[username]

The thing only touched upon here that is much more in console gaming's favor is that when everyone is talking about how it doesn't cost much more to build one's own gaming rig, the key word is build. The options for theoretically getting a game running have become much more streamlined but for the economics to work out in your favor you have to build the darn thing yourself and most people aren't going to bother. I can't build shit, I had to go to my sister's friend to even know what sort of benchmark to aim for and had to go the HP route (no clue if they are good or not, that was where he found the best price-per-performance machine) which cost markedly more than any console I've ever paid for. Beyond the money (I was doing well enough at the time so it wasn't a huge problem) it was rather stressful to figure out all this stuff that, again, I didn't even have to bother to build myself. Once you figure it out, know all the manufacturers and items and this and that it probably is a better deal, but if you don't and have an alternative that you just plug in and costs markedly less than the pre-built competition one would have to be kooky to not go that route.

This is also probably why the Steam Machines are so intriguing as they could theoretically remove the biggest hurdle, but I have my doubts in regards to the price points we will see them launch at.
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http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castlevania-sotn/clip1.mp3

[username]

FWIW I didn't think you sounded like an asshole at all DJ. What I did neglect to mention is that as much as anything else the thing that scares me off messing around with putting electrical stuff together is that my current residence for whatever reason produces frequent yet hard to predict static charges. I am familiar with grounding one self but I've blown out answering machines by picking up a landline phone and having a shock zap me and travel down the line to fry said machine. It's probably a somewhat irrational worry but hell, I barely want to touch my PC as is now and as far as I know it is sealed and safe. I may also just be a wimp.
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http://www.audioatrocities.com/games/castlevania-sotn/clip1.mp3