I am losing tolerance of PC gaming. Consoles are the better option

I have got the PC game Titan Quest. Now, I don't have an ubergaming rig. My laptop has fairly modest hardware, its only an Intel Centrino 1.6ghz dual core, Geforce 7300 (128mb dedicated, 256mb shared) and 1 gig of RAM. Nothing too powerful at all. However, when I put Titan Quest on the LOWEST graphical settings, (800x600, low shadows/textures, etc), I my PC still struggles to acheive barely 10-15 frames when my character is moving. The framerate drops even further when my character is fighting.

What on Earth am I supposed to do? If my computer lags bad on the LOWEST settings, can you imagine what kind of beastly hardware you need to run on the MAX settings. PC game developers must be incredibly foolish to assume everybody has got high-end processors with 4 gigs of RAM and dual Geforece 8800's (768mb). For goodness sake, Doom 3 runs smooth on my PC (on second-lowest resoluton, of course), so why can't Titan Quest do the same?

My days as a PC gamer are slowly coming to an end. I am even considering that the Nintendo DS will become my primary gaming system. PC gaming is VERY anti-consumer, and I know this from experience. I have been suffering for 13 years because all of the computers I have ever owned are unable to play the latest games. I have performed upgrades on my previous computers, which makes a big difference, butsome games STILL lag. NeverWinter Nights 2 and Titan Quest are the most un-optimised games I have ever seen. The graphics of these games are rather low, but the system requirements are enormously high.

Looks like the only solution is to buy a new computer for at least $8,000 (Australian dollars). Either that OR I can buy an Xbox 360.

When the Dreamcast came and went, PC was still here.

When the Playstation came and went, PC was still here.

When the Xbox came and went, PC was still here.

When the PS3/360/Wii come and go, the PC will still be here.

Consoles are a temporary option until the PC ultimately surpasses it.

But then again, I feel for you. Stuff costs way too much to enjoy on PC.

A computer that can run what you're looking for does NOT cost $8000. Please clear your mind of these misconceptions. You can buy a computer that has an 8800 GTS 320mb, Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, and 2gb of ram for $1500. Note that this also includes a 19" monitor, a 250gb HD, and everything required to run a PC from scratch. It would cost even less than that if you reuse parts from your old setup.

I don't know where you've been looking to buy your PC's, but $8000 is going way too far.

Consoles are a temporary option until the PC ultimately surpasses it.

BK-Sleeper

PCs will NOTsurpass consoles until it becomes consumer-friendly. Until the day cmes when I can play the latest games on a MODEST computers (cheaper han a PS3) and have no need to upgrade for at lest 5 years, then PC gaming will always be secondary.

[QUOTE="BK-Sleeper"]

Consoles are a temporary option until the PC ultimately surpasses it.

Supernova_86

PCs will NOTsurpass consoles until it becomes consumer-friendly. Until the day cmes when I can play the latest games on a MODEST computers (cheaper han a PS3) and have no need to upgrade for at lest 5 years, then PC gaming will always be secondary.

I meant the 'surpass' part in terms of power and capabilities. I never mentioned consumer-friendly. I already know that PC gaming is not for the faint of heart. Lmao.

The simple solution, of course, is to not bother with PC gaming if it isn't not enjoyable for you. Get a 360 if you can't build your own PC (which is extremely easy by the way), and don't intend to learn how..because it's idiotically expensive otherwise.

That being said, Titan Quest is a pretty poorly optimized game. Especially out of the box. Do you have all the latest patches? There were significant optimizations made, including fixing of a few memory leaks and lighting issues.

Also the 7300GS is a VERY weak card. It's actually slower than the Vanilla 6600 If I'm not mistaken. Not to mention you're playing on a laptop, and components are generally slower than their similarly labeled desktop counterparts. 15 fps at lowest settings, honestly, isn't surprising at all.

But even a $75 card can max this game out with patches at ~40 fps. If you want decent performance, you need decent components.

As for me, PC has, and probably always will be my primary gaming platform. I buy a console every generation to play on the side, but in my opinion, PC gaming is on an entirely different level.

[QUOTE="BK-Sleeper"]

Consoles are a temporary option until the PC ultimately surpasses it.

Supernova_86

PCs will NOTsurpass consoles until it becomes consumer-friendly. Until the day cmes when I can play the latest games on a MODEST computers (cheaper han a PS3) and have no need to upgrade for at lest 5 years, then PC gaming will always be secondary.

I guess the day is now then. Your prayers have been answered. Building your own PC can easily surpass a PS3 in power, and still stay below its price.

PCs will NOTsurpass consoles until it becomes consumer-friendly. Until the day cmes when I can play the latest games on a MODEST computers (cheaper han a PS3) and have no need to upgrade for at lest 5 years, then PC gaming will always be secondary.

Supernova_86

It isn't hard to build a PC for the same price as the PS3 that can play all of the latest games.

PCs don't need to surpass consoles. They're always ahead in pretty much every reguard. Though it's true that consoles are more "consume-friendly." But building a PC is quite easy, it's just that most people are ignorant of this.

trying to game on a laptop is the problem, its like saying why wont motorstrom run on lowest setting on my psp. If you bought a desktop with a good cpu/gpu and 2gb ram now it will run new games fine for a few years. $8000 :lol: what a joke, I could build one that is as good as consoles for under $2000nzd

[QUOTE="BK-Sleeper"]

Consoles are a temporary option until the PC ultimately surpasses it.

Supernova_86

PCs will NOTsurpass consoles until it becomes consumer-friendly. Until the day cmes when I can play the latest games on a MODEST computers (cheaper han a PS3) and have no need to upgrade for at lest 5 years, then PC gaming will always be secondary.

if you buy a gaming pc you get that, the prebuilt dells are rubbish. if you buy a gf 8800 now with a dual core cpu and 2gb ram you will be able to run games at console level graphics for the next 4+ years

trying to game on a laptop is the problem

imprezawrx500

A lot of people nowadays purchase laptops are their primary computers nowadays because they are getting much cheaper, plus demand for portability is higher (I need my laptop for work). I remember reading some articles saying that laptop sales surpassed desktops sales in 2006. Thats right, laptops are slowly overtaking desktops in sales. If PC game developers are unable to respect the fact that not everybody has got a high-end gaming desktop PC, and that some people have laptops, then that is anti-consumer. That is incredibly disgusting. I cannot believe that PC game developers are this ignorant.

[QUOTE="imprezawrx500"]

trying to game on a laptop is the problem

Supernova_86

A lot of people nowadays purchase laptops are their primary computers nowadays because they are getting much cheaper, plus demand for portability is higher (I need my laptop for work). I remember reading some articles saying that laptop sales surpassed desktops sales in 2006. Thats right, laptops are slowly overtaking desktops in sales. If PC game developers are unable to respect the fact that not everybody has got a high-end gaming desktop PC, and that some people have laptops, then that is anti-consumer. That is incredibly disgusting. I cannot believe that PC game developers are this ignorant.

yeah exactly, thats the same reason why i brought my laptop, i have a desktop PC thats 4 years old, i've replaced the graphics card twice, ram once and i dont even use it now. My laptop can run HL2 on max settings AA and AF on max, so why should i not be able to run crysis on MEDIUM-LOW settings? also i've spent much LESS on my laptop than on my desktop, but how long will it last?

Gaming on a labtop is like trying to put a 1969 Chevy Camaro engine into your dirtbike.

It just isn't meant to be.

Gaming on a labtop is like trying to put a 1969 Chevy Camaro engine into your dirtbike.

It just isn't meant to be.

BK-Sleeper

Gaming on a labtop is like trying to put a 1969 Chevy Camaro engine into your dirtbike.

It just isn't meant to be.

BK-Sleeper

Laptops outsell desktops nowadays. Imagine if laptops were to take 80% market share in a few years (this WILL happen soon, just watch). PC game developers will be ina lot of trouble, seeing that there are LESS people with powerful hardware to run their games. This will force idiotic PC game developers to optomise their game engines or lower their graphical standars of their games to ensure high framerates on cheap hardware.

[QUOTE="BK-Sleeper"]

Gaming on a labtop is like trying to put a 1969 Chevy Camaro engine into your dirtbike.

It just isn't meant to be.

marklarmer

Well looks like you're going to have to get a 4-wheel drive car then.

Laptops outsell desktops nowadays. Imagine if laptops were to take 80% market share in a few years (this WILL happen soon, just watch). PC game developers will be ina lot of trouble, seeing that there are LESS people with powerful hardware to run their games. This will force idiotic PC game developers to optomise their game engines or lower their graphical standars of their games to ensure high framerates on cheap hardware.Supernova_86

I can see that Laptops will outsell desktops soon. No doubt.

But is that wise for quality gaming? Losing some of the experience for something portable, compact, and less powerful?

I have got the PC game Titan Quest. Now, I don't have an ubergaming rig. My laptop has fairly modest hardware, its only an Intel Centrino 1.6ghz dual core, Geforce 7300 (128mb dedicated, 256mb shared) and 1 gig of RAM. Nothing too powerful at all. However, when I put Titan Quest on the LOWEST graphical settings, (800x600, low shadows/textures, etc), I my PC still struggles to acheive barely 10-15 frames when my character is moving. The framerate drops even further when my character is fighting.

What on Earth am I supposed to do? If my computer lags bad on the LOWEST settings, can you imagine what kind of beastly hardware you need to run on the MAX settings. PC game developers must be incredibly foolish to assume everybody has got high-end processors with 4 gigs of RAM and dual Geforece 8800's (768mb). For goodness sake, Doom 3 runs smooth on my PC (on second-lowest resoluton, of course), so why can't Titan Quest do the same?

My days as a PC gamer are slowly coming to an end. I am even considering that the Nintendo DS will become my primary gaming system. PC gaming is VERY anti-consumer, and I know this from experience. I have been suffering for 13 years because all of the computers I have ever owned are unable to play the latest games. I have performed upgrades on my previous computers, which makes a big difference, butsome games STILL lag. NeverWinter Nights 2 and Titan Quest are the most un-optimised games I have ever seen. The graphics of these games are rather low, but the system requirements are enormously high.

Looks like the only solution is to buy a new computer for at least $8,000 (Australian dollars). Either that OR I can buy an Xbox 360.

Supernova_86

[QUOTE="imprezawrx500"]

trying to game on a laptop is the problem

Supernova_86

A lot of people nowadays purchase laptops are their primary computers nowadays because they are getting much cheaper, plus demand for portability is higher (I need my laptop for work). I remember reading some articles saying that laptop sales surpassed desktops sales in 2006. Thats right, laptops are slowly overtaking desktops in sales. If PC game developers are unable to respect the fact that not everybody has got a high-end gaming desktop PC, and that some people have laptops, then that is anti-consumer. That is incredibly disgusting. I cannot believe that PC game developers are this ignorant.

What the heck do you want them to do? Stop making games with pretty graphics so everyone can suffer just because you can't run it on Ultra Maximum? Go **** at the hardware makers for not making more affordable components.

[QUOTE="Supernova_86"]Laptops outsell desktops nowadays. Imagine if laptops were to take 80% market share in a few years (this WILL happen soon, just watch). PC game developers will be ina lot of trouble, seeing that there are LESS people with powerful hardware to run their games. This will force idiotic PC game developers to optomise their game engines or lower their graphical standars of their games to ensure high framerates on cheap hardware.BK-Sleeper

I can see that Laptops will outsell desktops soon. No doubt.

But is that wise for quality gaming? Losing some of the experience for something portable, compact, and less powerful?

I can connect an external monitor, keyboard and mouse to my laptop to get the full desktop layout if I wanted to. To tell you to truth, laptop gaming can be very comfortable. I sometimes play games on my bed. Can you do the same with your desktop?

If laptops were to semi-replace desktops in the future, this will not 'hurt' PC gaming, it means that developers have to ACKNWLEDGE that not everybody has top-notch hardware. However, in a few years, next-gen laptops will overtake the power of current-gen desktops, so there is no harm in laptops :)

[QUOTE="Supernova_86"]Laptops outsell desktops nowadays. Imagine if laptops were to take 80% market share in a few years (this WILL happen soon, just watch). PC game developers will be ina lot of trouble, seeing that there are LESS people with powerful hardware to run their games. This will force idiotic PC game developers to optomise their game engines or lower their graphical standars of their games to ensure high framerates on cheap hardware.BK-Sleeper

I can see that Laptops will outsell desktops soon. No doubt.

But is that wise for quality gaming? Losing some of the experience for something portable, compact, and less powerful?

my laptop is way more powerful than my PC and i've spent almost twice as much on my PC upgrading it for 3-4 years. why should i have to upgrade my laptop to play crysis on minimum settings when i can play HL2 on maximum settings???

[QUOTE="BK-Sleeper"]

[QUOTE="Supernova_86"]Laptops outsell desktops nowadays. Imagine if laptops were to take 80% market share in a few years (this WILL happen soon, just watch). PC game developers will be ina lot of trouble, seeing that there are LESS people with powerful hardware to run their games. This will force idiotic PC game developers to optomise their game engines or lower their graphical standars of their games to ensure high framerates on cheap hardware.Supernova_86

I can see that Laptops will outsell desktops soon. No doubt.

But is that wise for quality gaming? Losing some of the experience for something portable, compact, and less powerful?

I can connect an external monitor, keyboard and mouse to my laptop to get the full desktop layout if I wanted to. To tell you to truth, laptop gaming can be very comfortable. I sometimes play games on my bed. Can you do the same with your desktop?

If laptops were to semi-replace desktops in the future, this will not 'hurt' PC gaming, it means that developers have to ACKNWLEDGE that not everybody has top-notch hardware. However, in a few years, next-gen laptops will overtake the power of current-gen desktops, so there is no harm in laptops :)

Developers have acknowledged that people have less than brilliant hardware. That's why they have SETTINGS for people to adjust to an optimum level. It's not their fault that your graphics card is so horrible. You can play games on your bed. Brilliant. I play games next to my bed. I can also run Titan Quest. -_-

TQ might be badly optimized, but it's not really all THAT demanding, I just got it and play it very smoothly with my old crappy A64 3000+, 2Gb Ram and 6600GT, just by lowering shadow quality. Even something like 6800GS should easily max this game out. And always remember to patch the game and update video drivers.

I would imagine it would run better on your laptop, I guess the videochip just ain't strong enough, or it fails to utilize the dual core cpu, not to mention if your videochip eats 256mb of your ram you're left with only 768mb.

I can connect an external monitor, keyboard and mouse to my laptop to get the full desktop layout if I wanted to. To tell you to truth, laptop gaming can be very comfortable. I sometimes play games on my bed. Can you do the same with your desktop?

If laptops were to semi-replace desktops in the future, this will not 'hurt' PC gaming, it means that developers have to ACKNWLEDGE that not everybody has top-notch hardware. However, in a few years, next-gen laptops will overtake the power of current-gen desktops, so there is no harm in laptops :)

Supernova_86

Well, I could probably rig my desktop and monitor to somehow have a sort of small table just a foot over my bed and still be comfortable to play with. But that would cost lotsa monies, you got me there.

Next-gen laptops will kill current desktops, no doubt. But what about gaming desktops? Custom built high ends, Alienware, Voodoo, what about those?

my laptop is way more powerful than my PC and i've spent almost twice as much on my PC upgrading it for 3-4 years. why should i have to upgrade my laptop to play crysis on minimum settings when i can play HL2 on maximum settings???

marklarmer

Never hurts to be prepared for games after Crysis.

I have the same card yet I can run any game on satisfactory settings :?rpg9000owner

I am not sure if its the graphics card or RAM that is the bottleneck responsible for my low framerates. I am certain it isnot the CPU.I might try to update my video card drivers. Hopefully that will help.

You can't game on a freakin laptop! Well atleast not on a laptop for a decent price...It ahs always been tat way.. And will remain that way..

If you want to game on something you can easily carry with you, get a DS or PSP..(Well you could actully carryaround an Imac without too much problem.. but. you probably wouldn't want too) If you want to game on something else, get a stationary PC or a console with a TV..

I have the same card yet I can run any game on satisfactory settings :?rpg9000owner

You have trouble running a badly optimized game on alaptop, then complain PC gaming probably costs $8000?

Sigh, I've bolded the parts where I think your argument is massively flawed so you can dispel the thesis that PC gaming is broken.

Did you even get the patch?

Honestly, here you go.

Did you ever comprehend that Laptops dont run games aswell as a norm PC?

[QUOTE="rpg9000owner"]I have the same card yet I can run any game on satisfactory settings :?EntwineX

You have trouble running a badly optimized game on alaptop, then complain PC gaming probably costs $8000?

Sigh, I've bolded the parts where I think your argument is massively flawed so you can dispel the thesis that PC gaming is broken.

Danm_999

Okay, I apologise for over-exaggeraing the $8000 statement. But if you were to buy a $2000 PC, I am certain you will need to upgrade it in 2 years or so. However I am unable to upgrade my laptop (besides RAM and hard dirve), so its bad to be in my shoes. I have been struggling to play modern PC games for 13 years now, and even until now I STILL cannot find a PC that can handle modern games smoothly (unless it costs alot of money).

[QUOTE="Danm_999"]

You have trouble running a badly optimized game on alaptop, then complain PC gaming probably costs $8000?

Sigh, I've bolded the parts where I think your argument is massively flawed so you can dispel the thesis that PC gaming is broken.

Supernova_86

Okay, I apologise for over-exaggeraing the $8000 statement. But if you were to buy a $2000 PC, I am certain you will need to upgrade it in 2 years or so. However I am unable to upgrade my laptop (besides RAM and hard dirve), so its bad to be in my shoes. I have been struggling to play modern PC games for 13 years now, and even until now I STILL cannot find a PC that can handle modern games smoothly (unless it costs alot of money).

Why dont you go to the PC hardware forums and let them do the work for you, instead of being ripped off for another 13 years...?

All this PC bashing isnt going to win you any support.

Did you ever comprehend that Laptops dont run games aswell as a norm PC?

skrat_01

I never did expect my laptop to be as powerful as a desktop PC. However, I DID expect my laptop to surpass 15 frames per second on the LOWEST resolution and graphical details of a game (Titan Quest) :|

[QUOTE="skrat_01"]

Did you ever comprehend that Laptops dont run games aswell as a norm PC?

Supernova_86

I never did expect my laptop to be as powerful as a desktop PC. However, I DID expect my laptop to surpass 15 frames per second on the LOWEST resolution and graphical details of a game (Titan Quest) :|

Perhaps that might make it better optimised for your latops video card.

As I said, your laptop was never designed for gaming in mind any way. If you want a gaming laptop, you should have looked for one with a better GPU.

Even those Mac Books with 8600s wont preform aswell as normal 8600. Hell laptop VGAs share the onboard ram.

[QUOTE="Supernova_86"][QUOTE="skrat_01"]

Did you ever comprehend that Laptops dont run games aswell as a norm PC?

skrat_01

I never did expect my laptop to be as powerful as a desktop PC. However, I DID expect my laptop to surpass 15 frames per second on the LOWEST resolution and graphical details of a game (Titan Quest) :|

Perhaps that might make it better optimised for your latops video card.

As I said, your laptop was never designed for gaming in mind any way. If you want a gaming laptop, you should have looked for one with a better GPU.

Even those Mac Books with 8600s wont preform aswell as normal 8600. Hell laptop VGAs share the onboard ram.

I am downloading it right now. Thanks for it:)

I might force myself to buy a new desktop PC in a few months to play my games if my laptop is struggling. So far, the only games that run bad on my laptopare NWN2 and Titan Quest. On the other hand, Doom 3, Farcry, F.E.A.R. seem to run okay for me and the framerates are average.

[QUOTE="skrat_01"][QUOTE="Supernova_86"][QUOTE="skrat_01"]

Did you ever comprehend that Laptops dont run games aswell as a norm PC?

Supernova_86

I never did expect my laptop to be as powerful as a desktop PC. However, I DID expect my laptop to surpass 15 frames per second on the LOWEST resolution and graphical details of a game (Titan Quest) :|

Perhaps that might make it better optimised for your latops video card.

As I said, your laptop was never designed for gaming in mind any way. If you want a gaming laptop, you should have looked for one with a better GPU.

Even those Mac Books with 8600s wont preform aswell as normal 8600. Hell laptop VGAs share the onboard ram.

I am downloading it right now. Thanks for it:)

I might force myself to buy a new desktop PC in a few months to play my games if my laptop is struggling. So far, the only games that run bad on my laptopare NWN2 and Titan Quest. On the other hand, Doom 3, Farcry, F.E.A.R. seem to run okay for me and the framerates are average.

And you should consider a gaming PC, and your laptop for general computer things. Hell if you have a HD TV dont even bother with a monitor. Im very sure you can buy one for a very reasonable price - that can play new games like Crysis on high settings. Just check into the hardware forums.

edit*

There is also a 1.30 patch

[QUOTE="BK-Sleeper"]

Consoles are a temporary option until the PC ultimately surpasses it.

Supernova_86

PCs will NOTsurpass consoles until it becomes consumer-friendly. Until the day cmes when I can play the latest games on a MODEST computers (cheaper han a PS3) and have no need to upgrade for at lest 5 years, then PC gaming will always be secondary.

That's when you see barely any advancement in technology........if that's what you want, that's fine I guess........

[QUOTE="imprezawrx500"]

trying to game on a laptop is the problem

Supernova_86

A lot of people nowadays purchase laptops are their primary computers nowadays because they are getting much cheaper, plus demand for portability is higher (I need my laptop for work). I remember reading some articles saying that laptop sales surpassed desktops sales in 2006. Thats right, laptops are slowly overtaking desktops in sales. If PC game developers are unable to respect the fact that not everybody has got a high-end gaming desktop PC, and that some people have laptops, then that is anti-consumer. That is incredibly disgusting. I cannot believe that PC game developers are this ignorant.

Why? PC games try to push technology forward and take advantage of newer hardware. This is the way it has always been. If they didn't, we wouldn't have games looking as good as they do now.

[QUOTE="Danm_999"]

You have trouble running a badly optimized game on alaptop, then complain PC gaming probably costs $8000?

Sigh, I've bolded the parts where I think your argument is massively flawed so you can dispel the thesis that PC gaming is broken.

Supernova_86

Okay, I apologise for over-exaggeraing the $8000 statement. But if you were to buy a $2000 PC, I am certain you will need to upgrade it in 2 years or so. However I am unable to upgrade my laptop (besides RAM and hard dirve), so its bad to be in my shoes. I have been struggling to play modern PC games for 13 years now, and even until now I STILL cannot find a PC that can handle modern games smoothly (unless it costs alot of money).

If you buy a high-end PC now, it will have graphics better than consoles maybe sometimes on par until the next-gen begins.

Looks like the only solution is to buy a new computer for at least $8,000 (Australian dollars). Either that OR I can buy an Xbox 360.

Supernova_86

One thing you might want to look into is building your own pc. I'm just starting to do this myself, I saved a ton of money. I bought everything I needed for one of the best rigs on the market for $1,700 or so. I'm building it with a motherboard that will support future features not incorporated yet. This means when my rig gets outdated in a few years, all I have to do is sell my old parts and use the money as discount for new ones (graphics card and Ram mostly). If you can save up the money for enough parts to build yourself a decent PC, you'll be spending about the same as you would for a new console and it's expensive games when you need to upgrade.

Heck, even a lot of the BRAND NEW PCs on the market can't handle the new games. 95% of the PCs on the market are built with word processing and web surfing in mind, not gaming. You have to buy a "gaming PC" now, buying a new PC is not enough, and they cost a lot more.

I feel like I got my money's worth. I'm really enjoying my PC games, games that are exclusive to the PC. This expensive baby, and the overtime I had to work to pay for it, was well worth it. And it will be worth it in 6 months when I have to upgrade it again.

PC gaming is not for everyone. It's very high maintenance, and you've got to be willing to spend money. Helps to do your research and learn about the components of a PC also, so you can choose them yourself instead of getting stuck with a PC that's really not designed for gaming.

BUT if you can"tolerate" the above, you are WELL REWARDED.

And I am not saying anything against the consoles because the 360 is still my favorite, and I buy all the consoles. As far as I'm concerned, the "best option" is to buy all of them!

I wouldn't complain about PCs if they weren't so damn hard to build. I like to save money, but the frustrations involved in trying to get all the parts to agree with each other can sometimes be indescribable. If you go on and buy a prefab machine from one of these assemblers, you're really bending over and taking it, but then the machines just work. So you're stuck either paying far too much (yes, $1800 is far too much for the kind of technologies we see in modern PCs) or growing grey hairs trying to put your own machine together. Both options totally suck.WeeWeeJumbo

what do you mean? you put all the bit together plug it in and away you go. stick windows in the drive come back in 20 mins and its ready

/\ I think that building PCs is damn easy. Its just a matter of getting the components and puting it together.

Hell ive made models in my younger years that were way harder than building a PC... Hell some of the lego things I had built when I was younger were much more complicated than building a PC..... I Kid you not.

Sometimes yes the parts might not agree. Hell my motherboard needed a BIOS update to properly recognise my dual core CPU, and thus I needed a floppy drive (I dont like the whole from HDD motherboard flash), but yes that is where research comes into play - and the possibility of hardware disagreeing.

As for pre built.... Well im never going to go pre built... Hell the last pre built I got was 'family PC' back when I was 7 or 8... Im too cheap to spend that extra $60-80 AUD for someone else to build and setup my new rig - with the possibility they can screw it up.... And then they also decide to stick one of those 'if removed warrently broken' stickers on the case door. So great you cant clean dust out of your case, or hell do anything to the internals without breaking store warrenty...... Bah!