2017 Hardware Thread

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Arelem said:

Add to that the fact that more industrious users can even create their own content on a computer, something you can't do on a gaming rig.

Maybe this needs a bit of re-phrasing...I see no reason why you could not create same content on a gaming rig as on any other computer. As a matter of fact you can create a lot of stuff faster on a gaming rig than on a non-gaming rig.

Does every content creator out there need a gaming rig? NO they don't! A lot can be created without a powerful GPU.

Arelem said:

They have been predicting the death of PC/laptop computing for over a decade. Now I'm seeing articles predicting the death of the cell phone. Thrrrppptbbbft to all the death watchers out there.

Who are "THEY"? The same guys who predicted that there live green men on Mars?

I see no reason why something that works well would suddenly die. There is nothing remotely comparable to PCs/Laptops/Cellphones that could be the ultimate killer. Well, maybe cellphone as a definition is dying...it almost has already because of smartphones and all the intelligent communication apps. A lot of users are using their smartphones for their daily tasks and don't need a full blown computer at all, because these small devices are becoming powerful enough to do most tasks. Will they kill the PC/Laptop in near future...no they won't...there is a lot of stuff that can not be done on a mobile, like there are also a lot of stuff that is very inconvenient to do on a laptop too. I guess it all depends on the usage scenario. Personally I use all 3 (5 if we count in personal servers and cloud computers too) for very different tasks.

I think it is a matter of semantics. I think Arlem was calling a console a gaming rig. Most of us consider a gaming rig as a computer built primarily for gaming. But, there are articles all over the internet about how smart phones and tablets are the leading to the demise of Desktop/Laptop computers. I never have been one to believe that. I had this conversation with my 15 Year Old Granddaughter last week. She has little use for a computer and told me she could do anything on her iPhone I could do on my computer. I told her great, how about doing an Excel spreadsheet and a Power point presentation on her iPhone. Maybe set it up as a media server and stream all of the family's Music, pictures and videos to the TV. She didn't have much of an answer.

Yes, I realize many of those things could be done on a smart phone if set up properly, but it would take twice as long to do them.

"Gaming rig and parts" are grossly abused nowadays. Every time something is labeled as "gaming" prices go up even when a part has nothing to do with performance much less a game. Every good working computer can run games and most games can be run on any computer.

essenbe said:

I think it is a matter of semantics. I think Arlem was calling a console a gaming rig. Most of us consider a gaming rig as a computer built primarily for gaming. But, there are articles all over the internet about how smart phones and tablets are the leading to the demise of Desktop/Laptop computers. I never have been one to believe that. I had this conversation with my 15 Year Old Granddaughter last week. She has little use for a computer and told me she could do anything on her iPhone I could do on my computer. I told her great, how about doing an Excel spreadsheet and a Power point presentation on her iPhone. Maybe set it up as a media server and stream all of the family's Music, pictures and videos to the TV. She didn't have much of an answer.

Yes, I realize many of those things could be done on a smart phone if set up properly, but it would take twice as long to do them.

CountMike said:

"Gaming rig and parts" are grossly abused nowadays. Every time something is labeled as "gaming" prices go up even when a part has nothing to do with performance much less a game. Every good working computer can run games and most games can be run on any computer.

I totally agree with both of you!

I don't see a console as a gaming rig, as there is nothing to rig. It's just a box that can run games. Rig can however be defined as platform...so it kind of makes sense. :)

The sad thing is that most games are built for consoles and ported to the PC. That makes the quality and capabilities quite low for the games. They have to be able to run at decent frame rates on a console. There are a few games that have come out recently that are not that way. I doubt a console could even run them.

But I do agree with Mike about putting the name gaming on computers/parts. Maybe it is just a matter of perspective, but I see "gaming Computers" that are not gaming capable, in my opinion. I have always said that the term "gaming laptop" is an oxymoron.

essenbe said:

The sad thing is that most games are built for consoles and ported to the PC. That makes the quality and capabilities quite low for the games. They have to be able to run at decent frame rates on a console. There are a few games that have come out recently that are not that way. I doubt a console could even run them.

But I do agree with Mike about putting the name gaming on computers/parts. Maybe it is just a matter of perspective, but I see "gaming Computers" that are not gaming capable, in my opinion. I have always said that the term "gaming laptop" is an oxymoron.

'scuse me, but my old-old HP laptop with XP can play Solitaire pretty well, it's a game and ergo, it's a gaming laptop.

CountMike said:

'scuse me, but my old-old HP laptop with XP can play Solitaire pretty well, it's a game and ergo, it's a gaming laptop.

LOL! Even my ancient Toshiba with Windows 3.11 can do that.

slicendice said:

LOL! Even my ancient Toshiba with Windows 3.11 can do that.

Rejoice, you have a gaming laptop !! Now sell it and charge double !!