PC or IPAD?

This may seem a bit odd, but I'm really trying to decide to save up for either a gaming PC (costing me about 1700 when all is said and done) or a IPAD (32gb being 500 and 64 gb being 600). Now, Here are the things I want each for: PC: GAMES, GAMES, GAMES. This will be its primary use for me. I browse Internet mostly on my phone now, but will obviously use PC for that as well. IPAD: reading digital comics, manga, watching tv shows and videos, use it for school probaly, and I can use it to get better organized and be productive. Really, I'm not sure. I am not playing a ton of console of big games lately, do maybe I wouldn't even use PC much for that at the moment. What do you guys think is best?

I couldn't be without a gaming PC. A tablet would be secondary for me. I'd worry about putting together an awesome gaming PC before a tablet.

I'm just wondering what kind of build you are going for on a PC? I would think a $1700 build would blow away anything that an iPad could offer in terms of games, but there is the issue of portability. I'm building a PC myself, but my budget is closer to $800. I actually sold a tablet on eBay to get some of the money for my build.

Ipad is a good choice for your lifestyle.

You can do so much more with a PC of that price than just play games. It is also a powerful tool for many different projects and tasks. Go with PC first.

Ipad isn't that great for school, PC is much more useful for that sorta thing. Go with the PC, and ask for help for the build on here if you'd like!

Being a video game fan I'm gonna say games are better than TV, comics, movies etc so I'd recommend the PC. Personally I find I can get way more work done when I'm at my desk at home than anywhere else so I'd recommend the PC on that front as well. If you get the PC I would wait for some solid console hardware specs rumours to come out. 1700 will probably blow away the next consoles but if you just want to aim at 2-4x filrate you might be able to spend a lot less than 1700. This is a good strategy because most GPU intensive games are designed around console specs in todays business environment. Additionally if the 1700 doesn't include a monitor that price makes me worry your going into the super high end stuff which ussually is a terrible value: anything intel markets as extreme is a rip-off, any motherboard marketed at gamers is a ripoff, etc.

What kind of phone do you have?

@Raven_Sword: Take the iPad for the better game library.

Pc hands down.

Entirely different categories of device. If you're looking for something for typing notes, reading, or consuming media wherever you happen to be, the iPad is a simple winner. If you want to spend a lot more money and want something that is capable of just about anything as long as you're sitting in front of it, the PC is the obvious choice.

So, do you value the mobility or the power?

Why don't you get a laptop? If you get a good one then you'll still be able to run some games and you'll have the portability which is really the only thing the ipad has going for it over a pc.

I'm in the exact same conundrum right now. I need a new PC but at the same time I want an Ipad for many of the reasons you listed (not school since I've been out for ages, but for work instead). I've decided to get a new PC first and then worry about an Ipod. Tablets change every year and today's model will be much cheaper next year when a newer version drops. I can afford to wait on one of these even though I my spending urges will have to be squelched for the time being. A PC is more of a necessity for my gaming life. That's the greater priority.

PC, and wait for a good Android tablet. Or an iPad price cut (like that's gonna happen soon lol).

@Jace said:

@Raven_Sword: Take the iPad for the better game library.

There certainly seem to be more iOS games but I'm not sure I'd qualify that as superior to the offering available to PC owners. Unless you really need to play Words With Friends in the bathroom.

ha ha macs

you cant use an ipad as a primary device.

go for that once you have pc.

@Jace said:

@Raven_Sword: Take the iPad for the better game library.

Surely you jest?

@Jace said:

@Raven_Sword: Take the iPad for the better game library.

OK, I'll take the bait: Please explain how iOS has better games than PC.

On topic, I'd get a PC. Unless portability is absolutely essential to you, you can do everything you want an iPad for on PC, and better. I got a cheap Android tablet for digital comics (which, I admit, is amazing for), and everything else goes on my PC.

How are there this many people that miss the overly obvious sarcasm?

Get a $1500 PC and a Nexus 7. Done.

Never buy apple.

@Rorie : The hero Giantbomb needs.

@JoeyRavn said:

I got a cheap Android tablet for digital comics (which, I admit, is amazing for), and everything else goes on my PC.

What tablet? Does it have a usb port or a micro sd card slot? I'm interested in external memory storage.

If your plans for the PC are games, and your plans for the ipad are all sorts of things, I'd say ipad since you'll find it more useful.

That PC build number included monitor, BTW.

@Raven_Sword said:

This may seem a bit odd, but I'm really trying to decide to save up for either a gaming PC (costing me about 1700 when all is said and done) or a IPAD (32gb being 500 and 64 gb being 600). Now, Here are the things I want each for: PC: GAMES, GAMES, GAMES. This will be its primary use for me. I browse Internet mostly on my phone now, but will obviously use PC for that as well. IPAD: reading digital comics, manga, watching tv shows and videos, use it for school probaly, and I can use it to get better organized and be productive. Really, I'm not sure. I am not playing a ton of console of big games lately, do maybe I wouldn't even use PC much for that at the moment. What do you guys think is best?

1700 bucks could get you both.

PC, no contest.

@Hunter5024 said:

Why don't you get a laptop? If you get a good one then you'll still be able to run some games and you'll have the portability which is really the only thing the ipad has going for it over a pc.

A laptop is a good compromise between the two. I assume your budget is between $500-$1700, and a laptop fits right in to that; you can get a good laptop for $800 and get the best of both worlds.

The answer will probably depend on the age of the person you're asking. I'd suggest a PC because it's the brute-force way to hit every single desire in the realm of computing, and you'll get "real games" (yes, there is still a gap in the type of games being developed for tablets due to the less technically-inclined skillset of the average person using them). A monster PC can do much more than just general computing or game-playing. Obviously, the downside is the lack of portability. You'll be tethered to whatever room you decide to use.

Or if you seriously only want the PC for games, you could buy the iPad and wait for the next console generation to get what would be the equivalent to a modest gaming PC on the cheap (and later down the line when you might have more money). We're close enough now that the wait shouldn't be that excruciating.

There's no right answer. It depends on your needs and your desires.

Consider as well that you'll be locked into the Apple ecosystem for more than just games depending on how deeply you go down that rabbit-hole.

Pc is the right answer here.

But to me.. I also have absolutely no use for a tablet and i think it's a huge waste of money.

A Nexus 7?

PC. A lot of the stuff you list as pros for an iPad are better on PC anyway.

Spend $1500 on the PC instead (which is still a ton of money for a gaming PC, you could get a really great one for $1000 or less even) and get the Nexus 7 tablet for $200. That way you get both! The Nexus 7 is actually a really good tablet. Coming from an iPad2 owner, which is a great device, but in no way worth $500-600 to me. I use it every day mostly for video watching and web browsing.

Edit: Didn't see that @Elazul said the same thing as me above. So yeah, I agree with that.

1.7k for a PC? you could get a very very good rig for half that, couldn't you?

That said, I say PC. Your iPad would be outdated by next spring. I despise that business model so much.

You could build a decent gaming rig and get an IPAD for under 1700 combined. My machine probably ran me ~950 and it runs everything maxed out.

@pandorasbox said:

You could build a decent gaming rig and get an IPAD for under 1700 combined. My machine probably ran me ~950 and it runs everything maxed out.

There you go. Instead of one or the other, do both.

Ok, but how can I build the PC cheaper without sacrificing quality and such?

My mom won an iPad 2 a few months ago. I can't imagine ever actually paying money for something like that, but it's pretty handy for a few things. Like reading. The screen isn't really large enough for TV/movies, but manga might be good, and light novels are great. My experience with the games library was pretty poor: I played GameDev Story for a few hours, then some Infinity Blade, then couldn't acclimate to the keyboard, and now it sits in my bathroom, existing solely as a means to keep me occupied while doing the doody.

apples/oranges

I know I'm going to get heat for this, but I used an online site like iBuypower to see what parts their custom configurator came up with and then just plugged the components they listed into Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com which saved me over $100 over iBuypowers cart price. If I figured right, my $750 rig will play Battlefield 3 at Ultra, and handle anything else just as well if not better that's out right now. Then, if new consoles push the standard of production up in a year or two, I will just upgrade my GPU and processor. It was pretty easy, and I saved a ton of money.

@DigTheDoug: Heh, thanks. I'm honestly quite surprised how few people have suggested or seem to know about the Nexus 7. I thought it was kind of a big deal.

@Raven_Sword said:

Ok, but how can I build the PC cheaper without sacrificing quality and such?

You could just skip the monitor and try running it through your TV. Actually, that way you'd be able to get away with a cheaper graphics card as you'd only be running it at a max of 1080x1920.

PC. If you want to play real games you will not find them on an ipad.

you could build a desktop for a lot less and then still get an ipad. Definitely look into that.

Definetly a PC, then save up some cash later and grab a google nexus for reading your comics/watching anime on etc. The PC should definetly be your first choice as it will allow you to do all of the things in your list, a tablet of any kind will just limit what you can do and you definetly dont want to have it a as a primary tool for anything. Also, if you are willing to build the PC yourself you can build that and pick up a tabelt for the price of your PC, its not as hard as it was years ago, most of the parts are designed to be easily slotted in and removed and you will find great online stores via Ebay and Amazon.

Get a PC.

@PenguinDust said:

@JoeyRavn said:

I got a cheap Android tablet for digital comics (which, I admit, is amazing for), and everything else goes on my PC.

What tablet? Does it have a usb port or a micro sd card slot? I'm interested in external memory storage.

I got a Lenovo IdeaPad A1. Granted, it is a cheap Android tablet, no denying that, but for the price you can't do much better. It supports SDHC MicroSD cards and comes with 16GB of internal storage. There's no official ICS update for this tablet at the moment, but there is an unofficial ROM on the web if you want to go that route. Gingerbread is perfectly fine, though.

@Rorie said:

ha ha macs

PC. I absolutely abhor touch-screens.

@kgb0515 said:

I know I'm going to get heat for this, but I used an online site like iBuypower to see what parts their custom configurator came up with and then just plugged the components they listed into Newegg.com and Tigerdirect.com which saved me over $100 over iBuypowers cart price. If I figured right, my $750 rig will play Battlefield 3 at Ultra, and handle anything else just as well if not better that's out right now. Then, if new consoles push the standard of production up in a year or two, I will just upgrade my GPU and processor. It was pretty easy, and I saved a ton of money.

This is pretty much what i do with every build, only i use alienwares website and buy most of my parts from ebay and amazon.

Pretty much the PC I was going to build had the ivy bridge intel 3570k CPU and a GTX 670 gpu.i was considering the 560ti gpu, but I thought the 670 might be more future proof.