Calling on you gamers

[Fruity]

*scratches the idea of a PS3

 

Now I might just put some dosh aside for that Xbox One S I saw at Musica the other day:

 

Microsoft eyeing up purchase of WB Interactive to develop Xbox exclusives

https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-eyeing-off-purchase-of-wb-interactive-to-develop-xbox-exclusives

[popcorn_skollie]

*scratches the idea of a PS3

 

Now I might just put some dosh aside for that Xbox One S I saw at Musica the other day:

 

Microsoft eyeing up purchase of WB Interactive to develop Xbox exclusives

https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-eyeing-off-purchase-of-wb-interactive-to-develop-xbox-exclusives

 

Wait until summer. Once solid launch dates for new gen consoles are announces the first thing you can anticipate are specials on previous gens. And that's retail. It will be an even better buyers market for used consoles leading up to that date and after. Many early adopters will scramble to help fund their new purchase. 

[Gen]

*scratches the idea of a PS3

 

Now I might just put some dosh aside for that Xbox One S I saw at Musica the other day:

Microsoft eyeing up purchase of WB Interactive to develop Xbox exclusives

https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-eyeing-off-purchase-of-wb-interactive-to-develop-xbox-exclusives

Wait a while for the new Xbox to come out then you'll be able to pick up the xbox one S a lot cheaper than now.. Edited July 9, 2020 by Gen

[Gen]

Wha ha ha snap.. @popcorn_skollie at the same time nogal hey

[Fruity]

Wait until summer. Once solid launch dates for new gen consoles are announces the first thing you can anticipate are specials on previous gens. And that's retail. It will be an even better buyers market for used consoles leading up to that date and after. Many early adopters will scramble to help fund their new purchase. 

 

 

Wait a while for the new Xbox to come out then you'll be able to pick up the xbox one S a lot cheaper than now..

Yeh I was thinking of maybe waiting until November for Black Friday, but that's a sort of long time to wait. I guess I could catch up on some games on PC or Switch that I haven't jammed in a while in the time being

 

Edit: the idea of selling the PC and Switch to buy an Xbox One X has crossed my mind, even though my PC is 7 years old this year, but I would think it's handy to have a PC on hand, and the Switch is a good family system.

Edited July 9, 2020 by WeekendWarrior80

[greys]

I bought xbox a few months ago and don't have any regrets. In lockdown I can play games for hours. I read abut recliners for gaming here and ordered one too. It looks so comfortable. In this recliners I'll be able to play games even longer.

Edited July 17, 2020 by greys

[marko35s]

Ended up playing it on the Xbox 360  (which was the console I use most anyway). The PS3 I bought the cheapest secondhand console I could find just to play PS3 exclusives like Uncharted & Last of Us.

 

(Last of Us 2 is the reason I will finally upgrade to a newer console, then I can finally play Red Dead Redemption 2 as well  )

 

Bulk of my "spare money" goes into cycling so my gaming setup will always be far behind the curve.

 

I'm on the Xboxone which I got at a really good price as part of my looming lockdown panic buying. Seven years of no gaming very quickly became a full time obsession with COD Warzone.

I would love to get my paws on a cheap PS4 just for  The Last of Us which I hear is stunning.

I sense many purchases that will require hiding from the wife in my immediate future...

[popcorn_skollie]

Yeh I was thinking of maybe waiting until November for Black Friday, but that's a sort of long time to wait. I guess I could catch up on some games on PC or Switch that I haven't jammed in a while in the time being

 

Edit: the idea of selling the PC and Switch to buy an Xbox One X has crossed my mind, even though my PC is 7 years old this year, but I would think it's handy to have a PC on hand, and the Switch is a good family system.

 

Blasphemy. 

 

Don't sell your computer unless you're funding a new one. It might not play all the latest titles at the best settings but it is still far more useful than any console will ever be. 

 

A 7 year old pc isn't that bad come to think of it. My daughters pc is around that age. 4th gen i5.

The gpu is admittedly a bit newer and the additional ram and ssd also helps tons. But she plays pretty much any game new and old without issues. Fortnite, Apex, Sims, Roblox and Minecraft she plays them all on max settings with no hiccups.

 

A friend of mine still runs an i7 2600k. I think he's on his 4th GPU now. He bought a used 1080. He might have had a few upgrades along the way. But he is still kicking new titles with what is still essentially the same pc for the last 10 years. 

 

I can't drill it enough. Just ho versatile and useful your computer really is. Even if we're talking just about using it as a gaming platform. Its cheaper to upgrade. You don't have to get a whole new one all at once. Think of it as your oldish bike and the difference new parts make to it.

 

No console would ever allow you to play literally thousands of games new and old for free. And I don't mean piracy either. There are websites peppered with nostalgic abandonware, roms and emulators for arcade and console classics. And if those don't fancy your interest. There is simply no shortage of free games these days. CSGO and Dota are still the two most played games on steam. They will always be free and will still be able to run on any potato PC.

 

Then Epic has been on a roll lately with some shockingly big titles dropping free of charge. Some nice indie titles in between too. You could quite literally play a new game, every week, for free. Try doing that on console. I mean Ark and Conan alone (both free windows lapsed on Epic recently). Jeez take your pick. Either game will suck the life out of you if you ever allowed yourself to really get invested in playing them. I've said this to so many people who play games regularly. If you've never played an online sandbox PVP survival game. You haven't truly experienced what gaming can be. Not because the games in themselves are good. But because of the significant impact theses types of games can have in your life. Ark and Conan are both games where I've forged real life relationships (both good and bad) with people I've never met before. Man I could tell you some stories. Anyhoo. Keep your pc.

[popcorn_skollie]

 

For some context I've never bought a game on Epic. Ever. Every title you see in my library was free at some point. The greyed out games are ones I have claimed but not yet downloaded.

[Amberdrake]

I upgraded to a gaming laptop. sold off my pc in parts, due to living situation it wasnt really usable anyways. I kept screen and use it for the laptop. laptop has same processing power as my pc (more newer infact). Ill keep it 4 years odd then buy new one and either sell this or donate to my daughter. The comfort of having a moving processing platform that can handle CAD and games when travelling is unparalleled.

[popcorn_skollie]

 

Heads up. There's also some racing game free on uplay. Looks like a rocket league clone.

But you can claim it through the epic store as well.

[Fruity]

Blasphemy.

 

Don't sell your computer unless you're funding a new one. It might not play all the latest titles at the best settings but it is still far more useful than any console will ever be.

 

A 7 year old pc isn't that bad come to think of it. My daughters pc is around that age. 4th gen i5.

The gpu is admittedly a bit newer and the additional ram and ssd also helps tons. But she plays pretty much any game new and old without issues. Fortnite, Apex, Sims, Roblox and Minecraft she plays them all on max settings with no hiccups.

 

A friend of mine still runs an i7 2600k. I think he's on his 4th GPU now. He bought a used 1080. He might have had a few upgrades along the way. But he is still kicking new titles with what is still essentially the same pc for the last 10 years.

 

I can't drill it enough. Just ho versatile and useful your computer really is. Even if we're talking just about using it as a gaming platform. Its cheaper to upgrade. You don't have to get a whole new one all at once. Think of it as your oldish bike and the difference new parts make to it.

 

No console would ever allow you to play literally thousands of games new and old for free. And I don't mean piracy either. There are websites peppered with nostalgic abandonware, roms and emulators for arcade and console classics. And if those don't fancy your interest. There is simply no shortage of free games these days. CSGO and Dota are still the two most played games on steam. They will always be free and will still be able to run on any potato PC.

 

Then Epic has been on a roll lately with some shockingly big titles dropping free of charge. Some nice indie titles in between too. You could quite literally play a new game, every week, for free. Try doing that on console. I mean Ark and Conan alone (both free windows lapsed on Epic recently). Jeez take your pick. Either game will suck the life out of you if you ever allowed yourself to really get invested in playing them. I've said this to so many people who play games regularly. If you've never played an online sandbox PVP survival game. You haven't truly experienced what gaming can be. Not because the games in themselves are good. But because of the significant impact theses types of games can have in your life. Ark and Conan are both games where I've forged real life relationships (both good and bad) with people I've never met before. Man I could tell you some stories. Anyhoo. Keep your pc.

Yeh I know about emulators and roms etc. After 32 years of gaming, which include 26 years of gaming on both PC and console, I should know about those things [emoji51]

Most of my mates from school days were all into gaming. How I wish though that the local mall had a room for Coin-ops.

 

Yip I'm not quite interested in upgrading my current PC, although all that would need to be upgraded is the ram and the GPU - more so the GPU. I'll keep my PC, but then use it for internet browsing and music, and for the odd game of Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2, and possibly for the odd jam of Star Wars: Battlefront.

 

The Xbox One S is a tempting purchase for me, and I can see that as being the next console to find a home in our household. I could sell the Switch with games and accessories as it doesn't get much play time these days, or I could keep it in case my daughter is interested in Nintendo gaming in the near or far future. Decisions decisions.

[Fruity]

I don't have enough gaming shirts so I thought I would spoil myself to this today.

 

[popcorn_skollie]

Yeh I know about emulators and roms etc. After 32 years of gaming, which include 26 years of gaming on both PC and console, I should know about those things [emoji51]

Most of my mates from school days were all into gaming. How I wish though that the local mall had a room for Coin-ops.

 

Yip I'm not quite interested in upgrading my current PC, although all that would need to be upgraded is the ram and the GPU - more so the GPU. I'll keep my PC, but then use it for internet browsing and music, and for the odd game of Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2, and possibly for the odd jam of Star Wars: Battlefront.

 

The Xbox One S is a tempting purchase for me, and I can see that as being the next console to find a home in our household. I could sell the Switch with games and accessories as it doesn't get much play time these days, or I could keep it in case my daughter is interested in Nintendo gaming in the near or far future. Decisions decisions.

 

I'm lucky enough to own a few gaming pc's and consoles. Despite opting for gaming on my pc 90% of the time I cannot imagine life without my xbox. It doubles as my media centre. Which is actually its primary function. It just works so much better than the built in app on the TV. Navigating youtube, plex, netflix, spotify and what ever else is just so much quicker and far more intuitive and reliable.

And using the controller instead of the tv remote? Nooit bra there is just no going back. Sure I could have a dedicated media player instead for cheaper but. Those have *** remotes too. Plus, with my xbox subscription which is around R150 a month (depending on exchange rates) I just never, ever, ever buy any games. I just play whatever they have in the library. Which is a monthly rotation of around 100+ games. 

 

Then there's the connection. Now I haven't been able to figure this out yet. But I'm not gonna risk jynxing it while trying to do so. For some reason. My connection to the xbox network is quite literally 10x faster. There is no fibre or adsl where I live. So I'm forced to use wibre. Which is a wireless connection to fibre via a dish on my roof. All installed and configured by my isp. Because of my location and current equipment, I'm limited in terms of the achievable bandwidth they can offer through my existing connection. I also have a 10:1 contention. Which is fine actually. My internet is slow (10mbps) compared to modern standards but I can download a 50gb game overnight (~1mbps dl speed) and latency is great for gaming, overall priority management is also really good so downloading something almost never affects simultaneous streaming etc so no complaints there. 

But for some reason though. I get ~10mbps dl speeds on xbox. Its as if my contention ratio just disappears once I connect over azure or microsofts network. Strange. But true. Games on my xbox download 10x faster and funny enough it also scales with the network management in the rest of the house. If someones on youtube on the phone through wifi and I'm downloading a game on xbox. The phone will automatically take priority to eliminate any chance of buffering but the remaining bandwidth that goes to the box is still scaled at 10x what ever bandwidth remains. Its great! I'm quite litterally getting the same speeds on my xbox over a 10mb wibre line, as friends who have a 100mb fibre line. We tested and low and behold for some reason xbox internet at my house is 10x faster with no reason why. No static ip. No dns flushing, no wizardry of any sorts. Just default dhcp connection.

So because of this it means that Netflix, Youtube, Plex, Crunchy Roll, even Twitch. WHich has the worst upstream out of the lot. 10x the speed. Meaning I can stream at great quality pretty much all the time. (1080p+) Other devices however suffer from sharing the same amount of limited available bandwidth. 

 

Then, with new consoles looming. Reasons to have a gaming computer really are starting to dwindle.

I said this back when they release the ps4 pro and xbox one x. Once these consoles (and game developers) release native support for a keyboard and mouse on ALL titles. The pc master race will have very little to offer. (Apart from the free games I mentioned in previous post)

Higher refresh rates and higher resolution arguments? Probably our current gen consoles cant compare but then again they've already hit the 4k@30fps and 1080p@60fps. If new consoles can hit 4k at 60fps (which I'm pretty sure they will) Then 120hz+ gaming on consoles will no longer be a pipe dream. And with the recent emergence of high refresh rate TVs and the emergence of HUGE gaming monitors. The lines between a gaming monitor and a tv are getting blurry too. Then. Just to rub it in.

If rumours about next gen console pricing of around $500 are true. Than would mean that building an equivalent desktop pc would cost around double. Man, times sure are a changing. 

[Fruity]

The surprising price of a PC as powerful as the PlayStation 5

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gaming/358701-the-surprising-price-of-a-pc-as-powerful-as-the-playstation-5.html

[Gen]

The surprising price of a PC as powerful as the PlayStation 5

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gaming/358701-the-surprising-price-of-a-pc-as-powerful-as-the-playstation-5.html

[emoji15]

 

We ordered my eldest a laptop .. he will need something decent for varsity next year..something he can use for gaming, streaming and studies ..these things are expensive man.[emoji24]

 

We were def not going to get a laptop and xbox and a TV..

 

So we got this.. apparently it will do the job..and things can be upgraded if need be[emoji2368]

 

ASUS TUF Gaming 15 - AMD R7 16GB 512GB SSD GTX1660Ti 15.6" Notebook

Specifications:

- AMD Ryzen 7-3750H Processor 2.3GHz (6M cache, up to 4.0GHz)

- 16GB DDR4 2400 Memory – Max 32GB

- 512GB PCIE NVMe M.2 SSD

- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti

- 15.6" FHD 1920x1080 16:9

- Windows 10 (64bit)

DESKTOP-INSPIRED RGB-BACKLIT KEYBOARD

FX505 has a keyboard that's optimized for gaming, featuring RGB-backlighting* across all zones that can be controlled via the TUF Aura Core panel so you can express your own unique style. Exclusive HyperStrike technology ensures more accurate typing and improved ergonomics thanks to a desktop-inspired layout with a highlighted WASD key group, broader space bar, isolated arrow keys, and recognizable gaps between the function keys. In addition, Overstroke technology registers keystrokes faster for precise and effortless control.

Dimension:

- 36.0(W) x 26.2(D) x 2.50 ~ 2.60(H) cm

Weight:

- 2.20 Kg

Processor:

- AMD Ryzen 7-3750H Processor 2.3GHz (6M cache, up to 4.0GHz)

Graphics:

- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti

- Graphic Memory GDDR6 6GB

Display:

- Panel Size 15.6"

- Resolution FHD 1920x1080 16:9

- Refresh Rate 60Hz

- Viewing Angle 170/170

- Panel Tech IPS-level

- Brightness 200nits

- Contrast 700:1

Memory:

- 16GB DDR4 2400 Memory – Max 32GB

- On board memory N/A

- Memory Slot 2x

Storage:

- 512GB PCIE NVMe M.2 SSD

Communications:

- 10/100/1000 Mbps

- Wi-Fi 5(802.11ac)

- Bluetooth 4.2 (Dual band) 2*2

I/O Ports:

- 1x Type A 2.0

- 2x Type A 3.1 (Gen.1)//1x 3.5mm combo audio jack

Output:

- 1x HDMI 2.0

Webcam:

- 720P HD

Keyboard:

- Type - Illuminated Chiclet Keyboard RGB

Audio:

- Speakers - 2x2W speaker

- Audio Tech - DTS software

Operating System:

- Windows 10 (64bit)

Security :

- Kensington Lock

Battery:

- 48WHrs, 3S1P, 3-cell Li-ion

 

Power:

- 180W AC Adapter

- Output: 19.5V DC, 9.23A, 180W

- Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Gen