Anyone else not care about computers anymore??

[archcommus]

Seems like some of you guys are almost proud to not care about computers anymore and can't wait to shout it out or jump on the bandwagon. Don't really get that but okay.

My question is, why did so many of you switch to consoles during/after college? Spend $400 and have the same system capable of the same games for 5+ years, or spend a little money here and there every so often on your computer and play games on the same system you do everything else on. I don't really see the appeal of switching over, especially for people like yourselves it's definitely not that hard to upgrade the system, you don't have be a hardcore enthusiast or computer nut to do it or find the time to do it.

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Seems like some of you guys are almost proud to not care about computers anymore and can't wait to shout it out or jump on the bandwagon. Don't really get that but okay.

My question is, why did so many of you switch to consoles during/after college? Spend $400 and have the same system capable of the same games for 5+ years, or spend a little money here and there every so often on your computer and play games on the same system you do everything else on. I don't really see the appeal of switching over, especially for people like yourselves it's definitely not that hard to upgrade the system, you don't have be a hardcore enthusiast or computer nut to do it or find the time to do it.

I like the fact that games are optimized for one specific hardware setting, in regards to consoles. For PC games, you have to take a wide range of hardware into account. Some games are better for PC (Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon), but most I prefer on xbox 360 these days. And it's nice to not have to worry about upgrading to a new $300 video card every couple of years

 

[Deleted member 4644]

I've never liked console gaming, and I never will.

 

[SSP]

I think most ATOT bums feel the same way for the most part. Otherwise, we'd be in GH or video forum trying to squeeze 2 fps from our video cards.

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Do it! I bought a MacBook recently and love it! I use the MacBook on-the-go and have a makeshift docking station at home. It runs Windows natively through Boot Camp and also virtually through the Parallels solution. The graphics card isn't great (64mb GMA950), but it's good enough to play most older games. It can even run Half-Life 2, although not at a high resolution. I have a couple large external drives I use at home for storing file backups and drive image clones. It's really taken the hassle out of owning a computer, I'm glad I made the switch

I have a MacBook too. You're exaggerating a bit. Half Life 2 at 640x480, low detail goes about 20fps. It's really not for gaming, period.

 

[rikadik]

I used to get excited about the latest computer hardware, although I could never afford the bleeding edge. I just don't any more though. I don't play games any more, but have a better hobby now - making tunes on my MacBook

Some people I know were pretty shocked when I sold my PC (3.4 Ghz P4, 2gb RAM, 250gb HDD, 256mb 6800 GT) and 2005FPW then bought a basic MacBook, but it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I had an Xbox 360 for a while, but when it came to buying games, I decided I'd rather spend £40 on about a million other things. So that got sold as well!

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Seems like some of you guys are almost proud to not care about computers anymore and can't wait to shout it out or jump on the bandwagon. Don't really get that but okay.

My question is, why did so many of you switch to consoles during/after college? Spend $400 and have the same system capable of the same games for 5+ years, or spend a little money here and there every so often on your computer and play games on the same system you do everything else on. I don't really see the appeal of switching over, especially for people like yourselves it's definitely not that hard to upgrade the system, you don't have be a hardcore enthusiast or computer nut to do it or find the time to do it.

More of the games I want to play are on consoles. I'm not a twitch FPS gamer anymore. I'm far more interested in being able to play a game of Madden with friends on a console. I think some other post enthusiast gamers are probably the same...

 

[Reckoner]

Xbox Live is great too

 

[shortylickens]

My computer is much less a hobby and more a daily tool these days.
Like the razor or microwave oven.

I certainly care a great deal about it. It gets so many things done for me, but like the electric razor I'm glad it doesnt waste my time outside its intended use.

 

[y2kc]

My friends and I at work were commenting on this the other day. We're all burned out on comp tech, rarely touch our PCs at home anymore and wish we kept it as a hobby.

Good thing you burned out early before you made a career out of something you'd eventually burn out on.

Computers are tools, that's all.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: aswedc

Originally posted by: Kaido
Do it! I bought a MacBook recently and love it! I use the MacBook on-the-go and have a makeshift docking station at home. It runs Windows natively through Boot Camp and also virtually through the Parallels solution. The graphics card isn't great (64mb GMA950), but it's good enough to play most older games. It can even run Half-Life 2, although not at a high resolution. I have a couple large external drives I use at home for storing file backups and drive image clones. It's really taken the hassle out of owning a computer, I'm glad I made the switch

I have a MacBook too. You're exaggerating a bit. Half Life 2 at 640x480, low detail goes about 20fps. It's really not for gaming, period.

Not exaggerating at all. They updated HL2 to run on older hardware. I've played it fairly smoothly at 1680x1050 off the GMA950 in my Mini on my 2005fpw with low-medium graphical settings. Very playable and looks fine. The GPU really isn't for gaming, but it can play some games. But you're right, it's really more for video, HD and whatnot.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: archcommus
My question is, why did so many of you switch to consoles during/after college? Spend $400 and have the same system capable of the same games for 5+ years, or spend a little money here and there every so often on your computer and play games on the same system you do everything else on. I don't really see the appeal of switching over, especially for people like yourselves it's definitely not that hard to upgrade the system, you don't have be a hardcore enthusiast or computer nut to do it or find the time to do it.

That's the key - same games for an indefinate period of time. No hardware to upgrade. All you have to do is buy the console and the games. With computers, $400 will get you a top-of-the-line video card. Oh, and you need a new processor to go along with it. And a faster hard drive. And more ram. And a good sound card. Oh, wait, your ram isn't fast enough, upgrade the motherboard and get newer ram. Just look at the SNES, still fun to play and over 2,000 roms available last I checked. Hundreds of games for Playstation, all of which don't require a hardware upgrade. Oh, and hardly any of the games ever crash, lockup, or otherwise have errors.

I think part of the reason is the social aspect of it. When I was single, I played a lot of Half-Life, Counter-Strike, that sort of thing. When I got married, I picked up a GameCube so I could play with friends/family. No extra computers required, no home network needed, just a few extra controllers.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Kaervak

Originally posted by: Kaervak
I wouldn't say I don't care anymore, I've just lost that "man this stuff is awesome" feeling like I had when I first got into them. Inevitable I suppose.

To elaborate a little, not having the niche factor of computers anymore is probably the biggest reason. Now everything is relatively easy to do, just a few clicks and that's all. Actually screwing around with installers/config files/system settings to get things running was great. Entering commands into a command prompt to get some fiile properly loaded ATDT commands, ectera. A massive pain in the ass, but that was part of the fun. I miss that.

Try x86 assembler and say that again. That's my next step once I get bored.

 

[meltdown75]

Goes in phases. Sort of corresponds with the seasons, too. I try to golf a lot in the summer, shoot hoops, and just be outside.

I'll get more interested just before an upgrade though, no matter what the season - for obvious reasons.

LOL - I just read "ATDT" above

ah, the good old days!

 

[yosuke188]

I lost interest in gaming months ago, and now I'm selling the video card away (search for 7800GT in FS/T )

I still do photoshop work/illustrations/watch movies/listen to music on the computer, so I like my computer fast. But now I concentrate more on silent, HTPC kind of parts. And a better screen would be nice, but I'm really satisfied with my Dell 19 inch LCD.

All in all, I don't see myself upgrading for at least the next 3 years (after I install a fanless video card and a fanless northbridge heatsink that is).

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: archcommus
My question is, why did so many of you switch to consoles during/after college? Spend $400 and have the same system capable of the same games for 5+ years, or spend a little money here and there every so often on your computer and play games on the same system you do everything else on. I don't really see the appeal of switching over, especially for people like yourselves it's definitely not that hard to upgrade the system, you don't have be a hardcore enthusiast or computer nut to do it or find the time to do it.

That's the key - same games for an indefinate period of time. No hardware to upgrade. All you have to do is buy the console and the games. With computers, $400 will get you a top-of-the-line video card. Oh, and you need a new processor to go along with it. And a faster hard drive. And more ram. And a good sound card. Oh, wait, your ram isn't fast enough, upgrade the motherboard and get newer ram. Just look at the SNES, still fun to play and over 2,000 roms available last I checked. Hundreds of games for Playstation, all of which don't require a hardware upgrade. Oh, and hardly any of the games ever crash, lockup, or otherwise have errors.

I think part of the reason is the social aspect of it. When I was single, I played a lot of Half-Life, Counter-Strike, that sort of thing. When I got married, I picked up a GameCube so I could play with friends/family. No extra computers required, no home network needed, just a few extra controllers.

Well, I do understand the aspect of playing with friends and family and that being easier with a console. However, your other points are sort of invalid. True, you can pick up any old games for SNES, PlayStation, etc., but if you're talking about old stuff you can also do the same on your PC and not have to upgrade anything at all. If you're talking about playing the latest on the PC, then let's keep it apples to apples. You DO have to spend a lot of money on new consoles when they come out if you want to play new stuff. Even if you don't get a PS3 due to the price, let's say you buy an Xbox 360 and a Wii. That's $600 right there, and I could easily do a computer upgrade with $600 that'd last me a good while. And I rarely, if ever, get crashes, lockups, or other errors with my PC games. It's also nice having 3+ years of warranty on almost every component I own, whereas if I spend $400 on an Xbox it could die in 15 months and I'd be out of luck.

Consoles do have their place for sure, I'm just stating some counter-points here.

 

[imthebadguy]

haha this happend to me after college started

 

[tyler811]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: tbike06

Originally posted by: Goosemaster
my interest in keeping up with the latest and greatest has practically died...

I am still heavily interested in applying what I know and what I can find out to our business though

riiiight... what about that HD HTPC?

yes...um..officer...I forgot I had put that there..

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Not exaggerating at all. They updated HL2 to run on older hardware. I've played it fairly smoothly at 1680x1050 off the GMA950 in my Mini on my 2005fpw with low-medium graphical settings. Very playable and looks fine. The GPU really isn't for gaming, but it can play some games. But you're right, it's really more for video, HD and whatnot.

Then the chip in the Mini is different than the MacBook. I just tried it two weeks ago with a fresh install of Windows XP and the latest BootCamp drivers.

 

[Nextman916]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Hey OP: For someone that doesn't care about computers or technology anymore, that is one hell of a computer-technology type signature you have. Hypocrite.

I can help you. Reach around to the back of your computer case. Up near the top, there's a single, thick cord. Pull that out.

yah, i made my sig quite while back, ive updated accordingly, i guess it is a little "over the top". Ill get around to putting some catchy quote, ive left it up for those who like to compare systems. I mean my rig is nothing really BRAG worthy but it gets the job done.

Strange thing is like people mentioned here, Console gaming is actually slowly but surely dragging me in, i used to be heavy into PS2 online(socom mainly). My friend just got a 360 and i play live on his all the time now, its simple fun geared to all age groups. I guess it not being such a nerd factor also helps. Also funny because a couple months ago i swore to the death of console games....heh.

 

[NanoStuff]

I'd love to see how you fellas update your reactions some years from now when raytracing and stereoscopic displays become the norm.

"Bored with games, did I say that? Noo, that was my twin brother, yea, that's it!"

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: aswedc

Originally posted by: Kaido
Not exaggerating at all. They updated HL2 to run on older hardware. I've played it fairly smoothly at 1680x1050 off the GMA950 in my Mini on my 2005fpw with low-medium graphical settings. Very playable and looks fine. The GPU really isn't for gaming, but it can play some games. But you're right, it's really more for video, HD and whatnot.

Then the chip in the Mini is different than the MacBook. I just tried it two weeks ago with a fresh install of Windows XP and the latest BootCamp drivers.

Interesting, I'll have to give it a shot. What's different about the GPU?

 

[yoda291]

computer hardware has never really held my interest. The fact that they packed 100,000 transistors onto something about the size of a flea never got me goin. New tech is still interesting to me...things like virtualization/hypervisors coming out, or new storage mediums like holographic storage, and even silly things like panoramic displays and 3d input devices all still catch my eye.

next year it will probably be someone consumer friendly wireless power or something equally oddball that will hook me.

 

[Staples]

Well, I have lost my interest in PC games because I always have driver problems and compatibilty issues and I am spending more time sorting them out than playing the game..

I play most games on consoles now days.

 

[txrandom]

Like two or three summers ago, I got real interested in high end computers and all that. About a year after that, I stopped putting new hardware in my rigs. I still played games heavily on and off. I haven't played anything now for a couple months and probably won't for a while since college is starting up.