Is it time to build a PC instead of upgrading to next-gen consoles?

2023 has seen its share of ups and downs in the gaming industry, mainly the poor launch of Jedi: Survivor and Boulder's Gate 3 blowing us away while d...

[purple101]

no because some people struggling with $500 for a ps5 let alone $1500 for a pc,
what a short sited question.

the amount of people with a 'good' pc is probably only 5% of total players.

[Ddavis7690]

Mine is about $600 to build and it still rocks all modern games.

[Tacoboto]

When people say this, im curious of the build. What's yours?

[Ddavis7690]

@tacoboto

B450 strix motherboard
GTX980 GPU
850w PSU
Ryzen 5 2600x
1tb solid state HDD

Then Xbox One controller for RPG
G240 hero mouse for competitive shooters
ASUS 32in 1080p monitor.

[merlox]

@tacoboto

B550-PLUS Tuf Gaming motherboard
RTX 3060
AMD Ryzen 7 3700x
32gb DDR 4 RAM
Apex gaming 550w modular p/s
2 1tb and 512gb SSD
2 8tb external HDD
Corsair liquid cooling
Sony A80j OLED TV

This is my computer setup.

[rippermcrip]

No, that setup certainly will not rock all modern games.

[Crows90]

@ripper

Both setups are perfectly fine at 1080p resolution and higher with some games.

Your statement reeks of ignorance.

[RedDevils]

That's not a $600 pc lmao. That CPU, Motherboard and RAM price alone is already over budget for some people.

[notachance]

doesn’t look $600 to me..
well in my country at least

[Tacoboto]

@ above

Neither of those "$600 builds" would've been "$600" with brand new parts when they were released and neither can rock "all" new games.

People that try to minimize the cost of PC gaming are full of crap. My previous 2070 Super that's only barely adequate for modern 1440p60fps gaming cost $500-$550 new by itself.

A 2600X won't get you anywhere with today's releases and a 3700X (my previous CPU) is hamstrung now as well. My 3700X was $329-$349 new, and a 3060 fell around that same range. So now that build too was far beyond that fake "$600" value.

[AmUnRa]

Shure.... 🙄

[ElixerFactHunt]

Yeah, if you have the money, it's worth it IF you get enough use out of it. So if you use it for other tasks or running applications and actually using them, including games and other entertainment, of course.

The problem is these days you're not getting a powerful GPU unless you spend out a lot of money on a 4080 (which is expensive) or a 4090 which doesn't cost that much more relative to the 4080. At that point it makes more sense to go 4090 if you're already spending silly money.

Your only other option is going AMD for a cheaper (but still pricey to some) GPU and/or run a 1080p monitor so it's easier to get good fps. Literally the only thing expensive today is the GPU. RAM and storage costs are super cheap today, and most other components are reasonable too.

Unfortunately though, with AI gaining traction with Nvidia and people using applications that use it, it might mean Nvidia charge a lot for their GPUs for a while yet. Cost might not come down much, and even though AMD have inferior features/performance other than being quite competitive in gaming, they are also pricing their GPUs fairly high as well.

[StarkR3ality]

Think you're over stating what you need for a GPU, you've literally named the 2 worst bang for your buck GPU's. A 3060ti out performs these current consoles. I got a 4070ti for about £720 and it's probably maybe a 2.5 - 3x multiplier.

Yeah PC gaming is expensive but only talk about things you have any idea about pal.

[1nsomniac]

Agreed with @Stark. Clearly don’t have any clue at all about pc gaming yet trying to tell others how it is.

I’m currently running a 2070 super (albeit I’ve overclocked it) but I run every game maxed out at 1440p. So how does that work…?

[DoubleTTB22]

A PS5 is about as powerful as a 6700xt or 4060ti. You can find these cards for $300-350 these days. And there are cheaper cards like the 6600 and 2070 super that you can find for 200 bucks and still play the latest triple a games at 60 fps so long as you turn off all ray-tracing.

Add in a $80 motherboard, $90 cpu, $50 Psu, $50 case, $50 16 gb ddr4, $50 970 3gb/s 1tb ssd and you are actually doing really well for yourself at $570-$720 total.

You might buy a few more cheap things like a third party heatsink for your cpu, thermal paste, extra case fans, keyboard and mouse assuming you don't have one. But you can get heatsinks, fans, and thermal paste thrown in for free a lot of the time. Assuming you can just plug the desktop into the same tv you were going to plug your console, you can make a pc on par with a ps5 for around $750 these days. Still more expensive but not by a ton considering that it can also replace your computer, is upgradeable, has mod support, more controller options, has a bigger library of games spanning the last 20+ years, etc.

[RupeeHoarder]

“Add in a $80 motherboard, $90 cpu, $50 Psu, $50 case, $50 16 gb ddr4, $50 970 3gb/s 1tb ssd and you are actually doing really well for yourself at $570-$720 total.”

🙄 and you still don’t have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, Microsoft windows, anything to actually output audio…. This comparison and all others about cheap gaming pc’s are a joke. I know you mentioned the tv but for most that’s not the option… and this build will last you a hot minute before you’re already behind in the pc gaming world.

[DoubleTTB22]

@RupeeHoarder

"🙄 and you still don’t have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, Microsoft windows, anything to actually output audio…. This comparison and all others about cheap gaming pc’s are a joke."

You would still need a monitor/TV and something to produce audio for a console as well, so including that in the price is irrelevant here. A keyboard and mouse are super cheap and are included in the final figure for an additional $30. Honestly, you could get them for $20 if they are bundled together, and completely free if they come with one of your other parts.

Windows can be easily gotten for free. You can even download it for free from their website. Heck you can find an activation key for 5 bucks, but you don't even need it unless changing your desktop background is that important to you. If you don't have a USB to install it that is another 5 bucks. Honestly, a cost this small is hardly even worth bringing up.

Really online subscriptions on console are a much more significant cost that I didn't bother to bring up either. $60 a year every year does a lot to even out the cost there. I used to get them on sale for 30-40 bucks a year, but it is still going to add up to a lot more than getting windows, and a keyboard and mouse pretty fast. Even if I throw in a Gamepad on PC, it is basically just wiped out by the subscription in a single year.

Is PC more expensive, sure. But not nearly to the degree the original poster is suggesting. They were picking out single GPU's that cost more than an entire rig with PS5-level power. Heck if you are someone who doesn't need the mobility of a laptop for work or school or anything, then the price of a console + a cheaper laptop/pc for everyday use, Is around the same as the price of just the gaming PC which would cover both needs.

[phatak]

.

[Crows90]

The level of ignorance on what graphic cards are needed astound me. A gtx970 has been enough to run games from way back then until pretty much now. You don't need 4k when sitting in front of a small screen.

You most definitely don't need a latest card to run current gen games. I myself am doing fine with a GTX 2060.

[VariantAEC]

@StarkR3ality
ElixerFactHunt's (EFH) post is just four paragraphs long. In paragraph 1 EFH discusses that PCs can tend to be useless if you spend too much and don't need it for much; this is the single most subjective take in EFH's entire post.

Paragraph 2 basically says powerful GPUs are expensive and many games really push RTX 4000 series cards which basically everyone agrees with. Even former PS5 exclusives like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart are crushing the current cutting-edge PC GPUs at max settings and in more ways than one (not just focusing on rendering but also RTX IO features).

EFH's 3rd paragraph makes the claim that GPUs are the most expensive part of modern PC builds. This is true unless you're also considering buying 8 or more TB of storage in the form of Gen 4 NVMe storage... oh wait even those cost a measly $1K USD right now, meaning the latest RTX GPUs at $960-$1,600 USD is OBJECTIVELY SPEAKING the most expensive part of nearly 100% of any modern gaming PC build. Only if you buy older RTX 3000 or used GPUs can you save a few hundred more dollars and even so the GPU alone will most likely cost more than the MSRP of any current console.
Those are the facts rejecting them is precisely why you have so many disagrees.

But wait, there's a fouth paragraph!
That's right in EFH's 4th and final paragraph it is explained that AMD is just nowhere near Nvidia in the GPU department.
I will add that we all know Intel is where its at on PC as far as CPUs are concerned. Epyc is simply not as good for gaming as Core i7 and i9 series CPUs especially if we look at CPUs released by both manufacturers within one year of each other. Intel wipes the floor with AMD we all know it though the denial is still incredibly strong. Actually AMD's biggest achievements have been in the console space and HW sales are the best there (mostly because PC gamers prefer Intel/Nvidia for superior performance).

[on_line_forever]

Games on PC is cheaper than consoles

[Babadook7]

No. Consoles still support physical and re-sellable games.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

It's about even, or at least it is in Australia, between the PSN store and Steam, the prices tend to trade blows with each other (at least you can shop around for Steam or other store keys). Nintendo is always expensive though, so I only use them for exclusives, especially now the Steam Deck is a thing and gives PC gaming portability.

[ocelot07]

Yer sorry but you come off as someone who simply does not know enough about gaming PC's. Only 5% of pc players have a good pc? Are you on crack or something.

Last month I put together a system for my friend. Total cost was £490. CPU is a 5700 xt, CPU 3600, 16gb ram, 1tb SSD.

Better than a PS5? In some areas no in others yes. Out perform ps5 in terms of resolution and possible graphical fadelity probably not. However, Will perform better than a PS5 FPS wise for most titles. Plus access to pc only games and access to Xbox gamepass as well as emulation for example.

This pc is more than "good" and I'm fairly confident more than 5% of the pc gaming community have a better pc than it.

[Babadook7]

This PC is not as good as a PS5 overall and more pricy. Not many PC gamers will have even that strong of a machine. Higher FPS could simply mean you are dropping settings or unlocking FPS which isn't a one to one comparison. PS5 doesn't suffer from shader compilation stutter.

And, in about a year there will be a much stronger Playstation too.

[purple101]

Bearing in mind ps5 comes with a controller, and usually a game... in deals can be had for the RRP nowadays. Ie god of war Ragnarok bundle.

A good pc, I would mean anything that can BETTER ps5 quality. Ie.. about $800

[phatak]

.

[one2thr]

This is a fact. I just recent finished my pc build after putting it off for 10+ years.

And with the expected A.I. boom that's supposedly going to happen. GPU prices are also expected to go up.

[S2Killinit]

Its not just about money either though. I need my co sole. Even if I have a PC, I need my Playstation at least.

[JackBNimble]

Well considering that you can pick and choose your parts, you don't have to buy it out all at once.
So buy a few parts every month or so and once you have everything you need then you build it. Problem is it seems console boys are to impatient to do this.

[Zombieburger638]

Yet I see tons of console fans wanting that mid gen console upgrade. Add the pay to play online and it evens out.

[crazyCoconuts]

Good point. If you have the discipline to not keep upgrading your GPU / CPU

[phatak]

.

[TheOptimist]

Arent you being short sighted because if you are on a budget, how do you have time to play games?

A PC that is about the same cost might not play the latest games at 4k, but it can still play any game before 2022 while allowing you to upskill yourself and have jobs!

[RupeeHoarder]

“You would still need a monitor/TV and something to produce audio for a console as well, so including that in the price is irrelevant here. A keyboard and mouse are super cheap and are included in the final figure for an additional $30. Honestly, you could get them for $20 if they are bundled together, and completely free if they come with one of your other parts.”

This is absolutely ridiculous to use as an argument. Why? Because every single home in America has a television NOT for gaming. It’s an appliance like a refrigerator at this point. So putting that into the cost of a console is a hard no.

However….getting a 4K curved desktop monitor for my gaming needs….that would certainly count as an extra cost. That is a luxury purchase made for a specific reason. More than 50% of households aren’t buying living room TV’s for gaming.

Also who is buying a $30 M/KB if they’re taking gaming seriously? LOL cmon.

[ChasterMies]

Unless you can build a gaming PC for less than $400, no.

[Number1TailzFan]

Short sighted take.

The answer is, if you have money spare and it's in your interests for the uses you'll get out of it, bearing in mind you can do plenty of things other than gaming, then yes.

[ChasterMies]

“if you have money spare” could be an answer for everything. Is it time to go whoring in Vegas? Is it time to be a space tourist? Is it time to start a Jihad? Having “money spare” is not a good reason to make bad decisions.

[DoubleTTB22]

A steam deck starts at $399

[ChasterMies]

Do you build the Steam deck yourself? No. It’s more of a console than a PC.

[DoubleTTB22]

@DeusFever

"Do you build the Steam deck yourself? No. It’s more of a console than a PC."

Its literal main purpose is playing pc games off of the number 1 pc gaming store. If you have to redifine a Steam Deck as a console to make your point, then you never had a point to begin with. By this same standard, gaming laptops are consoles since I don't build them myself.

[VariantAEC]

"Its literal main purpose is playing pc games off of the number 1 pc gaming store. If you have to redifine a Steam Deck as a console to make your point, then you never had a point to begin with."
It's purpose isn't what makes it a PC lest you also consider smartphones PCs at this point as well seeing as how they can play 9 year old PC games like GRID Autosport and Alien: Isolation at resolutions above 1200p at a locked 60FPS with some settings ABOVE PCs own maximum level all while selling the games for much less and quite frankly people these days kind of need phones. Even my own employers urge me to bring my phone to work these days.

"By this same standard, gaming laptops are consoles since I don't build them myself."
Gaming laptops are way more powerful than Steam Deck. My old GTX 1070 powered Laptop is technically still pushing better RT performance in compatible games like Quake II RTX which works fine at 720p30 with max ray bounce path tracing Forza Horizon 5 also runs fine at 1080p30 with all settings maxed out including in-race RT 1080p60 without RT Ultra Shaders and ultra shadow quality plus the first step below max static environmental geometry quality (can't remember what they call that off-hand). Point here is, my decidedly old 2017 laptop PC was crushing the Steam Deck 4 or 5 years before the Steam Deck even launched and it's still crushing Steam Deck in most aspects and now phones are dangerously close to outperforming Steam Deck as well. Steam Deck like PS5, Switch and Xbox Series consoles is made to be a cheap mass produced all-in-one gaming device... JUST LIKE A VIDEOGAME CONSOLE!

Steam Deck is a console because it is made exactly like a videogame console.

[Crows90]

You can build one that'll last 3 generations for about $800.

3 generations of constoles will cost you 1500 plus tax so if you invest the same amount on a PC with good ram, cpu and GPU then you got a much better option with PC gaming. A rig worth 1500 will last you 5 generations pretty easily.

[TheOptimist]

This is too pro-PC. No PC will last 21 years. Not even 10000$ PCs. (since you said 3 generations)

[ChasterMies]

So you’re saying in 2008 that you could have a built a PC that would last you through this console generation? That it could compete with a PS5 or Xbox Series X? 🐴 💩
A top of the line Geforce would have cost you 2/3 of your build price and your graphics power would be measured in gigaflops and not teraflops. PCs are never cheaper than consoles. Even on a per teraflop basis, PCs aren’t cheaper. It’s because by the time the old graphics cards drop enough in price, so do the consoles.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

That is a massive exaggeration, I generally give most gaming PCs a lifespan of about 5 years before you need to consider major upgrades if it's possible with you hardware. My PC is 6 years old and I've already swapped out for a newer CPU, I would like a new GPU, but at those prices it's a no go for me (maybe in 2025 when next gen GPUs come out). It was already high end at release, and it still trades blows with a PS5, I do not expect it to keep up for another 20+ years despite spending 2K+ on it (a PS5 is $800).

[darthv72]

We have all the latest consoles... I'm getting the itch to build again. Last time I built one from scratch was 2010. I gave it to my son who still uses it for team fortress 2 and some other stuff, but he's been wanting something that can run more modern games. plus he wants to learn how it all goes together so this could be a father / son bonding moment.

[Ddavis7690]

I have a decent PC that you can build for around $600 and it still rocks.

[RaiderNation]

@robert734625

He's full of crap. You cannot build a PC for 600 that "rocks" the PS5 unless you find some sucker willing to sell dirt cheap out of desperation. You might can build something close to on par with PS5 for 600 but not smoke it.

[Ddavis7690]

B450 strix motherboard
GTX980 GPU
850w PSU
Ryzen 5 2600x
1tb solid state HDD

Then Xbox One controller for RPG
G240 hero mouse for competitive shooters
ASUS 32in 1080p monitor.

If you play games for the enjoyment of the games not how it looks, you can build a PC that will do it for you.

[Simundo]

Your build just highlights how expensive PC hardware is as it doesn't come anywhere near the specs of a PS5/Series X yet is $200 more than the digital PS5. Your GPU is from 2014 and the CPU is far weaker than the PS5's/Series X. Your $600 build falls well short of the capabilities of a Series X/PS5 and isn't a good suggestion for someone thinking of dropping those and going PC as they will be looking for something that is at least of equal performance.

[Schriefer9]

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 — $95
Gigabyte B450M DS3H Wi-Fi — $80
G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 — $42
Western Digital SN250 960GB NVMe SSD — $55
ASRock RX 6600 XT Challenger D — $275
Thermaltake Versa H17 — $50
Thermaltake Smart Series 500W — $40
Total — $637
There is a $600 pc comparable to a PS5

Doesn’t mean PS5 is well worth it but it is possible to game comparatively on PC for a decent price.

[DOMination-]

@Ddavis7690

p155 off mate. Those specs barely beat PS5 and cost loads more.

Good luck finding a monitor at HDR 1000, 120Hz and 4K at the same price of an LG 42-inch OLED TV.

[Fluke_Skywalker]

My graphics card alone (3060ti) was £750 at time of purchase last year and even some modern games still run like crap on that above 1080p. People saying their budget PC "rocks" modern games mean "it runs modern games, barely, with all settings turned to ugly at 45fps".

[MrDead]

I'll be building a new PC the second the RTX 50 cards come out, my nephew gets my old system so this time he'll be getting an i9 10900k, RTX3080, 32gb... wont be until at least Oct next year though. Definitely not wasting money on the 40 series, not a big enough jump in power

[JohnnyRambo]

The 4090 is a big jump, the problem is price. Most of the other cards are poor upgrades over the 30 series, especially with the way they are priced. 4080 is just very poor value.

Current rumors also point to the 50 series launching later than usual. Supposedly early 2025, but I'm not sure if that has even been confirmed. Possibly they might delay the launch given they are so far ahead of AMD. Who knows though.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

@JohnnyRambo,
I think it's way to early to talk about the 50 series, we only have rumors and a possible release date. I really hope the prices normalize a lot more by then $3.5K for a 4090 is nuts, and the 4080 isn't significantly cheaper.

[anast]

Great idea. I'm going to build one by the end of next year. Now seems like a good time to start preparing for a new build.

[Doge]

This post is designed to bait platform shills to flex their used car salesman schtick. You got the money or wanna budget for one depending on your use-case? Go for it. Don’t want to? That’s okay too.

Plain and simple.

[JohnnyRambo]

That has pretty much always been the answer. The only difference these days is that you have to splash out a lot more on the graphics card than you used to if you want the power. It really does come down to budget, if you want a cheap system that will play games decently buy a console. Want keyboard & mouse or a controller, ability to run basically almost any application, or game at higher resolution, detail settings & frame rates? Buy PC.

[Crows90]

Except you don't have to because the 40 series is pointless and unnecessary.

[343_Guilty_Spark]

There are no next Gen consoles.

[Crows90]

Especially with the series s since it's a last gen console.

[Rude-ro]

By that logic, NO pc is next gen because they never get must have AAA games built specifically to take advantage of the most current components.
They are basically Xboxes and the benefits are resolution, frames per second and hdr/ray tracing… for a minimum of $2,500 per the entry fee to do the above with any value.

[Armyofdarkness]

Sure, if you want / can afford. Gets expensive quickly. A PS5 would be smarter I think, games look good enough on it.

[northpaws]

I work on my computer all day so when I relax I actually prefer to stay away from it.

[Aloymetal]

That's the same for me, I sit in front of one all day and that's the last thing I wanna do when I get home. I don't care if it's a $5k PC and can run anything in 8k/240fps, I'm not interested.

[ken2813]

About the time you build a great PC to the specification that runs a decent “current gen” game, ill buy a ps6

[MrDead]

Get what makes you happy...hopefully MS won't ban more multiplatform publishers from gamers to try to limit that choice. I'm waiting for the RTX 50 series before I get a new PC, the 50 cards are meant to have a bigger power jump than what we had between RTX 30 and 40 series.

[anast]

Do you know when the 50s will be around?

[MrDead]

October next year would follow the nvidia 2 year pattern but some sites are saying that the rtx50 series could be pushed back until 2025

[anast]

October next year would be perfect. Thanks for the heads up.

[FungLip]

PC gaming sucks, could be unstable at times and you end up spending more time troubleshooting than actually gaming.

[Ddavis7690]

I built mine 5 years ago and haven’t troubleshooted anything…….weird.

[P_Bomb]

Kid’s friend bought a ‘gaming laptop’ recently instead of a console and has had nothing but problems. Can’t crossplay anything with them, has been unceremoniously left behind. It happens.

[Ddavis7690]

A gaming laptop is vastly less versatile than a PC and is very under powered. Cross play is based upon the software not the hardware. If the game supports cross play no matter if you’re in Xbox, PlayStation or PC, you’d be able to because it’s the game that decides it.

[FungLip]

Many people had no problems with their xbox360 too.

[P_Bomb]

Yeah he probably messed up by not getting a custom tower instead. I haven’t built a PC since my music one, but it worked like a charm.

Edit: I asked my kid and his friend seems to have fixed the laptop now. Valorant is a go.

[StarkR3ality]

Simple answer, if you have the money, PC, if you don't, console.

[JohnnyRambo]

Or both if you have decent money. Xbox is almost pointless if you have a decent PC unless you want to play some odd exclusive Xbox/360 game that MIGHT be backwards compatible with it.

PC and Sony console is probably the best combo, and/or Nintendo console if you care about the exclusive games on those particular machines.

[StarkR3ality]

I mean I have all platforms mate because I love games so, although admittedly I don't think I'm going to get another Xbox or a PS if all their games come to PC in the future, would make no sense.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Which is a better buy RTX 3080 or 4070? I’m buying a PC soon and would like someone with real knowledge to answer. My budget is 2k.

[LightofDarkness]

4070 for sure. Similar performance plus DLSS 3, which is really nice to have for path traced games and such.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

That’s what I’ve read also but I’ve also read the difference is not much between the two. I think I’ll go with the 4070. Thanks

[MrDead]

3080 is only slightly faster than 4070 but not with RT on, DLSS 3 works far better with raytracing. I'm waiting a year for the RTX50 cards as the jump between the 40 and 50 series is expected to be a lot bigger than the 30 to 40.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

I would wait as well but I’m in the market now and I’m not really a PC gamer so for me this build will last a lifetime. My current PC has a 7970 just to give u an idea how far behind I am. Frame rate has become very important to me so I’m definitely getting a good enough PC for every game I play to do at least 60 fps 1440P.

[StarkR3ality]

it's actually dependent tbh, the 3080 has better performance in most titles due to the awful mermory bus on these new 40 series cards, but DLSS 3 makes upf for that, but you won't use it in competitive games due to high latency as it's essentially motion interpolation.

Short answer is depends what you're playing and if you can get a 3080 cheaper than a 4070.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Thanks for the input. Here’s the PC I’m looking at
https://www.bestbuy.com/sit...

[Zombieburger638]

Check out Seattle Built Pc. They have great prices for pre built or a custom build then can put together for you within a price range. Don’t waste the money on any pre built from a big store like Best Buy or Walmart as they are more expensive and usually have poor build quality.

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

I’ll check them out thanks. I’m still researching.

[Simundo]

Sony first party exclusives are why I stuck with consoles this gen. Now more and more are releasing on PC I'll look at PC for my next piece of hardware. The combined cost of the Series X/PS5 in the UK is £960. Just an extra £140 will buy you a PC that is quite a bit better than either consoles. If I can access the same games as on the consoles for just a little bit more cash but with the advantage of not having things like a 30 fps cap on Starfield then I'll go with that.

I don't mind waiting a couple of years for the Sony games to release on PC. If they keep a couple of must have games exclusive to PS though that could sway me to stick with console. I wouldn't want to miss out on, let's say hypothetically BB2 for example.

[anast]

Here, here

[Shane Kim]

I think my PC cost around 2000 dollars back when the 1080ti was new (still rockin it), and I put all the bells and whistles in it. The games looked marginally better and altough you could cram out more fps, the price wasn't worth it. I promised there and then to never play on PC again.

[anast]

I'm starting to save and if all goes well I will be able to check out the $1600+ gaming experience by the end of next year. So, we will see if it's worth it.

[BrainSyphoned]

https://vgleaks.com/how-muc...

[Eonjay]

And don't even get me started about the 399 PS5.

[DivineHand125]

The current gen consoles are still quite powerful. There is definitely benefits to be had with building a PC, however, if you are satisfied with the console experience, there is no need to build an expensive PC. The previous 2 gens showed many benefits for gaming on PC vs consoles but this current gen not so much unless you are used to gaming at framerates exceeding 120fps.

[Abear21]

And miss out on all console exclusives? This is where gaming is on the cutting edge , not like it was in the 90’s now. Besides, all great PC games come to console eventually. And…
Plug and play > trying to get it to run
$500 < $2000+
But you do you with that money moms gave you, personally, I’d rather spend the leftover money I saved buying a console (or two) on more important things than high resolution gaming.

[phatak]

Here are my two cents on this matter, I am now primarily a PC gamer but also own the xbox and ps5, have bought a rtx4090, Im in Canada so they had a 24 month installment option with 0% interest, so for 2 years I basically just have to pay 180$ a month. In terms of budget I definitely agree that consoles are cheaper as for basically 400-500$ I dont think any pc can outperform them. Thats why it really depends on the PC you have, I bought a rtx4090 primarily for that reason, im not even that fussy about the fps numbers, its mainly I wanted the max resolution which in my case is a 4k tv and then as long as the fps was atleast 60 im good.

so in terms of performance its simply a fact that the 4090 just destroys any other console in performance, even just small things are a noticeable improvement like a micro stutter and such is all pretty much eliminated and the games just flow like butter, the question is it worth spending that extra amount for that resolution bump and fps, for me the resolution bump was worth it and also mainly to use cheats and mods, tbh read dead 2 was the main reason for me getting a pc as the performance gap between the consoles and pc is simply too large to just miss out on, and the fact that I can use a trainer and basically fast travel from one spot to the other is only possible on pc so it was my main reason along with having an emulator so for example read dead 1 never even came on pc and yet it is not only possible to play on pc with an emulator but its actually the best version, straight up 4k 60fps without even a stutter(depending on hardware of course)

I got the consoles for the exclusives so ragnarok, demons souls, horizon 2, ghost of tshushima, final fantasy, and soon to be spiderman 2 are great exclusives that one simply has to play, and tbh the effort sony has put into their ps5 patches is something to behold, days gone ps5 patch, god of war ps5 patch, horizon 1 ps5 patch , ratchet and clank 2016 ps5 patch are truly something to behold, I had the first 3 games on my pc and yet if I played those 3 on my ps5 I would not be missing out because those 3 ps5 patches were so damn good. So truth be told that if I only could have one then yes it would be the PC, but these consoles this generation atleast are genuinely good enough that its not as big a difference as past generations, but I most definitely recommend people to give pc gaming a shot, the level of improvement (on a high end pc) in resolution and just basic fluidness is worth looking into atleast, and I was a console gamer before jumping in pc as well, so I also had fears of how to install games, whether it would just hook up to a large tv as I dont play on a monitor, could I use the ps5 controller as i dont use keyboard and mouse etc etc, but all of that is so simple now with windows 11, its literally plug and play, one click and the games installs, hdmi plug in is same as the consoles, ps5 controller is plug in and play with a background app running, and 99% of the games have been cracked if torrents were your option, so just give it a shot id say is my opinion !

[franwex]

That’s what I said last gen as the games run off the hdd. Yet here I am with a series x and a PS5.

[TheColbertinator]

Always a good time to invest into PC gaming

[Good-Smurf]

No thanks, I still want to own games and don't want to troubleshoot every game I play when it refuse to run well or run at all.
Having high end setup doesn't guarantee that I will get the best experience.
The only reason I got RTX 3080Ti Laptop is because I never have a gaming laptop before and my last laptop was over 15 years old.

[Knightofelemia]

Depends on the person you are do you like PC gaming or console gaming I know people who do both. Me I just stick to console because I am a collector and love physical games.

[Elda]

Nope. I will continue to buy consoles.

[GhostScholar]

No because every year a better graphics card comes out or some other component. Unless you play competitively I don’t see any reason to game on a pc. I’m just fine with my 75 in lg oled, ps5 and series x

[jznrpg]

No because I did that for many years in the 90’s to mid 2000’s or so and just was happier with my PS and Nintendo. There are games I can only play on PS and Nintendo but I get everything from PC that I want to play.

[Aussiesummer]

That's what I did.....but for what it cost me i could have bought 10 PS5's and no doubt a pro is on its way.....😐

[Destiny1080]

GTX 1650 is steams most popular card and that survey is from july 2023

maybe linus, can come out with another apology video, i don't know how an SSD works, 2.0

[DarthZoolu]

The answer is absolutely unequivocally yes! Building a powerful PC is very reasonable as far as price for performance is concerned. A $600 PC smashes next GEN consuls right now and PC gaming is much cheaper than Console gaming.

[Nacho_Z]

I've never enjoyed PC gaming, great tool for working but something to spend time with for fun...not for me. Too much of a pain in the arse. I like the simplicity of a reliable console that only updates once in a blue moon.

[Dude Dutch]

No, never would game on PC

[repsahj]

No need. I have a mid-level laptop, PS5 and nintendo switch. I'm good.

[sagapo]

For 500€/$ a console remains the best bang for the buck imo. But if you have a little more money to spare, a pc can be bought which outperforms a console with the advantage of having a lot more tweaking options. And that doesn’t have to be 1500€/$ build.
I have a PS5, SeriesX and a 3 year old PC. I love them all with the pro’s and con’s they come with.

[Profchaos]

No, it wasn't time 20 years ago and it's still not time today.

I've seen these articles for as long as I can remember PC enthusiasts trying to win over more gamers to their side but there's certain realities that they try to talk around but these arguments don't hold water.

1) it's not complex anymore.
Yes it's easier than even until it isn't.
Windows blue screen, boot failures, hardware faults, updates that break the os driver issues hardware compatibility plugins like headrests not being detected by the game.

All real problems that people still have in PC gaming.

2) console feature's the PC doesn't

Cloud saves are not guaranteed most of my library doesn't have them

Quick resume or fast start doesn't exist on PC where modern consoles have quick resume.

3) hardware ages out far quicker than a console will

When a console is built and a PC is built at the same time they can have very similar specs but in 7 years time which machine will still be playing the latest AAA titles. It won't be the PC. I built my PC in 2018 it's 5 years old and my specs are starting to fall below minimum requirements for some games so i can tell you my 8700k 2070 is not optimised half as well as a console on older games.

4) affordability

This one is getting worse about 15 years ago PC gaming was way cheaper than today with most builds being sub 1k and playing recruiting at 1080p ultra at the time we didn't have 4k
Try building a high end rig today at that price point or just over the console price.

5) killer apps

There's a few times in my life where I've had to go build a oc for the must play games, doom 3 and crysis and even crysis 2 were my big I have to spend money on a new rig moments

Nowadays development is so streamlined consoles so capable that there is no mammoth PC exclusive there's no crysis of the day anymore and I don't see there being one that isn't a indie or crowdfunding scam.

I love pc gaming I grew up with it along with console gaming. I love gaming in general and play on everything from nes to ps5 and I've always had a PC capable of gaming but telling casual people to get into PC gaming is just not the right thing its niche let it be niche and love it for what it is

[repsahj]

I agree, even if I have a PC worth $3000, it still can't compare to the excitement I get playing on consoles like ps5 and switch.

[Fonsecap]

With the GPU pricing and the shortage that most YouTubers says that it may come again, good luck with that... And 500eur or dollars won't let you upgrade to a decent GPU/cpu combo. Not to mention that people are struggling to buy food pay their house and bills so... I don't think that it's time to upgrade...

[zaanan]

“Boulder's Gate 3” WTF!?

[hiawa23]

Console gamer only here. Consoles are good enough for my tastes.

[GoodGuy09]

If you've the money then yea.

[wiegraf]

PC can be used for work, productivity, emulation and so much more. Can't really compare to videogame consoles.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Well I sold my Switch OLED and now do all my gaming and visual novels on my Samsung Galaxy Book laptop. Only problem is that it uses a Intel Iris Xe graphics card so there's no VRAM,. Oops. So the visual novels are fine but most of the games are PS3 era or earlier. I got some later games running decent such as Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, Fallout 4, Doom 2016, Wolfenstein II and Dishonored. The one perk is the display which is a 1080p QLED touchscreen. Best display I've owned. So at some point in the future I'll upgrade.

[rashada07]

"Next gen?" Why is this term still being used. Ps6 and Xbox series Y hasn't been announced yet.

[Bhuahahaha]

as a casual gamer my skylake is still got a couple more years to go 😁

[neomahi]

It depends on two things: 1) Are you incredibly patient? 2) Are you a PlayStation fan? Whether you're an Xbox or a PlayStation fan, eventually games come to PC, though there's debate on whether PlayStation games are actually worth it on PC. You'd think that because games are developed on PC, that "porting" them to PC would be no issue.... With which I agree. But, all the same, PlayStation games eventually come to PC though you're going to have to wait a year or two. We know games take about a year to be eligible for PlayStation Plus status but PlayStation have said themselves it's about a 3 year wait, though I think that business rule is crumbling, but eventually it'll come to PC. With Xbox? Xbox One broke Xbox so they've got to find ways to stay relevant and releasing day and date on PC was taking Microsoft back to where they belonged, and many MANY we're hoping that would be the case, but Microsoft's (not Xbox's) deep pockets have kept them afloat. So, if you're willing to wait for PlayStation games, yeah, you can do just fine with a PC, Xbox? It's Microsoft, it's primary home is on PC. Nintendo? Nintendo has been the only ones to hold their ground, even SEGA ported to the PC in their time, but Nintendo doesn't. If you're playing a Nintendo game on a PC, it's pirated

[d3nworth1]

I find the price argument stupid. Yeah I could build a PC for $700 but the games I want to play arent available on that platform what would be the point. So is it time to build a PC instead of upgrading to a next gen console. That depends on which platform the majority of games that interest you are. If its on PC then build a PC if its on console then upgrade to nextgen consoles.