The $500 Gaming PC Upgrade: CoD 4, Crysis, UT 3 Performance Explored

While cynics believe otherwise, it doesn't cost a fortune to build a solid PC for gaming. In fact, FiringSquad believe $500 is all you need to upgrade an existing PC. In this article, they spec out a $500 upgrade and compare its performance to that of a high-end Core 2 Extreme gaming rig. How close do they perform to one another? You may be surprised by the results.

[TheMART]

One small flaw in this all: within one or two years you have to do the upgrading circus again. While the consoles keep you playing for at least 5 years without worrying about upgrading to a next gen one.

Really. PC gaming and console gaming are just a world of difference:

Keyboard: designed for TYPING
Mouse: designed for pointing the arrow across your screen for switching programs etc.

Computer+keyboard/mouse+monit or= desk work, no relaxed gaming
Console+controller+surround+c ouch+big ass HDTV = living room relaxed gaming

With certain games, the PC setup I could prefer, RTS etc.
But overal? Console. No Vista/XP starting up, installing, driver issues, other processes running and a 550 watt power supply running for nothing.

[DethWish]

With a PC like that starting up XP takes less time than starting up a 360

[xionpunk]

Yeah the every 2 year thing is right... Which is why I have this same old
crappy gateway with a gf6200 card. I' rather put down $400-500 for a ps3
which will keep me satisfied for 5-10 years.

[dexterwang]

I don't know why pc gaming have such a bad sigma... most likely created by people like the mart who can't afford anything worth a s*%t

Upgrading your video card once every 1-2 years is way overexaggerated... If you gotten the x1950 when it came out a couple of years ago, it'd still run games fine, you won't be able to run crysis on high but medium isn't bad at all... you won't even see crysis running on consoles!

It doesn't take a retard to know that mouse and keyboard are perfectly designed for RTS, FPS, and point/click kind of games (sims, diablo, etc)

Console gaming is best for sports, racing and RPGs/platformers

I'm not bashing consoles here, as I own all consoles, but you really need both consoles and PCs to enjoy the full gaming experience.. if you are missing one, you're missing out.

And the statement about keyboard being designed for typing is ridiculous and simply blatantly show your a noob at pc gaming... espcially for FPSes... keyboard binding, fast weapon switches, the ability to press multiple buttons at the same time, type chatting! There are some good console FPSes out there, ie Halo and RFOM, which are all great games, but those games will be so much greater on PCs

And for those that disagree, there was a pcgamer article where they had their editors (who rarely play halo) using keyboard/mouse to go up against xbox magazine editors who are using a gamepad in halo (can't remember 1 or 2)... even with the help of autoaim, the pcgamer ppl kicked their asses!

[fermcr]

It seems everybody complains the price of PC's but don't take in the account that Console games are double the price of PC games. With 2 years of saving money in games half the price you can afford a new update for the PC and still spare some money for others things. Some people are just blind... they don't take in account the price of the games. Take this example... some game UNREAL TOURNAMENT 3 for PC and PS3

http://www10.cd-wow.com/sea...

Same game...Double the price. Console fanboys are just blind.

[BrianC6234]

This is exactly why I don't buy PC games anymore. You have to spend $500 on a good graphics card to keep up with the games. I already spent plenty on my PC. It does everything I need. The grpahics card isn't quite good enough for the newest games but is plenty of power anyway. But then, most PC games still don't push my card anyway. PC gaming is terrible unless you don't care about the latest grpahics. I'll stick to console gaming for now.

[ShiftyLookingCow]

you are beating a horse long beaten to death but the graphics card's price is not 500 its 250

[BrianC6234]

I've already spent too much on my PC as it is. The big problem with PC gaming is it's a bottomless pit if you want to keep up. When I bought my current graphics card it was one of the best you could buy and it isn't that old. Most PC games never took advantage of it even. Now it isn't good enough to really run the newest games properly. Console gaming isn't that expensive. I just laugh at people who cry about the price of the PS3. They obviously never got into PC gaming. But I'm done doing more PC upgrades just to play the newest PC games. I even have Vista on my computer. I think that was a mistake even. My PC is good enough now to do everything I need. I'm just done with PC gaming. Unless the game will run okay on my PC and the PS3 doesn't get the game.

[DethWish]

My GPU was mid-range over 2 years ago.. and runs crysis without lag, so I kinda fail to see your point and also what card you can possible talk about

[KINGDRAMA]

Bluetooth keyboard and mouse
X-fi sound card connects to receiver(ALLOWING FOR MANY AUDIO FIDELITY OPTIONS)
video cards support dvi(so do most midrange to high end hdtvs)
Ps2 wireless controller with rumble.
OVERCLOCKING!!!cpu/ram/gfxcar d
Black Leather couch

Mart u live in a basement no wonder you bash everything you dont have.

GET your facts straight and at least TEST THINGS OUT. before trying to sound semi intelligent.

now go play with your p1,tnt,64mb,15inch crt pc. LEAVE THE REAL GAMING TO THE REAL GAMERS

[TheMART]

So if you lay on your back, how comfortable is it to have a keyboard to hold? And where exactly do you put your mouse? A controller you can even swing in the air and still game. That PS2 controller isn't very suitable for RTS or World of Warcraft is it?

And a PC rig big housing in your living room? Nah. Really. I have a PC pretty good still for todays games. But I am not gaming so much on it any more since I bought my 360. I have been a PC gamer for a long, long time dude. You might first want to ask. With XBOX 1 I used them both. But since 360 and XBL in this form, I only use my PC for Word, internet and stuff that belongs to a PC

[okcomputer]

Couldn't have said it better. Bubbles for you king. Some people are just so insecure they have to bash everything they don't have to make themselves feel better.

[MaximusPaynicus]

You know, while PC gaming will always have its followers (even I play on PC from time to time), its reasons like price that will ensure it never overtakes the consoles. Most people simply don't have absurd amounts of cash to throw down on a video card that will just have to be replaced in one or two years.

With that said, this is a damn fine article that everyone who's had an interest in PC gaming should look at.

[DethWish]

Thing is... PC gaming is still larger than all active consoles together

[KINGDRAMA]

thats not a bad pc d-i-y formula right there. Most people go this route anyway.
alot buy alienware with their 1k markup. alot of others go hpblackbird. In the end theres different levels of affordability aimed for all.

MART: youd be surprised how comfortable the K+m work on the couch.

WE NO LONGER USE trackball mice. MOST IF NOT ALL HERE USE A OPTICAL WITH HIGH DPI FOR GAMING ANYWAYS.
gamepad is ok for san andreas and marvel alliance and driving games(games of that nature). k+m take care of everything else. not that hard is it?

BTW shooters BELONG on the pc. thats why cod4 ut3 and gears of war will blow any console away. Actually most 360 exclusive games are on pc.... ALL 5 OF THEM

[Impact]

first off im a PC gamer, the facts are pc gaming is exspensive. especially if you are running games at a higher resolution.

I'm running

8800gtx
AMD dual core 4800+ 64x2
2 gigs of ram
X-FI Extreme Gamer Sound Card
on a 28inch 1920x1200 lcd monitor

after playing "Crysis" demo and "Company of Heroes" on directx10
at 1920x1200 my FPS becomes laughable, however i can play directx9 with all the bells and whistles on and keep a fluid Frame Rate. which is insane a graphics card alone wont give you performance. not to mention any of the below parts i have listed are not always compatible with each other due to changing technology. you can't simply swap out parts your forces to constantly upgrade your entire system.

*Motherboard

*RAM (will probably have to upgrade with motherboard due to compatibility issues)

*CPU (same as above)

*Power supply ( yes most people will need newer power supplies for these new graphics cards, they are power hungry)

in order to keep up with graphics / performance you must upgrade your PC every 2 years unless you like playing with medium / low settings at a lesser resolution.

[KINGDRAMA]

vista is sh1t. If you have 2 gis ram vista uses 1 gig.

If youre running ultimate vista you need 4 gigs so vista can use 2 gigs.

Vista is a joke, its footprint is way too big for a gaming pc. ITs just bloatware...just like all the crap that dell ships their pc's with. Most people i know who have one reformat and just install their os of choice when they go dell. All that crap ties up TOO many resources. So does vista....and for what? AERO GLASS?pleez

[xionpunk]

ugh, even though i said i wouldn't, i downloaded the crysis demo. I had everything set to low which looks fugly as hell, and still had an annoying framerate plus load times that gave me a chance to ponder where my life will take me in the next 20 years.

[BrianC6234]

You have to upgrade every two years? But DethWish has a two year old graphics card that was cheap then. He can still play PC games. Hahaha. I guess he likes those old text based adventure games. Remember the games with no graphics?

[Impact]

I'm running vista ultimate 64. that very well could be the problem, i will upgrade to 4 gigs and see if it improves, thank for the advice

[mighty_douche]

for the win!

[mighty_douche]

realisticly, if sony/M$ announced tomorrow they are releasing a 'add-on' for their system that doubles the graphical quality you'd all be running to the shops.

i bet 99% of you who bash PC have never even played on a high end pc. i was like it once, i thought consoles offered the best gaming experience until i meet a new friend who had a decend pc, 10 minutes on Half Life and i was sold. after using Keyboard and mouse for a good period of time going back to a pad just felt useless, the accuracy a mouse offers can never be better by a pad.

[KINGDRAMA]

all consoles with these options failed.
n64 rampak
segacd
jaguar cd
segagenesis32x

aall failures

Daaamn i need more bubbles.
--------------------

mY BAD MIGHTY. I c wut U DID there.

[mighty_douche]

im not saying they will do, im just stating that console fans moan about upgrading pc's, but in reality if the option was there to do it to consoles they'd take it. im just pointing out its double standards.

[led1090]

some ppl say console gaming is better even tho they havent played a single pc game some say it is better cause they dont have the money to upgrade.....yes a gaming rig can last you for arnd 3 yrs and a console can last you for arnd 5 but if u make proper choices then ur pc can last much longer like now that dx10 games are out its logical to buy an 8800 cause as we know most of the devs will make games with the consoles in mind and since a console cannot match a high end pc so games coming out for consoles will always run on the pc without any problems so basically ur pc will last you for atleast 5 yrs........its the pc specific games that will hurt eg crysis

[jackdoe]

I prefer the simplicity of console gaming. Just pop in the game and play. PC gaming involves installing and tweaking. Console gaming does all of that for you.

[pointystick]

Another way to look at this is the price of games on the consoles. Games are usually more than twice the price on consoles than the PC. Once you've bought several of games you've already made your money back compared to console gaming.

PC users take the hit on hardware, console users take the hit on games. It kinda balances everything out.

[SSCOOLCHEA]

More power to the people that play pc games , I have to say that this is a rip off.