PS3, Xbox 360, or upgrade PC?

[StromRider]

My son tells me he wants to spend some of his summer job money buying a Sony PS3 so he can play the games Call of Duty 4 and Assassin's Creed.

He also said he might buy a new tv for it as the one currently in the playroom is older and wouldn't do the graphics justice.

I have no experience at all with consoles, we have an ancient PS1 that doesn't get much attention these days

OTOH I noticed that both games are, or will be, available for Xbox 360's and pc's so there is the option to upgrade his current pc to be able to play them. (Or, build myself a new pc and give him my current one which could play the games!! - harder to get executive approval for this option though)

Anyone have any experience with these game systems and have any thoughts I could pass on to him?

 

[mrpiddly]

What exactly are your computer's specs?

If you do not have a 8800 graphics card, it probably will not do those games justice.

Since you dont seem like you need the latest technology, if you do go with buying/upgrading your computer wait until nvidia releases the g98 based cards. These should push the 8800 prices down alot. There is also the 8800gt which cheep and pretty powerful for what you pay for it. Also intel will be making some major releases so prices on current processors will go down.

If you get a counsel, the ps3 is a technically superior but you will be buying a product that hasnt fully matured yet. The xbox is sort of in its prime now while the ps3 is seriously lacking games. Once developers start to realize the full power of the ps3, they will be able to create amazing games.

 

[Breetai]

The new consoles; the PS3 and X-Box 360, can run in high-definition video. The resolution is about twice that of a regular TV. If you know about computers, it's like comparing 480x640 resolution to 1024x768 resolution. Older TVs could display resolutions of 480 lines, while newer HDTVs can display up to 1080 lines of resolution. The PS3 and X-Box 360 are capable of displaying 1080 resolution, although they are usually at 720 lines from top to bottom. This is why your son wants an HDTV.

The PS3 is a very nice system and has plenty of games. The X-Box 360 has been out about a year more than the PS3, so of course there are more games available in Canada. Naturally this will even out over the next year. He'd have plenty of games to play on both systems. If you get the 60 or 80 GB version of the PS3, it will also play PS2 games (the 40 GB version does not).

A note about the X-Box 360; is has a serious problem with crashing because of the system overheating and actually wrecking the machine. A relatively high percentage of machines have died after only a few months of use. Microsoft has been offering a 3-year warranty because of numerous complaints. The PS3 is very reliable, on the other hand.

The PS3 can also play Blu-ray video discs; a new video format. The resolution is about double that of DVDs. I don't know if that would matter to you, but it's a nice bonus.

For games, I definitely recommend a console over a PC, since they're easier to hook up to a large TV to show it off and play with friends!

 

[wiggbuggie]

ask your son what he wants most out of the three. does he like to play console or pc games?

 

[StromRider]

As of last night he switched to wanting the Xbox 360. Assassin's Creed won't be available for the PC till sometime next year and 16 year olds aren't known for their patience

He has no need for the blue-ray and is impressed by the game titles available for the Xbox. Can this be hooked up to a computer monitor? He has a 17in pretty good quality lcd and might be able to inherit my 20in if Daddy 'needs' to upgrade soon

 

[Breetai]

He has no need for the blue-ray and is impressed by the game titles available for the Xbox. Can this be hooked up to a computer monitor? He has a 17in pretty good quality lcd and might be able to inherit my 20in if Daddy 'needs' to upgrade soon

It can be hooked up. You'll probably need an adapter.

If he does get an X-Box 360, make sure it's at least the premium version (the mid-level system), as it comes with a hard drive. The system is quite limited with out.

Hopefully it won't die on you!

 

[StromRider]

The version he's looking at has the 20g hd. I've read about the issues with the 'red ring of death' and will try to check that anything he buys has the newer processor and fan that fixed that problem.

 

[StromRider]

Something else occured to me, online gaming, the boy loves it, I've never done it, to shy...

The system would likely be in the 'playroom' with his computer sitting about 10 feet away. It has a wireless card to connect to the net.

How would one go about connecting either the Xbox 360 or PS3 to the net? Is there extra pieces required? I read somewhere that PS3 online gaming is free with the implication that Xbox online wasn't but I'm not sure of that.

Any experience with this stuff?

 

[willard3]

Something else occured to me, online gaming, the boy loves it, I've never done it, to shy...

The system would likely be in the 'playroom' with his computer sitting about 10 feet away. It has a wireless card to connect to the net.

How would one go about connecting either the Xbox 360 or PS3 to the net? Is there extra pieces required? I read somewhere that PS3 online gaming is free with the implication that Xbox online wasn't but I'm not sure of that.

Any experience with this stuff?

I'm not sure if you get a free trial for Xbox Live with purchase of a new Xbox, but I think some packages come with it.

Otherwise, you'd have to pay a monthly (yearly?) fee to play online, but it's fairly reasonably priced. Watch who he plays with, though...some people can get crazy online.

 

[StromRider]

Watch who he plays with, though...some people can get crazy online.

Knowing my son, he's the crazy one [wash my mouth][wash my mouth]or is it

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[OdwinOddball]

XBox has two levels of online access, Silver and Gold. Silver is free and gets you access to the Arcade and Marketplace, but doesn't allow multiplayer games. Gold runs $49.99 a year and allows full access.

You have two options to get the XBox connected to the net. You can plug it directly into your router, or you can go wireless. Wireless however is not built in, and it'll cost about $100 to get the adapter you need.

Where is your actual internet connection(modem & router) located at?

 

[StromRider]

Where is your actual internet connection(modem & router) located at?

In another room about 25ft away. The computer that is in the same room as the xbox would be is connected by a wireless card[wash my mouth]and[wash my mouth]about[wash my mouth]10ft[wash my mouth]away[wash my mouth]from[wash my mouth]where[wash my mouth]the[wash my mouth]console[wash my mouth]will[wash my mouth]be.[wash my mouth]

I just saw somewhere else the $100 for a wireless adaptor [wash my mouth][wash my mouth]That's scary. And the PS3 has one built in?
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[OdwinOddball]

Ya, its built in on the PS3.

 

[wiggbuggie]

guessing your son also wants to play halo 3 multiplayer

 

[FlaymSior]

For the Xbox 360 to a computer monitor, you'll have to pick up an AV cable for about $5-$10 at a local GameStop or similar that will have an HD VGA output, the 15-pin plug for a computer monitor. It will have two audio plugs which can be plugged into stereo speakers or adapted to computer speakers. A nice fix for a faux-HD display.

 

[FlaymSior]

guessing your son also wants to play halo 3 multiplayer

Just wanted to add that Halo 3 multiplayer is only played by those who didn't get or didn't get into Call of Duty 4 ;-P

 

[Breetai]

Something else occured to me, online gaming, the boy loves it, I've never done it, to shy...

The system would likely be in the 'playroom' with his computer sitting about 10 feet away. It has a wireless card to connect to the net.

How would one go about connecting either the Xbox 360 or PS3 to the net? Is there extra pieces required? I read somewhere that PS3 online gaming is free with the implication that Xbox online wasn't but I'm not sure of that.

Any experience with this stuff?

Unfortunately, there isn't a practical way to tell if the system has the newer low-powered hardware inside or not, aside from opening up the box in the store and checking serial numbers... or opening up the system itself.

Connect an X-Box 360 or PS3 to the net via a router. IMO, that's the easiest way. You may need to input things like IP numbers and whatnot, so hopefully you know where the documents provided by your internet provider are with that info.

The X-Box 360 costs about US$50/year to play games online, while the PS3 is totally free. Both allow you to purchase various games, both new and classic, online.

As has been said I think, the PS3 has wireless built into the system in all models... I think! The 60GB version does for sure. As far as I know, the X-Box 360 does not have wireless built in. You'd have to pay for an adaptor. As you can see, the PS3 is actually cheaper if you plan on playing games online with a wireless connection.

 

[StromRider]

Thanks one and all for the input. The boy decided to go wtih the PS3 (40g version)

I set up the built in wireless last night and it was slick, very easy and painless. It has a built in web browser and other nice features.

He doesn't care for Halo at all, he picked up Resistance: Fall of Man for his first game, will pick up Assassins Creed this week, and hopes that 'Santa' will bring him Call of Duty 4.

FlaymSior, do you know if that monitor solution will work with the PS3 as well?

Once again, thanks all for the input. It's been an interesting exerience researching my son's first solo big purchase with him.

 

[FlaymSior]

Thanks one and all for the input. The boy decided to go wtih the PS3 (40g version)

I set up the built in wireless last night and it was slick, very easy and painless. It has a built in web browser and other nice features.

He doesn't care for Halo at all, he picked up Resistance: Fall of Man for his first game, will pick up Assassins Creed this week, and hopes that 'Santa' will bring him Call of Duty 4.

FlaymSior, do you know if that monitor solution will work with the PS3 as well?

Once again, thanks all for the input. It's been an interesting exerience researching my son's first solo big purchase with him.

It depends on if the PS3 has cable that has the 15-pin plug for the monitor.

So far as I can tell, there is no solution for that. The Xbox 360 appears to be the only console to have a VGA plug. Closest you can get with PS3 is to adapt the HDMI plug to a 15-pin... but then that will be just display and not audio. For PS3, it's either tv or HDTV.

 

[mrpiddly]

does the 40gig even have the emotion engine anymore or did sony take that out? Software emulation is garbage.