gaming rig <==> console system

So my 6-year old desktop finally bit it during a power surge the other day; (either the power supply or the mobo and a replacement either would be worth more than the total worth of the entire system) and I can't really seem to plan out a new rig that won't feel like a total copout for less than $600 or so.

Alternative -> since I would use it exclusively for gaming, playing DVD's/blue ray movies, and as a music box, I am realizing that I can do all that with a console system for way cheaper. I'm inclined to go with a PS3.

Catch: between PC gaming and school for the last half decade I haven't kept up at all with console systems. I literally know nothing. What else can PS3 do? If I get one, where can I get the best deal? What does it come with? etc... I might alternatively consider an Xbox360 but getting away from microsoft would be a nice change of pace (not to mention I have an irrational hatred of that stupid controller design)... any thoughts on one system vs the other?

I have a nice big 1080p TV to hook it up to already, if that makes a difference.

Also, can you get a mouse/keyboard for the PS3? Or, at the very least, rig one up to work?

Well id wait till next xbox comes, ps3 comes with hdmi cable it can go on the internet. but id still stick with a pc.

I have both 360 and PS3. If you get a 360 get Live it is a must. The 360 also connects very nicely to Windows media player for streaming Music, Videos, and Pics. Your hatred of the controller is absolutely irrational it is very comfortable takes a day or so of playing to finally say "yeah that is better" ,alot of thought went behind its design.

On the other hand the PS3 has slightly to very slightly better graphics and can play blu-rays but as the price of Blu-ray players go down it would be worth getting a 360 and a stand alone blu-ray player than just a PS3.

About waiting for the new console's to come out Its not happening until atleast 2012 for MS they have Project Natal which is anticipated release is Holiday '10 and they'll try to milk that for a year announcing a Xbox "720" if you will at E3 of '11 pending sales of Project Natal. And finally announcing 720s release for 2012. Sony will do something similar to MS and Nintendo really doesn't matter to me at this point, it is for a younger crowd and the ladies. Until Nintendo announces something for my demographic I really don't care about their Wii.

PS3 comes with an HDMI output not cable 360 also comes with HDMI output now wasn't always like that but it is now. The internet browser on the PS3 is also a joke it lacks alot of functions typical of any PC web browser. You can however install Linux onto the PS3 ,P.I.T.A., but also lacks typical functions.

You can hook up a PS3 with a mouse and keyboard it has no gaming use its for the Half-baked web browser Check out slickdeals.net forums for the best deals on everything form paperclips to cars ,PC's and Console gaming falls in between.

Cool tripple post, bro.

Anyway, the 360 is useless for anything that's not playing games, and even that it dosen't do too well (I never remember any bugs when I was playing my N64, game cube, or wii, but that darn 360 comes up with some new problem every other day). For me though, it's worth putting up with all of the microsoftness to play forza. And yes, the 360 is a useless paperweight without live nowadays. Live silver is a joke, and I've had times where it wont even play games offline, coming up with some BS excuse to not start (downloadable content or something).

Other than that, in a situation where the games you want to play are on both the PC and a console (L4D and MW2 come in mind), you have to think about controls and differences between platforms. Personally, I hate playing shooters with a controller. So if I liked playing l4d (which I do), and were going to choose, I'd go for the PC. Also, sometimes there are differences between platforms (MW2), which make one platform better than the other.

So it really depends on the games. If a lot of stuff you like is on the PC, then get a PC. If a lot of stuff you like are on consoles, then get a console and a netbook.

thanks kona for just bashing the 360 and then telling the OP that he should just choose what he likes instead of giving info to assist in making that decision

I have been on Live for nearly 6 years and about 1 year for PSN and played PC games since Duke Nukem and playing console games as a whole since the Atari 2600. I know what Im talking about in regards to consoles.

I have never had difficulties playing games offline on the 360 unless you have had more than one 360 on Live and your profile is attached to a 360 you no longer play online and then re-download Arcade (never disc-based games) games onto a 360 that is currently online and then disconnect 360 "2" from Live and try to play Arcade games before transfering your DRM rights from 360 "1" to 360 "2"

Why are you comparing 5 and 6 generation console to current a gen. console. And the Wii is inferior to either PS3 or 360 tech. wise. You can not play DVDs w/o modding it very few games are playable online. NO HD playback or HDD for game saves . And it is for a younger demographic than presumably the OP is in. And why are we even talking about the Wii it wasnt even an option the OP mentioned.

And why would you even suggest a netbook wth is wrong with you if you think 360s are crap trying doing anything on netbook. I know people that have bought netbooks just to realize that the battery life is very short and as a whole is underpowered for almost every everyday application. and then return them In less than a week

He could more cheaply just repair his PC for less than a $100 if the problem is just either the PSU or Mobo. And then buy his console either way PS3 or 360.

You can also "upgrade" the HDD in a Fat PS3 for more storage I really cant tell you the practicality of doing this but I did it. You can only create two partitions on it and one partition HAS to be 10GB and one has to be the entire remainder of the HDD.

PSN is free (some games require a monthly fee for all functions) and Live is $30-$50 a year depending on if you want to shop around or not (PSU and FFXI require a monthly fee the only two games in know of that do on the 360). Live is a more solid online experience. However if you aren't interested in playing online then go ahead and get PS3 youll get a little more use out of it if you watch blu-rays regularly.

You can send me a Friend Request on 360 or PSN my ID and tag is MagesticApe for either system. when you get your console I can tell you how to do anything regarding PS3 or 360

The difference between The PS3 and the 360 is negligible. The different 'exclusives' are practically Negligible as well (unless you like playing with sackboys vs. masterchief).

Nothing wrong with X-Box Live Silver. It's what I have/use. I don't have time during the week to game online, and on the weekends, I normally am playing single-player games anyways. Even Halo 3, i just play local co-op on it with one of my brothers.

The only real advantage the PS3 has over the XBox360 is the cost to play-online.... Free for the Playstation Network (though I've seen rumors at various news publications that may change soon to a two-tiered system like Live)...

But seriously, they are both practically the same. What differences there are... well... they aren't that big to tell the truth. Unless you want to do play halo or that sackboy-game (can't remember the name of it).... (even the blu-ray argument is nullified as a 360 + seperate blu-ray player is less than or equal to a PS3) there is no reason to choose one over the other.

guys thanks for all the pointers. I'm going w/ a PS3. A regular online gaming bill would kill it... gradschool schedule is murder to my leisure time and most weeks I'm lucky if I have 5 solid hours to spend doing anything I enjoy (don't even say the word "weekend"...), so a regular expense for games I usually won't even be able to play is out of the question. The blue ray player and stereo need to come *immediately* though, and by the looks of it, my speakers should connect through one simple FO cable. Just the best choice right now, it seems. Now, if only I could find a way to make a mouse/keyboard work in-game...

glad to see you found something that will make you happy!

As for mouse/keyboard input, ask the games subforum here and i'm sure someone there will know how to help you with that.

Hit me up on PS3 if you'd ever want to play KZ2, Resistance 2 or LBP

I was gonna reccommend installing linux, but is that feature only available to fat ps3s?

Yes, they removed it on the PS3 Slim versions.
If you do get a Fatty PS3 then you can install it, it'll use up ~5-10Gb of HDD space.
Mice and keyboards are plug-n-play IF the game/program allows it, which is usually never.

Wanted to add the ps3 is a more durable system and one thing I like is it actually supports upgrading your hard drive. It just uses notebook size 2.5in sata drives. Don't anyone think I'm bashing the xbox (even though I am a little.) I actually prefer xbox as xbox live is really the only way to play for me. I'm almost always on xbox. That said I've experienced 3 red rings of death, got fixed twice and I'm on my second xbox. I also have a wii just for the great mario/zelda games.

Thought i'd follow up on this thread just since I have the time this week. Got my PS3 a while ago and couldn't be happier. It does EVERYTHING my PC did and more. The games part is self-explanatory and nice to be able to play in full-screen 1080p hi def. I also found an app online that syncs my laptop to the playstation over the wireless network and streams my photos and my itunes music (incl playlists, album art, etc) straight from my hard drive, no transferring needed. Also I figured out how to set up my external hard drive to serve as an automatic backup that runs once a day to keep me safe if my laptop ever gets stolen, and it has a second partition that serves as an expansion for the PS3 hard drive on which I can store full games, movies, backed up files, anything I don't want on my computer. Loving it, all it needs is a better set of speakers w/ digital input, have logitech z5300s now and they are great, just not true dolby digital... in the market though, we'll see soon what this setup is like at full potential but for now can say that this is very feasible as a gaming rig/media center computer and way cheaper than buying a whole new PC and would recommend to anyone!