Good stuff man - I completely understand. Everything you just said makes perfect sense.

Yeah, of course. I agree. It's not ideal - just doable, especially if you're on a tight budget.

No, I don't care about the 60 FPS thing. Example - PS3/Xbox 360 run BF3 at less than 720p, and are only going at 30FPS. Low settings too. Fact of the matter is, they're REALLY dated pieces of tech.

I agree. Diversity, options, openness, and competition are absolutely necessary. Well-said.

Hmm, I guess I've been lucky. I assemble builds in about an hour or two with no problem, and everything seems to always be working fine...

Argument works 100% fine. You're apparently too protective of a console purchase or biased to see objective fact and accept it.

That's a LOT of text. Holy shit. I skimmed through it, and I'll have to just point out a few things where I disagree with you thoroughly (especially about buying a controller - most PC gamers prefer mouse/keyboard, and objective tests have proven them better for maneuverability and responsiveness - Lost Planet 2 test…

Actually, yes, I agree with you. The word "utterly" was a poor choice. "Not necessarily true" would have been a more accurate descriptor.

No problem, and thanks! And yeah, I would too - I was just trying to keep costs down to prove my point. Of course if you really want to get serious about PC gaming, I'd recommend better specs to stay relevant through even the next generation of consoles, but of course that's not for everyone.

That's fine. People have their reasons and I'm only seeking to root out false beliefs and whatnot.

Who said you need to buy a TV? I never said that. Please don't put words in my mouth. Just plug the PC into your existing TV. Millions of people do it already. Hence the point of an HTPC.

I don't factor in time, because it's not a relevant factor in showing that PC gaming can be cheaper for those who know what they are doing.

Of course, and you're 100% correct. My point was just to show the possible, and demonstrate how the popular phrase of "PC gaming is expensive" is actually false.

Windows 7 takes up less than 20GB on my laptop. Mass Effect 3 is large, but not THAT large, haha.

You're 100% dead wrong. Who the fuck said anything about a top-of-the-line PC from back then? And no, the 8800 GT was substantially better - it was a revolution in the GPU industry, with nVidia's GeForce 8 series. It also has DirectX 10 support, which is a big deal.

It's not dishonest at all. Perfectly legitimate and NOT a scam. Businesses and many workplaces give out massive discounts as well.

It was cheaper and I just wanted to show what was possible for a super-small budget. It'd be a hassle yeah, and one would have to keep only one or two games on there at a time. But it would be doable.

Can you not read? I said $300. Look. At. The. Fucking. Link.

No, it's not dishonest. I mention the price of Xbox Live as a comparison to the price of Windows.

Agreed.