People know that they can hook their PC up to a TV... right?

All these PC or Console threads for Skyrim confuse me when they take the display into consideration like its a factor. TBH if your TV can handle HDMI cables it probably can also have a PC hooked up to it. The other thing I find funny is the " The GFX will "probably" be better on my PC" statement. How old is your PC that it cant out-due your PS3 or Xbox360? If you say its any younger 6 years and it cant beat out a console graphically in any area ( which BTW is how I would constitute "out-duing" your console I.E. greater draw distance, less pop in etc.) I call shenanigans on you kind sir(or ma'am [lol girls dont play video games]) If your PC cannot for sure even slightly out-due a console, I have no idea why your even considering playing a recent game on it.

/rant

PC games are not always optimized as well as they should be. Oblivion looks better on my computer than consoles, but Skyrim will probably look better on consoles than my computer.

@PrivateIronTFU said:

Not everybody wants to lug their PC to wherever their TV is. We don't all live in our parents' basement, so they're not always so close together.

I don't live in my parents basement, or even in my parents house at all. But I have a 32 inch 1080p T.V. that I am using as a monitor. Good job not understanding that he was saying you CAN use a T.V. as a monitor. Not that every time you want to play a game you have to haul you PC to your T.V. or vice versa.

My 2004 Compaq can barely play VVVVVV.

We don't all live in our parents' basement, so they're not always so close together.

Usually, when doing so, the picture quality is not very sharp

@matthias2437 said:

@PrivateIronTFU said:

Not everybody wants to lug their PC to wherever their TV is. We don't all live in our parents' basement, so they're not always so close together.

I don't live in my parents basement, or even in my parents house at all. But I have a 32 inch 1080p T.V. that I am using as a monitor. Good job not understanding that he was saying you CAN use a T.V. as a monitor. Not that every time you want to play a game you have to haul you PC to your T.V. or vice versa.

Yeah uh.... I dont really see what dudski was trying say with the "lug my pc around" comment?

@FengShuiGod said:

PC games are not always optimized as well as they should be. Oblivion looks better on my computer than consoles, but Skyrim will probably look better on consoles than my computer.

O_o I'm not saying your wrong. I just don't get it.

@Fattony12000: You're fucking insane and I love you.

@Fattony12000: Porn potential is all I see...... thats like..... alot... of different porn.

@Fattony12000: Porn potential is all I see...... thats like..... alot... of different porn.

A lot of people play on their consoles so they can lay on the couch, use the big screen, surround sound, etc. And most of those people have their desktop at a desk that is probably in a different room, not sitting right next to their home theater area. It is really that simple.

@Fattony12000: The best thing about this whole picture is you have your dreamcast plugged in. God bless you sir!

@SirPsychoSexy said:

A lot of people play on their consoles so they can lay on the couch, use the big screen, surround sound, etc. And most of those people have their desktop at a desk that is probably in a different room, not sitting right next to their home theater area. It is really that simple.

What is that simple? They have a huge entertainment area like that and they cant figure out how to hook their PC up to it? even from a different room? Well I guess incompetence IS simple.....

@Fattony12000: Your hand looks weird :D

Also, what is this? I don't even..

im not spending £200 for a new graphics card and power supply for one game when i can spend £40 and have a fine experience. also im a student my tv is 24" so no point wont make a diffidence

PC games have no collecting value

your significant other might object to having a computer in the living room

you can't leave a computer connected to a Plasma television.

lately PC Games are not only broken but delayed.

... all this so I can play less AAA games in high resolution?

@BigChickenDinner said:

@SirPsychoSexy said:

A lot of people play on their consoles so they can lay on the couch, use the big screen, surround sound, etc. And most of those people have their desktop at a desk that is probably in a different room, not sitting right next to their home theater area. It is really that simple.

What is that simple? They have a huge entertainment area like that and they cant figure out how to hook their PC up to it? even from a different room? Well I guess incompetence IS simple.....

No one wants to unplug everything from their PC and bring it to another room, and plug everything back in just to play a game. And who says the room with the PC is going to be so close that it can easily be hooked up from that room. Of course there are ways to figure it out and do it through the walls and what not, but depending on where the rooms are that can be a pain or costly.

Bottom line is it can be a hassle, most people don't want to deal with a hassle, what is not to get?

Still somewhat inconvenient. Trying to read anything on a browser on a TV is a pain, and some people don't feel like switching their PC between their TV and monitor. There is the option of getting a WiDi TV adapter to play games on your display, but I don't know how well it works.

@Fattony12000: The best thing about this whole picture is you have your dreamcast plugged in. God bless you sir!

@BigChickenDinner said:

All these PC or Console threads for Skyrim confuse me when they take the display into consideration like its a factor. TBH if your TV can handle HDMI cables it probably can also have a PC hooked up to it. The other thing I find funny is the " The GFX will "probably" be better on my PC" statement. How old is your PC that it cant out-due your PS3 or Xbox360? If you say its any younger 6 years and it cant beat out a console graphically in any area ( which BTW is how I would constitute "out-duing" your console I.E. greater draw distance, less pop in etc.) I call shenanigans on you kind sir(or ma'am [lol girls dont play video games]) If your PC cannot for sure even slightly out-due a console, I have no idea why your even considering playing a recent game on it.

/rant

Spelling fail. The first time you said out due it could have been an honest mistake. Then you said "out duing".

Despite the fact that this PC I'm using right now is technically more powerful than a 360 it doesn't meet the minimum requirements for the PC version, even for the lowest worse than console settings, developers don't seem to find the need to optimize PC games for old hardware when they know anyone who cares about PC gaming will most likely keep up to date.

Which is why I'll never be a PC gamer.

@Jack268:

@Jolt92: I love you too!

@BigChickenDinner: M-m-m-m-multiporn

@Jadeskye: A Saturn, Wii, Gamecube, ZX Spectrum, Master System, and Mega Drive all live in that cupboard too!

@Still_I_Cry: You're the weird-looking one, where's your 8 different simultaneous videos? Huh? HUH!? FREAK!

@Buzzkill: People are jealous of a Dreamcast!?

@PrivateIronTFU said:

We don't all live in our parents' basement, so they're not always so close together.

We don't?

i don't know if people know it. i am also comfy on my computer. i have a desktop, tower is big. i lean back with my feet on top of the tower. 
 
resolution man, sometimes they are the same.

Well im living in a shared house so I cant clusterfuck one part of the house which is what would have to happen if I wanted my pc to work with my TV.  Hell even when I do connect my PC to the TV in my bedroom it is still quite a hassle.
 
Plus a lot of games these days are just ported to PC from the console so they are kinda janky no matter how good your PC is with a few exceptions.  That is why people tend to play on consoles right now.

Some people may have too large of a television for what their game can support? I know for a fact I can run my games at 1440x900 and be happy, but hooking it up to a 1920x1080 would kill my FPS and I am not having that. It has nothing to do with console vs. PC but solely that when you run a console on a 1080 screen you know it will work.

I recently dumped $80 in an HDMI Extender, 2 75ft cat6 ethernet cables, and a couple hdmi cables and dvi to hdmi adapter. I can now effectively play pc games on my 50" plasma without moving my pc into the living room. There is literally no hassle, just switching cables on my video card whenever I feel like jumping into a game. I'm eagerly waiting on Arkham City to come out on PC so I can play it in all its 1080p graphically superior glory from the comfort of my couch :D

Yure nort veri god at riting wurds r yew

/ront

Id much rather buy a console version of a game that looks a bit worse.

I know that when I get home it will work and if there is a problem with it, I do not need to spend hours tinkering with the settings or searching forums for the solution, then finding my own personal sweet spot between framerate and graphics.

Also, none of my friends are PC gamers, so id much rather have the choice of playing with mates online or taking a game over to theirs to play as a group than a game looking better.

@FengShuiGod said:

PC games are not always optimized as well as they should be. Oblivion looks better on my computer than consoles, but Skyrim will probably look better on consoles than my computer.

Optimisation goes a long way, but it's not going to magically make a totally outdated computer run a new game fantastically. Not everything is a case of "oh that game just isn't optimised very well"

An 8800GTX will play Skyrim at a higher visual level than the consoles will, and that graphics card is getting close to 5 years of age.

@Tramalulz said:

PC games have no collecting value

you can't leave a computer connected to a Plasma television.

lately PC Games are not only broken but delayed.

1. Erm, console games also have no collecting value. The age of games being worth collecting has passed, there's a few exceptions like some of the games that are only released in Asia.

2. Wrong. My PC is hooked up to my plasma for watching movies and television shows, sometimes PC gaming but usually not, yes you won't want to browse the Internet for hours on a plasma due to image retention but there's nothing wrong with playing PC games on them.

3. Wow what an absolutely idiotic generalisation.

@ViciousReiven said:

Despite the fact that this PC I'm using right now is technically more powerful than a 360 it doesn't meet the minimum requirements for the PC version, even for the lowest worse than console settings, developers don't seem to find the need to optimize PC games for old hardware when they know anyone who cares about PC gaming will most likely keep up to date.

Which is why I'll never be a PC gamer.

You cannot compare PC hardware directly to console hardware. It does not work like that.

As for you saying that developers don't care about optimising games for older hardware then you're just plain wrong on that one. As I've said above, an 8800GTX is coming close to 5 years of age, yet that graphics card will still play many games very well, better than the console versions of the same games.

Signed your friendly neighbourhood PC and console gamer.

I just have another PC plugged into my loungeroom TV at all times, plays most console ports much better than the consoles do themselves making them rather redundant beyond exclusive titles. If I need some extra grunt to get more out of the game I can just run a long HDMI cable from my big machine, no hassle.

They make televisions with a 2560x1600 resolution and zero input lag, now?!
 
Anyway, the PC is for games I want high fidelity controls or a higher resolution for. Games that are absolutely better on a PC or impossible on a non-PC platform (a lot of shooters, strategy, real time strategy, RPG, MMO games). The console is for sitting back and enjoying a massive sound-system, a lower resolution but twice the size display, a relaxed controller, and relaxing. This is where I kick back and enjoy most single player games, a lot of RPGs that aren't primarily meant to be experienced on the PC, shooters that aren't BF3, CS, Red Orchestra, etc (Gears, COD...) and generally enjoy not hunching over a keyboard and mouse at a desk at a chair that I've already spent eight or twelve hours that day in doing actual work.

@Branthog: What kind of input lag do you have a on a TV? Are you talking about refresh rates?

@Jadeskye said:

@Fattony12000: The best thing about this whole picture is you have your dreamcast plugged in. God bless you sir!

You noticed it too? I was about to say... -1000 points for the douchebag picture that's going to make everyone jealous. +10,000 points for the dreamcast that's going to make everyone jealous.

@PrivateIronTFU said:

Not everybody wants to lug their PC to wherever their TV is. We don't all live in our parents' basement, so they're not always so close together.

Oh the joys of a gaming laptop.

My laptop is awesome, i can output any console game in twice the resolution and even play in 3D on my 58 inch TV with my surround sound with a hdmi output.

I cant see myself ever using my consoles again except for exclusives, not when i can play everything in 1080p with all the extra's. The only problem i have now i being treated like a second class citizen with every release being a month later or a shoddy and broken port.

@FengShuiGod said:

PC games are not always optimized as well as they should be. Oblivion looks better on my computer than consoles, but Skyrim will probably look better on consoles than my computer.

That makes no sense, especially considering that Oblivion was terribly optimized, so if it could handle Oblivion better than consoles, it can probably handle Skyrim better. You're right, but your example is pretty terrible. Also, I'm sure it's better now, but the console build at PAX ran like fucking GARBAGE. I mean, it dropped to like 10 frames per second in the middle of a grassy field. But Skyrim will run better on both platforms, because it isn't trying to be built for a console they don't understand.

Also, I wouldn't WANT to play PC games on a big ass screen most of the time. Pixel pitch is too important to me. The reason the resolution on console games looks so terrible, especially when it's not 1080p, is because the pixel density is so low. A 30" 2560x1600 screen has higher pixel density and is big enough that if you want to recline, you can easily do so in a decent office chair and a wireless 360 controller.

To be fair though, it's as simple as running an HDMI cable out to your entertainment system. Sure you might have to go through a wall, but that's super simple with the right tools, and just running it along the edge between the floor and wall is only slightly easier and just as effecting. Match the cable color to the carpet, and you'll barely notice. Plus a 360 controller is pretty good at going through walls and all that, so as long as you're fairly close and have an adapter, PC gaming on the big screen is pretty easy and awesome, if you want that experience.

If you have a good enough computer, and a few bucks for a long ass HDMI cable, it's actually very EASY to do, and worth it if you want to play your games at 1080p, with AA, and at a high framerate. After playing games like MGS4, I have to say, framerate alone is good enough reason for that "huge effort". But it's also silly to expect people not to be scared shitless of anything involving doing unusual things with computers, when they aren't really PC people.

I have my PC hooked into my HDTV with an HDMI cord. Seeing as how I can use multiple monitors on my computer I intend to ask for a new one for Christmas.

@Branthog said:

They make televisions with a 2560x1600 resolution and zero input lag, now?! Anyway, the PC is for games I want high fidelity controls or a higher resolution for. Games that are absolutely better on a PC or impossible on a non-PC platform (a lot of shooters, strategy, real time strategy, RPG, MMO games). The console is for sitting back and enjoying a massive sound-system, a lower resolution but twice the size display, a relaxed controller, and relaxing. This is where I kick back and enjoy most single player games, a lot of RPGs that aren't primarily meant to be experienced on the PC, shooters that aren't BF3, CS, Red Orchestra, etc (Gears, COD...) and generally enjoy not hunching over a keyboard and mouse at a desk at a chair that I've already spent eight or twelve hours that day in doing actual work.

2560 x 1600 monitors have input lag.

@FilipHolm said:

Usually, when doing so, the picture quality is not very sharp

not true. i game on a 46" LCD at 1080p and its sharp as fuck

@Branthog said:

They make televisions with a 2560x1600 resolution and zero input lag, now?! Anyway, the PC is for games I want high fidelity controls or a higher resolution for. Games that are absolutely better on a PC or impossible on a non-PC platform (a lot of shooters, strategy, real time strategy, RPG, MMO games). The console is for sitting back and enjoying a massive sound-system, a lower resolution but twice the size display, a relaxed controller, and relaxing. This is where I kick back and enjoy most single player games, a lot of RPGs that aren't primarily meant to be experienced on the PC, shooters that aren't BF3, CS, Red Orchestra, etc (Gears, COD...) and generally enjoy not hunching over a keyboard and mouse at a desk at a chair that I've already spent eight or twelve hours that day in doing actual work.

2560 x 1600 monitors have input lag.

I have my PC hooked into my HDTV with an HDMI cord. Seeing as how I can use multiple monitors on my computer I intend to ask for a new one for Christmas.

@Tramalulz said:

PC games have no collecting value

Have you heard of Steam?

@Branthog said:

@SeriouslyNow said:

@Branthog said:

They make televisions with a 2560x1600 resolution and zero input lag, now?! Anyway, the PC is for games I want high fidelity controls or a higher resolution for. Games that are absolutely better on a PC or impossible on a non-PC platform (a lot of shooters, strategy, real time strategy, RPG, MMO games). The console is for sitting back and enjoying a massive sound-system, a lower resolution but twice the size display, a relaxed controller, and relaxing. This is where I kick back and enjoy most single player games, a lot of RPGs that aren't primarily meant to be experienced on the PC, shooters that aren't BF3, CS, Red Orchestra, etc (Gears, COD...) and generally enjoy not hunching over a keyboard and mouse at a desk at a chair that I've already spent eight or twelve hours that day in doing actual work.

2560 x 1600 monitors have input lag.

Well, of course. Every LCD has some input lag. So, perhaps it was unfair of me to include the qualifier "zero input lag". However, I've seen too many people fight their sets to get over lag issues where using a mouse was unbearable due to it. Perhaps this has gotten a lot better in the last couple of years, but I still don't see the appeal of using a display twice as big with a much lower resolution.

yes. thing have got better in the last few year.

to the point where i can play anything and not have to worry about that at all. no perceivable input lag at all. my samsung 46" is about a year old and was a pretty high end model. and i have my gaming PC (i7 2600k, GTX570) permanently pulled into it.

and you don't loose twice the resolution, where you getting that from?

@Branthog said:

@SeriouslyNow said:

@Branthog said:

They make televisions with a 2560x1600 resolution and zero input lag, now?! Anyway, the PC is for games I want high fidelity controls or a higher resolution for. Games that are absolutely better on a PC or impossible on a non-PC platform (a lot of shooters, strategy, real time strategy, RPG, MMO games). The console is for sitting back and enjoying a massive sound-system, a lower resolution but twice the size display, a relaxed controller, and relaxing. This is where I kick back and enjoy most single player games, a lot of RPGs that aren't primarily meant to be experienced on the PC, shooters that aren't BF3, CS, Red Orchestra, etc (Gears, COD...) and generally enjoy not hunching over a keyboard and mouse at a desk at a chair that I've already spent eight or twelve hours that day in doing actual work.

2560 x 1600 monitors have input lag.

Well, of course. Every LCD has some input lag. So, perhaps it was unfair of me to include the qualifier "zero input lag". However, I've seen too many people fight their sets to get over lag issues where using a mouse was unbearable due to it. Perhaps this has gotten a lot better in the last couple of years, but I still don't see the appeal of using a display twice as big with a much lower resolution.

yes. thing have got better in the last few year.

to the point where i can play anything and not have to worry about that at all. no perceivable input lag at all. my samsung 46" is about a year old and was a pretty high end model. and i have my gaming PC (i7 2600k, GTX570) permanently pulled into it.

and you don't loose twice the resolution, where you getting that from?

@Branthog said:

@jetsetwillie said:

@Branthog said:

@SeriouslyNow said:

@Branthog said:

They make televisions with a 2560x1600 resolution and zero input lag, now?! Anyway, the PC is for games I want high fidelity controls or a higher resolution for. Games that are absolutely better on a PC or impossible on a non-PC platform (a lot of shooters, strategy, real time strategy, RPG, MMO games). The console is for sitting back and enjoying a massive sound-system, a lower resolution but twice the size display, a relaxed controller, and relaxing. This is where I kick back and enjoy most single player games, a lot of RPGs that aren't primarily meant to be experienced on the PC, shooters that aren't BF3, CS, Red Orchestra, etc (Gears, COD...) and generally enjoy not hunching over a keyboard and mouse at a desk at a chair that I've already spent eight or twelve hours that day in doing actual work.

2560 x 1600 monitors have input lag.

Well, of course. Every LCD has some input lag. So, perhaps it was unfair of me to include the qualifier "zero input lag". However, I've seen too many people fight their sets to get over lag issues where using a mouse was unbearable due to it. Perhaps this has gotten a lot better in the last couple of years, but I still don't see the appeal of using a display twice as big with a much lower resolution.

yes. thing have got better in the last few year.

to the point where i can play anything and not have to worry about that at all. no perceivable input lag at all. my samsung 46" is about a year old and was a pretty high end model. and i have my gaming PC (i7 2600k, GTX570) permanently pulled into it.

and you don't loose twice the resolution, where you getting that from?

It wasn't long ago that the panels in Samsungs were some of the biggest troublemakers and they had very bad input lag (typically, you should be able to just set "game mode" which disables all processing and reduces input lag to a very minimal amount, but it varies). Input lag isn't necessarily something that is always discernible to the naked eye, either (though often it is - and especially in frame-counting fighting games and rhythm games) but it can be enough to make it a concern with your choice of TV set when you purchase it if you're looking to be competitive. The problem I've seen, however, is that the lag with using a mouse on some of these sets (a few years ago at this point, I suppose) seemed far more noticeable than anything in a console game. I wasn't saying that resolution was half as much (2560x1600 versus 1920x1080) -- but that the display size is double. That is, you're using far fewer pixels to cover double the screen size (say, 30" versus 60"). I don't mind playing Alan Wake and COD at 1080 or 720 on a much larger screen. it looks great and is enjoyable for other aspects of the experience, but I really want to play something like Civilization (and do all my actual work) at a much higher resolution on a more compact screen as I need all of that detail and less of the blur (specifically when dealing with text). So even if things are smoothed out, I could see using a television set for my playing PC games on, but I would have a hard time considering it as a full time solution. Now, if you're going to hand me one of those sweet new 4k or even 8k (7680x4320) television sets, then hell yes!

I game on a Samsung 32" TV using it HDMI/DVI mode (therefore as a monitor, which means no image processing) and there's no lag. I will soon be moving to a 46" (thanks to a new job), again a Samsung and this time with 3D support (gaming in hardware assisted 3D - vis 3DVisionLive will only be 720P due to bandwidth constraints, but it'll save me money which I would otherwise have to spend on another GTX 470, I already play quite a few games in anaglyp 3d on this TV @ 1080 - Ghostbusters is particularly a treat). PC gaming on a TV @ proper 1080P is fine. Input lag is function of image processing and can just as easily affect consoles too, but in those cases it's actually harder to disable ALL processing in those cases even with GAME mode turned on.

@Fattony12000: You're like that guy in that movie "Silver".