PC

It's a PC, is there anything they can't do?

Review By Serbodroid

BEGINNING: PCs. We've all heard of them, and we probably own one or have used them numerous times. But what is it about PCs that makes them set the standards for excellence in gaming? A PC is not just a machine designed for gaming. On a PC, you can do much more than you could ever do on a console. Aside from playing games, you can use a fully functional internet browser, write documents, send emails, listen to music, watch videos, the list goes on and on.

Now some people may believe that consoles are superior due to their cheaper price tag and good graphics. But after a few minutes of research, it is easy to see that a large amount of storebought computers which were made for general usage and very light gaming, are not gaming machines at all. Without knowing that fact, you may be led to believe that a $500 Xbox 360 is superior to a $500 off the shelf PC. What you may not know is that most off the shelf PCs come with integrated graphics, which were not intended to be used for real gaming. Any recent PC game would bring all integrated graphics chips to their knees.

If you do get a gaming PC with a dedicated graphics card, it will be easy to see how much better it is than a console. For example, a PC with an efficient dual core processor, 2GB of RAM, and a graphics card like the 8800GT can offer much better gaming performance than the PS3, which is currently the most powerful console at the moment, with its 1080p capabilities and Cell Processor.

HARDWARE: To put it simply, the hardware you put in a PC is unrivaled by that of any console. A PC's hardware can be much more advanced than that of a console. Quad core processors are already being sold such as the Core 2 Quad series by Intel. There are graphics cards like the nvidia 8800GTX, motherboards can support up to EIGHT gigabytes of RAM. NO GAMING MACHINE CAN COMPETE HARDWARE-WISE.

That isn't even the best part. A PC can be built from the ground up. In fact, buying your own components for a PC is cheaper than buying a prebuilt computer and even allows for a good learning experience. On top of that, every single part in a PC is upgradeable. You can get a new CPU, Hard Drive, Optical Drive, you name it.

GRAPHICS: As I stated before, PCs set the standards for gaming, and most of this can be attributed to their superior graphical capabilities. Ever thought that PS3 gaming looked impressive at 1080p? Think again. Once you play games on the PC at a high resolution, you will never go back. PC games can be played at several resolutions, some of which are even higher than that of the PS3. If you can afford to buy top of the line graphics cards and large monitors you can even play games at 2560 x 1600, a resolution MUCH higher than the PS3's. Consoles simply can't compete with powerful DirectX10 graphics cards and high resolutions. The amount of detail in new PC games is simply breathtaking. You will want to take a moment just to take in all the eye candy. DirectX 10 makes PC games as close as you can get to photorealism.

GAMEPLAY: Who hasn't used a mouse and keyboard before? Nothing can rival the pinpoint accuracy of a mouse, and a keyboard has a directional pad and keys that are easier to access than those on a console, so chatting online is easy and quick. If the genre of game you are playing doesn't work well with a keyboard or mouse, no problem, all you need is a gamepad which can be connected to your PC via USB or another type of connector. Unlike consoles, there are a wide variety of gamepads that you can buy, with different button configurations.

ONLINE MULTYPLAYER: Once again, the PC sweeps the competition. Not even Xbox Live can compare to the online capabilities of a PC. Online gaming on a PC is easy and seamless because it has been around for so long. Some games even allow voice chat. Because keyboards allow hotkeys and the like, PCs work better when playing online games, especially because popular online genres such as the FPS work best on a PC. But i prefer World Of Warcraft, i mean, there are more hotkeys in that game that there are buttons on over 1000 keyboards!

OVERALL: Many people do not like the fact that a good gaming PC can cost thousands of dollars. But as time passes by, new parts get cheaper and cheaper. You can go for the mainstream approach and get good value parts instead of going all out on a high end gaming machine. For under $600, you can still get a very good gaming PC. If you look at the advantages a PC has over the competition, it's not hard to figure out why it is the superior gaming platform despite each company's new generation of consoles. PC's get new parts released for them a few months apart. A console is made to last 5 years with no upgrades at all.

A PC can also do more for the price than any console. Even now, consoles are continuously trying to become more and more like PCs. They are now including internet browsers, linux, and keyboard and mouse support to consoles in an attempt to match the PC. Anyone who wants a gaming machine that delivers superior performance, is upgradeable and can do much more than game will definitely want a gaming PC.