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[Yudoken]

I'm actually really interested in getting in to PC gaming. I think from a library point of view it's by far the best platform. It's doing digital better than consoles and the software pricing is better.

I am a fucking moron when it come to tech. I have no idea where to begin in building a decent rig for an affordable price. It's what has turned me away from the platform for a long time. Too confusing and too expensive. I want you to back up what you just said and point me to PC parts that will get me a PC at least on par with PS4 for a comparable price point to a console. I would greatly appreciate it.

There are enough places here and on reddit to ask people for help.
Before buying anything give them your exact plan what you want to do with it, how much money you want to spend for it and maybe even what you planned to buy.
They will give their opinion, figure out the best bang for your buck and you will be good to go to buy and assemble your rig.
Doing that is easier than it sounds, you just need a little space and standard screwdrivers.

 

[A Bomb]

What? Those were both in reply to the guy who posted some nonsense about having a wife and kids about why a console is better. Apparently the guy thinks operating a PC is beyond his wife and kids, while somehow modern consoles are any easier.

It's absolutely clear that he didn't mean it in the way those two other posters were facetiously claiming. Again, I've played PC games for decades and I still know immediately what he means. When you're gaming with a family it's just plain simpler and faster to use a console.

 

[genjiZERO]

I'd be more interested in computer gaming if there was more of a push for games that are designed to run on Mac laptops.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Either way my point still stands... Who here is gaming on a PC that they spent 300$ on?

I'd wager the average Msrp of the computers people own here are easily in the 1000+$ dollar range... If you only have 300$ to spend your not going to go try and put together a PC you will just buy a PS4/XB1

I don't know anything about the $300 gaming PC, but if price and simplicity is really a sensitive issue, seems like going with a Wii or 360 would be the best route.

It's absolutely clear that he didn't mean it in the way those two other posters were facetiously claiming. Again, I've played PC games for decades and I still know immediately what he means. When you're gaming with a family it's just plain simpler and faster to use a console.

Unless you've set up your PC to behave how you want it to in advance. Yes, if you keep it in your office most of the time, it will be a pain to drag it out in the living room, download the game you want to play, and figure out from there how to connect multiple controllers, but if you really want a family-friendly gaming unit in the living room, you can easily do that. The effort required is not immense at all.

There's nothing wrong with going with a console if that's what you want to do, of course. It just bothers me that people speak of the PC platform as if it has inherent limitations that are somehow absent in consoles. The PC is what you make it. Personal, and all that.

 

[Yudoken]

Stop. Not caring and being misinformed do not go hand in hand. Even if they are informed, what does that matter? How is that a hindrance of PC gaming or your enjoyment of it?

Checkmate, pc mustard race!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I'd be more interested in computer gaming if there was more of a push for games that are designed to run on Mac laptops.

There are hundreds if not thousands of great games to choose from if you check Steam, the Mac App Store, Blizzard's stuff, the Humble Bundle stuff, indie games, etc.

The specs of the mainstream Mac laptops are going to limit what you can do, but there's a ton that even a Macbook Air from the last few years can play without trouble.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I don't think we do disagree, since I didn't say any of that.

If you want the most of your experience, you do those things. If you just want a better experience with no fuss, you let the game choose your settings at setup.

 

[Oemenia]

Done with this thread.

Take a chill pill bro, that was a triple post.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

If you want the most of your experience, you do those things. If you just want a better experience with no fuss, you let the game choose your settings at setup.

Sure, I probably should have chosen my words better. Obviously, I don't mean the best possible experience that hardware allows. That would technically cost tens of thousands of dollars if not more considering what kind of hardware is available. It would also be a constantly shifting target.

I just meant that, in general, PCs are going to be more attractive to enthusiasts since you're able to control your experience and get what you want out of it.

 

[Skyzard]

Show them nice graphics with 60fps, steam sales, steam library, auto-hd-remastering library with every gpu upgrade.

 

[DarthWalden]

Windows license costs 15 bucks, you can easily get it almost for free.
A decent monitor? Didn't know that consoles came with monitors or tv's, my bad.
Linus made a contest with one of his employee to build a pc for 300 CAD which is way lower than 300 USD and still get's way higher performance than any console with both pc's (he teased it and the hardware they're getting are definitely better than what you have in consoles).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1JA24KCAjE&ab_channel=LinusTechTips

They will not be able to play on 1080p/60fps with Ultra settings on every game with this hardware but it's still decent enough to beat consoles.

This is such BS... I don't care if some guys on YouTube managed to build something my scraping parts off Kijiji because that isn't realistic. I just did an i5 build for a freind 6 months without a video card (but included monitor) for 900$ largely buying cheap parts and price matching.

If your smart and serious about performance, you don't bother pissing around with a cheapish build otherwise you'll just end up getting the thing and rebuilding it in a couple years.

Everytime I hear someone say how cheap it is to get into PC gaming I always wonder what kind of build they have, how much they spent on it and what kind of performance they get.

It's like going to Vegas on a shoestring budget... You can get your flight and hotel for cheap and take advantage of some cheap dingy buffets but if you really want to have some fun prepared to bring some cash.

 

[2AdEPT]

To clarify the family and kids discussion, I will say that my daughter prefers games like skylanders and wii games like super Mario, and I tried to get her going on the inexpensive older verisons on PC but she watches Zack Scott (that guy has cost me more money than he is worth LOL) so she feels the actual and newer versions are better. I got her a 3ds for this reason, and I got Skylanders on Ps4, as PC does not really have a good current version of swap force or trap team, which is what is cool now. The PC version of SKylanders was rated poor and had issues with its portal etc. so perhaps these are the reasons that poster was thining of? I got my daugther into livestreaming through the PC though and she will learn to video edit for herself soon I hope....so again there is no need to make sweeping black and white statements about the benefits of the different platforms...but so far the consoles have marketed heavy on kids, especially nintendo, but not as much on PC,despite there ebign lots of reasons for kids to get into pC as well.

 

[ElTopo]

No pay to play online.

Tons of cheap and/or Free To Play games.

Mods.

Gigantic catalog of games available.

 

[MRORANGE]

I dunno, PC has been in decline, I mean does he want to spend extra prep time on a PC before he can play? the benefits of mobile and games console are quite clear, easy set up and go. OP don't drag him down a fruitless path.

 

[Yudoken]

This is such BS... I don't care if some guys on YouTube managed to build something my scraping parts off Kijiji because that isn't realistic. I just did an i5 build for a freind 6 months without a video card (but included monitor) for 900$ largely buying cheap parts and price matching.

If your smart and serious about performance, you don't bother pissing around with a cheapish build otherwise you'll just end up getting the thing and rebuilding it in a couple years.

Linus is a very well known guy, he's definitely not just a random guy on youtube (but honestly his coworker seems to be a little more lucky and smarter).
Could you give me the specs of your pc?
900USD is a shit ton of money.
Cheap builds are better than nothing, not everyone (including me) has the money to build right from the beginning his dream machine.
You build one for 300 but you look for the best bang for the buck.
You still be able to play games better than consoles, easily.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I dunno, PC has been in decline, I mean does he want to spend extra prep time on a PC before he can play? the benefits of mobile and games console are quite clear, easy set up and go. OP don't drag him down a fruitless path.

Been in a decline? Whatever do you mean?

 

[Conkerkid11]

I dunno, PC has been in decline, I mean does he want to spend extra prep time on a PC before he can play? the benefits of mobile and games console are quite clear, easy set up and go. OP don't drag him down a fruitless path.

/s ?

 

[genjiZERO]

There are hundreds if not thousands of great games to choose from if you check Steam, the Mac App Store, Blizzard's stuff, the Humble Bundle stuff, indie games, etc.

The specs of the mainstream Mac laptops are going to limit what you can do, but there's a ton that even a Macbook Air from the last few years can play without trouble.

honestly, all I really want to do is play Touhouvania and the like.

 

[Tagyhag]

Stop. Not caring and being misinformed do not go hand in hand. Even if they are or are not informed, what does that matter? How is that a hindrance of PC gaming or your enjoyment of it?

Come on breh, I just said I don't give a damn what someone likes, it's their own taste.

1. PC gaming is extremely expensive, it can cost thousands of dollars.

2. PC gaming is extremely complicated, you spend more time tinkering with the settings than playing the games.

3. It doesn't have that many exclusives, only mmo's.

4. There's viruses everywhere.

5. Everyone is cheating in all mp games.

6. You can't play on the couch with a controller.

7. You have to upgrade every 1-2 years.

8. The games don't even look that much better.

9. Mods are stupid, you should play the game the way the dev wanted you to play.

I could go on forever, but these are a few things people have said on the Internet to help others avoid PC gaming.

Like others have said before, when PC gamers try to counter with actual facts, (and yes, there are some douchebags who use insults or have condescending tones while explaining, it's true) the facts are completely ignored while instead yelling about elitism and how dare someone tell others that they're wrong.

At the very heart of the problem, this all stems from misinformation due to not caring about PC gaming in the first place. So yea, they do go hand-in-hand.

People shouldn't have to justify what they game on, and I'd be one of the first to agree that some PC gamers are jerks about this, but if they are going to justify it, dont use lies.

 

[Dmented]

On topic: Tell your friend that when he's done playing games he can try MAKING games. Give Unity engine a go. Blender for 3D models.

 

[CornBurrito]

That's the easiest and most obvious reason for gaming.

Lol I thought all this time it was gameplay that drew gamers to gaming.

Plenty of fun and interesting experiences on mobile, which is what the OPs friend plays on. Not everyone gives a fuck about graphics. I'm still able to enjoy Nintendo 64 games for example, as long as the gameplay holds up. I can still enjoy 8bit or 16bit indie games.

 

[zombieshavebrains]

I have a friend from college who currently only plays mobile games. Today I found out that he used to be a console gamer but quit because he lost interest. I also found out that he never gave the PC a fair shot and mostly just played on the PS3.

Of course, I explained many of the advantages that the PC provides over consoles. Anti-aliasing, 60FPS, mods, cheaper games etc. He knows these terms but kind of dismissed them in a way, saying that he doesn't think that they're enough to bring him back to his old gaming habits. I suspected that even though he knows what those terms meant, he never actually experienced them first hand. So I decided to invite him some time this week and show him what he had been missing out on.

The problem is, I'm not quite sure how to proceed with it. I have a fairly expensive build and I don't want to show him games on ridiculous settings then later mention that what he witnessed was only possible on high end machines. I want a realistic portrayal of PC gaming.

So, GAF, what's your advice, what would you do in my situation?

Show him games that are unique to the PC (Dota, an MMO maybe) and games that are on both consoles and PCs. If he likes mobile games show him some of the "casual" games on steam. This will show him what is unique about the PC and also that he won't be missing out on a LOT of games that are on the console.

 

[DarthWalden]

Linus is a very well known guy, he's definitely not just a random guy on youtube (but honestly his coworker seems to be a little more lucky and smarter).
Could you give me the specs of your pc?
900USD is a shit ton of money.
Cheap builds are better than nothing, not everyone (including me) has the money to build right from the beginning his dream machine.
You build one for 300 but you look for the best bang for the buck.
You still be able to play games better than consoles, easily.

I'm not discounting the YouTube poster... I just think unrealistic to use a video of some guy scouring the Internet for cheap used parts as an example of PC gaming being cheap because it's definitely not close to that cheap if you go retail and if you start with a cheap build and you desire good performance it can be a money pit.

It was 950$ Canadian, however I paid 120$ for the windows license. Where do you find them legally for 15$?

 

[2AdEPT]

I'm actually really interested in getting in to PC gaming. I think from a library point of view it's by far the best platform. It's doing digital better than consoles and the software pricing is better.

I am a fucking moron when it come to tech. I have no idea where to begin in building a decent rig for an affordable price. It's what has turned me away from the platform for a long time. Too confusing and too expensive. I want you to back up what you just said and point me to PC parts that will get me a PC at least on par with PS4 for a comparable price point to a console. I would greatly appreciate it.

there is a thead on this site entitled the " help me I need a new PC" thread (or something very similar). I was/am also a noob, but when I got my rig set up I started there. I also went to my local NCIX store in Canada. They have online store options, but I wanted some personal face to face help in order to confirm all the online help. It was very painless and most if nto all the components I got on sale as they have daily/weekly/monthly specials and if you are patient the peice you need will come up for sale eventually. You do have to be a good consumer and not get stuff you dont need/want (one guy tried to say I needed more RAM for example but I knew I did not as I already asked someone I trusted)...but that is the same for any electronics purchase. For a small fee they put it together for you and warranty the build. I didnt do that as I had a neighbor who could do it and was willing to teach me and show me the process...it was fun and easier than I thought...when I got a new SSD I just did it myself.

 

[DanielJr82]

"Convincing someone to be a PC gamer."

Why? Let the man be.

 

[Ashitaka]

It's absolutely clear that he didn't mean it in the way those two other posters were facetiously claiming. Again, I've played PC games for decades and I still know immediately what he means. When you're gaming with a family it's just plain simpler and faster to use a console.

I'm literally sitting on the couch watching my boys play the Lego Hobbit game on the TV through my work laptop. They must be motherfucking geniuses.

 

[A Bomb]

I don't know anything about the $300 gaming PC, but if price and simplicity is really a sensitive issue, seems like going with a Wii or 360 would be the best route.

Unless you've set up your PC to behave how you want it to in advance. Yes, if you keep it in your office most of the time, it will be a pain to drag it out in the living room, download the game you want to play, and figure out from there how to connect multiple controllers, but if you really want a family-friendly gaming unit in the living room, you can easily do that. The effort required is not immense at all.

There's nothing wrong with going with a console if that's what you want to do, of course. It just bothers me that people speak of the PC platform as if it has inherent limitations that are somehow absent in consoles. The PC is what you make it. Personal, and all that.

My only problem is the constant insistence that PC gaming is equally as simple as console gaming. You literally just pointed out that you'd need to set up a PC how you want it to behave in advance. That alone points out why I would want to buy a console for my family instead.

I'm literally sitting on the couch watching my boys play the Lego Hobbit game on the TV through my work laptop. They must be motherfucking geniuses.

Once again, I'm not saying you have to be a genius in order to do that. Literally nowhere did I say that.

 

[Gibbo]

I usually show them my steam pruchase invoice (eg. Bought tomb raider for just under 10 SGD, DMC for 12 SGD, etc) . Where i live, we're talking savings of 70—80%.

 

[Three]

I have a friend from college who currently only plays mobile games. Today I found out that he used to be a console gamer but quit because he lost interest. I also found out that he never gave the PC a fair shot and mostly just played on the PS3.

Of course, I explained many of the advantages that the PC provides over consoles. Anti-aliasing, 60FPS, mods, cheaper games etc. He knows these terms but kind of dismissed them in a way, saying that he doesn't think that they're enough to bring him back to his old gaming habits. I suspected that even though he knows what those terms meant, he never actually experienced them first hand. So I decided to invite him some time this week and show him what he had been missing out on.

The problem is, I'm not quite sure how to proceed with it. I have a fairly expensive build and I don't want to show him games on ridiculous settings then later mention that what he witnessed was only possible on high end machines. I want a realistic portrayal of PC gaming.

So, GAF, what's your advice, what would you do in my situation?

The person went from a PS3 to mobile games. Clearly the advantages of a PC are NOT what he's after otherwise he wouldn't go from console to mobile. How on earth are you going to convince him to go even further the opposite way?

 

[Kinthalis]

I'm literally sitting on the couch watching my boys play the Lego Hobbit game on the TV through my work laptop. They must be motherfucking geniuses.

They are a step ahead of the GAF curve, that's for sure. I'm pretty sure you can start planning for that island retirement now

 

[Kinthalis]

The person went from a PS3 to mobile games. Clearly the advantages of a PC are NOT what he's after otherwise he wouldn't go from console to mobile. How on earth are you going to convince him to go even further the opposite way?

I don't know, maybe.. games?

It's a compelling reason to most gamers.

Maybe he was sick and tired of the same old console fair. Well, PC has a lot to offer people like that.

 

[Yudoken]

I'm not discounting the YouTube poster... I just think unrealistic to use a video of some guy scouring the Internet for cheap used parts as an example of PC gaming being cheap because it's definitely not close to that cheap if you go retail and if you start with a cheap build and you desire good performance it can be a money pit.

It was 950$ Canadian, however I paid 120$ for the windows license. Where do you find them legally for 15$?

120 USD?!?!?!
=(
Now I understand.

 

[CornBurrito]

Show him games that are unique to the PC (Dota, an MMO maybe) and games that are on both consoles and PCs. If he likes mobile games show him some of the "casual" games on steam. This will show him what is unique about the PC and also that he won't be missing out on a LOT of games that are on the console.

There are actually MOBA games on mobile. And those games do not warrant a gaming PC. I can play Dota2 on a shitty cheap laptop for school.

 

[JackLongRod]

I don't think you can convince someone to wanna spend $1,000-$2,000 to build computer than additional money every so often upgrading components.

You just wanna have the desire and funds to PC game

Everytime I build a rig (roughly every 5 years) I spend about $2,000 on new everything just in case I wanna game on my pc but I haven't played a PC game since BF2 so I don't know why I bother.

 

[ChronotriggerJM]

Try to get him started on a laptop OP. Building a rig and trying to get people to care about the components is already a pain in the ass. A Laptop in that sense is a bit more approachable I'd say.

For starters get him/her to use all the recommended settings, don't get sidetracked and try to explain all the graphics options.

Get him/her used to steam, and try not to get the other sources mixed into the picture. Only wander off the path if you absolutely must (blizzard games I think).

If you can plant the seed of evil, it should flourish and bloom on it's own. But don't overwhelm, PC gaming is very unapproachable if you give too much too fast for the non tech inclined.

 

[Nzyme32]

You shouldn't feel the need to have to push someone to something. If it is an interest you have and want them to share, maybe let them try it out and decide for themselves.

 

[CornBurrito]

I don't know, maybe.. games?

It's a compelling reason to most gamers.

Maybe he was sick and tired of the same old console fair. Well, PC has a lot to offer people like that.

Many of those interesting indie PC games that don't make it console do make it to mobile though.

 

[Swarna]

I don't think you can convince someone to wanna spend $1,000-$2,000 to build computer than additional money every so often upgrading components.

You just wanna have the desire and funds to PC game

Everytime I build a rig (roughly every 5 years) I spend about $2,000 on new everything just in case I wanna game on my pc but I haven't played a PC game since BF2 so I don't know why I bother.

Sounds legit.

 

[Dmented]

My only problem is the constant insistence that PC gaming is equally as simple as console gaming. You literally just pointed out that you'd need to set up a PC how you want it to behave in advance. That alone points out why I would want to buy a console for my family instead.



Once again, I'm not saying you have to be a genius in order to do that. Literally nowhere did I say that.

If that is what he's saying, well then he's wrong tbh. You really don't have to set up your PC to behave how you want it in advance lol. It's plug and play man. Unless you mean actually building it/installing the OS as the setting it up in advance part you don't like, in that case it boils down to laziness.

 

[Ashitaka]

They are a step ahead of the GAF curve, that's for sure. I'm pretty sure you can start planning for that island retirement now

Thats the plan. Once they can reliably use a mouse and keyboard the DOTA2 training begins!

 

[Conkerkid11]

Come on breh, I just said I don't give a damn what someone likes, it's their own taste.

1. PC gaming is extremely expensive, it can cost thousands of dollars.

2. PC gaming is extremely complicated, you spend more time tinkering with the settings than playing the games.

3. It doesn't have that many exclusives, only mmo's.

4. There's viruses everywhere.

5. Everyone is cheating in all mp games.

6. You can't play on the couch with a controller.

7. You have to upgrade every 1-2 years.

8. The games don't even look that much better.

9. Mods are stupid, you should play the game the way the dev wanted you to play.

I could go on forever, but these are a few things people have said on the Internet to help others avoid PC gaming.

Like others have said before, when PC gamers try to counter with actual facts, (and yes, there are some douchebags who use insults or have condescending tones while explaining, it's true) the facts are completely ignored while instead yelling about elitism and how dare someone tell others that they're wrong.

At the very heart of the problem, this all stems from misinformation due to not caring about PC gaming in the first place. So yea, they do go hand-in-hand.

People shouldn't have to justify what they game on, and I'd be one of the first to agree that some PC gamers are jerks about this, but if they are going to justify it, dont use lies.

Damn. You just summarized every point I've ever heard from console gamers.

 

[A Bomb]

People shouldn't have to justify what they game on, and I'd be one of the first to agree that some PC gamers are jerks about this, but if they are going to justify it, dont use lies.

Actually, quite a few of those points would be reasonable if they weren't sarcastically hyperbolic. Especially the ones that are just plain subjective. Some people don't want mods! Shocker! PC gaming isn't for them.

 

[Tagyhag]

There are actually MOBA games on mobile. And those games do not warrant a gaming PC. I can play Dota2 on a shitty cheap laptop for school.

You're right about the latter. Which would be good if the friend ended up liking them and didn't want to spend too much.

But mobile MOBA's.....they are a far far FAR cry from PC ones lol.

 

[grandwizard]

Come on breh, I just said I don't give a damn what someone likes, it's their own taste.

1. PC gaming is extremely expensive, it can cost thousands of dollars.

2. PC gaming is extremely complicated, you spend more time tinkering with the settings than playing the games.

3. It doesn't have that many exclusives, only mmo's.

4. There's viruses everywhere.

5. Everyone is cheating in all mp games.

6. You can't play on the couch with a controller.

7. You have to upgrade every 1-2 years.

8. The games don't even look that much better.

9. Mods are stupid, you should play the game the way the dev wanted you to play.

I could go on forever, but these are a few things people have said on the Internet to help others avoid PC gaming.

Like others have said before, when PC gamers try to counter with actual facts, (and yes, there are some douchebags who use insults or have condescending tones while explaining, it's true) the facts are completely ignored while instead yelling about elitism and how dare someone tell others that they're wrong.

At the very heart of the problem, this all stems from misinformation due to not caring about PC gaming in the first place. So yea, they do go hand-in-hand.

People shouldn't have to justify what they game on, and I'd be one of the first to agree that some PC gamers are jerks about this, but if they are going to justify it, dont use lies.

Spot on.

 

[zombieshavebrains]

There are actually MOBA games on mobile. And those games do not warrant a gaming PC. I can play Dota2 on a shitty cheap laptop for school.

I've read there are MOBAs on mobile but never played them. Dota is one of my loves so in my completely biased opinion no other MOBA compares to it.

He said he was going for a more realistic representation of "PC Gaming". He isn't trying to convince him to spend the alleged $5,000 some people in this thread think it takes to get a decent rig. A cheap laptop might be just fine for him.

 

[MRORANGE]

Damn. You just summarized every point I've ever heard from console gamers.

He's right though, if loads of people keep mentioning the pitfalls of PC gaming then it can't be false can it?

Surely there must be wrong if PC isn't the main gaming platform of choice, think about it.

 

[CornBurrito]

You're right about the latter. Which would be good if the friend ended up liking them and didn't want to spend too much.

But mobile MOBA's.....they are a far far FAR cry from PC ones lol.

I'm curious, are you one of those MOBA players that hates on League of Legends because it doesn't have the "deep complexity" of Dota2?

Because yes, the mobile MOBA offerings are simpler. But I don't think complexity makes something better.

 

[A Bomb]

Unless you mean actually building it/installing the OS as the setting it up in advance part you don't like, in that case it boils down to laziness.

No, it boils down to time and interest. What if I have no interest in putting together a PC? What If that's just not fun for me? What if I work 80 hours a week? Why do I need to be looked down upon as "lazy" for buying a console instead? How am I less of a gamer for that?

 

[Dmented]

Actually, quite a few of those points would be reasonable if they weren't sarcastically hyperbolic. Especially the ones that are just plain subjective. Some people don't want mods! Shocker! PC gaming isn't for them.

That's fine to play games without mods. But the point he was making was people literally have said you should ONLY play games the way the dev "wanted" you to. You're "ruining" the game if you use mods.

Now that's just stupid.

No, it boils down to time and interest. What if I have no interest in putting together a PC? What If that's just not fun for me? What if I work 80 hours a week? Why do I need to be looked down upon as "lazy" for buying a console instead? How am I less of a gamer for that?

I'm definitely not calling you lazy and I could care less what you want to game on. I was just making a point that the other poster's post wasn't exactly accurate. You're not less of a gamer for not gaming on PC.

 

[DarthWalden]

Damn. You just summarized every point I've ever heard from console gamers.

Some of these are legitimate complaints.
Some of them are crap.