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What to do
OK I use my work rig more to play games (at lunch), mainly we do Rainbow Six Vegas 2 over a LAN which is cool. Not sure my current spec is under my name but I'll run it down here:
AMD Athlon X2 4800 (939)
2GB RAM
NVIDIA Geforce 7950GX2
Abit KN8 Ultra
Vista Ultimate x64
Now I am debating whether to upgrade to an
Intel Q6600
4GB RAM
Abit IP35 Pro
(Keep same graphics for now just running on bog standard 19" monitor, 1280x1024)
Vista Ultimate x64
(About £280 cost)
OR
Just get a new graphics card (NVIDIA 260)
(About £200 cost)
But for the same cash as a core upgrade I could go rogue and get an XBox 60GB and a couple of games and a VGA cable. However I doubt I'd be able to play online due to our ISP being stringent (no puns) with our ports. I tried my PS3 here and they didn't let it through. Anyone know if there are specific ports XBox Live uses (like PSN)?
Trouble is, my PC gaming is diminishing. Games require better machines to run at decent looking graphics and load times. At least with a console, you buy a game you know it works without installing and downloading a 100+mb patch which seems to be the case with PC games.
BTW mods, no idea where to stick this, if you feel it might be better in the gaming section them please feel free to move on out.
So open to ideas and thoughts. However I could go the save money route! :)
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Re: What to do
You already stated you had Vista Ultimate x64, why buy a new one? (I suppose one of the two is wrong placed =p)
I'd go for the first upgrade.
Getting the GTX260 on a 1280x1024 resolution is really not worth it, your SLI setup will work fine for that.
About the console;
Ye you know all games will run fine, but once the next-gen consoles come out, you will need to buy that one again to keep on gaming (or keep your old and already completed games =p)
A computer can be used for much more things, besides gaming. And you can upgrade one or two components every 3 or 4 years, if you wish to keep playing the latest games ^^
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Re: What to do
Your GX2 will be fine for pretty much anything except crysis (and even then it'll do alright).
You'll see much more benefits with option one, mainly because the jump to the Quad is pretty big not to mention the 4GB of RAM.
Upgrading to the graphics card will be a lot more "wow that's an improvement", but it'll only be in games really.
With regards to the console argument. Think of it this way - even if your PC can't run the games that come out immediately for the next gen console, you can run any game you like for the PC (near enough) from the last 20 years. Can you do that on a console? No! It's like being able to play PS2, 360, PSX, NES .... all the way back to Atari on one system.
The graphics card upgrade thing is also a hotly disputed argument. Sure odds are it might not be able to play those games, but another way of looking at it is thus:
The majority of games where you'd have the best opportunity to compare are going to be games that come out on different systems - as such, if it's out on PC as well then a decent rig will display it just as well as a console will (if not better at a much higher resolution). Look at assassin's creed - fantastic visuals and runs fine on a mid range.
And also another point is that one of the reasons your graphics card needs to be good is that you're trying to display games at a higher resolution than most televisions (this is changing with the switch to HD, but most people run at 720p - a far cry from the 1280x960 and upwards that many people run).
This is something that we could talk about for days, but i maintain that a PC is just as viable an option as a console. Certainly my 8800GT was 180 and it could run pretty much anything that came out on the 360 (that came out for the PC too).
One argument the other way is both online play, and download content - something that PC developers are getting bad at (GH3.. grrr). Now there's starting to be keyboard/mouse support on major consoles, it's becoming in some ways easier to play games online and with friends. There's also the Xbox Live / PS3 Home systems which are pretty good for other stuff like trailers, downloads, etc.
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Re: What to do
Maybe another option is to stick with what you have? Is it too slow doing what you're doing now? If you can live with what you have take my advice and save your money until you are in a situation where you cannot function with what you have. Specs will ahve increased and prices willl have dropped by then. :)
Console 'v' PC is a personal thing. If you're playing over the LAN every day then keep the PC or you'll be playing with yourself :D