The next-gen Digital Foundry PC: chasing the 1080p60 dream

It's often been said that both next-gen consoles are effectively based on mid-range PC technology, and as our recent tests indicate, matching or even exceeding current Xbox One or PS4 performance with modest PC components doesn't seem to be too difficult. But can we go one better? Can we build a PC that provides a quantifiably better, truly transformative experience? And can we do it at with a competitive budget?

[Galacticos]

They based most of the article on a PC game(BF4) that was a quick port. The PS4 may not be that powerful, but I do think that the PS4 is more powerful than a 500£ PC.

[Peekayboo]

Might be right now but not in 2 years

[dcj0524]

No way Jose! PCs move fast so 2 years is a eternity.

[ProjectVulcan]

Long story short, PS4 is very good value for the performance it provides at the moment, PC gaming does have it's advantages though, outside of mere performance. Building a PC capable of outperforming PS4 costs more initially, but that has never been the sole consideration if you are looking at gaming on a PC. Other factors should be considered.

Part of the reason I game on PC isn't really just to overpower the consoles, but the CONTROL I get with my gaming experience.

You can customise the machine and any given game to play how YOU prefer, rather than leave it up to the developer.

Higher settings and resolution for a locked 30FPS, or maybe lower some slightly to have a faster 60FPS response?

Totally your choice. Same goes with desk/sofa, pad/keyboard.

The benefits of PC gaming are more than just articles focusing on raw gaming performance. Which is why VALUE considerations are more important than just outright cost. The cost of games and the cost of paying for online on console adds to the cost debate which can depend entirely on your requirements of a platform.

PS4 remains the console choice outside of PC for now though, simply because if you aren't too worried about customising your experience as much, you get a good piece of hardware for a good price.

Early on in a console's life cycle is where it'll shine against PC performance the most, because of course we all know PC never stands still and the situation will be different in just 12 months.

[Lulz_Boat]

blahblah, 7 years after ps3 release ND bring us TLoU. i can count with ONE hands the number of pc games that look better.

[Dasteru]

@Lulz_Boat:

Wow you have that many fingers on a single hand? what a freak lol.

Crysis 1 maxed out on PCs still looks better than anything on the PS3 by far. Crysis 3, Metro 2033, Metro last light, Battlefield 3, Project Cars in its pre-pre alpha 2 years ago looks better, the list is miles long if you pay attention.

[fermcr]

I could make a 500£ PC better then the one he made for the article.

... but the article made a point. The PS4 at this moment (again, at this moment) is quite good value compared to a PC... pity about the paid multiplayer.

[ramiuk1]

i dont think u could build a £500 pc thats more powerfull and as simple to use.

yet the ps4 is £349,i expect for around £650-700 for ps4 performance.
also the pc would consume more than the 250w max the ps4 uses.

wish people would stop comparing them and just enjoy there format,even if they made the wrong decision to buy xbone lol.

[Dasteru]

The £500 system in this article was atleast matching the PS4 in every test, and usually doing better. £650 would completely destroy the PS4. The PS4 is definately very good value for £350 though.

[MadLad]

With today's tech and pricing, you can build a PS4 competitive PC for $700 - 800.
Then, it's as Peekayboo stated, that's not speaking of what we'll see in tech even in a year, let alone his two.
Console tech hits its wall after a couple years and that's when developers starting taking hits on framerates and resolutions in order to keep up with the latest engines.
Hell, the reason that I built a PC in the first place was because of the state of many releases approaching the end of last generation.

[Kayant]

Great article. The one thing that wonders me is the how good the power supply is?

Also as suggested in the comments it would be wisely to go with the more powerful FX8320 as it's only about £25 more.

Personally I would get better parts.

[wtopez]

Here's a tip to anyone interested in building a gaming PC: Don't build your PCs to match console pricing. Console hardware is heavily subsidized by the main manufacturer (MS or Sony), because their money is made on the software side. A mid to high range PC with an i5k processor and a GTX 770 or R9 280x can be built for around $900 and will have A LOT more processing power than both new consoles, so 1080p and 60 FPS will be the norm rather than the exception.

It's fun to build a decent PC that matches up to current consoles but it's not practical for the long run.

[bienio]

True

[Kavorklestein]

The whole point of this isn't to say what you can do to spend MORE money...it's to silence the PC elitists Foaming at the mouth that both consoles are a waste of money, and that a "WAY better pc can be made at the same price" Better? Minimally. But not really for the same price tho. It's all about dropping money to get a good set-up all at once. No having to shop around, pay for shipping, put it all together, and hope none of your parts are faulty, or have suffered to static discharge, especially when we talk about RAM. I personally think both consoles have more appeal than a PC. I HAVE an awesome gaming rig, and I have tons of games on steam, a backlog you could say, and I don't hardly touch the thing. I even play my 360 more than my beefy PC.
Consoles make you feel like you are there for game time, and the online experience on a PC is lame. You either get lagged out, people have mods/cheats twice as often, and the lobbies are smaller, not to mention the achievements/trophies, not needing Origin for ea games, uplay for Ubisoft etc.. I'm sorry Consoles are better for gaming. PC's are better/fun for showing off "better graphics" for about 5 minutes, then turning the PC off to go play with a friend with splitscreen co-op on console, or if you just prefer a STABLE/less hacks/less B.S. more reliable and enjoyable time with a FULL matchmaking lobby on PSN or XBOX live.

Exclusives on consoles are a huge defining factor too. I couldn't care less about steam sales.
I bought FarCry 3 on my PC, discounted heavily on Steam, and I run it maxed out settings, and I have barely gotten 50% thru the game, meanwhile, I find myself playing my 360 every spare chance I can get, and I'm BEATING games, getting 100% on some of them... PC is just not as fun for me, and the tech getting outdated every six months is so annoying, at least with consoles, I can expect to be able to enjoy all the new games that come out ( within reason ) for a good long while. I couldn't care less that the graphics aren't maximum, because I get to jump in and play! I don't have to tinker for hours trying to squeeze out extra frames, or updating drivers, or waiting in borderline EMPTY multiplayer lobbies.
I think if you have a busy lifestyle, and a realistic budget, with an average gamer's income, a truly good PC is out of the question. Let alone keeping up with system requirements for longer than 4-6 months. It's not fun, in fact I think it's a nightmare. If I was rich then yeah, I could see PC gaming as the best way to do it.. but I'm not. And most of you folks are not. I have a car payment, rent, utilities, food, gas, car insurance, and all this stuff to focus on. When I have a spare 60 bucks, I can buy a game for a console, and it will look decent and run decent. On PC, I may want a game, but I won't be able run it very well, and that just gets more and more true as time passes on. I can't afford to keep gaming on a system that is outdated every game release, and costs more to even upgrade than it's even worth. For that EXTRA 10% graphical boost, I would have to pay 300 bucks every six months to a year.. Screw that. I would rather have 300 bucks worth of games!

I am honestly gonna sell my PC. It's not a master race really, it's not as great as folks hype it up to be.

[Kavorklestein]

@ disagrees... This is MY opinion, and MY budget, you don't get to disagree with my lack of enthusiasm for my wasted money. My gloom about my wasted time/money is my story. Not something your agreement is needed for.

[MadLad]

It's because you claim you put all this effort into PC gaming and that you know what to expect from it, but the entirety of it reads as the talking points of someone who doesn't know what they are talking about.
I have a two year old 680 and I am still running almost everything maxed at 60 or above. I can count on one hand the titles that I can't do so at a steady 60. Two year old card.
You mention trophies, but Steam has them. You mention subpar online experiences, but I am pretty sure that is on a person to person basis and I, personally, have been enjoying online more now having moved over to PC than I was when on console.
I have been PC gaming for over a year now. My experience has been nothing but stellar and it has actually got me playing a lot more than I had been the last couple of years. I am not saying you are BS'ing, but excuse people of looking at it as the 'console player playing PC gamer in order to downplay it' that it reads as.

[ElementX]

I really like my 1680x1050 monitor, even though it's fairly old now. I think I'll try to buy another 16:10 monitor when I replace it. The ratio is more pleasing to me

[Corpser]

Remember no backward compatibility on the new consoles means that PC has far more selection of games.

[MadLad]

And support from the modding community who keeps improving said games over the years.

[thehitman]

I still have my ps3, ps2 and n64 and segasaturn I could play them all and have their games still. I dont though because they are old. In fact I had an original 60gb ps3 that had backwards compatibility and I felt like it was a crime to put my ps2 games inside of it after playing a ps3 game. Bckward compatibility is the most overrated feature that you can claim is a negative on consoles. Sony did surveys for people who were early adopters and all had backwards compatibility and guess what the results were, we dont use it so they took it out and cut a lot of costs.

I have a gaming PC as well and I feel modding is also overrated. If you into that kind of stuff so be it but its not like a great thing that I look forward to when I buy a game. I dont say hey I think this game is going to be great when modded. If i have to think about mods for me to play a game thats a sign to not buy it.

[medman]

These pc or console articles always make me laugh. The issue is not whether to build an pc or buy a console, but rather what games you wish to play. If you like console exclusive franchises, you buy the ps4 or xbone. If you prefer pc exclusives and don't mind missing out on Uncharted or Halo, for example, build that pc. It's about the games.

[Lon3wolf]

Exactly although personally I game on PC and consoles (last gen and Wii-U atm until I get the funds for a PS4 and then in time a One). Go with whatever platform/company that makes the games you want to play.

[cyhm3112]

sorry, I really think those PC fanboys are really stupid, what are all these articles about? To prove that PC is more powerful or superior? It is really stupid!! A PC can't provide some features or most importantly exclusive games consoles have? Can you play the last of us or Order 1886 on your pc?

[aquamala]

you have a console that can play all PC and consoles exclusives? heck PS4 can't even play PS3 exlusives

[Kavorklestein]

I agree with you man, I have a nice PC, and it has thousands of games on it between Steam, origin, and emulators, and I STILL rarely play it. I like consoles WAY better, and the Exclusives are just ONE of the benefits, the multiplayer lobbies are much more full, and much more fun on console, with less lag, glitching, hacks, mods, and bullshit. I am gonna sell my pc because how disappointed I am with having some of the best, and not enjoying it.
Fuck PC.

[MadLad]

Hey look!
It's the "you can't play my games, but I am totally just going to ignore the fact that you have you own exclusives because I am trying to make a non-point" argument again.
Anyway, how is 1886?
I haven't had the chance to play it, personally. Anyway, as for the Last of Us, that's why I own a PS3. I then own a PC for everything else. I like having all my games, no matter the year they released, in one place and I like having the control over what I can get out of them because of the openness of the platform.

[Elem187]

I like playing third party games with ZERO concessions due to weak hardware.... Take watch dogs on ps4 it was heavily scaled down from the E3 trailer. Now it looks like an uprezzed PS3 game.... Even if the PC version receives a downgrade, the modding community will fix it themselves in a few short months.

[jackanderson1985]

doesn't that argument become null and void once PS Now goes live in regards playstation exclusives? if they do infact bring PS4 games along with it a high end PC will be more than enough (if you've no interest in Xbox exclusives) as you'll have the "superior" multiplats 99.99999999999% of the time and have access to Sony's exclusive catalogue aswell

[Oh_Yeah]

Gtx 760 250$, i5 4570 200$, 8gb ram 80$, motherboard with wifi 140$, psu 60$, small console like case 50$, windows 80$, xbox 360 controller 50$, keyboard + mouse 25$. Around 930$. For a pc that can handle 1080p 60fps at high settings while looking like a console.

[itisallaboutps]

DEAD ON! you can build a pc for like 500 bucks, but you will lack wifi, a controller, and you will have some bottlenecks in the future when you try to upgrade. if you want a good solid foundation for upgrades down the road. expect to pay 750 or more!

[Oh_Yeah]

Yeah man. That's my build, minus the gtx 760 for a 770. Spent about a solid 1000$ for a pc that's going to outperform these next gen consoles consistently, and even though I'm not totally sure it's worth it. It's still nice to have all your games running 1080 60fps with mods and free online play and the huge discounts you get on games, and xbmc which can replace netflix and cable for free and being able to do work on it, there's a lot of things a pc is good for. It does save a lot, but is it needed, If you just want games? Not in my opinion. Ps4 is a VERY well designed console for an amazing deal, which I'm glad to also own, it's definitely enough for the average gamer. The install times are blazing fast, ps + offers value on top of value, and sony exclusives can't be beat IMO.

[kingduqc]

Except high setting look better then the console and that consoles actually cost 400+ 50*8(for online) + 10-15$ PER GAME.

so yeah pc gaming is better and less expensive in the long run.

Edit: Also, the game you bought on PC will be played in 4-8k 120 fps in 10 years and the same game will be stuck in sub 1080p most of the time. they don't scale with time at all.

[weirdo]

neckbeards are annoyed that you can get the same xp on a machine that costs £350, instead of blowing £2k+ of mum & dad's money. grow up and stop being a fud!

[Pandamobile]

The irony is strong with this one.

[Moncole]

The only reasone to get a console over a gaming PC is because you want the exclusives on that system. But every system has its own exclusives and they go by openion.

PC has better graphics, better FPS, free online, more games, cheaper games, backwards compatability, any kind of controller you want, cheaper in the long run, mods and much more.

[urwifeminder]

Pc wins this one better all round device.

[Dragonopolis]

Remember, Consoles drop in price periodically over its lifespan as well. I generally wait at least a year before jumping ship from last gen to current gen gaming waiting for all the dust to settle so there is a clearer picture of value/performance. I waited 2 years before buying a PS3 and Xbox360 and could easily wait again. My PC has held its own over the years and still manages to play most games at 1080p between 30-60 fps from med to high settings depending on the game (I'm running two hd 5770 in crossfire to achieve that) but if frame rate is an issue I can always adjust settings, even adjust resolution, to achieve smooth gameplay - should I need it.....

Still, Consoles seem to stay competitive offering exception value to gamers. I don't see this competitiveness changing in the near future. PS4 is already knocking at the 1080p/60fps door and developers are just getting started. Xbox One has a bit more work(may or may not get there but I feel 1080p 30fps is feasible), I think developers will figure it out.....

Its a win win for us gamers any which way you look at it because PC makers seem to be willing to try to compete with the Consoles and that can/will drive prices down for Consoles.... as well as make sleeker looking, smaller and Cheaper, PC gaming machines.