never been hugely into PC gaming before but I am considering it for the future as I've found consoles less and less appealing, so I need to get edumacated
1. what does a good video card tend to cost? this would be the main extra expense for me in buying a new computer for gaming, I already would want high end processing power and RAM because I produce music
2. what exists for game controllers? I know a lot of PC gamers, FPS players especially, are very elitist about using mouse and keyboard but aside from games that require a ton of inputs like RTS' I've always preferred the comfort of a good controller. I'm currently using a 360 controller on my PC and it's kind of terrible, any recommendations?
3. does steam have points cards or anything you can buy or is it necessary to give valve your CC info? I tend to avoid most online shopping but I can also see how advantageous digital distribution is...
Depends on what you're looking for. Most people are happy with a card that costs about $150. There is a big variety, though. You can get video cards for $50-$800, but expect to pay $150 for a current video card that should run new games for a few years that is still affordable.
2. what exists for game controllers?
I love my Logitech Rumblepad 2. It's a PS2 controller clone, essentially. Most PC controllers are based off the PS2 controller, and sometimes the 360 controller. Note that most PC games with "Games for Windows Live" on them are more likely to support your 360 controller.
3. does steam have points cards or anything you can buy or is it necessary to give valve your CC info?
No on the point cards, unfortunately. They do accept Paypal, though. Another option is to buy one of those Visa gift cards (or Mastercard, whatever) and use that.
any other advice on controllers? I've had a logitech controller before that was a PS2 clone and I didn't like it much, not nearly as comfortable as the actual PS2 controller...I WOULD like the 360 controller more but it has this left drift frequently where it just starts going left on me for no reason...
1. Expect to pay triple digits for a good video card. And have a good definition of how "good" you want it. Don't buy ANYTHING without doing some research; the numbers used are very confusing, and it helps to have a good baseline. I highly recommend against buying off the shelf at a computer store; that's how you get stuck with the modern equivalent of the GeForce4 MX440.
2. Xbox 360 controller. If you want guaranteed compatibility, you have to use it because of Microsoft's XInput push. You can probably still use regular controllers by using drivers. Honestly I never really use controllers except in "programs of a certain nature", so I wouldn't know.
3. I doubt Steam has points cards. There are probably multiple ways to process payment, but I think they're all online.
1) Shop around (online) for graphics card deals. Post your findings in a topic and someone will be able to translate the specs into "worth it" or "not worth it".
I use a PS3 controller. I also own a PS2 controller to USB converter
so the PS3 controller works without a converter? I'd probably use that then, best console controller by far since nintendo stopped selling GCN controllers
1. Mostly around 100 and up. The real catch is that you'll probably be wanting to run double cards. Some high end machines will even have a separate graphics card set aside to do some rather specific tasks.
2. I'm really big on keyboard/mouse, but as for as controllers go I've used a ps2 with a usb converter. I don't do it often though, so I can't really comment on any problems.
3. Like everyone said you can use paypal, however, I would much rather just use steam directly. Paypal has been kinda "ugh" lately. It's not like steam is not trustworthy.
oh? I was looking to spend up to $300 or so I guess, being that everything else in a gaming PC is something I'd already want for music(software synthesizers can eat a lot of CPU power...), so I figure I can spend about what I'd spend on a console for the video card alone. but this is the first I've heard of people using 2 video cards...though as I recall you need 2 video cards to run 2 monitors and that's also something I'd be interested in because of music...
Most people do not need two video cards, especially someone starting out with PC gaming. Even as someone who is into PC gaming, I thought I might get two video cards, but never did. You have the option of buying a motherboard with an extra slot for a video card if you're building it yourself. If you're buying it, you should be able to find out if it can support two of them.
though as I recall you need 2 video cards to run 2 monitors and that's also something I'd be interested in because of music...
This is false. You only need one video card to run two monitors. I'm not sure, but some high-end video cards can support more (some AMD high-end video cards can do 6, IIRC). Generally though, you can expect any video card to support two monitors at least. There will usually be two or more connectors for it, and all you need to do is plug in your monitors, and set it up in Windows. It takes just a few minutes to do.
Note that not many games use dual monitors, although AMD (maybe NVidia now too?) has the ability to make most games run on both screens. Although, doing that on two monitors is not recommended (from what I gather from people who've used it, it seems like an odd number of monitors work best, either 3 or 5 for multiscreen gaming because of monitor bezels).
Typically, using 2 cards will let you get around a 30 to 50 percent boost in performance. This is JUST for games though, and only at high resolutions (I'm not sure how high you have to get it. )
As with anything, your monitor has to be able to output these resolutions too. You also have the options of running things like a dedicated physics card etc. The main downfall is not all games support dual carding.
2 cards is pretty much pointless unless you want to make a top-of-the-line PC for $2K+ otherwise it's just a waste of energy, you're better off with a better single card (they have cards that integrate 2 GPUs onto one card for just this reason)
Anyways I use a PS3 controller for my PC. You need to install custom drivers and it's pretty tricky/frustrating to get them set up (at least for me), but it's really cool. MotionInJoy drivers, they're called. There are several settings you can set the controller to, depending on the game you're playing, even a 360 controller emulator so that it works flawlessly with most modern PC games that implement 360 controls.
Also, KB/M isn't about preference. It's not like PC gamers just prefer KB/M over controllers because it's the "original master race" method or something... it's concretely and indisputably a more versatile control system for FPSes. If you're playing single-player or whatever then obv no one cares but if you're online then you're just gimping yourself.