Can We Build a Gaming PC on a Console Budget?

Gamespot:

"There's no debating that a souped-up gaming PC will outperform an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 any day of the week, but it'll also cost you a lot more at checkout. However, what about a gaming PC that isn't top of the line, say, one that was built for $550?

This is the question we put to the test: could we build a gaming PC from scratch that could provide a gameplay and visual experience on par with a next-gen console, for around the same price as a next-gen console? While the PlayStation 4 is substantially cheaper, we wanted to make this exercise as competitive as possible, and that meant allowing ourselves the luxury of a slightly higher budget. Our own Mark Walton and Peter Brown each built one machine; one based on Intel and Nvidia chipsets, and the other on AMD hardware."

[DVS-Zev]

This is something i have been considering a lot lately.My 4 year old off the shelf laptop isn't cutting it anymore.And with the price of games now $69.99 (before tax) here in Canada , i think it's time i make my way back to PC gaming.

Looking to set up a Living room type PC gaming deal as being hunched over a desk on a flimsy chair staring at an average sized monitor has been the bane of my PC gaming dreams for years.

Is a living room type set up even possible? Can all games be used to support a controller? I know next to nothing about any of this

[NewMonday]

don't go budget, do it right or stick to consoles
I use my PC on my 4K 65'TV, 1080p is old news, 1440p is where it's at. you should wait to see how the SteamPC turns out.

this GameSpot patchwork doesn't tell anything about the intangibles, like..

- showcased games are multi-generation so they don't push the hardware, it will be different with games like AC:Unity and Batman AK
- some engines rune better than others on PC, with Unreal you can push settings all the way but for others like Hitman and Tomb Raider I had to use many middle settings to hit 60fps on my GTX680.

and yes most games are compatible with the 360 controller off the bat, but you can also use software for PS3 and PS4 controller compatibility.

don't skimp on a gaming PC

[awi5951]

You should only buy what it takes to play games on ultra today no more. Because games may take 2 years to even push your hardware. By then you can sale your old card or cards for a good price and get a newer card for nothing. I upgrade each yeah or so because i can sale my card for like 200 or 300 dollars that can easily buy me a new card that runs the latest games on ultra.

[awi5951]

No i have 4 copies of windows just lying around from old Pc's that are now dead or have been parted out. This is a stupid and then you should add 50 dollars on to the price of the consoles as well for playing online.

[green]

Just finished my first build of a PC on Thursday in 12 years. AMD FX8320 processor and Gigabyte AMD R9 280X overclocked edition GPU. It cost much more than a PS4 or X1 but obviously more powerful and i got a lot of satisfaction from building it.

[TheBurger29]

I want to build my own but dont know enough yet. So I found someone and got Gtx 660 ti afterburner in sli with an intel i5 4770k

[gamernova]

Lol wut?

[awi5951]

No you messed up if you are going to spend that much on a card you should have bought nivida card. Nividia cards have longer legs in that price range than AMD. And a real good rig shouldnt have cost you no more than 650 to run BF4 and metro on ultra these days.

[LAWSON72]

No. A person seriously considering PC gaming should not be spending $400 on HW.

[awi5951]

No i say a good build would be to run games today on ultra.

First off a seasonic 750 watt powersource for $115

2. AMD 8320 for 130

3. Motherboard for crossfire you can get for 130 and less depends on if you are going to game on one card or crossfire or sli.

4 8Gig of ddr3 ram will be $45

5 And your choice of any $300 dollar or 200 dollar GPU will max BF4 on ultra in 64 player matches

So it should cost $720 at the high end 620 at the lower end but the build will max all games today.

If your worried about the future you can always sale your cards on ebay. But i dont see any game that's going to push PC since the consoles have launched. PC graphics will be dumbed down for a while because of this. The only game i can see pushing the pc now is the Witcher 3 because witcher 2 hurt people's PCs when it launched.

[WheatBread]

Yes, but you would have to go with AMD or buy used pc parts.

[Skate-AK]

Nope. Should go all out or nothing at all with PC.

[Hicken]

Sure, if you're looking to play Chip's Challenge.

[GeraltofRivia]

Console hardware is cheaper compared to mid range or high end pc gaming hardware (video cards, processor, etc...), however console games are usually are a rip off new/ launch prices, on sale or used when compared to frequent extremely cheap pc game sales from Steam, GreenManGaming, etc... If you purchase mostly games that are heavily discounted when it comes to pc gaming you can end up having a cheaper / better experience compared to console gaming. Often big title launch games on pc are $35, something which seems to never happen with console games.