spec me a console :)

  • Thread starter Thread starter uv
  • Start date Start date

uv

uv

uv

Soldato
Joined
16 May 2006
Posts
8,435
Location
Manchester
Howdy!

First post in here, as I'm an avid PC gamer..

Having just bought my first house (keys on Thursday!), I've already bought a 40" TV and the related paraphernalia, ready for some console gaming on the couch..

but after spending all my money on boring new house stuff, I can only afford one console :p

I really don't want this to turn into a fanboy thread, I after serious recommendations as to whether the 360 or PS3 would suit my needs the best. My current needs are - will play music and videos (either streamed from a PC, from a NAS, or stored internally on a hardrive - bluray is a plus, but I don't actually own any blurays yet), full 1080p, and a relatively easy online setup. A catalogue of decent multiplayer games is more important to me than single player games, as I've still got ~40 games on Steam that I haven't played yet.

Budget is <=£300, which is enough for the 250GB Slim PS3, but the savings when buying a 360 would be nice :p
Also, I'd like two pads from the get-go, and I already own a wireless 360 pad for my PC - would it just work if I bought a 360?

Please, help me decide which of the two consoles to buy!

Cheers :)
 
If you're an avid PC gamer then i personally feel the PS3 is a more logical choice as fewer of its exclusives make it to the PC. With that said the online is arguably slightly better on the 360. I do appreciate you want information from those who are experienced and i'm not criticising you for asking but i must warn you, this thread will only go one way. :p

The only sure way to tell is go to metacritic, select a list of the top 100 games for both 360 and PS3, compare, and see which has the most titles that interest you.

[EDIT] As a side note both are very easy to set up for online, but the 360 comes with a fee to play online. It's not much, around £30/year iirc.
 
Last edited:
If you have friends who play on either console (the majority) then definitely go for that one. I find myself playing my 360 a lot more with my friends than I do by myself. Otherwise they are fairly identical if not the PS3 may be slightly better value for money in the long run but not by too much. PS3 is also a good home cinema device too.
 
That's a good point too, always go for the console that the majority of your friends own. My friends own PS3s mostly so my 360 sits gathering dust unless a decent single player game comes out for it. If my mates owned a 360 it would likely be the opposite.
 
My friends own both :p

To what extent would a PS3 be a better home cinema device, do you just mean due to having a BluRay player?
 
uv said:
My friends own both :p

To what extent would a PS3 be a better home cinema device, do you just mean due to having a BluRay player?
Click to expand...

Not just the BR player, its a better DVD upscaler, quieter dvd drives( noise in general), better sound output options, built in wireless (if required), free iPlayer/blink box support.
 
I'm a long time PC gamer too, and I recently came into some cash and decided to splash on a console and HDTV. Went with the Xbox because it has Halo and Gears of War which I've always had a major boner for. Was also excited to play Alan Wake. The PS3 seems to have a poorer catalogue of games overall - I'm keen to play Resistance and Killzone but there's not a lot else I'm interested in, and I think it has more japanese style games (eg FF) that do nothing for me.

I'd like to emphasise that the above is totally my opinion; not slagging the PS3 off, it just didn't appeal to me as much. You just gotta take a look at the games catalogue and see what you can't live without.
 
Last edited:
The PS3 is a better all round media device, fact, but as reflux mentions it's best to look at the entire games catalogue and see what appeals to you the most. You say your friends play both, see what games they play on each, for example if they play a certain game on the ps3 or xbox and you happen to be interested in that game, then that console may be the one to go for.

I tend to play the Xbox a lot more for multiplayer titles (Call of Duty etc) because all my friends are on Live and I prefer the controller for first person shooters, I find the PS3 pad dead-spots arkward, however the PS3 tends to have more exclusives that you can not get on PC, kind of a catch 22! You'll probably end up with both. :p

EDIT: Yes your current 360 pad would work fine with a console, you'd just have to re-sync them. :)
 
Last edited:
Macky said:
Oh. Just get a Wii mate. ;)
Click to expand...

lol :p

Coming from a fairly well specced PC, I'm a bit of a graphics whore. Whilst I can enjoy decent games with rubbish graphics (soldat, urban terror, defcon, sam&max), I'd take the option of better graphics when they're available :)

Also, I'd rather not pwn my brand new TV by accidentally throwing a controller at it :D
 
I'd go for a PS3. Blu-ray, much better ui, better media device, free online (for now anyways), and because a large proportion of decent 360 titles make it to the PC.

I'm a fan of all the consoles, but if you have a decent PC and want something to show off your home cinema and some decent exclusives, PS3 all the way.

(You should get a Wii just for Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 though ;))
 
Last edited:
You could just go for the 120GB PS3 which will save you like £40? Especially if you're gonna be streaming stuff from a NAS etc. You could put the change towards gubbins (second pad, remote control etc.), or some games, or some blu-rays :D

Su

(I vote for PS3 btw :p and PS3/360 will get Move/Natal, which imo negates the need for a Wii!)
 
Sumanji said:
You could put the change towards gubbins (second pad, remote control etc)
Click to expand...

second pad, sure - but I'm thinking of saving for a logitech harmony then I don't have to have thirty remotes :p

It's strange how much more the 250GB is, considering £40 would buy a 400GB drive anyhow.

Do either console support MKV video containers? Many of my self-ripped films are MKV/x264 - I might have to transcode them all to AVI :/
 
uv said:
Do either console support MKV video containers? Many of my self-ripped films are MKV/x264 - I might have to transcode them all to AVI :/
Click to expand...

PS3 has no .mkv support at the moment (although this may change in the future, as the default container for DivX 7 is Matroska iirc).

There is an awesome little program called PS3MediaServer (catchy name :p) which will transcode stuff on the fly from your PC. Wired connection needed for HD stuff I imagine, but it's great!

Su
 
uv said:
second pad, sure - but I'm thinking of saving for a logitech harmony then I don't have to have thirty remotes :p

It's strange how much more the 250GB is, considering £40 would buy a 400GB drive anyhow.

Do either console support MKV video containers? Many of my self-ripped films are MKV/x264 - I might have to transcode them all to AVI :/
Click to expand...

PS3 didn't last time I tried. If you want to stream from PC then I think ps3mediaserver will transcode them on the fly.

WiFi adaptor would be an additional expense for the XBOX, unless you're going wired?
 
Sumanji said:
There is an awesome little program called PS3MediaServer (catchy name :p) which will transcode stuff on the fly from your PC. Wired connection needed for HD stuff I imagine, but it's great!
Click to expand...

Ah, that is good - sounds similar to StreamToMe which I use to transcode on the fly to my iPhone :)

I suspect there's a similar app on the 360?

tripitaka said:
WiFi adaptor would be an additional expense for the XBOX, unless you're going wired?
Click to expand...

Wired, of course. Wireless is for newbs :D
 
Extra/ongoing expense for Xbox 360 would be:
  • Xbox Live subscription ~£35/year
  • Play and Charge kit for wireless pad (you can just use the included USB cable for the PS3 pads)
  • HD-DVD drive or standalone Blu-ray player if you wanna go HD in the future
  • Proprietary hard drive if you want to upgrade, which are horribly overpriced (any 2.5" HDD will do for PS3)
  • Wireless headset (there is an official PS3 one, but most generic bluetooth ones will work fine)
  • TOSLINK adapter if you want to use optical out (PS3 has a native output)
  • Memory cards (you can use any generic USB drive on PS3)
  • Wireless adapter - but you've already ruled this out.
I'm sure some of those may be wrong, so Xbots please correct me :p

Su
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom