Advise please, which platform/system should I use??

[Need2Raid]

Ok, I have not played Tomb Raider since probably TR4.

I downloaded the TR Legend demo from the official site, and I'm hooked again! The demo played well, but I know my computer is not going to support the full TRL. Or better yet, TRA.

Now my dilemma .... Do I update to a new computer that can handle these games, or go ahead and buy a game system?? If I were to buy a game system, what does everyone recommend???

I have not played a gaming system since probably Zelda on original Playstation or Nintendo (dont remember which)... So, what's the best thing to do?? I loved playing the old TR's on my PC, but I'm sure the experience is just as good on a game system, so tell me which one you have, do you love it? And if you could choose what would be yor ideal way to play Tomb raider?

Thanks a bunch!! I value everyone's opinion, but please hurry since I need to make a move in the next day or so. LOL! Can't wait to see Lara again

[cazzer]

If i was to be myself i would say go for a 360 to play the game ,although with this the cheaper option is the best ,if one option is cheaper then go for it ,if you are looking for graphics the PC and 360 are very close so that doesn't matter, i would think though to get it on PC would be better if you wanted to play TR:A later on.

[Lo]

It depends on your budget

If you buy a 360 just for TR games it may not be worthwhile unless you play other games and some of the games are pricey.

If, on the other hand, if you get a new PC (I recommend browsing Dell as you can buy offline and customise it), you are going to get a lot more for your money - a new up-to-the-minute machine which you can use for gaming also, plus PC games are more affordable of course and come down in price quite rapidly

Oh and welcome to the forum by the way!

[Spong]

Hmmm...new PC or new games console?

Tricky...
If you buy a new PC, with the speed everything keeps getting upgraded at, it's gonna be obsolete in 4 or 5 years. And with a console, you're set for about the same period of time.

If you ask me, the games these days (on the new-gen consoles) are on an even field with PC games in terms of graphics. Exclusivity is pretty-much a thing of the past, so you probably won't miss out on big titles whichever way you go.

At the end of the day, it comes down to capabilities.
Consoles are good, great even for their ease of use, but they only do what the Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft wants them to do. A brand new PC will play games released now & for a good while to come AND it'll do anything else you want it to do.

I'd say get a PC.

EDIT
Dang!! Lo got in before me.

[humbug]

I would say get a PC, because they are so much more versatile then a console as you can use a PC for much more! I should hopefully be getting a new PC soon, I've looked at the dell ones and I can get; 2 gig of ram a duo core 2.33 CPU a n Vidia 8600 GT graphics card and a 120 gig hard drive for about 515 pounds. I thought this was a pretty good deal there's no monitor included in the price as I don't need one but I think they where around about 100 in the package I looked at. There are cheaper packages avaible starting at 369 which probably could would have difficulty in running the newer games.

[andy3536]

Well if your pc can play the demo, then i'm guessing that you only need a few upgrades, not knowing your pc spec it's hard to say.
But the cheapest console price would be £179.99 (360 basic), and for that you could comfortably get a new graghics card and 2 gig of ram.
If you post you pc specs it would be easier to tell which way would be cheapest and what you possible budget would be for an upgrade.

[Need2Raid]

Well Guys and girls I did one of those "Can you run it?" scans from the TR site and here are the results, which I can easily see I need an upgrade to play the new TR games.

I can invest about $600 max right now, which leads me to my original question of what to do... I bought my computer back in Dec 2001 so here are the results for anyone who'd like to see my specs.

Thanks for all the great advice so far. One other thing, I was reading on Stella's site and am disappointed she mentions TRL can be completed in about a day! ALso it seems that there's not much challenge to it and it's very "linear". Bummer.

I also noticed the amount of levels is minimal compared to some of the older Tomb Raiders, one of which I think was 30+ levels!! WHAT were they thinking?? Was everyone disappointed in TRL?? Looks like I may be

Anyway... Results from the "scan" follow: .......

CPU
Minimum: Pentium 3 or Athlon XP equivalent
You Have: Intel(R) Celeron(R) processor
FYI: Please review the CPU Speed analysis on the row below to see if you passed. The CPU & CPU Speed are linked as a requirement.

CPU Speed
Minimum: 1 GHz
You Have: 996.00 MHz PASS

System RAM
Minimum: 256 MB
You Have: 254.5 MB PASS

Operating System
Minimum: Windows 2000/XP only
You Have: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600) PASS

Video Card
Minimum: 100% DirectX 9.0c - compatible 64 MB 3D Accelerated Card with TnL (GeForce 3Ti / Radeon 9 series)
You Have: Intel(R) 82810 Graphics Controller (GeForce FX 5500) FAIL: Sorry, your video card does not meet this minimum requirement. Upgrade to a more powerful video card will make all your applications look better. Click the 'We Recommend' button to see some great options.

Video Card Features - Minimum attributes of your Video Card
Video RAM: Required - 64 MB , You have - 256.0 MB
Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Pixel Shader Ver.: Required - 1.1 , You have - 2.0


Video Card Driver Version (DirectX)
Your driver version number is: 6.14.11.6218
FYI: Your video card driver version is provided for your information, but it is not part of this analysis. But proper video card driver versions are important to the proper operation of your product.

Sound Card
Minimum: Yes
You Have: MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device PASS

Sound Card Driver Version
Your driver version number is: 5.1.2535.0 FYI: Your sound card driver version is provided for your information, but it is not part of this analysis. But proper sound card driver versions are important to the proper operation of your product.

Free Disk Space
Minimum: 9.9 GB
You Have: 4.9 GB FAIL: Sorry, your computer does not have enough Free Disk Space to meet this minimum requirement. Maybe it's time to buy another hard drive. Click 'We Recommend' to get all the disk space you need.
DVD

Minimum: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
You Have: FAIL: Sorry, your computer does not have a DVD-ROM that meets this requirement.

[Need2Raid]

Here are the results of my computer scan, based on OPTIMAL requirements. The other was "minimal"

CPU
Recommended: Pentium 4
You Have: Intel(R) Celeron(R) processor
FYI: Please review the CPU Speed analysis on the row below to see if you passed. The CPU & CPU Speed are linked as a requirement.

CPU Speed
Recommended: 3 GHz
You Have: 996.00 MHz FAIL: Sorry, your CPU Speed does not meet this recommended requirement. If you really want to make this product fly, click the 'We Recommend' button to check out some great computers.

System RAM
Recommended: 1 GB
You Have: 254.5 MB FAIL: Sorry, your computer does not meet this recommended requirement. You may be able to add more RAM which could make your computer more powerful. Click the 'We Recommend' to see how.


Operating System
Recommended: Windows XP only
You Have: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (Build 2600) PASS

Video Card
Recommended: 100% DirectX 9.0c - compatible 512 MB 3D Accelerated Card (NVIDIA GeForce 7800 / ATI Radeon X-1800)
You Have: Intel(R) 82810 Graphics Controller (GeForce FX 5500)
FAIL: Sorry, your video card does not meet this recommended requirement. Upgrading to a more powerful video card will make all your applications look better. Click the 'We Recommend' button to see some great options.

Video Card Features - Minimum attributes of your Video Card
Video RAM: Required - 512 MB , You have - 256.0 MB
Video Card 3D Acceleration: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Video HW Transform & Lighting: Required - Yes , You have - Yes
Vertex Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0
Pixel Shader Ver.: Required - 3.0 , You have - 2.0


Video Card Driver Version (DirectX)
Your driver version number is: 6.14.11.6218 FYI: Your video card driver version is provided for your information, but it is not part of this analysis. But proper video card driver versions are important to the proper operation of your product.

Sound Card
Recommended: Yes
You Have: MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device PASS

Sound Card Driver Version
Your driver version number is: 5.1.2535.0 FYI: Your sound card driver version is provided for your information, but it is not part of this analysis. But proper sound card driver versions are important to the proper operation of your product.


Free Disk Space
Recommended: 9.9 GB
You Have: 4.9 GB FAIL: Sorry, your computer does not have enough Free Disk Space to meet this recommended requirement. Maybe it's time to buy another hard drive. Click 'We Recommend' to get all the disk space you need.

DVD
Recommended: Eight-speed (8x) DVD-ROM drive or faster
You Have: FAIL: Sorry, your computer does not have a DVD-ROM that meets this requirement.

[andy3536]

Wow, i think it may be time for a new pc to be honest.

You could probobly upgrade to play the game at low settings but to be honest, it's really not worth it.

If you don't have the money (or the will) to build/buy a new pc then go for a 360.

[Paulraider]

Welcome to the church of croft , need2raid

This is the prob aint it.

Angel of darkness works on mine and main ain't the most poer Pc on the planet and it got a 3D graphics card. IDL ed the TRL off the net and it didnt work on my Pc, but i prefer consoles to play games

If you want to start buying loads of game and of course you need to update you graphics card on you Pc, unless its TOO old?

graphics card don't cost the earth and you looking at roughly £200 £300 for a console probably less 2nd hand. Tr L is on the 360, and tra is on the PS2, although Dls are now available for TR L online for the 360.

you can go on the net with 360 but it cost you so much every 3, 6 or 12 months the PS3 it don't cost you extra

I would upgrade you Pc if your gonna use the net a lot and if you are a more of a fan of Pc games, thens it worth it getting a Pc upgrade

If not go for a console

hope that helps

[andy3536]

Tomb raider anniversary out next month on 360

http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-...y/Product.html

Tomb raider legend only £14.99 on 360
http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-...d/Product.html

[Paulraider]

Originally Posted by andy3536

Tomb raider anniversary out next month on 360

http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-...y/Product.html

Tomb raider legend only £14.99 on 360
http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-...d/Product.html

Took em long enough didn't it?

[grihn]

Dude...don't get a Dell...they completely suck.

It really boils down to if you can build your own though. You won't get a very high powered PC for 600 bucks...but you can carry that 600 a lot further if you build your own rig.

[Captain Mazda]

Build a PC and watch the world crumble before your processing power.

[Need2Raid]

Originally Posted by Captain Mazda

Build a PC and watch the world crumble before your processing power.

Ideally that'd be great, but problem is I don't know the first thing about building a PC

[Need2Raid]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5712985

Would this cut it?

[Omega]

My bet is always for the PC.

Some games, like shooting games, are much better using a keyboard and mouse.

If you get a console, you don't have this option. If you get a PC, you can always buy a controller for games that feel better with one.

Upgrading needn't be expensive if you wait.

I feel sorry for those people who rushed out to get dual or quad-core processors when they first game out - there wasn't any point to them yet as 99.9% of applications don't take full advantage of the second (or other three) cores.

If you're patient with upgrading, and shop around, the amount you spend upgrading will be about the same as a new games console.

[Paulraider]

Originally Posted by grihn

Dude...don't get a Dell...they completely suck.

It really boils down to if you can build your own though. You won't get a very high powered PC for 600 bucks...but you can carry that 600 a lot further if you build your own rig.

You will if you live in the U.K for £600 you can get a lot. If you spend over a £1,000 your either going to make a feature film or really serious about using it for everything its made for,lol

[grihn]

Originally Posted by Paulraider

You will if you live in the U.K for £600 you can get a lot. If you spend over a £1,000 your either going to make a feature film or really serious about using it for everything its made for,lol

Yeah, but £600 is different than $600.

Originally Posted by Need2Raid

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5712985

Would this cut it?

It's still a pretty low end computer...the biggest problem is gonna be the graphics chip. But, if you were to buy that and then put a seperate graphics card in it, it would be fine. It's very easy to do (or I could give you a step-by-step if you need it) and there are some pretty decent cards for pretty cheap.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...285&CatId=1560

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...060&CatId=1560

The main difference is the 7600 (the first link) is a DX9 card, and is just slightly faster than the 8600 (the second link). However, the 8600 supports DX10, so you'd be able to play games that support only DX10 (however, it's still not a very high-end card, so you'd still have to watch it). Really, the 7600 is a fine card. You can definately get them for cheaper, but they will be of significantly less quality and we're only talking about $20.

[andy3536]

Originally Posted by Need2Raid

Ideally that'd be great, but problem is I don't know the first thing about building a PC

Neither did i 6 months ago.
Now i have an almighty beast under my desk built by me

Buy a few PC biulder mags and if you take in the info you'll realise it's easy.
You just get the right bits to fit together, switch on, change the odd bios setting and place the OS disc in the pc........then the driver disc and thats it other than the programs you want.

[Captain Mazda]

Originally Posted by Need2Raid

Ideally that'd be great, but problem is I don't know the first thing about building a PC

Well, take this as a perfect opportunity to do so and learn =)

Experience is everything when it comes to computers.

[rabid metro]

i'm sure this is going to ...(wait, that's been done before) ...

computer needs: get a mac

gaming needs: wii would like to play
Legend plays on gamecube which plays on wii ...
Anniversary plays (awesomely) on wii

my advice: free (i.e. priceless)

we now return you to your regularly scheduled ...

[Deekman]

Originally Posted by cazzer

If i was to be myself...

Aren't you yourself?

There was an old Popeye cartoon where Wimpy disguises himself as Popeye so that he can eat the hamburgers that Olive Oyl has made for Popeye.
When Popeye sees him he says:
"How can one person be two persons and yet be the same person?
If I'm not me, who am I? And if I'm somebody else, why do I look like me?"

[NightRain]

Well, I have Legend on PC and Anniversary on PS2 and PC. On PC, I use the mouse and keyboard.

You can turn off all special effects in Options and hopefully that'll have the game running smoother in your system. But, since now these two games gives the player full camera control, I don't know how you'll feel about it if you intend on buying the PC versions and not a gamepad. If it's still lagging a bit after shutting off the special options, then my suggestion would be to go with the PS2 versions. You have better camera control using the right analog stick rather than sliding the mouse around.

[Deekman]

We've actually begun investigating the PS3 in earnest.
Question now is 40gig or 80gig.
The guy at Best Buy says the 40 will not play PS2 games.
Is this true? We will likely get the 80 in the next couple of weeks anyways.
And we will likely get it at Best Buy because they're a hundred bux cheaper than anywhere else.

Now I'll need GoranAgar and Catsuit to make some game recommendations, as they know me well enough to know what I might like, and this will be my first forray into console gaming.