi radio off without switching airplane mode on, by adding a mouse-friendly menu, as well as the option to run apps in a window. However, both of those cost money. I use Windows 7 on my gaming laptop because I play more than a few legacy games, going back as far as the late 1990's (the reason I know so much about Windows 8 is because my school convertable laptop runs Windows 8. Though my knowledge of game compatiabilty is based on a combination of research, and a side-by-side comparison of Windows 7 and Windows 8 in the Microsoft compatiability center).