I'm kinda going through the same dilemma as you. My pc won't run games to the fullest as others have and constantly getting errors or bad fps in games. I probably dumped around 1.2k into my computer and its no beast. I Still have psu issues and all other crap that's going on. Its really making me think on just leaving this pc alone and later on when im financially secure actually build a decent one instead of constantly spending money to try and fix these little problems.
So far my pc gaming experience hasn't been exactly the best due to these problems and everyone of my mates are still on consoles, so i basically only play single player games (when they decide to run well). But it is still a lot better than my experience on console. God its great to get away from all the screaming children on console and to get a new level of gaming with the better players.
Congratulations, you've just played the worst of the worst available on PC (Call of duty, bad gta console port, etc.). There's so many good titles that are available on consoles as well: skyrim /w mods, bioshock infinite, far cry 3, mirror's edge, left 4 dead 2. There's a lot of exclusives as well: Metro 2033, Starcraft 2, Dota 2, Half-Life, Arma 3, Civilization 5, Payday, Amnesia etc.
Don't like pay to win? Then don't go f2p and don't go EA. Avoid those two things like the plague.
My recommended PC FPS':
All of the Counter-Strike's (if you're coming from console, don't be upset if you get stomped the first 30+ matches. This game takes practice, but has an extremely rewarding feel once you're good at it)
Crysis (yes, the first one)
Skyrim (I know, not PC only.. but the mods man.. THE MODS. Seriously, get it, mod it. No questions.) Here is a list of mods suggested by Logan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yr4uRW0cwY
Half-Life (the graphics are dated now. If that bothers you, then get Black Mesa. It is Half-Life remade with better graphics. Both games are amazing.)
Half-Life 2
Killing Floor
Metro 2033 & Metro: Last Light
Penumbra: Black Plague (more of a scary game, but still first person and lots of fun)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent & Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs (Same description as Penumbra)
Natural Selection 2 (very team-based)
Primal Carnage (Dinosaurs dude.... Dinosaurs. One of my favorite fps indie games ever)
Here is a promise: You will learn a lot from fixing errors and at some point, you will eventually be able to fix 96% of everything you will encounter and you will also learn about cool stuff such as different anti-aliasing methods, AF, the dilemmas of v-sync (until you discover dynamic v-sync), tessellation and how the different components work together.
Personally, I mostly encounter minor issues that I can fix in a breeze.The hotzone for major issues are mostly with retro games that weren't designed for Windows 7/8(.1)
If you can't take it, go console for the time being and come back in a couple of months to play some of the PC oriented FPS titles Pistol recommended for you.
Console ports don't really exist. It sounds like you've done something wrong in the building stage as well if you're getting a load of errors.
Play some single player games at max settings, burn a few hours/days in something like Fallout 3/New Vegas. Yeah they're old games, but they are what the PC experience is about when you start checking out what sort of mods to use.
A bit second on dat dem Killing Floor. It's definitely one of my favourites. It's being constantly developed, with loads of new free content coming out since its original release years ago now and is just really good fun.
But how DARE you miss off Fallout 3 and New Vegas? You realise that it makes you a bad person to have done that, right?
I agree with you 100% @TheUser, but I know people who are not into that, they don't find enjoyment in fixing problems when they arise (like you and I, and Tek Syndicate members of course). They wan't to simply put a disc in and play the game, nothing more than that. That is really the main reason why people choose to purchase consoles over gaming pc's.
So many elitists on this page. Look there's nothing wrong with either pc or console gaming. Both are superior to each other in different regards. I too am tired of the bs with PC gaming and their constant upkeep. I have a family, a job, and I have an intense training schedule. I hate letting tinkering around on forums all day screw with those things. I prefer PC gaming in almost every regard, but I do miss the stability and ease of consoles. One is not superior to the other, they're simply different. That being said I'm hoping that Valve can significantly change PC gaming as we know it with these steam machines. I may very well be selling my rig to get my family a high end Steam machine, a Wii U, and a PS4 if the steam machines outperform my machine....which would be pretty surprising but hey we'll see.
I don't expect this to be read through in its entirety just fighting sleep so I figured I'd spew out a few thoughts.
@Pistol: Counter strike complete, Crysis 2&3 (not original) I own and have played some of enjoy. Skyrim & borderlands 2 were two of the only games I could stand playing for "extended" periods of time on console that weren't vs based. I have skrym on here and started adding mods but then I get lazy and don't want to spend all day reading and tuning I will eventually though have watched some of your twich vids as well as other ppls just need the motivation to strike. Will look into Black Mesa. Picked up humble bundle serious sams will try them out soon. Natural Selection 2 got on my nerves due to trying to learn it and my house being uber busy but the community was awesome may try to give it another shot. Killing floor is my favorite zombie game and that's saying something because well I don't like zombie games :P. Metro is too linear but I do want to try it for graphic based purposes yet single player I believe as do I assume such for the "scary games". Not my style but I'll try to lean a bit maybe it's what I need. Thank you and beings that I enjoyed what I've tried from your list I'll push towards the others and some Farcry 3 I have yet to dl it but received it as well from hardware purchase I remember watching yours and Frankieonpc1080 (something like that) videos and they were intriguing. After note I've got bf3 (I know EA) up and running finally here 6 days before 4s beta and it was WAY better than on console just need to find a squad figure I'll pursue that more once 4 strikes. Also after completely embarrassing myself on Planetside 2 I watched an hour long video and returned to find it mildly captivating. . . My mood has eased.
@Kyle: I have fallout 3 and new vegas the start of it seemed drawn out and I lost interest I want to play it cause all I hear is good things about it and I fear I'm missing something but... eh...
@TheUser: I use to take pride in fixing issues. Solving computer problems was one of my favorite past times be it 10 minutes or a 3 day long adventure just a lot rougher now with my daughter and another on the way I weep for the time my gaming sessions have suffered already. My mind has eased some though since my venting exercise. Near everything you mentioned is something I know little to nothing about and practice a trial and error alongside brief descriptions thankfully I haven't seemed to cross too many issues in this field yet (that or I'm merely ignorant to what is there).
Once more thank you all. Nice to be a part of the community! Now I just need to catch up on the vids :P
If you play FPS games, try playing an RPG or an RTS or a Stealth game for a short period of time.
I'm not saying you should go out and buy all the new games, but if you can spare a few bucks, you can buy The Witcher 2, Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 1, Company of Heroes 1, Napoleon Total War, Dishonored, Deus Ex HR on steam. Just wait for the Seam sale.
Even if you hate some of these games, you'll only appreciate the ones you like even more - and in the process, learn something about yourself. Which is good I think.
trust me, dont get fallout 3 and new vegas for the story, becasue the story in both suck pretty badly. get some quest mods and expansion mods, and then they become golden games.
I built my first PC two years ago, it was a budget build. I love PC gaming so much that I just finished my second build and I have never had a problem so far. All I can recommend is to do what I did and buy a lot of Asus and Corsair parts!