It would, no doubt, be a very nice computer, but what does that have to do with your original point? Your PC specifically costed that much, while most people's PCs do not, and what does the price really have to do with things? Your PC costs several times the price of my PS3. So? If the consoles are holding back the games so much, what does that extra money get you? Why does it matter if it costs more? I'm not questioning whether you are even buying it, now. If I had money to spend on a computer like that, maybe I would, but so what if my console is cheaper by a significant margin?

Don't care, it could have the same tired old engine as it's predecessors and I'd still be elated about the setting alone.

Totally agree. I was just saying in context of graphics that if it looked better than Oblivion, there shouldn't be much more to ask. But in terms of story and depth of RPG elements, I really hope Skyrim outshines Oblivion.

While playing Oblivion, I missed the depth of Morrowind.

No need to insult me just because you have a different opinion. I happen to think consoles are the future, not the ruiners of everything. But what I said is true, and I think it's worth mentioning given the number of photographs I've seen posted on the net that people are pretending is ES5 (and some people are falling for it). In my opinion, ES5 will just look like a more polished Nehrim. At least I hope so.


@Dustin81
The good news about them using an old proprietary engine is that hopefully it will leave them far more budget to spend on other things besides graphics. Unlike with Oblivion where no doubt a large part of their budget went on creating the engine in the first place. It could end up being massively beneficial for them and us

It isn't needed, it's just fun to have/build a power house of a PC.

I can do everything I do at max speed/graphics. (I used to Fold@Home with my hardware, so the faster the better. Then my roommate decided the hydro bills were too high so I stopped F@H rather than raise my rent.)

I don't claim that to be true, for all titles. It is true for some though. They do cripple all versions of some games to look the same no matter what platform. (I'd almost rather buy the console version in these cases, if it's not an online FPSer style game that is.)

"...the same graphics plus a tiny bit?" Doubling the draw distance of everything in game in Morrowind/Oblivion/Fallouts is not "a tiny bit" to me. (Or using mods that make ALL buildings viewable ALL the time, that takes power which costs.) Using 4096x4096 LOD textures instead of 1024x1024 is, again, not "a tiny bit" It all adds up and takes more resources the more you do to "beautify" it.

Again, this is for me and me alone. I simply enjoy it, I get warm fuzzies when it comes to my hobby. As others simply enjoy the simplicity of consoles.

This. So. Much.

My original point was that consoles are not as powerful in any way as a pc. End of point and of story.

Everything after that was people going off on tangents in antagonistic and insulting posts about all sorts of pointless crap.

..depends on the PC

I guarantee someone out there has a far more powerful PC than you, and I guarantee that someone out there has a far weaker PC than you, as well. PCs are not predictable. It's nice if you have a really nice one, but gaming PCs are, in no way, all $2000+. There are some, but there are also some that take it further to over $15,000. It's not as simple as "these are better than this". It varies. If PCs became, as I know many PC players dread, as static as consoles, you may be able to say that PCs are definitely better, or perhaps worse, but no one can say that with the PCs, arguably, greatest strength being customization.

Well Stalker COP (with mods) is the best and most realisitc looking game I've played and that works perfectly fine on my PC with full graphics. So I dont think there will be any problem running Skyrim. Especially since its being made for teh Xbox360 which has wht? 250 MB RAM?

500 MB

I think the PS3 has 250 MB.

Only people I've ever heard to be that bat[censored] insane are Alienware fanatics.

Correct answer:

360 has 512 MB shared RAM (no dedicated video)
PS3 has 2x256 MB, with one dedicated to video, the other to program RAM.
The Wii has 96 MB.

Cumulatively, this is less than many DX11 video cards, including mine. :mohawk:

What, exactly, can a $15,000 Alienware computer do? How long before it's outdated?

You cannot compare consoles to a PC. A PC can have any combination of different pieces of hardware and software - within reason. Even still, the point stands. A console cannot beat the latest in CPU and GPU technologies on a PC. Even so, the stuff in consoles hardly pales in comparison. Why? Specialised hardware. A PC may have a dual-core 3GHz CPU, but a PS3 has six or so SPUs. Both have specialised graphical hardware.

The real battle, graphically, is not fought between "how much can they do". It's fought between "what can they do". Developers push the consoles, which are already several years old by now, to surprising heights. Does this always transfer to the PC? No. Just look at GTAIV. The game is practically a trainwreck of a port - the game doesn't even look that good, and yet it guzzles down resources like an old car. But is it really due to being a bad port? Nope - it's just impossible, or near impossible, to optimise for PC like you can with consoles.

Hell, http://i35.tinypic.com/2rfaaz5.jpg http://www.tssznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/soniccolours-spacezone3de9.jpg http://i34.tinypic.com/34s2ulj.jpg http://www.tssznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/soniccoloursfirstlevel0hd2.jpg. Not bad, for something that can barely compare to a PC!

Those of us who can't dump hundreds or thousands a year into gaming deserve to enjoy the next ES game as well. It took me until June of this year just to be able to reasonably afford a 360 and my computer hasn't been upgraded since a little after Battlefield 2 came out.

Scalable graphics, my son. There were a whole bunch of performance-improving mods for Oblivion on the PC as well. It shouldn't be an issue.

hehe, it was a joke. Alienware is one of those companies that are extremely overpriced, like Apple. The difference is is that Alienware is for gaming, and in all seriousness, they can cost that much, and they aren't worth it. That's where the joke was, lol. :biggrin:

You can actually get computers that expensive. They do things like put in 4 top of the line graphics cards linked together, 6 core CPU, multiple enormous solid state disks, water cooling, etc.

Obviously you don't need anything close to that though to have a good gaming PC. My PC is really good and can play pretty much anything cranked without breaking a sweat, and it cost me less than a grand. And that includes an 80gig solid state disk. The only games that I struggle with are the few PC exclusives out there (Arma2 etc).

Oh, okay.

Aye, it's just you have to jump through hoops downloading, installing, and configuring a load of 3rd party stuff to get the full potential out of them. You are right, it's not a tiny bit, it's a huge difference.

That said, I don't mind if the graphics on a new game are a bit rubbish, because that's not the reason I play - I still play and love the old Infinity Engine games. I'd rather have a good plot and loads of side quests and have to imagine the scenery in my head than have a graphically polished game with a small main quest, few side quests, and limited scope. But I would occasionally like to see a game that gave my GPU a run for its money AS WELL as having all those gameplay factors. It's a lot to ask, I know.

Even the setup you stated doesn't come close to scratching $15000, even with intels 6 core processor, or 4 GPUs. Thats more like $5000 or more, but I'm sure you can make a $15k gaming pc. I was just making an alienware joke.

I don't mind jumping through those hoops personally. It pays off in the end.

I just want it all! Great story, graphics, polish, the whole nine yards. :nod:

Graphics really don't matter to me, however the art does. My biggest problems with Oblivion/Fallout 3 is that you had to download a ton of mods to make it look good. Basic anatomy errors, skin tone issues, and overall ugly looking characters really spoiled the games for me. Not to mention the hair!

Another big pet peeve was character creation. Generally you couldn't really make any of the presets or actual NPC character's faces with tools available, the sliders just wouldn't go far enough or they interfered with each other too much. For example, messing with the Chin controls should NOT change the Jaw shape. Then there were all the areas of the face you couldn't alter.

The biggest offense really was the dark interior lighting on the models in the creation window. I get that we're creating a character in a dungeon, but, when I get outside after spending a good 20-30+ minutes creating my character, finding out that not only is my character albino with a severe blushing disorder (I guess it would work if I was creating a drunk) but a strange five o'clock shadow appears that not quite becoming of the lass. Daylight conditions, please, for character creation.

Face it, TES:V wont have dx11, or even 10 support (highly HIGHLY doubt it), might as well be happy with the gameplay and leave graphics up to games like Metro 2033.. and ... and...... TES:V will at least have amazing gameplay.

Great textures by good artists can make any game look good, see above post.

It cost me nearly $600 for a new console to play new games that don't run on the older one.

It cost me only $280 for a new GPU for my PC that CAN run my older games as well as any new ones that come out.

Do you see what happened here folks?