What resolution are you running your computer on? That's quite likely the problem.

The thing that irks me is straight money comparisons on PC price vs. console price. Even if you have the greatest console ever, you still need a PC to go online, do your work, and all that other fun stuff, and if you get a gaming PC, it covers that stuff much better than a cheap PC (Bigger hard drive and better performance so you can spend less time loading), and even the cheapest PC still has a price tag.

Also, people look at dell prices rather than ibuypower or newegg prices when looking at computers, throwing off their math by quite a bit. You also have to look at the respective costs of games for PC vs console, eg sixty or eighty dollar games against 50 or less. The money you wind up paying for those games adds up.

I don't think it's really an issue unless you just have to have the latest game right away.

If you wait 6 months or a year, you can get what was the top of the line video card for a couple hundred, and probably find the game for a lot less, too. And another plus is that by waiting a while past the initial release, you get more mature implementations of the hardware, drivers, and the game.

I usually upgrade something on my PC every year: disk, graphics, CPU/RAM/mobo, and I don't find many games that don't run well. Yes, the hardware is more expensive than my son's Xbox360, but the choice isn't between getting a PC or a 360, it's whether or not to get a 360 in addition to the PC.

I personally think all this "PC vs. Consoles" argument is bunk; neither one is so expensive that you can only have one, and neither one is capable of replacing the other. Consoles don't have the suite of applications necessary (although they'll probably be a lot closer for the next generation), and a PC just isn't an appliance. What I mean by that is that you can't just take it out of the box, plug it in, and have it work.

xthetenth its not resolution, example i own cod4 for the pc, i have to play wih most settings turned off but it still looks decent, ive played it on the xbox and it looks 10 times better especially if played in hd.

I don't know if they're getting to good, but they may be getting too good.

For low end machines at least.

You might need to have two of them too.

Well, I'm not sure what kind of pc you're running and what kind of games you're playing other than Gears of War, but when my friends got their xboxes, they're games still didn't look as good as my pc games. And I've seen xbox and PS2 games have framerate issues as well. It's quite common among that generation of systems I find.

There are pros and cons about both PC gaming and console gaming. PC gaming requires more patience and usually more expertise, while console gaming is quicker and easier(normally). PC games are cheaper while console games are more expensive. A PC can do more and you have more choice as to what you want in your PC, where consoles are limited(though that's changing) and you're stuck with certain hardware and their hardware issues(ie: 360's dying left, right and centre).

It basically comes down to, do you want to sacrifice less trouble and less choice? Go console. More choice, more trouble? PC.

I understand what your saying there. Alpha prime is though of the same ilk, looks a step down from the ones mentioned and runs the worst out of all of them. Oblivion's problem seems to be that it runs great for a while. Then one of a certain creature or something will all of a sudden bog it badly, while others don't. That's more why how I felt some of the code was less than optimal in that game. It was really random when the slowdowns would occur and why.

I really can't compare consoles to PCs. For me they are two separate entities with different purposes, even in games I choose for them. For consoles I want something I can jump into and play for 15 or 30 minutes and jump out of. Most my racing games are on consoles as an example. For PC games I want a deeper more involved experience, where you need focus and some time to really get into it. Some PC games I won't even load up unless I have a good hour or two set aside to play them.

Probably your computer's hardware. Your performance will depend greatly on the hardware you are using. I'm pretty sure I could outperform the 360 with my own computer.



Agreed, except for one thing: The statement that "neither one is so expensive that you can only have one." That will depend greatly on a person's budget. People live in all kinds of income brackets, and I've talked to people who can barely afford their own rent. For some people, a computer or a console can be a large investment, and may take some months to save up the money.

It took me an entire year I think to build my current system up to what it is now. Piece by piece when I had the money. I'm still in college, so I'm in one of the lower income brackets.



I would agree with this. Consoles are often for quick games (although there are exceptions), and PCs are generally for longer, more involved games (although there are exceptions).

Well, duh. PC games have been like this for the better part of 15 years, so this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who isn't a total newbie to PC gaming.




Yes, for two reasons:

One, because it's system requirements scared off many people.

Two, when you go beyond the graphics, the game really isn't that interesting. In fact, it can be downright tedious and annoying. Unfortunately, many game companies don't seem to realize that better graphics doesn't necessarily equate to a better game.




Is THIS how they count the number of pirated copies of games they have? I thought maybe they were somehow checking the CD-keys to see how many fakes ones people were using. If they're using NO-CD hacks downloads to make their case, they're kidding themselves so badly it isn't even funny.




*cough*Battlefield 2142*cough*




HAHAHAHA If PC manufacturers sold their parts at a loss, too, I doubt we'd ever have a discussion on which costs more, PCs or consoles.


Mad Cat

What drives me absolutely nuts is when some game uses software to paint shadows and uses older and slower algorithms to do it with. There are some very slow shadow painting algorithms that use a lot of CPU and create blocky looking shadows, which can cause even modern computers to choke. It's amazing that they're still used, and that companies don't realize that there are better ways of drawing shadows.

my computer is mid range, its a dual core i have an ati graphics card not sure which but i think x1300/x1500 but i was looking at the kinds of frame rates i should be getting in games with this type of card and i get sygnificantly higher,i think it must be something to do with dual core, because i can run sins with preety much all highest settings fine, even so with an hd tv many xbox games outperform my pc when you look at it on a cost basis and even graphical basis.

Well, HD TVs can be expensive, especially if you're shooting for 1080p. You're now looking at getting a TV in addition to just the console.

"HD" essentially means "we finally got out of the TV equivalent of 640x480 and moved up to high resolutions that are similar to PC resolutions."



What card are you using? You can use dxdiag to find out.

The Xbox 360, if I remember correctly, is a three core system.

Well, hopefully producers will begin to take a clue from successes like Sins and GCII: there are a lot of gamers out there who aren't interested in investing in high-end graphics.

Markets are usually self-adjusting. If many users buy games made for mid-range machines, producers will probably keep supplying them. On the other hand, its easier to make a graphically astounding game than to come up with innovative, well-crafted gameplay- and theres a big market for graphically astounding games in the console market.

Well, games like GalCiv 2 and Sins require a lot of talent, but games like Crysis require a lot man hours. A game like GalCiv 2 is like a small shop filled with innovative people, while a game like Crysis is more like a large factory.

The small shop is a lot more flexible and changing and can create lots of innovation, but the factory can output large amounts of material. Games with lots of details and especially MMORPGs require huge amounts of art.

I havent even played 2142 yet, but BF2 alone has it's problems.






I know, it's brutal. There's just no excuse for crap like that.