I7 PC or PS3/Xbox + 32" LCD TV + Core2Duo PC?

[DarthTengil]

Hi all

For a long time I have wanted and almost was to go getting a high-end PC with Intel i7 920, 12 GB RAM and 16x16x graphic card system worth around $2000. The main reason was to be able to play advanced games and surf the net without any harware limitations. Then I started to think what things I could get with all that money and how to spend it on the most economical efficiential way. Beside a new computer I also dreaming of replace my old big TV with a flat HDTV (LCD, Plasma or LED), a blueray DVD box and a HD digital-TV receiver. If I buy a new $2000 computer I will never again be able to save this large sum, at least in the next 15 years or so. My thoughts is beginning to go like this: Even if a high-end PC always will beat the snot out of a video game console when it comes to pure hardware, a console would maybe still be the "best" choice if your main target only is gaming? I mean, a game console is (at least mainly) only made for one purpose: playing games. It dont need that much HDD, RAM and processor power like a PC need. Understand me right here: A PC is overwhelmingy drown in an endless list of processes, additions, background services, programs and so on. Thats the main reason you need to get so much processor speed and RAM to be able to play heavy games on a PC, at least as I can imagen it. A video console on the other hand is so offscaled then it does not need all that speed because it dont have all that processes and background services as a PC. Am I right so far? My question is if console games gives the same screen quality and resolution as a PC game gives? I know a TV have a very small resulotion compared to a PC monitor, but is that fact really visible when you play, if you think of that the console is made to work well with a TV? How much cost say a PS3 with one gamepad and 2 enclosed games? Please tell me more of the palpable differences between a PC and a Playstation 3 / X-Box! Are the most video console nowdays equiped with blueray CD-roms you can wach on TV? If so I automaticly save that cost of buying a external blueray box.

How much do a pretty good 32" HDTV cost today? For 5 years ago you could´nt get one for under $1300, but what can you get today without being too expensive (say $875)? What features and quality should I look for when buying a new flat HDTV? What brands and models do you recommend? I already have a $2000 7.1 Yamaha home-theatre amplifier on around 750W connected to my digital TV box and DVD-player so I wont need to buy that to get surround sound.

If I stick to use a console to play new games on and buy me a more simple Intel Core 2 Duo 3 GHz system with 4 or 8 GB DDR2 Dual Channel RAM with one mid-end graphic card, 2x 74 GB WD VelociRaptor HDD and Windows 7 64-bit, then I have 3 times the required power and speed to play the games I already have (like Need for Speed Proostreet from 2006). Surfing will be no trouble at all.

What do you think of my reasoning? Do you think it would be possible to get a TV, PS3 and a mid-end PC for a total of around $2000? What talks against gaming on a console compared on a high-end PC? What I have seen its like twice as many console games as there is PC games, am I right in this apprehension? Do you find any insufficient of what I have written here? Please tell me what you people think! And please dont treat me like a PC-traitor when thinking of going away from high-end PC using...

/DT

 

[dan4patriots]

just put a blu ray drive & tv tuner in your pc and go for just a 28" monitor that you could get for like around $350

 

[grossemesser]

You can achieve higher quality in a PC. For example in a PS3 you've only got half a GB of ram so it won't work that well when surfing the web (most of the times, while using it for surfing it cannot load apps and animations embedded into web pages due to its little RAM... and that's MY experience i'n not just talking about something i don't really know)
There are many many games that you can get in a PC... probably much more than any console
I'd recommend buying a mid-end gaming PC (future proof it as much as you can) and an HDTV with a cheap surround system (like logitech 5.1 channel audio systems, they provide a GREAT experience without spending THAT much money i'm talking about 90 dollars or such)
What i mean with future proofing tour system...
Get a motherboard with AT LEAST 2 PCI Express slots BOTH RUNNING @ x16
A processor not so expensive and with a great overclocking headroom
a Direct X11 card
DDR3 RAM
That way you will get ALL that you want

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

He's got a sound system. You can get all of that.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-PN42B450-42-Inch-720p-Plasma/dp/B001ULBPAM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264044361&sr=8-1
is even bigger for less than you thought.
That and a PS3 is let's say $1000.
I would then get a AM3 computer with a triple core or more and a HD 5850 should just about do the other half. It'll be upgradable for a bit at least as well (specifically the CPU, so you can go ahead and save as much as possible for now)
This would allow you to play console games and computer games maxed.

Now as to your actual questions, the difference for a console is what you were talking about as well as the fact that the games are all optimized for one set of hardware. That gives it alot of leeway. As far as the other stuff you can play games like crysis on the computer I'm talking about that will look better than any console can do. There will be games that don't come out on PC but will on consoles. (I personally have a 360)

I wouldn't save that much for a computer over years and blow it all at once anyway though. Computers move too quickly. Two or three years go by, and what you just blew everything on is old hat and you can't afford to move to anything new. So you're stuck with it for 5-10 years, and by that point it's practically a joke. I had a friend, his parents bought a $3000 computer in 1995~ish. They have finally replaced it (like last year) with a old a810n from 2005. The other computer was the only one they had, and hasn't been working properly for years. It's a pentium II. Things like a TV last longer (though with HDTV's alot of stuff just keeps getting better and cheaper). This console generation seems like it'll last till 2015ish so that's good too.

 

[DarthTengil]

Thanks for the answers

dan4patriots wrote:
just put a blu ray drive & tv tuner in your pc and go for just a 28" monitor that you could get for like around $350

I did connect an older PC to my TV (not flat or HD ready) for a couple of years ago using the PC:s DVD-player to watch movies, but I´ll never got the resolution and color quite perfekt, and I also got black strips corner around the screen (the black strip on the left side of the screen was always twice as thick as the right one). Also the sound were horrible then I only could plug in one left+right cable into a single outtake (the middle of the motherboards/soundcards) of the three existing audio outtakes on the PC, and connect it into my Yamaha surround amplifier. Could only choose stereo mode when watching a movie or listen to music. When listening to mp3 music files on my big amplifier system it really obviously comes clear how miserable it sounds with compressed audio files. Only the highest 320 kbps mp3 music files were good enough to listen to, but even in that quality the bass sounded hollowed. Thus, computer sound is made for using 10x10x9.5 cm speakers and not 90x31x33 cm speakers. One more thing I reflected on was that the colors was not at all as good using a S-video cable than a really good 18k gold SCART cable, and a computer does´nt have any SCART outtakes at all what I have seen. Therefore I bought a separate DVD-box.

grossemesser wrote:
You can achieve higher quality in a PC. For example in a PS3 you've only got half a GB of ram so it won't work that well when surfing the web (most of the times, while using it for surfing it cannot load apps and animations embedded into web pages due to its little RAM... and that's MY experience i'n not just talking about something i don't really know)
There are many many games that you can get in a PC... probably much more than any console
I'd recommend buying a mid-end gaming PC (future proof it as much as you can) and an HDTV with a cheap surround system (like logitech 5.1 channel audio systems, they provide a GREAT experience without spending THAT much money i'm talking about 90 dollars or such)
What i mean with future proofing tour system...
Get a motherboard with AT LEAST 2 PCI Express slots BOTH RUNNING @ x16
A processor not so expensive and with a great overclocking headroom
a Direct X11 card
DDR3 RAM
That way you will get ALL that you want

Well, I have vacumcleaned the market in search of computer components and have come to this conclusion: You MUST buy a i5 or i7 and a motherboard thats constructed to those CPUs to be able to use 16x16x mode. AMD is not a choise, have always use AMD processors (because they are cheap) and they all sucks! Never ever a new AMD in my whole life The cost of getting a i5 system is not worth the money when you can get a i7 system for around $334 more, at least as I see it. Below I have post a copy of the two computer package I was thinking to buy:

Computer package 1

CPU:
Intel Core i5 -650, 3.2GHz, 4MB Cache, Socket LGA1156, DDR3-1333 EMC, 2/4 Cores (Hyper Threading), Turbo Boost (3.46 GHz) 1739:-
Article number: BX80616I5650

Motherboard:
ASUS P7P55D PRO, Socket P55 (1156), 4 DIMM Dual Channel DDR3 1066-2200 MHz (Max 16 GB), SLI/CrossFire (8x8x), PCI-e 2.0,
6 SATA3, RAID 0-10, 1 IDE, 14 USB, 2 1394, Passive Cooling (Stack Cool 3). Article number: P7P55D PRO 1595:-

HDD:
2x WD VelociRaptor 74 GB SATA-300 (SATA2) 16 MB Cache, 10000 RPM ICE, 3 Gb/s, General seek time 4.2 ms,
Seek time R/W 4.6/5.2 ms, Read/Write 135/125 MB/s, Article number: WD740HLFS 2 x 1320 = 2640:-

GPU:
PowerColor Radeon HD 5750 SCS3 HDMI DisplayPort Dual DVI, 1 GB, GDDR5, Passive Cooling
Article number: AX5750 1GBD5-S3DH 2 x 1300 = 2600:-

RAM:
OCZ Reaper DDR3, 4 GB (2x2), PC3-10666 1333 MHz, Passive Cooling (Total 8 GB) 2 x 1295 = 2590:-
Article number: OCZ3RPR1333C94GK

PSU:
CORSAIR TX SERIE PSU 750W 120MM FAN ATX 80PLUS 1229:-
Article number: CMPSU-750TXEU

CPU Cooler:
Noctua U12P-SE2 CPU Cooler, 2x 120 mm fan 12.6-20 db 679:-
Article number: NH-U12P SE2

Windows:
WINDOWS 7 PRO 64BIT OEM 1395:-


TOTAL SUM: 14467 SEK / $1808.4



Computer package 2:

CPU:
Intel Core i7 920, Quad Core, 1 MB + 8 MB, 2.66 GHz, 4.8 GT/s, Socket 1366, HyperThreading 2549:-
Article number: BX80601920

Motherboard:
ASUS P6T SE Socket 1366, 6 DIMM Triple Channel DDR3 2000 MHz (Max 24 GB), CrossFireX (16x16x4x) PCI-e 2.0, FSB 6400 MT/s, RAID 0-10, 6 SATA,
1 IDE, 12 USB, 64-bit processor, DDR3 1066 - DDR3 2000 MHz, Passive Cooling, Article number: P6T SE 1770:-

HDD:
2x WD VelociRaptor 74 GB SATA-300 (SATA2) 16 MB Cache, 10000 RPM ICE, 3 Gb/s, General seek time 4.2 ms,
Seek time R/W 4.6/5.2 ms, Read/Write 135/125 MB/s, Article number: WD740HLFS 2 x 1320 = 2640:-

GPU:
PowerColor Radeon HD 5750 SCS3 HDMI DisplayPort Dual DVI, 1 GB, GDDR5, Passive Cooling
Article number: AX5750 1GBD5-S3DH 2 x 1300 = 2600:-

RAM:
OCZ REAPER KIT 6GB 3x2GB PC3-14400 1800Mhz, Triple Channel DDR3, Passive cooling, (Total 12 GB) 2 x 2139 = 4278:-
Article number: OCZ3RPR1800LV6GK

PSU:
CORSAIR TX SERIE PSU 750W 120MM FAN ATX 80PLUS 1229:-
Article number: CMPSU-750TXEU

CPU Cooler:
Noctua U12P-SE1366 CPU Cooler, 2x 120 mm fan 12.6-20 db 679:-
Article number: NH-U12P SE1366

Windows:
WINDOWS 7 PRO 64BIT OEM 1395:-


TOTAL SUM: 17140 SEK / $2142.5

False_Dmitry_II wrote:
He's got a sound system. You can get all of that.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-PN42 [...] 361&sr=8-1
is even bigger for less than you thought.
That and a PS3 is let's say $1000.
I would then get a AM3 computer with a triple core or more and a HD 5850 should just about do the other half. It'll be upgradable for a bit at least as well (specifically the CPU, so you can go ahead and save as much as possible for now)
This would allow you to play console games and computer games maxed.

Now as to your actual questions, the difference for a console is what you were talking about as well as the fact that the games are all optimized for one set of hardware. That gives it alot of leeway. As far as the other stuff you can play games like crysis on the computer I'm talking about that will look better than any console can do. There will be games that don't come out on PC but will on consoles. (I personally have a 360)

I wouldn't save that much for a computer over years and blow it all at once anyway though. Computers move too quickly. Two or three years go by, and what you just blew everything on is old hat and you can't afford to move to anything new. So you're stuck with it for 5-10 years, and by that point it's practically a joke. I had a friend, his parents bought a $3000 computer in 1995~ish. They have finally replaced it (like last year) with a old a810n from 2005. The other computer was the only one they had, and hasn't been working properly for years. It's a pentium II. Things like a TV last longer (though with HDTV's alot of stuff just keeps getting better and cheaper). This console generation seems like it'll last till 2015ish so that's good too.

I completly agree with you The thought of burn all that money on a computer would be a bad investment when they became old and grey in only a couple of years, even if it of course would feel great to have the i7 system I was thinking about. If I had a job and would be able to save twice that money (I am 36 years but going under a time-limited disablement pension) I never doubt to buy both the i7, PS3 and HDTV. But as my situation is that I only get around $1000 per month, this sum of money is for me extremely much. You have right in that a TV or home-theatre amplifier (and maybe even a gaming console, at least in part) last way longer than a new PC. You also have damn right in that HDTV:s and other media hardware & stuff just keeps getting better and cheaper, when thus computer parts always just getting more expensive but not always being better, especially the well known fact that if you want to upgrade a 4 year old computer you must get a new motherboard and processor, in other word buy a whole new computer

Last night I checked out what new HDTV and Playstation costs, and got VERY supprised how much the prices has fallen since I last checked it out (5 years ago)! Nowdays you can get a PS3 for $375, a standard HDTV for $438 and a very good 32"-42" quality HDTV for around $875- $1125. Must have lived under a stone or being psychotic all those years when missing the price settings development...

What I now whant to lern is what components is inside a PS3? The only spec they are boasting is that they use a 120 GB HDD, which in computer consistency nowdays is a bad joke... Do you know what motherboard, RAM, processor etc they are using? Hope for more answers

 

[False_Dmitry_II]

For the record, you can't get x16/x16 graphics mode with the i5 socket. It simply doesn't have enough PCI-E lanes.

I'm not sure exactly what you have against AMD, but you can totally get a AM3 motherboard from them with that capability.

Hooking up a computer to a TV is largely dependent on the TV not sucking for that purpose. They simply didn't plan for that in the past. Now, on any HDTV you buy alot will likely have a VGA in and most will expect one of their HDMI ports to be used by a computer. Using a HTPC is getting more and more popular and it does work pretty good. (I've been using one in one form or another for a few years now) If you still have that old one you could hook it up to the new TV. So everything you were running into was connection methods/the TV's fault.

Specifically inside the PS3 is largely irrelevant because it's all proprietary. IIRC it's got 256 MB of RAM 256 MB of graphics RAM, and a PowerPC Cell processor.