Trying to surf the internet and watch tv at the same time doesn't sound like something I'd want to do. And I can't see a reason like that justifying the additional cost of a laptop vs a desktop, and the compromises, such as graphics.

I've just never felt the need to have a mobile computer. Maybe that's why whenever I owned a "portable" game system, I always ended up using them plugged into a wall adaptor, rather than "on the go." <shrug>

After doing this with my girlfriend's laptop, I fell in love with wanting a new laptop. Makes things so handy... of course my desktop is better so I use it more, but the convenience is awfully nice.

How else can you post "OMG?!?" in real time at all the "holy shit" moments during 24?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/23/te...in&oref=slogin

Screw you guys, it's alive and kicking!

PC games are dead to me.

I wouldn't say it's dead dead but not the front runner as it was four plus years ago. It's no doubt consoles have changed gaming mainly in the area of Dollars $$$ and games themselves but also online play. I do miss all the expansion packs, levels and mostly the mods done by other players.


Kenny J - Buzz Starhopper

If by "changed gaming" you mean, helped dumbed down games, then I'd agree.

What do you mean by they have changed online play? Seems to me consoles have only recently got the kind of online experience PC gamers have had for many, many years.

It's just "on-line" has become more available, affordable and straight forward "plug-n-play". Before even with the 56K one had to sort out connection issues and dealing with hardware/software.

The other part is with the pc it was usually for one player only. With consoles you can do lan and/or have four players in a snap. One only needs a extra controiller, not lug around a whole pc. I still think pc games have far more depth and play versus consoles. For what it's worth I still play Unreal Tournament and a boatload of mods and maps once-in-a-while just to remind me of what it was like.


Kenny J. - Buzz Starhopper

I've had broadband for 10 years now, but before that I was playing online with 10s of 1000s of other people over 56K with not many problems at all. Diablo (on battle.net), Warcraft 2 (over Kali), Duke Nukem (over Kali) and Age of Empires(MSN Gaming Zone I think it was called) were just a few games that had easy online play 10, 11, 12 years ago. Probably since 1993 (when Doom came out) but especially since 1997 (when Ultima Online came out), PC gaming was far from "one player only" anymore. Since that time, the focus on multiplayer has been so great, single player only games(without some type of multiplayer/network component) has really dropped in both number and quality.

Now sure, setting up a quick gaming session with your buddies with a console is much easier than lugging a PC around to LAN with.....but long before Halo and Xbox live (which many consolers think created the online genre), me and my military buddies, who were seperated by distance due to different assignments, could still easily hop online and frag each other.

I just don't get why you say "to remember what it was like". It's only gotten better!...well the gaming/games has gotten better...the now ease of doing it has brought in a ton of asshats to the online realm.

I think the one thing big thing consoles (well really xbox live)have done for online, is bring a unified service, such that you can do all your voice chat, messaging and gaming on a single service. I have been out of online PC gaming some, but the problem is all games use different servers, so you would have to use external voice chat programs, and external messaging programs to get people from different games or see what people were playing. This is what Microsoft is now bringing to the PC, unfortunately it looks like they are trying to charge for some features people already have for free, so it may not take off. PC gamers already have most or all of xbox live features, but just not so accessible. Hopefully if and when the two combine it will be the best of both worlds, all the ease of use of XBOX live arcade, with all the features for the PC.

Well I know it's better but the problem is my hardware is almost 5 years old and upgraded to it's max. Sure hardware is better, faster and affordable "now" but what about later? It's a constant changing environment with both hardware and software. That $1800 rig today will be a $400 entry level in a few years. The next pc I get will probably be a laptop since it fits my needs and more versatile. It's all about economics.

Kenny J

Just Picked up Command and Conquer 3 which is probably the only type of game I play on my PC nowadays. It's coming out on the 360 as well, but there's no way a console will give me the control of a PC for this genre.

Bump

I just ordered my first gaming rig. Never been into pc gaming but with games like diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 coming, I decided to jump in . Is Diablo 2 still alive in the online community?

Also some in this thread mentioned how they dont like to sit at a desk playing games. Almost all computers nowadays allows you to hook up a pc to your tv. The one I'm getting has HDMI output so I'll be able to play on my hdtv with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

One warning: Beware of World of Warcraft...

As far as I know yes especially right now. Blizzard is supposed to be releasing a new patch for D2 here soon.

Just make sure you're comfortable doing that. I've never found a mouse and keyboard comfortable to use on a couch. You either have to put the keyboard on your lap (which I hate), or set it on a coffee table and hunch forward.

Also, bear in mind that some PC games have very small text. They expect the player to be sitting close enough that it isn't a problem, but at typical TV seating distances you may have trouble (unless you have a projector).

The online community for Blizzard's classics is still alive and well. There's a few thousand people playing Starcraft at any given time it seems. Never played Diablo, but I imagine it's going well, since Diablo II is still in the Top 10 Games on Gamefaqs PC section.

Yep. Every single computer I've bought was to upgrade so I could play PC games.

I'll probably have to buy a new computer in 2 months when the new Sims game comes out.

Here's the rig i ordered:




# 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor, 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM (8 GB max), slot-loading dual-layer DVD burner
# Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S SLI graphics with total of 1 GB of dedicated graphics memory; Gigabit Ethernet
# Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1 (64-bit version)

Will it be able to run Crysis? Not a big deal if it cant. There are so many games out there for dirt cheap I've never played that I'll most definately be able to run. Picked up so far:

Grand theft auto san andreas, flight simulator x , shadow run, civilization 4: Colonization, Ghost in the sheet, dreamfall, and neverwinter nights diamond edition. Also going to get this one soon:



any other games you guys can recommend to me?

No Blu-ray option?

Nope. The 803 model has blu-ray, but they did not have it in stock. That was the only major difference between the two. Plus i already have three blu-ray players for my tv. Are there any pc games that come on blu?

nice looking pc, yeah you can run Crysis fine.

also pick up

The Witcher, enhanced version
Empire: Total War
World in Conflict
Company of Heroes
Left 4 Dead
Fallout 3
Command and Conquer 3, Red Alert 3

I already have fallout 3 on 360. Is it worth getting on pc for the mods alone? Definately getting Left 4 Dead. The upcoming mods i've heard sound awesome. There's a rumored resident evil 2 mod that's getting released. I will shit my pants if that rumor holds true

edit to add;

holy crap it is true!:

resident evil 2 mod

Just curious how much that ran you? It's a nice looking system at least.

I prefer to build my own rigs (mainly not for gaming these days) and will probably be doing an i7 920 in the next few months. Amazing what you can build for $600 these days.

I hate PC gaming but that might make me think about taking the leap.