NEXT GEN CONSOLES

[lharris92]

Bought myself a ps3 yesterday which came with a 30day ps plus trial. What a great service! Uncharted 3, xcom, demon souls, ico and shadow of the colossus all for free

don't forget when it becomes 3rd july these games are available for a month with it:

Entering PS Plus in July:

• 3rd July: Battlefield 3
• 3rd July: Payday: The Heist
• 3rd July: Saints Row the Third

[LondonTom]

I've been thinking more and more not getting a next gen console and building my own gaming rig. Anyone here built their own?

I have...about year and half ago and it's still going strong now with all the games I liked playing well (Well mostly MMO's and older games from steam..but it runs great!).

I think it's worth it for the experience, it's interesting to do and a small bit of overclocking can be a joy. ( Got mine mine up to 4.4Ghz for everyday ussage, recently run into a few problems, so I've turned my overclock off ...but I might try again soon, seeing as it was just a faulty graphics driver in the end..)

Current spec: Asus P8Z68-V PRO, Intel Core I7 2600K, 16GB Corsair Vengeance, ASUS 560Ti, Asus Xonar DG (Soundcard), 64GB M4 SSD, 1TB Seagate Barracuda with a Corsair Graphite 600T White Edition Case

Now harddrive prices are back to normal (they was just about to hit the roof when I got mine!) I need to get some more space...and might get a bigger SSD.

Mind with the new generation of consoles, the PC will be behind for a year or two until the developers port any new engines other/hardware overpowers the closed architecture of consoles . (Well the big ones who don't really give a shit about the PC , it's not getting the new FIFA engine for instance..)

[minute5072]

<p>

don't forget when it becomes 3rd july these games are available for a month with it:

Entering PS Plus in July:

• 3rd July: Battlefield 3
• 3rd July: Payday: The Heist
• 3rd July: Saints Row the Third

With the new DMC and spec ops the month after!

Have bought TLOU and Ni No Kuni but between PS+ and lovefilm I don't imagine I'll need to buy another game for it

[windy_miller]

Bought myself a ps3 yesterday which came with a 30day ps plus trial. What a great service! Uncharted 3, xcom, demon souls, ico and shadow of the colossus all for free

Get XCOM! One of the best games of last year, but doesn't seem to have received much love on these boards.

[windy_miller]

I'm guessing Microsoft took a look at the pre-sales figures. The cat is out of the bag now though. We know the DRM technology is built into the console, but it won't be turned on... for now. It's all very well to say it will be like that "for the lifetime of the console", but there's nothing to stop them making a U-turn on that statement as well.

Goodbye Microsoft, it was fun while it lasted.

Edited June 20, 2013 by windy_miller

[Spindles]

don't forget when it becomes 3rd july these games are available for a month with it:

Entering PS Plus in July:

• 3rd July: Battlefield 3
• 3rd July: Payday: The Heist
• 3rd July: Saints Row the Third

Those are some pretty impressive titles for free.

@LondonTom, nice machine, must have cost a bomb!

Hard drive prices and capacity sort of stalled for a while, glad to see them getting back to price drops and size increases. I've only got 1 spare SATA port so will want to go for a couple of larger sizes and lose a 1tb off the array.

SSD's are great for OS, Apps and games, prices have been really dropping in the last 18 months so well worth a punt on a larger capacity, but not too pricey one, imo.

My next upgrade (before I go to the next mobo) is prolly going to be a gfx card, will stick with nvidia and just go for the best spec I can get for £150 when it's time to buy.

[G-Stud]

Looking at what I want for my gaming rig has come in at just under a grand! Maybe I re-assess a few components...

[kaosmark2]

I've not built a gaming-focused rig, but a few tips to add to what's been said already:

Get a good case. Lots of people go for a cheap case, but it makes a huge difference in terms of volume, number of hard-drives/CD drives, and a significant difference in terms of cooling. A better case will both be naturally cooler, and be able to hold more fans and a better heatsink.

You shouldn't need more than 2TB on your media hard-drive, in fact I doubt you'll need more than 1TB.

If you get a SSD, you'll notice the difference when running programs off that than off your hard-disk, but it's a luxury rather than a necessity. Also, the ~60GB standard size won't be enough to hold games on it as well as an OS, mine's 60GB and I've just about got room for Windows 7 and my core programs, no games whatsoever. In order to keep games installed onto it and run them off that you'll want 120GB+.

If you want to save on something early, look at your current PC's component specs and hijack the best bit from that to use initially. Hard-drive would be a good option, if you're lucky you might have a decent case/dedicated graphics card. It's highly unlikely you'll have a top-end motherboard in an old pre-built machine, but you could probably raid the RAM short-term. RAM's always cheap and easy to upgrade.

[jump]

Has anyone played both Monster Hunter 3 & Animal Crossing on the 3DS? There a promo on where I get one of them free but I can't decide which one tho.

Edited June 25, 2013 by jump

[viberunner]

You shouldn't need more than 2TB on your media hard-drive, in fact I doubt you'll need more than 1TB.

Some good advice marred by this. I've got two 1TB external hard-drives and they're full. And that's just films and TV... start creating 3D animations, game levels, etc., oh my.

But yes, perhaps 1-2 TB inside the PC and then some external HDDs.

[kaosmark2]

Some good advice marred by this. I've got two 1TB external hard-drives and they're full. And that's just films and TV... start creating 3D animations, game levels, etc., oh my.

But yes, perhaps 1-2 TB inside the PC and then some external HDDs.

I guess it depends what you use it for. I don't download films or TV, I've got my thousand album music collection in lossless format though and I'm not close to filling up my 1TB though.

I'd have given different advice if he'd said he was planning to do game design and editing. Other advnatage of a 1-2TB internal then adding external HDDs if needed helps spread the purchase cost out a bit.

[G-Stud]

Yeah, I'm thinking that an internal 1tb HDD for games with a 120gb SSD for OS and any programmes. I've been reading about people saying they've made a top notch gaming rig for £600 yet I can't get mine below £800, though I do need the lot - monitor, OS, keyboard, mouse etc.

I could forget the SSD, and get a cheaper mouse and keyboard (though for both at the moment I'm at about £25 which is ok I think), and I could obviously get a cheaper graphics card and stuff. But I think if I'm going to build a gaming PC then I'd be as well to start with a high spec so that it lasts longer... right?

Edited June 25, 2013 by G-Stud

[kaosmark2]

Yeah, I'm thinking that an internal 1tb HDD for games with a 120gb SSD for OS and any programmes. I've been reading about people saying they've made a top notch gaming rig for £600 yet I can't get mine below £800, though I do need the lot - monitor, OS, keyboard, mouse etc..

Yeah, that'll be the difference there, a fair number of people will need an OS, but monitor/keyboard/mouse are usually claimed from the last PC and carried over. I take it you've been using a laptop?

[viberunner]

Keep an eye on Amazon for monitors. I got mine for £100 in a week when it dipped from a usual £180-ish price tag. (I have it for the Xbox 360).

[kaosmark2]

It's also worth going into Currys/PC World/whatever's near you and checking there. You might pick up a bargain, particularly on a display model.

[G-Stud]

Yeah, got a laptop at them moment so I'm building from scratch. Thanks for the input though guys, I appreciate the advice

[kaosmark2]

Yeah, got a laptop at them moment so I'm building from scratch. Thanks for the input though guys, I appreciate the advice

You're welcome! Good luck with it!

Edit:

Oh, have you factored in price of cooling equipment? There's a definite difference between fans - and I personally care about my PC being fairly quiet as well.

Edited June 25, 2013 by kaosmark2

[G-Stud]

Good grief. cooling equipment?! I thought the fans that come with the processor/graphics card would do it... I don't plan on overclocking (mostly because I have no clue what that means.

[viberunner]

You definitely want as much additional cooling as possible. Even without overclocking it'll help program stability and longevity of chips. Heat is your enemy.

It's turning out my Xbox One / PS 4 decision has been made for me. My VGA monitor will be useless with each machine. So I'll be building a new machine, probably over winter.

EDIT... you can get HDMI to VGA converter boxes. £70 ish but at least it makes a console a possibility, though to be honest I'm wanting a PC more. The likes of X-Wing Alliance in High Def (thanks to a fan mod) let alone all the crazy Skyrim/New Vegas/Witcher mods, etc. etc.

Edited June 26, 2013 by viberunner

[G-Stud]

So, and sorry for hijacking this thread, but how would I go about additional cooling? Thanks!

[Spindles]

It depends on your needs. At the very least just go for a better CPU cooler than the stock one (spend £15-30 and you are fine for anything up to and including a little light overclocking) and a couple of fans for exhaust (I run one in lower in the case and another out higher in the case and pull cold air in and push warm air out)

[G-Stud]

Thanks, I'll look ito it.

[kaosmark2]

If you can get more fans to ensure the airflow goes over key components that's definitely a benefit. I spent ~ £17/fan to get quiet ones as well, but that's a personal thing, some people don't mind a loud whirr.

[the_hedge]

While we are on the subject of Gaming PC's, the lad wants one for Xmas. Now I wont be able to build one as I have no clue what I'm doing.

He plays a lot of Minecraft and only has a standard £300 laptop. He wants a gaming PC so he can play at a much faster FPS + be able to play COD etc on this new PC as well as download whats on offer on Steam.

Now a quick google search brings up something like this

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/33424935/656463562/Overclocked-Amd-Bulldozer-4-0GHZ-Ati-Hd-5450-1tb-Fast-Gaming-Computer-Pc/ListingDetails.html?_%24ja=tsid:13315%7Ccat:33424935%7Cprd:33424935&ef_id=UMW4AwAAGWi79i48:20130626131032:s

Now I assume at this price the graphics card etc will be poor? Or is this good enough for playing standard games?

I don't want to get something that's gonna struggle to play high end games but don't want to spend over £450 at the same time.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Edited June 26, 2013 by the_hedge

[kaosmark2]

While we are on the subject of Gaming PC's, the lad wants one for Xmas. Now I wont be able to build one as I have no clue what I'm doing.

He plays a lot of Minecraft and only has a standard £300 laptop. He wants a gaming PC so he can play at a much faster FPS + be able to play COD etc on this new PC as well as download whats on offer on Steam.

Now a quick google search brings up something like this

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/33424935/656463562/Overclocked-Amd-Bulldozer-4-0GHZ-Ati-Hd-5450-1tb-Fast-Gaming-Computer-Pc/ListingDetails.html?_%24ja=tsid:13315%7Ccat:33424935%7Cprd:33424935&ef_id=UMW4AwAAGWi79i48:20130626131032:s

Now I assume at this price the graphics card etc will be poor? Or is this good enough for playing standard games?

I don't want to get something that's gonna struggle to play high end games but don't want to spend over £450 at the same time.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

It's got a dedicated graphics card, so good enough.

Bear in mind that doesn't have Windows installed.

And tbh, under £450 for a gaming PC won't get you something that will be able to play high end games long-term.