So I have a spare Steam code for Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2

Yeah. I wasn't really trying to say you should just shell out the money for an expensive rig, but there's always an option to get your feet wet if you're really interested, and can be a major part in deciding if PC gaming is for you. It really isn't for everybody, as much as we want it to be.

I do know exactly what you mean about the friends thing though. I had the same reservations at first. To try and counter that, I feel like I largely only play solo games on PC, and keep most of my multiplayer games on Xbox. I pretty much only turn my Xbox on when I'm going to play something with someone else, or for console exclusives.

As for helping out with games etc. I'd be happy to. I'd also advise checking places like Humble Bundle or G2A. You can usually get some amazing deals for games. My steam library is 163 games IIRC and I have a few on Origin(~10 games or so), not to mention the 20 or so games I have DRM free versions of. Steam Sales and Humble Bundles are bloody glorious, it feels like you're barely paying a thing.