Take the screen off one of these, plug in your 30" LCD and your wish is granted.

bit 'spensive though.

NZRUSS

@jrronimo: All Giz Wants is a fantasy series—one draft of this was actually much more granular about specific parts and everything, but the point's more about the limits of our gadget dreams than what's even remotely realistic.

matt buchanan

it still does look like a 'one more thing' kind of machine...

Z

On the nose, Giz, on the nose. Beautiful.

If PC gaming were like this I would actually do it rather than abandoning it for the much happier land of console gaming long ago.

(and for all the wireless haters: wireless latency is typically far less than the latency of your internet connection itself, or for that matter, your reaction time.)

Padriac

@matt buchanan:
word. although i did just go through call of duty 4 on a 360, and i have to say, controllers have come a long way since the days of Syphon Filter.

but the other problem with consoles is the displays they run on, that is, traditional televisions, have such low resolution (740 x 480 = 345600 Pixels) that getting 60 FPS 24/7 isn't that difficult... bump that to 1080P (1920 x 1080 = 2073600) and you're trying to push SIX TIMES the amount of data.

another issue is that because of the wildly differing resolutions, those with high res displays have an advantage in that well, they can simply see more at once, and they can see things further away.

but yes, mouse and keyboard FTW

nutbastard

I think you guys are really asking for too much. I mean, I like the idea a lot but you need to be realistic: It takes a certain amount of video horsepower to display a single polygon at 1920x1080p resolution. Now, multiply that by the bajillion of polys Crysis uses on any given frame and there just isn't a way to do it (currently) without multiple-slot cooled video cards. There just isn't a way to do it. But there *should* be. Neither ATi nor nVidia have had their Pentium M moment quite yet -- where they realize that they need something that's REALLY good as opposed to Good Enough. I guess what I'm saying is: Call me when they release their 'Conroe'.

Hard drives cost money and take up space and generate heat. Same for EVERYTHING.

To have "streaming" games is also sort of tough, too -- The fastest non-FiOS available speed (since FiOS is NOT availaable in most areas) is Comcast's 8 mbit (as far as I know). Doing the math means a theoretical MAXIMUM download speed of 1 MB/sec when Comcast isn't nomming your packets. Then there's the overhead associated with Wireless (since you want WiFi) as well as write-speed to your HDD... It's just impractical to expect streaming to be really good for an 8 GB game (like UT3).

The upside to all of this is that at least the Phantom Lapboard would be useful... if it ever comes out. :)

jrronimo

"Fuck wires. There should be a power cable. That's it."

Ethernet>Wireless... I'd say Gigabit mandatory. Why? Lan play.

I've never been a big fan of Keyboard and Mouse for FPS - I've always used a trackball and a joystick combo, but one of the reasons I switched entirely to PC was the exclusion of flexibility in controllers - some games would NOT enable a joystick option, leaving my analog axis for strafing and movement now digital, and ineffective (Deus Ex 2 was the tipping point, it was built on an engine with joystick support, so it was taken out on purpose). The answer from the companies was always the same - it's not designed for a joystick (my feeling is, it's a game, it's suppossed to be fun, and I can hold my own with a trackball and stick, so why not).

But I'm definitly in the minority here. I know that.

Lizard_King

It'd be nice to have bluetooth mouse/keyboard so there aren't wires everywhere, which can happen. However, having a small Wii-like system case just won't happen since all the good graphic cards are already longer than the Wii system. The size of a good mother board and heatsink make the system too large to fit in a nice small case.

I personally see nothing wrong with having a nice large case. I have the CMS Stacker and it keeps my system nice and cool while being relatively quiet (at least quieter than the Xbox 360's DVD drive!) Sure it's large to fit on my desk, has all the usual wires, and you'd be a fool to try to transport it to a friends house, but I love it as is.

fusiongt

So basically you want Microsoft's online gaming, the graphical power promised by Sony's smacktalk, Nintendo's gimmickry and platformers, all in a package by Apple's Jonathan Ive.

omg-ponies

No wires? Wireless communications = latentcy, so thats not going to jive with your immeasurabley low response time...

nutbastard

@el_gordo: Keyboard and mouse is the only way to play an FPS.

matt buchanan

Sounds like you guys want a console that runs an OS that lets you use apps like you would in Windows and OSX, not a PC.

I think we're going to witness a slow dying-off of PC games (not completely, though) after what we saw with the sales (or rather, lack thereof) of UT III and Crysis. As larger companies see a drop-off in PC games sales, they'll see less of a reason to put money into developing or porting games onto the PC. You'll see an continuation of the trend for consoles to be more PC-like, with better internet implementation, media support, and eventually the ability to install applications. The line between PCs and consoles will continue to blur, but you'll never see one doing everything the other does.

karmaghost

I just wish for a gaming PC that is affordable: if you kit up your PC with the same amount of money as a PS2 costs, you still don't get a decent gaming machine, i.e the same power as a PS2 (and the PS2 is certainly not a powerful console). At least not in crummy England.

greeneggsnsam

Input devices?

I'm guessing you'll want to stick with the tried-and-true mouse and keys combo.

Then, for fun, let's have that OS include built-in support for the Wiimote, the 360 controller, and the Dual Shock 3.

Because then you'd be able to play every game for every system though emulation. Legally? Phhhht. Screw legalities, we're dreaming!

el_gordo

Why doesn't Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo develop portable 15"-17" gaming console laptop?

We've seen some projects of an XBOX 360 laptop console.

If Microsoft developed an XBOX 360 laptop, I would buy one in a flash.

yoshi

@gnugeek:

Same reason I got out of the PC gaming circuit years ago. I was sick of spending $300 to upgrade a part to play a game. I switched to mac just ever so slightly before the ipod was released and I never went back to PC gaming. Except WOW, but that was a error in judgement (psst. WTS lvl 63 dr00d),but it did run great on my g4 1 ghz powerbook. Up until the Wii release the only system I had was NDS and a gamecube. Now I have a Xbox 360 I and love it. Mass Effect is the shit and what's nice about consoles is the make games according to the system specs. Everyone wins. Except those assholes at Nintendo when the N64 had that memory expansion. WTF was that about. And all those terrible Sega add-ons. Ehh, the big three manufactures figured it out eventually.

DS is still hands down my favorite system. Just slip my DS phat in my back pocket, hop on my bike during a break from class, and play advance wars (because that was the only good game on it for the first year). I spent my spring semester that year in Rittenhouse Square fighting wars against some other creepy art school kids. Then again i was 21, playing a handheld in public so i was a little creepy too.

thechansen

All's you need is a Mac Mini, with capacity for 4gigs of ram (2slots), and changable video card, and we are set!

loremaster101

I think Microsoft is missing out of the gamer crowd by not publishing an XBOX 360 emulator for PC's.

The PC gamer crowd (me included) wants the best rez and graphics a PC can get, hence we pay a hefty price for superior hardware.
Everyone knows that PC games are far better than consoles but consoles are getting better too.

PC's are an all around solution for ultimate gaming, media center and every day computing/work that a console by itself cannot fulfill.

If MS was to develop a Xbox console emulator and even charged $50 to $100 for it, they would see their Xbox games sales go even higher by capturing the PC gamer that refuses to buy a console.

Also studios could capitalize on not having to build cross plaform games, which cost more to develop.

The same goes for Sony / Nintendo... a PS3/ Wii Emulator?

After all consoles hardware costs and actual sell price are so close that in reality they are subsidized by the games they sell.

A console application for Windows / Mac or even making an entire Console OS (such as a dual boot enviroment) Would be something I would be willing to pay for.

Console units would still sell on their own.

Most people use underpowered $500 desktop of laptops which do not have enough hardware to emulate a console correctly or with the same performance. Most $1500+ PC's do have the hardware required but are outside of the "console-only" gamer budget.

So how about it MS, Sony and Nintendo?
When do we get the Xbox, PS3, Wii emulators for $50 ~ $100 ?

I promise We'll buy the USB accessories !

aec007

I personally just want a regular console to be able to plug in any keyboard and mouse and use it with an FPS. Sony has the right idea with Unreal Tournament 3.

LoganT

I might be on the same path to a console. I just upgraded my home pc to have nothing but problems and not a "sit down-play-enjoy" experience. I can run cod4 at 1080p and looks great but the hardware and os upgrade was not worth the money. I hope to justify the xbox for Christmas, all depends how much is left of the 07 bonus check. I was expecting like everyone else to see more similarities between vista and xbox (gaming experience wise)but not, it seems will not happen anytime soon.

dysthymia

@ridered: So how about, um, a keyboard and a mouse? The game just needs to support it (Unreal Tournament 3 on PS3 does... not sure what else does though). Or you can try the Frag FX for lap-based keyboard and mouse action that should work with any game.

Padriac

PC gaming will exist as long as there are PCs, sure. Put that many of something out in the world and somebody will make games for it, no matter what it is (Ex: iPod).

However, the PC gaming market has seen increasing problems that may cause PC centric development to start to wane. We'll probably start seeing PC devs like valve target the consoles and then port to the PC, not the other way around.

1) the video card problem: essentially you get to pay for something that costs as much as a console, but you do it every 2 years instead of 5. Not cool. Without doing this you're stuck playing "outdated" games

2) the console threat: consoles have been adding PC like features. Soon there will be little to differentiate. The best current example is UT3 on the PS3: you get free online play, keyboard and mouse support, mod support... all without having to worry about frame rates and video cards and settings and other bull.

Sure games like World of Warcraft injected some life into PC gaming by bringing some more casuals in, but there's really no reason that couldn't be ported to the PS3/360 other than Blizzard not wanting to do it.

Remember, the only thing that separates console gaming from PC gaming is all the NON-GAMING stuff: bloated OS, ability to run a word processor, etc. There is of course the modding/customizing angle, but very few consumers care to do that and development of ANYTHING requires a PC, so that's nothing unique to video games.

Padriac

I really just want a good mouse and keyboard system for console, I'm a complete fool with a controller it's really depressing to watch. I'd stop playing co
mputer games if that came about

ridered

It actually sounds like you just described the "Phantom" gaming console. Almost to a T.

Online distribution, simple all in one box, no wires . . .

Fuzz

Also, not sure if its been mentioned, It cannot be customizable at all. One version works for all. I dont need better graphics or processors or that sort of shit on one of them. I dont wanna change hardware inside so I can run crysis2.0.

MAKE IT FUCKING SIMPLE

mferrari

I've been a PC gamer who turned my nose up at consoles for over 20 years. This year was one of "those" years that every PC gamer faces... one of those years when your unbelievably awesome, wow, I can play every game out at max settings PC that you built a few years ago, is hurting and badly in need of upgrades to play anything current.

I took a good, hard look at the now absolutely ridiculous video card market, and the monstrosity of an operating system that is Windows Vista, looked at my bonus check from work, and said screw it.. and bought a 42" LCD TV (with 4ms response time) and an XBox360.

Is it as powerful as a top of the line gaming PC? No, of course not. Thing is, I don't care. Half Life 2 looks awesome at 1080p in widescreen at 42" and even with the console controller I'm having more fun kicked back on my ouch playing the game now than I ever did on my PC.

Now, I don't have to worry about whether or not the game I'm buying is going to run ok, and I'm free to run operating systems I actually use to get work done on my computer without having to worry about needing Windows for games. PC gaming problem solved.

I blame the ridiculous PC gaming hardware and software industry for driving me to console gaming.

gnugeek

I guess what I fail to see is... how is this different from a console?

Imaria

@savager:
nobody make you click through.

@xboxishuge:
they dont want a gaming PC in their current incarnations - they want a gaming PC with a very simple UI/OS. this isn't a hardware issue, it's an operability issue. you can turn on a console and it just works. but you cant run programs. you can turn on a computer and run programs, but it doesn't always work.

Unfortunately, the two come hand in hand. the likelyhood of bugs increases (exponentially?) with the complexity of the system. consoles work because they dont have to talk to strange peripherals, they dont have to run buggy 3rd party software, and no one writes viruses for them (virii, i know)

make em complex enough to run 'shootbinladen.exe' and all of a sudden it no-worky because of dependency errors.

start at the other end with a PC and try and 'dumb it down' enough to function like a console, with the same performance, and you end up with a huge, bulky $3,000 obsoletetron. People bitched about the PS3 being $700. how well do you think this would sell?

nutbastard

I'm feeling everything but the monitor. yeah, i want a 30" display, but I want it to move with my head. Not ala TrackIR, where you move your head and not your eyes, i want the screen to move. And by "screen" I mean "full 3d image." Its time for retinal projection.

Since I am not up on the latest software, can anyone tell me if modern engines such as that used by Crysis are programmed efficiently? Or are they perpetuating the videocard/cpu scam by using outlandishly poor programming techniques that force completely absurd hardware?

And we're all mac fanboys.

Crominator56

@savager: Don't be a dick. People come to sites for personality, not just for news.

Pope John Peeps II

I have an Antec Sonata computer chassis. It's solid black and beautiful. There are inside grommets supporting the hard drive, made of soft silicone, as are the feet, which keeps everything quiet as the grave. There are two separate fans, so neither works over-duty, and with a couple of delicate touches of black latex paint, the whole thing produces no light whatsoever.

Between this and my black LCD monitor, everything is sleek and silent and awesome.

Until I fire up Republic Commandos, which is my favourite FPS of all time.

Pope John Peeps II

You know it kinda shocked me Giz approved so much foul language on this post. Not that I'm offended, I'm a roadie for god's sake, but Giz usually borderlines on the offensive, never that blatant.

Inaki

Christ, just build a fucking watercooled SFF PC and buy a huge monitor, if that's what you want.

Granted, Dell and everyone seem to thing that gamers want neon lights and functionless cooling fins and all kinds of stupid bullshit, but if you want a gaming PC that isn't retarded, it's not like there's a shortage of parts with which to do it.

You can come very close to this "All Giz Wants" right now, it's just going to cost a small fortune.

xboxishuge

moooorreee filler content... yay.. please.. stick to reporting actual news.. or you'll end up like mass media and start covering the britney spears of the gadget world.. whatever that is..

if there's not enough gadget news.. then don't post anything.. page views aren't as important as keeping your standards

savager

@karmaghost: people have been predicting the death of pc gameing for over half a decade. its not going anywhere. especially not now that blizzard brought mmos to the mainstream. and as people begin to realize that their favorite games like bioshock, orangebox, call of duty, etc. are all on the pc with better controls and better online play, PC gaming is probably going to grow.

mwalker05

Hark! Lewis Black is now ghostwriting for giz!

SeattleTed

@Adnium: Ooh you have a physics card? Are they as useful as they say? I hear you can pick one up for pretty cheap these days.

Also, I love PC gaming. My pc is always going to be the primary game machine. But the game market driving upgrade after upgrade after upgrade is crazy. It's just wacked out.

Pope John Peeps II

What game is that on the screen?

arrakis

@Pope John Peeps II:
SECONDED!

nutbastard

@savager: First, once you come to terms with your sexuality, you'll be a much happier person. Really. Trust me. The internal struggle to resist your urges is only going to make you an angrier person.

Secondly, I really think you'd be happier on another gadget site.

Thirdly: banhammer.

Pope John Peeps II

Without doing this you're stuck playing "outdated" games

Really?

*Goes to play Bioshock and Crysis on an 8600m (estimated cost of more powerful PC component = 100 USD) with 2 gigabytes of RAM (40 USD) on high and medium at 1280x1024, respectively*

*Looks at screenshots from a Xbox 360 (440 USD)*

Me thinks you have different definitions of either "playing", or "outdated".

gattsuru

Savager, by my count you're the only one so far that doesn't appreciate this article. Why not leave this discussion and go find some "real news" to entertain yourself instead?

misterwight

@savager:
oh man i love how you come in here to rail against "opinion based wastes of space" when, ah, that's exactly what your comments constitute.

nutbastard

@mwalker05:

I have to disagree, "Better online play and controls"? The only advantage PC has over consoles is scaleability (putting aside the debate about keyboard and mouse vs. controller). The Xbox 360 and games like Halo 3 in particular have perfected online matchmaking which, in my opinion, should be as simple as pressing the button that says: go find me people to play with/against.

I, as a gamer should not have to deal with the endless bullshit of 100,000 different servers, all with equally descriptive names (Game X Dedicated Server 001, please just die).

I love the concept of a PC which doesn't require me to have an intricate knowledge of every component and how and if it will deign to communicate with the rest of my hardware, and would even go so far as to say that I'd be perfectly willing to sacrifice a small amount of privacy to have some process running in the background which keeps all my graphics, physics and sound cards taking to each other, without me having to worry about it.

Liquid cooling and sound insulation FTW, I'm beginning to think that the next generation of consoles should concern itself with making them sound less than an LAX at takeoff time before anything else.

Adnium

@savager:
Well, we're all just so glad you finally came out of your shell to tell us all how dissatisfied you are to be here. I mean, really, how dare anyone tell you to shut the fuck up for contributing nothing to this post except what's left of your dignity. People like that should just go suck dicks, exactly as you fortold it. Of course your opinion matters more than most everyone elses - you ARE you, after all.

nutbastard

Then buy a fucking console.

Oh, I'm sorry. You like having no upgrade path? You prefer systems where Nintendo or Microsoft get to select how much hard drive space you really need? You don't mind watching computer gamers plink down cheap upgrades to get comparable or better graphics and frame rates, like purchasing an ATI x800 in mid-2005 did compared to people still buying the original XBox for more? You hate operating systems that don't force you to deal with a limited number of components, drivers, interfaces, and options.

Then go buy a fucking console, and use Google Docs or something for your 'work'.

This whole insistence that computers should be simple and automated is fun, until you think about what sort of capabilities you have to actually give up for that limited of a system to actually work for shit.

gattsuru

like NZRUSS said just get a gaming laptop and take off the screen, take off the battery, and all other things you dont want or want to change and then put it in a small custom case. and then get a gametap membership or something like it.

boomersooner9133

Have you seen Shuttle's PC's ? With the right video card, those things are pretty powerful little machines. Plus they look pretty slick.

solidunit

@pope john
first, suck a dick.. second..last time i checked, I determine why i go to sites. and maybe fucks like you dig these opinion based wastes of space, but some prefer actual gadget news..

savager

this isn't a bad idea. they should release a pc console ,all you need is a keyboard mouse and internet connection. not 2000$ to spend on parts that will only last you 1-2 years.

pazhman

There was a machine that ran Windows XP Embedded and that was shownoff running EA Sports Titles just by inserting the game CD. Booting time would be a kill though (even with embedded systems, all signs point to the consoles beating boot times).

Your best bet would be to develop one such beast on an Intel Core2Duo (Quad) with two or three GPUs and a Sourround Sound Beast and SSD, FTW. That and Gigabit lan!

On the controllers side, make it work with anything you throw at it via USB (mouse and keyboard or gamepad) wired or not.

whiskey

There were supposed to be something like 65+ games running PhysX at the end of 2006, but it doesn't look like many of them came through. Moreover, a lot of the benefit only really comes in on rather specialized situations or code.

It does work impressively in those situations: GRAW2 has a specialized level built just to show off the PhysX engine, and the level of physics detail is amazing even compared to Crysis's software-only version. There just aren't that many games that utilize it, and even among those that do, the biggest effects changes are just flash and fluff.

gattsuru

You know what...People are pissed off with PC gaming right now because there is no competition.

Intel is schooling AMD, so they've got no reason to rush out faster chips (current high end chips can be overclocked up the wazoo) and AMD/ATi doesn't even have a graphics chip that comes close to nvidias top of the line crap.

So, nobody pushing for faster graphics...we're running super high powered games on first gen DX10 chips.

Dumb as fuck.
Someone needs to start innovating, or slow down releasing games that people need ultra high end computers to play.

Games like Call of Duty 2...It runs perfectly fine on my 5 year old PC. In DX 7 mode... but still, it comes with the option.

Rob C

Fuck wires. There should be a power cable. That's it.

Joseph

Whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Did you just say "no neon"? A gaming PC such as this cannot exist. It would at least need a clear case and at least 60 fans and a 12,000 Watt power supply.

Seriously, though. What we really need to do is take a closer look at hardware utilization. We need to stop all the talk about what will be the "Next Gen" console and utilize the current technology. The Wii has proven that a gaming platform can be successful with out a lot of horsepower if you step outside the box and take a look around. At the current rate we'll have consoles that cost $5000 in the next ten years just for the sake of new technology that really does nothing different than the previous generation.

I think if Nintendo and Apple put their heads together there would be a real chance at this type of consolePC becoming a reality. It seems that the two companies share the same spirit about this sort of thing and could really make it work. Apple could certainly develop the seamless interfaces and let Nintendo work it's magic on the gaming side. We'd be there right now if you could cram a Wii in an iMac and stripped down Leopard into a non desktop based OS. Besides, not so long ago the web was flooded with rumors that Apple had a gaming platform in the works.

For now we'll just have to keep writing these articles and doing our own mock-ups as we gaze off into the sunset...

Singlespeed

That type of PC sounds like you cant upgrade it. Or would break something if you tried.

What it really sound like is that you are asking for a cheap powerful PC. Like most things in life, cheap and powerful are rarely used to describe a thing at the same time.

Personally I like my computer sprawl. I like my 2405 Dell widescreen monitor. I like my Razer Copperhead. And I love my dumbed down SGI black barely 101 keys keyboard. All of that resting on a homemade 36Wx60Lx32H desk made from highly sanded 4x4s and 3/4 inch plywood.

invictus

I don't know. I actually love building PCs and upgrading a part here or there every few months and tweaking it. Sometimes it's even more fun and rewarding than the games themselves.

PCs are the new hotrods while consoles ride the bus.

Subterfuge