PC: I love you, I hate you. Goodbye.
I’ve built several PCs in my life. I love doing it. There is something incredibly satisfying about the entire process. From researching parts while managing a budget, to pressing the power switch with bated breath, the journey is exhilarating. But, why have I built more than my fair share? This question had not dawned on me until my experience with Borderlands 3.
I had never played any of the Borderlands series before. By all accounts, the game should be right up my alley. For some reason or another, I never picked one up. Figuring it was time, I booted up the PC that I built about 2 years ago, and waited, and waited… and waited.
Allow me to clarify: I didn’t wait for the computer to boot into Windows; it could do that in about 5 seconds. However, once I was in the OS, I noticed an update. I let the computer update and restart. I opened the Epic games launcher; it needed an update. I let it update and then purchased the game. I clicked install.
Greeted with a lovely approximate download time of 4 hours, I walked away.
There is really nothing to be said for the long download time. With a gigabit connection, and enough of an understanding about the infrastructures of networking, the problem wasn’t on my end. I can (begrudgingly) acknowledge that some things are beyond my control. Not to fear, I had run through my updates so I should be good to go once installed. Right?…
I returned the next evening, swapped the inputs on my monitor and hub from my work machine to my gaming rig, and shuffled the mouse. As expected, I could start the game.
But wait, what’s that little notification icon, surely there isn’t another… yep, another update.
Deep breaths now. I allow the update to install and restart my machine.
Finally, I launched the game and was blown away. The aesthetic was extremely pleasing, the motion was so fluid, the characters were so charming. I ran through a couple of missions and knew… it was going to be a long night. I walked through a door and the game crashed. Sighing, I booted the game again, redid the last few moments of unsaved progress, and walked through the door again.
Again, the game crashed… Cool.
The second time the game crashed, I was treated with an error about some Nvidia driver update. Whatever, fine, it doesn’t matter; I clicked install. After installation, and another reboot, I started the game once more. For the third time, I completed the last bits of unsaved progress, but this time I got through the door.
Hooray!
I started on to my next mission. Things seemed to be going great, then the game locked up. Not like the previous crashes; I was completely locked inside a stuttering few frames with a lovely corresponding aural assault. After ripping my headphones, off I managed to force the application to close. Upon trying to boot the game AGAIN, I received another lovely Nvidia prompt: something about my driver not being compatible, suggesting I downgrade. I hard-powered down the PC, and that was the last time that it would see the light of day (well, running Windows at least).
I grabbed my laptop and created a bootable USB with Unraid. I had been wanting to build myself a little home server, but was holding off so I could budget for it appropriately. I took this opportunity to turn lemons into an overpowered (and completely underutilized) behemoth, THAT WORKS FLAWLESSLY. I even put the video card to use, for offloading some transcoding in Plex. Seriously, the thing is a beast. The next evening, I powered on my PS4, and in no time I was playing a game, that was not only fantastic, but it also worked! What a concept!
But Anthony, you should leave your computer in standby with automatic updates.
But Anthony, you should have tinkered with any background applications that might be causing the issue.
But Anthony, frame rates.
But Anthony MOUSE and KEYBOARD FTW.
But people… PEOPLE… FUCK that noise!
I just want to play a game. I have gotten significantly more use out of my parts as a server, with significantly less frustration. I have also gotten significantly more joy out of my PS4 and Switch than that gaming PC ever afforded me. This is not a personal attack on people with PCs; if you like to tinker, and you love to maintain a machine, great! Just don’t act like it’s never been a chore. It all comes down to your priorities and what you value.
I write software for a living. As a group, we try to build things that are stable, and user-friendly. We debug THE SHIT out of our work. After a day of doing that… I don’t want to debug my way to relaxation. When things “just work” I get downright giddy. I’m a BIG fan of true craftsmanship. I admire it. I love to see something built for a specific purpose that works extremely well. For me, a console is the way to play games. Sure, consoles have their issues and occasional bugs, but they never feel as “square peg/round hole” as a PC does for gaming.
So, back to my original question: Why have I built more than my fair share? This relationship I have with PCs is cyclical. I love building the machine, but my expectations for the bits outside of my control are unrealistic. I inevitably ride this sadistic roller coaster, building a rig in excitement, and stripping it down for parts in catharsis. I’m getting off the ride. I’m done with PCs.
…until next time.
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