Is it really worth buying a high end gaming rig any more?

PrincessFrosty said:
Not really, I've just browsed dells UK site and they offer several ranges of computers including a performance range all of which come with 5450 you can upgrade to have high performance graphics cards like 5870s, in fact the price is pretty damn good for the overall build I must say.

You can get expensive alienware style prebuilt machines which go over the top with performance components but that's it's own niche, getting reasonably priced gaming desktops from dell is no problem at all.

Again it's educating users as to what a graphics card is and why it makes a difference, if OEMS are guilty of anything its skimping on things like PSUs and motherboards limiting upgrade paths, that's done to make the PC more affordable at the end of the day.
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alienware is extremely overrated
 
Yes I agree, you dont need an alienware for a decent gaming PC, but a lot of people seem to think that to have a good experience on a PC you need some 2-3k gaming rig, it's total horse shit, a prebuilt OEM machine from Dell with something like a 5870 is a kick ass machine for a fraction of the cost.
 
build your own unless are dont know how and dont want to learn how.
 
Don't ever buy a pre-built system. You pay way too much for it and upgrading can be a nightmare. Building a system yourself is fun, cheaper and you get exactly what you want.

So in answer to your question, yes having a high end system is worth it. If you want one. You should have one.
 
I travel for work.

In my sig, I've got a desktop for when home or a gaming laptop when on the road (75 to 80% of time). I can game literally anywhere: airports waiting on a flight, at hotel after a long day, or at home when I am there.

For me, a console isn't really an option. For me, a controller is somewhat foreign. I like kb/m.

I've thought about getting a console to leave at the hotel on a week to week basis, but the different platforms means that "characters" in one platform don't exist in the other. Steam on laptop and desktop makes the switch seemless.
 
The console-centric development of today has stagnated the requirements demand for many games.

The PC I built in October of 2008 still holds up extremely well against most newly released games today. I can max out the graphics, and in some cases get AA/AF AND run at 1920*1200, simply because most of these games were designed to run on consoles at 1280*720 or less.

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I would only consider buying an Alienware to say "hey, I like throwing away money. Look at my Alienware!"
 
Krenum said:
Don't ever buy a pre-built system. You pay way too much for it and upgrading can be a nightmare. Building a system yourself is fun, cheaper and you get exactly what you want.

So in answer to your question, yes having a high end system is worth it. If you want one. You should have one.
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Yeah, I remember upgrading my dell for a better video card. I was a total hardware newbie (probably still am somewhat, especially on this forum). I spent way too much money for a crap card and I knew it. That left a bad taste in my mouth about Dell laptop motherboards. After that I joined Hardforum and spent time here and on newegg learning about building my first self-built computer.
 
*If* you can afford it and *if* you enjoy tinkering with tech, yes, it's worth it. But if you're happy with your console, no need to go out of the way and give yourself graphics envy.
 
I would advise the OP to actually play some games on the PS3.

The games library just seems kind of garbage, relative to the PC or PS2 ( which I ended up buying for the Need for Speed series + God of War 1 and 2 + whatever else I can order from the USA ).

The only PS3 games that made me even vaguely consider buying it, are the Uncharted series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncharted


Crysis set the bar really high graphically. It's kind of strange to see PC gaming come full circle, back to "dudes in a basement" coding, for the love of gaming. Check out the patch to convert Crysis to Mechwarrior:

http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/

There is an official version of a new Mech Warrior coming out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJZnejcp-qo

There are new, graphically intensive MMOs coming from the east.

I have an Athlon x2 4400 ( 2 x 2.2 GHz dual core) with a piece of shit Nvidia FX 5500. I have held out about not buying $1,000 video cards and I was questioning whether to upgrade my PC at all but I would miss the strategy games. My life is boring without PC gaming and I have a box full of unplayed games stretching back to Warcraft III ( 2002 ). I'm waiting for the post woman to deliver $2,600 worth of parts, to build a new computer.

I was browsing through games on Steam and was surprised when I saw a game that did not support Win XP:

"Notice: Shattered Horizon requires DirectX 10, a DirectX 10 compatible video card, and Windows Vista or Windows 7. There is no support for Windows XP or DirectX 9."

http://store.steampowered.com/app/18110/
 
clay17dog said:
alienware is extremely overrated
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I can only speak from experience about this.

Three or four years ago, I visited some forum in which a guy was complaining about a new game that wasn't running well - he said he had just bought a brand new Alienware system for crying out loud, and that if his Alienware system couldn't handle the game then what could?

I wrote a post, basically saying that his precious Alienware computer was over-priced plastic.

The joke was on me though, because literally two days later I was at a house party, and the guy owned a black Alienware system (this was the Predator 2 case). He had left it on and it was sitting there, kind of in the dark. The little alien head lights were pink, and I couldn't believe how unimaginably cool the computer looked. I had only seen these computers in magazines, and hadn't thought much about them.

Seeing one of these computers in person was a shocker. The case was way bigger than I had imagined, and it was actually smooth to the touch, like the surface of a corvette. I turned a desk lamp on, and was able to see all sorts of reflections on the surface of the case. Then I noticed that when there was system activity, the eyes of the Alien started flickering at me - just unimaginably cool.

Then I opened up the door and marveled at the design. The little alien head light on the cover continued to operate, even with the door open. The wiring must've been inside the tiny door hinge, I realized.

Anyhow, I knew that I had to start saving up for one of these things. For a brief period I considered building my own system, but something happened in my personal life and I just didn't have the time to educate myself about building a system.

What can I say about my Alienware system: I've owned 7 computers since 1982, and - at least for entertainment purposes - this is the best computer I've ever owned. (For work purposes, the Apple Titanium Powerbook I once owned, was a beautiful thing, and I nearly cried the day it stopped working).

When I slid open my Alienware side panel for the first time I was shocked at the wiring - it seemed virtually non existent. The inside of the case looked like it was empty almost.

But yeah, I love this computer more than I can possible say. And by the way, after pricing the same parts - if I had built this system myself I would've saved $250. That's it. And I wouldn't have gotten the Predator 2 case or the lighting. Worth it? For me, absolutely worth it. I LOVE this computer.
 
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Haven't priced an Alienware in some time, nice touches no doubt, but every time I priced the same components in a DIY system the DIY was always considerably cheaper. Sure not all the frills and extras but the same base components were considerably cheaper.
 
It's untrue that there's no point in buying a pre-built rig. There is plenty of point: warranty, service, and time. You'll only pay an arm and a leg if you buy an extreme high-end system pre-built. Otherwise, pre-built is actually almost always cheaper. No, you won't get the same customizability, but you get ease of use, and it doesn't take a supercomputer to run today's stuff at decent settings.

But my point is altogether different: there's an ineffable, unquantifiable value in just building things yourself. So if you have the time and curiosity, I find PC tinkering a great hobby.

I once had an Alienware - I loved the Antec 1030-style cases, though I hated the later, plastic-molded stuff. It was a nice, clean machine and inspecting and upgrading it helped me learn how to build my own later on.
 
DIYs are better for the PC gamer unless he just doesn't have the time or interest in the process of building. Some people just want to flip a switch and be done with it, and that's fine. If I was doing it it would be through companies like CyberPower PC or Digital Storm. They both seem to have good prices, good part selection, and good service from what I've heard. Oh, and no hideous cases. :) As it stands I don't mind building my own rigs.

I almost went with a builder for my current PC since I got bored with the process after so many DIY builds, but then the Corsair 800D came out and rekindled my interest. It was actually made things fun again since it is such a cool and well thought out case. We'll see if that interest lasts for my next rig, whenever that happens. ;)
 
After my last post I went through Digital Storm's configurator and the price, while obviously more than DIY, isn't actually that bad. Considering that you're also getting overclocking, 72 hour stress testing, and a 3 year warranty and support thrown in, again, not bad!
 
The idea that you can save money building your own is not really true unless you're talking about expensive high end gaming rigs, even a mid range dell with something like a 5870 in it is going to cost less than you can buy the parts seperately for, even if you buy OEM from the stores where possible the overall cost is likely to be cheaper, dell have all sorts of software deals to add bloatware to their desktops, they also buy hardware in hundreds of thousands of units which will give them massive discount prices. With service and other offers on top it makes sense to go prebuilt for low-mid range.

However I would encourage building your own rig for entirely different reasons such as building a PC customised to your exact liking with components, case etc, planning future upgrade paths by overspecing say your PSU or making sure you have expansion slots available. Allowing for better overclocking and a whole range of other benefits.

Just having built your own PC is a big step to better understanding them, making them easier to use and troubleshoot, there's also a certain amount of pride in using something you built.
 
I have a Q6600, 8800GTS

Certainly not top tier or close to it anymore, but I have no desire to upgrade. I REALLY want an SSD, but I'm perfectly happy otherwise. I love gameplay, I couldn't care less about graphics.
 
depends on "high end", personally I dont ever see me building a PC that costs over $1000 again, peripherals/display not included
 
Oh yea, it is. I recently upgraded from a single core with 2gb ram and 9600gt to an i7, 8GB ram, and 5850 to play bad company 2, grand theft auto 4, resident evil 5, etc...
No regrets.
 
WabeWalker said:
*snip*
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Sounds basically like you just loved the case ;) Cable management, pretty lights, nice doors.

Personally when it comes to the appearance of a computer I'm happy with a plain black box with the innards hidden, I've never liked big flashy cases.
 
I'm perfectly fine with middle ground.

Running q6600 3.2 with 9600gt's sli. @ 1920x1200 runs everything game I have played, not maxed out though.

I did just upgrade to a 30" 2560x1600 which should be arriving today we'll see it mid range still works for me.
 
lol, the name of this thread had potential, however the OP's post does not. Is it worth having a console over a PC for gaming? not a chance. I console AND a gaming pc, sure.

Where this thread should have gone is, is it really necessary to have a high end gaming rig anymore? or will a mid level computer do just as much. And here you have some potential because you no longer need to spend all that much money to play games on high. However, if you do spend the money you will be rewarded with playing on max settings at very good frames... but is it really worth so much extra money?
 
stevedave said:
I'm perfectly fine with middle ground.

Running q6600 3.2 with 9600gt's sli. @ 1920x1200 runs everything game I have played, not maxed out though.

I did just upgrade to a 30" 2560x1600 which should be arriving today we'll see it mid range still works for me.
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Heh. Get ready for a rude awakening on newer games unless you're willing to sacrifice detail. Sounds like you're already used to doing that though, and the extra real estate is wonderful to have on the desktop.
 
imyourzero said:
Heh. Get ready for a rude awakening on newer games unless you're willing to sacrifice detail. Sounds like you're already used to doing that though, and the extra real estate is wonderful to have on the desktop.
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your likely right, but currently only playing L4D2 which I think it will handle fine everything maxed with 2x and 4x.

New Vegas will likely be the next game I play and by then it should be easy to find a sub $200 card to handle it.
 
stevedave said:
your likely right, but currently only playing L4D2 which I think it will handle fine everything maxed with 2x and 4x.

New Vegas will likely be the next game I play and by then it should be easy to find a sub $200 card to handle it.
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(y) I don't know which display you went with, but the good news is that games still look great when scaled down to 1920x1200 on my 3008WFP. Much better than I expected actually, and it came in very handy when I was playing Crysis with a GTX 260 as there were very noticeable slowdowns at 2560x1600. I probably could have just reduced the detail but I'd rather sacrifice resolution in most cases where performance could use a boost.
 
I feel the days of people spending $2,000 on a gaming PC is gone. There simply are not the volume of titles available now that are worth having a top notch system for. It's almost a waste of money because it's few and far between on top notch PC games. Most everything is on consoles now and it's not like the graphics on the PS3/360 are going to be 'so bad' that you feel the need to invest a few grand into a PC to just play them with a little higher resolution. It doesn't make since.

Now, if there were still a lot of top notch PC exclusives, then I could see that.
 
oops! I didn't post properly but I wanted to say yes to high end computers.I had a Dell XPS 730x.X58 MB,i7 965 Extreme Proc. two GTX 280s SLI etc.etc. It was fully loaded and I loved it.My wife got into gaming so I gave it to her. I got myself the Alienware Area 51 ALX and it too is loaded. i7 975 Extreme,two ATI 5970s CF etc. The reason I buy pre built is for the Dell warranty. For example, the Area 51 was giving me problems with the thermal controls that resulted in a visit from Dells on site tech. with a new door panel. I have no idea what a door panel has to do with thermal controls but obviously,Dell thought it would .The tech installed the panel and it was a 'No Fix'. He called Dell explaining the no fix and Dell wanted to send yet another part.I said no way. I didn't pay that kind of money on a computer to have a tech show up swapping parts etc. Dell agreed and authorized a 'NEW' replacement. They also upgraded my Proc. to the i7 980 Extreme and a Sata11 600GB[2x300GB drive. Dell may have a terrible telephone support system but when it comes to customer satisfication,no one does it better than Dell. There were many other instances over the years where Dell has upgraded hardware for me but really too much to explain on yhis thread. It pays to buy good stuff. Thanks all.
 
Yes, it's worth building a high end rig.

3D Vision is the exclusive reason I came back to PC gaming. The visuals on the PC blow console out of the water... and then there is the 3D. :)

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Bioshock 2
Half Life 2
World of Warcraft
Borderlands
Dragon Age: Origins
FarCry 2
Mass Effect
Battlefield Bad Company 2
and... others that don't come to mind right now. The PC versions are vastly superior to the console versions of all of these games. Aaaaaaaand then there is the 3D, which is perfect or so-close-to-perfect-you-don't-really-care in all of these games.
 
IRSmurf said:
Yes, it's worth building a high end rig.

3D Vision is the exclusive reason I came back to PC gaming. The visuals on the PC blow console out of the water... and then there is the 3D. :)

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Bioshock 2
Half Life 2
World of Warcraft
Borderlands
Dragon Age: Origins
FarCry 2
Mass Effect
Battlefield Bad Company 2
and... others that don't come to mind right now. The PC versions are vastly superior to the console versions of all of these games. Aaaaaaaand then there is the 3D, which is perfect or so-close-to-perfect-you-don't-really-care in all of these games.
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Not, $2000 superior to play a handful of games.
 
It is becoming more like audio. Some of us will spend tons for the sound we want. Others are ok with a Klipsch 5.1 pc surround donk.

I want the PC premium graphics and sound. I can't pay for top end but close enough. Same as my audio lol. I buy last gens top end.

Besides, my favorite pc games I play for YEARS at a time. The Battlefield series alone is 6 yrs or more now.
 
bigdogchris said:
Not, $2000 superior to play a handful of games.
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I find that offensive
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This system, in its entirety, cost much more than $2,000. :D

Seriously, though. You have your hobbies, I have mine. Yes playing high resolution, high AA, high AF, and 3D over the low-res, upscaled, 2D games on a console was worth $2,000 to me. I'm currently playing Batman AA in 3D and it is phenomenal.

If my apartment burned down tonight and I survived but my computer didn't, the ONLY thing I'd change when buying my system again would be the Antec Twelve Hundred for a Corsair Obsidian 800D.

thetruth said:
It is becoming more like audio. Some of us will spend tons for the sound we want. Others are ok with a Klipsch 5.1 pc surround donk.

I want the PC premium graphics and sound. I can't pay for top end but close enough. Same as my audio lol. I buy last gens top end.

Besides, my favorite pc games I play for YEARS at a time. The Battlefield series alone is 6 yrs or more now.
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Asus Xonar DX is quite nice. I bought it used, from [H].

Razer had a bad rap for audio because of their craptacular headphones. However the Razer Mako speakers are excellent for $250. Even better than the Bose Companion 3 Series II. Okay, people dislike the brand names, I understand, it's the way of the internet, but if you haven't heard the C3S2, go to Best Buy and be blow away by the sound quality.

I got the Razer Mako set because I wanted the clearest bass you can buy without an external amplifier, and the Mako delivered.
 
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IRSmurf said:
I find that offensive
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This system, in its entirety, cost much more than $2,000. :D

Seriously, though. You have your hobbies, I have mine. Yes playing high resolution, high AA, high AF, and 3D over the low-res, upscaled, 2D games on a console was worth $2,000 to me. I'm currently playing Batman AA in 3D and it is phenomenal.

If my apartment burned down tonight and I survived but my computer didn't, the ONLY thing I'd change when buying my system again would be the Antec Twelve Hundred for a Corsair Obsidian 800D.
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I have the 1200, nice case but only 7 slots.
 
heatlesssun said:
I have the 1200, nice case but only 7 slots.
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My issues:
1) I have the E758 and its VREG heatsink it very tall. I cannot mount the H50 in the Twelve Hundred because there is no where to mount a fan outside of the one spot behind this heatsink. The 800D has ample mounting locations, so I could even mount a push pull.

2) It is very difficult to remove the dust filters from the front of the case. I have to unscrew all the drive bays and pull them out... Why couldn't they just put a dust filter on the front that can be pulled out when you need to clean?

3) I want a few hot swappable bays, and the 800D makes it so nice / easy.

The Twelve Hundred is a fantastic case with superior air flow, but the 800D does it better.
 
IRSmurf said:
2) It is very difficult to remove the dust filters from the front of the case. I have to unscrew all the drive bays and pull them out... Why couldn't they just put a dust filter on the front that can be pulled out when you need to clean?
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Agreed, this is what I hate most about this case and you've just reminded me I need to clean these filters!:(
 
IRSmurf said:
The Twelve Hundred is a fantastic case with superior air flow, but the 800D does it better.
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The 800D is the shit.

I wouldn't have thought that the piece of PC kit that I'd get the most excited about in years would be a frigging case, but here we are. :)
 
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