how much does pc gaming really cost?

[mamamia88]

say i wanted to get an htpc that can also play current games how much would i be looking at spending?

[kaldor]

Depends massively on what you intend on playing. What games do you play or plan on playing?

[marin123]

my laptop costed 5800 HRK, thats around 800 euros and i was able to play (while i had windows on) dirt 2, nfs shift, cod 4 on highest graphics settings.
my laptop is acer 5942 g, i5 processor, 4 GB RAM, ati radeon hd 5650 (1 GB vram).

[mamamia88]

I don't even know what games I want to play just that my laptop that I was using as a desktop is outdated and the gpu is fried. I am now only using my netbook and phone.

[kaldor]

Are you into Singleplayer (story) or Multiplayer (online) games? Do you like action games or rather roleplaying games?

[mamamia88]

Are you into Singleplayer (story) or Multiplayer (online) games? Do you like action games or rather roleplaying games?

i mostly play shooters, sports, and racing games. i heard shooters are better wtih keyboard and mouse but not sure how comfortable i would be using mouse on my couch. i am perfectly fine with controller and i already have 360 and ps3 controllers i could hook up to it

[kaldor]

Well, if you want to actually get into gaming I really recommend a good mouse and a good desk + chair. Nothing worse than being too uncomfortable to play a game properly.

Quake Live, Urban Terror, Quake 4, Battlefield and Call of Duty might be appealing as shooters for you. If you like third person melee games, Jedi Academy (multiplayer) is one of the best games out there.

To play these games smoothly, you'll probably want something in the 800-1200 dollar range. For a mouse, you cannot go wrong with anything Logitech; especially their old MX518.

But if you want to push your PC and play the latest games on max settings, you're looking at a whole lot more.

[mamamia88]

Well, if you want to actually get into gaming I really recommend a good mouse and a good desk + chair. Nothing worse than being too uncomfortable to play a game properly.

Quake Live, Urban Terror, Quake 4, Battlefield and Call of Duty might be appealing as shooters for you. If you like third person melee games, Jedi Academy (multiplayer) is one of the best games out there.

To play these games smoothly, you'll probably want something in the 800-1200 dollar range. For a mouse, you cannot go wrong with anything Logitech; especially their old MX518.

But if you want to push your PC and play the latest games on max settings, you're looking at a whole lot more. not a huge fan of quake, never heard of urban terror, battlefield and cod are multiplayer games that i can play on the consoles i own and i would get pwned by experienced mouse and keyboarders but i'm competent with a controller. maybe i will just build a cheap htpc and stick with my consoles.

[NMFTM]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cutting_edge.png

[LowSky]

maybe i will just build a cheap htpc and stick with my consoles.

thats the best idea.

My HTPC is also my home server. All I suggest is a cheap dedicated nvidia graphics card and a few TB of hard drive space.

[PhillyPhil]

not a huge fan of quake, never heard of urban terror, battlefield and cod are multiplayer games that i can play on the consoles i own and i would get pwned by experienced mouse and keyboarders but i'm competent with a controller. maybe i will just build a cheap htpc and stick with my consoles.

You'd pick it up fairly quickly. A mouse is a big advantage over a controller. Even an average player with a mouse can compete with very good players using controllers.

[Quadunit404]

PC games on Steam usually run from $20 - $60, depending on the game and how long ago it was released. Indie games usually run even lower, many times as low as $3.99.

Also, remember that you constantly have to upgrade, unless you have a PC capable of handling the demand of titles newer and more powerful than it is.

Quadunit404™ at your service. (http://steamcommunity.com/id/Quadunit404/) (Yes, that's my Steam account.)

[3Miro]

If you build a machine yourself, you can make a good gaming machine for about $600. Look into Phenom II X4 ($120) + AMD78x or AMD87x chipsets (I recommend Gigabyte motherboard) ($90) + 4GB of RAM (Kingston should be cheap enough $40) + Radeon 48xx or 58xx video card (Gigabyte, Asus or XFX, but I only see 6850 for $170) + 320-500GB HDD + CD ROM + 500-650PSU + some box with decent number of fans. Brand new from Newegg shouldn't exceed $500-550.

If you plan on using Windows, that comes extra, check the exact prices for the hardware. I personally play with wine, but for wine you need an Nvidia video card (I have GTX260 and it is enough for most games, but 460 will probably be better).

[PhillyPhil]

If you plan on using Windows, that comes extra, check the exact prices for the hardware. I personally play with wine, but for wine you need an Nvidia video card (I have GTX260 and it is enough for most games, but 460 will probably be better).

There are of course also people who obtain Windows illegally instead of paying.

[v1ad]

i don't know it all depends on how crazy u want to go.
my specs:
Asus Gtx580 - $540
Samsung led 32" 120 hz - $700
SSD 120GB - $280

and thats only a small portion of the whole computer. it all depends.

[3Miro]

The Impaler brings up a goof point, I forgot about the monitor. Some modern TV sets have HDMI ports and you can get a DVI to HDMI cable (or HDMI video card) and use your TV. However, you will need a desk to put the mouse and keyboard.

[Bandit]

If you build a machine yourself, you can make a good gaming machine for about $600. Look into Phenom II X4 ($120) + AMD78x or AMD87x chipsets (I recommend Gigabyte motherboard) ($90) + 4GB of RAM (Kingston should be cheap enough $40) + Radeon 48xx or 58xx video card (Gigabyte, Asus or XFX, but I only see 6850 for $170) + 320-500GB HDD + CD ROM + 500-650PSU + some box with decent number of fans. Brand new from Newegg shouldn't exceed $500-550.

If you plan on using Windows, that comes extra, check the exact prices for the hardware. I personally play with wine, but for wine you need an Nvidia video card (I have GTX260 and it is enough for most games, but 460 will probably be better).

I concur. Also Id go with the GTX460, I got mine for 199. Its best performance per dollar out at the time. Prob still close now.

[Paqman]

say i wanted to get an htpc that can also play current games how much would i be looking at spending?

Hmm, one obvious problem I can see here is that HTPCs are generally designed to be as quiet as possible, while high-performance gaming rigs tend to sound like a hovercraft. Having an actively cooled GPU in there that's capable of playing recent FPS games is likely to be quite noisy unless you focus a lot of effort on noise reduction.

You'll need a quite case, a good CPU cooler, and you might want to think about after-market GPU coolers. All this will push your budget up a bit.

Have you thought about controllers? If you're sitting on the sofa you won't be able to use keyboard and mouse.

[Grenage]

Modern PC games with 'everything on' cost a fortune; the graphics card alone will equal a new console. You can play older games, or modern games at lower settings for a fraction of the price. It really comes down to what's worth it for you.

As Paqman says, an HTPC is generally designed to be compact and quiet - not a gaming powerhouse. My gaming PC is quiet, but huge.

[CompyTheInsane]

Here's an estimate of how much I've spent to get the hardware/software I currently use for gaming:
$30 on the case
$20-30 total on the case fans
$99 on the motherboard (ASUS M3A78-EM)
About $50 for my ATI Radeon HD 5570
$59 on the hard drive
$20 on the power supply unit
$25 on a DVD burner (For backing up unused games)
$199 on my Acer X223W
$200+ on Windows 7 Ultimate Edition

The full specs for the computer can be found on my specs link.

[Bandit]

Hmm, one obvious problem I can see here is that HTPCs are generally designed to be as quiet as possible, while high-performance gaming rigs tend to sound like a hovercraft.

Not so much these days as they used to be. My CM Scout case (http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2912) has 3x 120mm and 2x 140mm cooler master fans and my temps for my CPU are around 33C on average never going more then 5 degrees higher under hours of full load and my video is 32C on average never getting above 40C on hours of game play as well. And the best part is that my system is its whisper quiet, which is not silent. But with 5 case fans, plus video fan and cpu fan. 7 Fans and is still quiet enough that it sets on top of my desk and its still quiet enough that if you walk 5ft away you cant hear it.

I an using mostly these fans (http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2887). Believe my over all system DB rating to be between 25-30.

[drawkcab]

thats the best idea.

My HTPC is also my home server. All I suggest is a cheap dedicated nvidia graphics card and a few TB of hard drive space.

Same here.

[zkissane]

I bought a house 4 years ago. I bought a 50" plasma TV and a 5.1 surround sound system to go in it. I thought hooking up my computer to that setup would be awesome. I was disappointed. It's just not comfortable. When it comes to gaming, I've probably played 100x more hours on my 360 than on the computer.

[Bandit]

I bought a house 4 years ago. I bought a 50" plasma TV and a 5.1 surround sound system to go in it. I thought hooking up my computer to that setup would be awesome. I was disappointed. It's just not comfortable. When it comes to gaming, I've probably played 100x more hours on my 360 than on the computer.

I am right the opposite. I cant stand trying to play on a console but have no problems digging right in on my computer.

[3Miro]

I bought a house 4 years ago. I bought a 50" plasma TV and a 5.1 surround sound system to go in it. I thought hooking up my computer to that setup would be awesome. I was disappointed. It's just not comfortable. When it comes to gaming, I've probably played 100x more hours on my 360 than on the computer.

Depends on what you are comfortable with. I suck with the controls, I tried playing a shooter once and it was a complete disaster.

The bigger issue is that there are some games that cannot be played without a mouse or a keyboard. RTS come to mind and in many cases TBS are unplayable (or simply unavailable).

You do need a desk or a table for the mouse and keyboard and those have to be at the right level for your height and arms length.

[drawkcab]

I do ok at console fps games but I really think they're a lot more fun when played with a keyboard and mouse. I prefer consoles for sports games and things like rockband and guitar hero.

That said, I would never try to play at the coffee table, in front of my tv with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

[phuongdt3]

If you build a machine yourself, you can make a good gaming machine for about $600. Look into Phenom II X4 ($120) + AMD78x or AMD87x chipsets (I recommend Gigabyte motherboard) ($90) + 4GB of RAM (Kingston should be cheap enough $40) + Radeon 48xx or 58xx video card (Gigabyte, Asus or XFX, but I only see 6850 for $170) + 320-500GB HDD + CD ROM + 500-650PSU + some box with decent number of fans. Brand new from Newegg shouldn't exceed $500-550.

If you plan on using Windows, that comes extra, check the exact prices for the hardware. I personally play with wine, but for wine you need an Nvidia video card (I have GTX260 and it is enough for most games, but 460 will probably be better).

I suggest that.Its best performance per dollar out at the time.