Just been reading up on the new playstation and xbox coming out and it appeares, at first sight, that theres no way your going to be able to build a reasonably priced pc to match them at their price. Im probably going to be due a new machine next year too but im i going to be tempted to go for the consoles now .... i have always loved pc gaming what are your thoughts?
Is pc gaming going to become 2nd best now?
- Thread starter justdamo
- Start date
This has always been the same cycle really. But ultimately the PC has greater flexibility rather than a 6-7 fixed life cycle. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on your perspective.
Over the past two decades I’ve spent stupid money on PC’s, and although I’ve enjoyed them I doubt it was worth the investment. The next gen consoles will give a really fantastic experience for the price of a GPU.
Over the past two decades I’ve spent stupid money on PC’s, and although I’ve enjoyed them I doubt it was worth the investment. The next gen consoles will give a really fantastic experience for the price of a GPU.
If you don't require a PC for productivity tasks, and just want to game, then a console certainly represents great value for money. In that circumstance I'd have no hesitation to just purchase a console and be done with owning a PC. As I get older I find myself using consoles more and more ( mostly Switch, and also PS4 Pro ) to game because I like the comfort of being in my lounge, sitting comfortably on my sofa, and watching the action on a large OLED TV. Sure, I could hook up my PC or laptop to the TV and get a similar experience but it's more of a hassle to set up. The reality, however, is I do require a laptop and/or PC for productivity, and I can't see that situation changing for the forseeable future.
For exact price matching, no you won't build a PC to equal the consoles (at least the xbox, PS5 will be easier and sooner). But remember, it's never an equal match anyway. On consoles you're at the devs' mercy (as well as the platform holder) in terms of how the game runs, what it targets, what you can or can't turn off, how you display it, etc. etc. So you have to figure out if all those additions are worth anything to you or if you just play things as they're given and out of the box.
For me being able to change FOV has been the difference between playing the game at all or not (eg: abandoned every PS exclusive because of narrow FOV), being able to mod gave me a lot of joy (eg Witcher 3, Xcom 2 - utter game changer), not relying on Sony/MS meant I could play old games however I felt like (just recently I kept going between 4K 60 & 1440p 120hz in Gears 4, which is utterly gimped to 30 fps even on the One X, or Sunset Overdrive which is still 900p LOL etc), not being on console also meant I could play in ultra-wide 21:9 / 32:9 any time I felt like, being able to mod also meant that I went from very annoyed to elated when removing vignetting in RDR 2. And on and on and on it goes.
Again, I understand, to most people it doesn't mean anything because if it's not a button prompt and explained it might as well not exist, but the extra value in all those options is easily worth more than double the price for me. But the best part? In the long run it's cheaper anyway because I don't have to play for multiplayer and all the other non-sense, plus sales happen quicker & with a larger discount. That's besides everything else the PC can do, talking just gaming.
In reality, the consoles will have an upfront price advantage in the first year or two, but it will be rolled over after that. Overall, if you're even barely tech literate, there's no point in buying one over a PC.
For me being able to change FOV has been the difference between playing the game at all or not (eg: abandoned every PS exclusive because of narrow FOV), being able to mod gave me a lot of joy (eg Witcher 3, Xcom 2 - utter game changer), not relying on Sony/MS meant I could play old games however I felt like (just recently I kept going between 4K 60 & 1440p 120hz in Gears 4, which is utterly gimped to 30 fps even on the One X, or Sunset Overdrive which is still 900p LOL etc), not being on console also meant I could play in ultra-wide 21:9 / 32:9 any time I felt like, being able to mod also meant that I went from very annoyed to elated when removing vignetting in RDR 2. And on and on and on it goes.
Again, I understand, to most people it doesn't mean anything because if it's not a button prompt and explained it might as well not exist, but the extra value in all those options is easily worth more than double the price for me. But the best part? In the long run it's cheaper anyway because I don't have to play for multiplayer and all the other non-sense, plus sales happen quicker & with a larger discount. That's besides everything else the PC can do, talking just gaming.
In reality, the consoles will have an upfront price advantage in the first year or two, but it will be rolled over after that. Overall, if you're even barely tech literate, there's no point in buying one over a PC.
Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Aug 2006
- Posts
- 11,434
- Location
- Derbyshire
I fully appreciate the 'stick the disc in and press go' approach with the consoles. The new consoles will be immense and they cannot be directly compared to the PC since games are optimised for one piece of hardware.
On the flip side, people really need to understand that the current GPU line up came out in 2018. They are due for a total refresh and I strongly suspect that the reason that a refresh has taken two years is that the higher end Nvidia cards have no competition (price is a long argument for another day!). Without knowing what the next generation video cards can do, PC is still king. I imagine that for a very short period following the console launch that building a PC that has equal performance will be more expensive than the console equivalent, but you must consider that early on consoles are sold at a loss and the games incorporate cost to provide the manufacturers their profit.
On the flip side, people really need to understand that the current GPU line up came out in 2018. They are due for a total refresh and I strongly suspect that the reason that a refresh has taken two years is that the higher end Nvidia cards have no competition (price is a long argument for another day!). Without knowing what the next generation video cards can do, PC is still king. I imagine that for a very short period following the console launch that building a PC that has equal performance will be more expensive than the console equivalent, but you must consider that early on consoles are sold at a loss and the games incorporate cost to provide the manufacturers their profit.
You are absolutely correct. But the release of the new consoles will mean that PC component prices - particularly GPUs - will come down sharply. You still won't be able to match console prices but PCs will still have the advantages of flexibility and productivity. And in 2-3 years PCs will leave consoles in the dust, just as they did before.
Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Aug 2006
- Posts
- 11,434
- Location
- Derbyshire
I really hope so!
A PC has always been more expensive than the equivalent console, and it was only the XBox One/PS4 generation that launched with lower performance than mid range PCs at the time.
The next generation is just going back to the status quo where the consoles out perform mid ranged PCs for a lower price, but even at launch you can build a far more powerful PC than the consoles.
The next generation is just going back to the status quo where the consoles out perform mid ranged PCs for a lower price, but even at launch you can build a far more powerful PC than the consoles.
That's pretty much my exacts thoughts!
I would also add that consoles increasingly seem to be getting closer in performance terms to PCs and the price of PC hardware has never felt more expensive so I can see a lot of folk switching to consoles in the coming years.
I think a lot of people are also moving away from desktop PCs towards laptops leaving then increasingly as a bit of a niche.
PC gaming will always be at the cutting edge if you're willing to spend the money on it though.
Associate
- Joined
- 1 Aug 2017
- Posts
- 686
They are totally different beasts and it's pointless even comparing them. One is a multipurpose device, the other is a toy that just plays games.
XSX/PS5 won't even scratch the PC, nevermid making it second place.
Anyway, why would you want to go to the lesser platform with lots of limitations.
XSX/PS5 won't even scratch the PC, nevermid making it second place.
Anyway, why would you want to go to the lesser platform with lots of limitations.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 77,827
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
I don’t look to PC for gaming because for the price of a graphic card I got a whole console. I am also lazy in keeping it running smoothly. While the graphic in a new console will make a PC gaming look pointless today, in 12 months PC gaming would have moved on and in 5 years it would have moved on some more.
it’s the same early adopters tax you pay for the cutting edge in aspect.
it’s the same early adopters tax you pay for the cutting edge in aspect.
That used to be true but with mid life pro/X hardware updates looking like they might be the new normal PC isn't being allowed the kind of 7-8 year hardware leap over console it used to have towards the end of a console generations life.
Right now even a high end PC (~£1500) isn't massively more powerful than an Xbox X and I've seen them on sale for £200-300. That's almost less than you'd pay for an equally powerful GPU alone.
Right now you'd really need to want to run a particular title on PC to justify the extra cost IMO.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 77,827
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
I’m happy to take the minor graphical shortcomings and save a fortune. The only games I avoid on consoles are FPS as I prefer keyboards and mice more.
In regard to gaming only, I can understand this point of view - surley pc hardware will come down in price though...
Caporegime
- Joined
- 20 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 77,827
- Location
- Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
a quality PSU, case, the basics will always be a minimal threshold. Even the middle of the road graphic card is the cost of a console these days.