Thinking about getting a gaming PC/laptop; I'd like to be able to play console quality (or better) games on said PC, like Bioshock Infinite or Borderlands 2, just as examples.

I'm going to be buying a lot of games digitally (DRM-free), because I don't want them permanently tethered to just one machine (which explains why I don't want to bother with a console system).

I'm curious to know who here games on their PC, what kind of games they play, and what specs your machine has, so I can figure out what I need to play the kind of games I'm interested in, along with just getting a good PC/laptop overall.

Definitely leaning towards a laptop, since it'd be more portable, and perfectly aware that a laptop will end up costing much more than a desktop.

Does buying a disc-based game permanently tether it to a machine? You can always take the disc and install it on your new computer, right?

I like digital distribution for a number of reasons (instant delivery, don't need to keep physical media around), but I think discs win in this particular category. If a digital distributor goes belly-up, you can't install the game again. But a disc is yours to keep forever.

The important thing is that the machine be able to run the game AT ALL, whether it's on disc, or downloaded; that said, there ARE quite a few indie games these days that are download only.

If you just want to play simple Steam games and platform stuff, any PC will do.  If you want to play all the new high end PC FPS type games and have a decent experience, or even games like Dark Souls or Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I wouldn't recommend a laptop.  They are just inferior when compared to "serious" PC gaming.

Go desktop or don't bother.

That being said... I did buy a Macbook Pro, and while everyone seems to complain about them for gaming and stuff, I was able to successfully play World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 while I was traveling for work a few weeks ago.  The only issues being ergonomics and having to tune my settings down from Ultra to something a bit lower.

World of Warcraft and Diablo aren't particularly resource-intensive games.

I have no technical know-how whatsoever, and I'm too impatient to figure these things out, so I never got into "real" PC gaming.
I want a machine that can play the games I buy for it without having to worry about specs.
Also, sitting in front of a PC monitor just never had the same appeal to me as playing games on a TV screen.
It might not make any sense to dedicated PC gamers, but there you go.

That said, I do use my crappy laptop for (2D) indie stuff, since those are easy to run anyway, and there's a lot of good stuff out there.

I once tried to become a PC gamer and the first time I couldn't get a game to install, I concluded that aspiration. (I don't care, in the least, what operating system a game was designed for. If it's a PC game, and I have a PC, then it should WORK. No excuses.)

So, Diablo 3 should run on a PC from two decades ago? Because it's a PC.

aspiration,, as in accidentally breathing in water,, is pretty bad for any electronic device

If you're serious about avoiding DRM, then you don't need to worry about specs much.  You'll mostly be limited to older games and indie games with rudimentary graphics.  Almost all AAA games with state-of-the-art graphics have DRM.  The Witcher series is the only exception that comes to mind.

And you can forget about BioShock Infinite and Borderlands 2.

I'm actually able to game quite comfortably on a PC from my lounge chair; I have a Logitech F310 gamepad, I have a USB keyboard in my lap, and the mouse on a stand next to/in front of me. Oh yeah, I also have one of those big cables that hooks your PC tower to a widescreen, flat panel TV.

There ARE indie games that ARE resource-intensive, but don't possess DRM.

1 example: Dear Esther: http://dear-esther.com/?page_id=789