With a PC if you want to keep playing the latest flavour of the month games, you gotta keep upgrading your machine. I got sick of doing this so no longer use my PC for gaming and now use a console. In 10 years time the latest game will run smoothly still on my console, keeping the same PC for 10 years and the latest game will barely move and have awful frame rate, if it even starts at all.
The only problem is that some PC games are not converted very well.
Yes that is very true, it always seemed to me when I was a PC gamer. Instead of programming the game well and optimising the code, they would just stick a higher system requirements sticker on the box.
PC gaming is pure hell, once your pc becomes a couple of months old. Forget it, games consoles win hands down, every time.
With a PC if you want to keep playing the latest flavour of the month games, you gotta keep upgrading your machine. I got sick of doing this so no longer use my PC for gaming and now use a console. In 10 years time the latest game will run smoothly still on my console, keeping the same PC for 10 years and the latest game will barely move and have awful frame rate, if it even starts at all.
Yes that is very true, it always seemed to me when I was a PC gamer. Instead of programming the game well and optimising the code, they would just stick a higher system requirements sticker on the box.
PC gaming is pure hell, once your pc becomes a couple of months old. Forget it, games consoles win hands down, every time.
A couple of months old? why do people say this it's just rubbish you know lol
I've had the same cpu for the last two years and only two gpu's in 4 years, I play everything maxed, I probably got so much money back from steam and other sales, from the range of 5000+ indie titles on offer.
I loved pc gaming but got sick of having to wait months after console release for the games to be ported to pc, ( like gtav which is still to be given a release date) and then having to jump through hoops to get the gsmes to work either due to security features or compatibility issues, so ditched the pc for console, and never looked back.
There are only 3 instances I can think of off the top of my head for PC delays. 1)Ubisoft, 2)GTAV and 3) No Man's Sky.
1) Ubisoft haven't had any love for PC for a long time, they don't seem to 'get' it.
2) Releasing GTAV alongside old gen and then releasing 'remasters' on PS4 and Xbox One would have created one hell of a shitstorm as modern GTA have always been intensive games for CPU/GPU and are played best on PC. For Rockstar to 'ignore' PC on the 'remasters' would have been a shot in the foot, so they waited and worked on the port alongside the next gen titles.
3) No Man's Sky has a small team and they have said they need extra time to work on the PC version.
I haven't had any compatibility issues for quite a long time, not since New Vegas but then again that game was a bugfest on all platforms. Games now are a lot more stable and you only see issues with crap produced by the likes of Activision or Ubisoft.
With a PC if you want to keep playing the latest flavour of the month games, you gotta keep upgrading your machine.
Not at all. The Witcher 3 represents the first major jump in requirements probably since Metro 2033. That will be 5 years.
In 10 years time the latest game will run smoothly still on my console, keeping the same PC for 10 years and the latest game will barely move and have awful frame rate, if it even starts at all.
I wasn't aware I could play TLOU: Remastered on my PS2, i'll be sure to check it out. ;-)
PC is an ever advancing platform in terms of hardware, consoles are not. You can see this as a strength, or you can see it as a weakness it is up to the individual. The best games, technically, will always be on PC because of it.
Yes that is very true, it always seemed to me when I was a PC gamer. Instead of programming the game well and optimising the code, they would just stick a higher system requirements sticker on the box.
Only Ubisoft and Activision do this.
PC gaming is pure hell, once your pc becomes a couple of months old. Forget it, games consoles win hands down, every time.
I've played about 200 games on my 5 year old machine and it's still fine. I'm not even a hardcore techhead either, I installed 32bit ubuntu before and I have no idea how to remove it so I can install 64bit Ubuntu.
If even a dope like me can be fine, i'm sure everyone else can be too :cool:
PC gaming is pure hell. Forget it, games consoles win hands down, every time.
If this was 15 years ago I would have agreed, to some extent at least.
Windows XP made gaming so much easier.
Windows 7 has made gaming, and generally most things about the PC extremely, extremely easy to use.
Really makes me wonder if people are getting more lazy minded in terms of figuring out how stuff works. Inquisitive minds are becoming more and more fabled.
Building a PC as an adult these days should be no different to a kid playing with lego.
I'm deffo not a nerd, a hardcore one anyway. I'm just an Electrician who knows nothing about computer science, coding, engineering etc. Everything I know about the PC is self taught and since google search went boom its made most problem-solving almost a doddle. I'm still to play any games from Steam as I always buy direct, so to think Steam apparently makes installing/managing your games easier... like omfg seriously console fanboys..
but consoles are for simple plug and play gaming. I wouldn't call them 'toys' though. I enjoy gaming on PC and console. The best of all worlds so to speak.
Console:
Pick controller up.
Put disc in / download, click install.
Go through a sequence of windows/pages to find your game.
Play game.
PC:
Hands on keyboard/mouse.
Put disc in / download, click install.
Double click the game icon on your main screen (desktop).
Play game.
With current gen consoles, the settings are basically no different to the PC. Both require system updates, Windows 7 has made it hassle free for the PC you literally click install and that's it job done, all Windows updates are done automatic in the background, its only the graphics driver that needs some attention.
The PC becomes more complex than the console when we're talking about setting up multiple TV's. As for upgrading the hardware once you've done it once, twice tops it then becomes easy next time (+for the rest of your life), its not much different to knowing how to upgrade the harddrives on the consoles.
That is the problem, sometimes computers can have problems, saying that my mates computer is over 5 years old, it got to be as I built it before I built mine and he have had no problem with it apart from updating to windows 8, which is why he have gone back to 7. the only updates he done was a few weeks back, a new keyboard, I love the keyboard, a better video card and some more memory.
We did give the computer a good clean out as after 5 years of sitting there we thought it would be really dusty inside, but was surprised how little there was, the side filter and PSU filters needed a good blow out, but the front filter is easy to remove and he does that few times a year.
but yes the machine have been really good. He does have a PS3, but use it for netflix these days.
With a PC if you want to keep playing the latest flavour of the month games, you gotta keep upgrading your machine. I got sick of doing this so no longer use my PC for gaming and now use a console. In 10 years time the latest game will run smoothly still on my console, keeping the same PC for 10 years and the latest game will barely move and have awful frame rate, if it even starts at all.
As i said i do not play a lot of games and certainly nothing that need a hihg powered machine, so I am going by my mate here who is a gamer, more MMO mind you.
His machine is 5 years, which to be honest five years in technology is a long time and only a few weeks ago decided to update the video card, i think he went for a R9 290X, not cheap, but he said it should last for a few years.
I think, but not sure it cost him around £250.
The problem with your console is who is to say that MS or sony will keep those console going for ten years, I know they did for the older machines, but with technology the way it is now, I expect it is a bit cheaper and easier to design a new console say every 5 years than it used to be.
But I can fully understand your reasoning.
Also, you can use a computer for other things..
Yes that is very true, it always seemed to me when I was a PC gamer. Instead of programming the game well and optimising the code, they would just stick a higher system requirements sticker on the box.
PC gaming is pure hell, once your pc becomes a couple of months old. Forget it, games consoles win hands down, every time.
A lot of people would disagree with that and yes a lot of people would agree with it.
For me I prefer the PC, for the few games I play, mainly as I still can not go on with the controllers on the consoles. the only game I really play on my PS3 is pinball
A couple of months old? why do people say this it's just rubbish you know lol
I've had the same cpu for the last two years and only two gpu's in 4 years, I play everything maxed, I probably got so much money back from steam and other sales, from the range of 5000+ indie titles on offer.
My mate would agree with you there, he played a lot of his games maxed on his old video card , ok there was some that would not, but then it is a five year old card and it was not expensive when he got it. His new card is amazing, I was watching some demos that checks the frame rate and the quality was fantastic, and considering that it still got a 5 years I7 CPU running.
I never quite understand why everyone had a stand on PC Gaming VS Console. Most gamers I know actually have both like myself. While we may prefer one over the other it is rarely seen as a choice as having just one option.
Personally my choice on PC or Console is largely based on the type of games I play and the media that best suits it. For example driving games, sports games and action GTA games are much easier to play through the controller and hence the console. For FPS, RPG, MMORPG, strategy, RTS they are best played with a keyboard and mouse so suit the PC. Of course you can get controllers for the PC and keyboards for the consoles but they just tend to be easier on that format or the games better suited.
The comments about upgrading PC's and the cost of hardware really come from about 10 years ago when the pace of hardware growth was trying to keep up with the games. These days the hardware is a long way ahead of what the games industry requires. I have a PC 7 years old that can still play 90% of the games today. It is just an old myth most people upgrade their PC about every 5 years same as the console.
I think there are some advantages to the PC which the consoles still lag behind.
Price - Games are much cheaper on the PC while the hardware maybe more expensive in the long run due to the costs of the games PC Gaming is cheaper
Mods / Patching - PC games tend to have a better community support they tend to get patches quicker and have mods which can extend the game beyond the basic version.
It really is bizarre how persisitent the myth is that PC gaming requires constant upgrades, and that it costs £1000 for a good gaming rig (I get the feeling a lot of people google 'gaming PC' click on a notoriously overpriced company like Alienware and think those prices are the norm).
I think the term 'PC gaming' though is too 'one size fits all'. Please dont think all PC gamers buy £450 graphics cards, put in fluid cooling and are obsessed with cranking out the highest Frames from the most advanced engines.
Yes there are people like that but there are also people with low, mid-ranged PCs happily playing Civ, Minecraft, Football Manager, Goat Simulator....and more!
It really is bizarre how persisitent the myth is that PC gaming requires constant upgrades, and that it costs £1000 for a good gaming rig (I get the feeling a lot of people google 'gaming PC' click on a notoriously overpriced company like Alienware and think those prices are the norm).
A couple of months old? why do people say this it's just rubbish you know lol
It's not rubbish or a myth, you forget that most of us on here have been PC gamers like myself and just got sick of having to buy more memory, better cpu etc, just to play the latest games. I did used to keep buying the latest GFX cards and fastest memory. But never could seem to get the latest games to play smooth. So in the end I gave up on my PC for games and use it for video editing and office/business use.
It's not rubbish or a myth, you forget that most of us on here have been PC gamers like myself and just got sick of having to buy more memory, better cpu etc, just to play the latest games. I did used to keep buying the latest GFX cards and fastest memory. But never could seem to get the latest games to play smooth. So in the end I gave up on my PC for games and use it for video editing and office/business use.
It is though, I upgraded my 7970 which I had for about 3 years a couple of months ago to a 290x and I won't upgrade now until Dec 2015 and by then my FX 8350 would be coming to 4 years old, look how long that cpu has lasted me playing games maxed when having a top end gpu to go with it and if you buy a good mobo and psu and some decent RAM to begin with you never need to upgrade them, what more proof do you need one cpu and two gpu's in 4 years playing maxed out, I also have a Wii which I play a lot.
If someone is upgrading their cpu or gpu every 2-4 months or so they must be buying low end rubbish, it's kind of their own fault really if they can't plan out a gaming rig.
Enjoy what you play, it's just annoying when people are saying PC is expensive and you need to upgrade every few months when it's no where near as bad, games are so much cheaper too.
Davonator makes a good point too, you can have a low mid end PC last years without upgrading it playing games like he mentioned and playing newer games at lower settings.
It's not rubbish or a myth, you forget that most of us on here have been PC gamers like myself and just got sick of having to buy more memory, better cpu etc, just to play the latest games. I did used to keep buying the latest GFX cards and fastest memory. But never could seem to get the latest games to play smooth. So in the end I gave up on my PC for games and use it for video editing and office/business use.
This bit doesn't make sense! What graphics cards were you buying? Did you have a gaming quality PSU to give the supply needed or did you just stick with the stock one?
It's not rubbish or a myth, you forget that most of us on here have been PC gamers like myself and just got sick of having to buy more memory, better cpu etc, just to play the latest games. I did used to keep buying the latest GFX cards and fastest memory. But never could seem to get the latest games to play smooth. So in the end I gave up on my PC for games and use it for video editing and office/business use.
The problem is you are living in the past of PC gaming I can tell this from your upgrading memory comment. PC's have pretty much had a default of 8 gig of ram for 5 years and no game and pushed that requirement in fact most don't address above 4 gig. The demands on CPU even graphics cards are nothing like it used to be. My old GTX 260 which game with my original machine is 7 years old and can still play most games. Some like skyrim I need to drop the graphics down to play but it still looks outstanding. I think the only upgrade was a larger hard drive but that had more to do with storing movies than games.
I am sure some gamers do swap out cards every year or go nuts and buy 300 pound cards but the vast majority of PC Gamers are not like that. You really can buy a machine today and expect it to last 5 years.
One of the main reasons is that games in most cases have to work on consoles which are far behind PC hardware. So for a game to work on a console it has to be a lower spec than most PC's. So while PC games are able to take advantage of higher settings if the games support it old PC's are also supported because the consoles are also so limited.
It's not rubbish or a myth, you forget that most of us on here have been PC gamers like myself and just got sick of having to buy more memory, better cpu etc, just to play the latest games. I did used to keep buying the latest GFX cards and fastest memory. But never could seem to get the latest games to play smooth. So in the end I gave up on my PC for games and use it for video editing and office/business use.
Its really not like that any more. Years ago i used to be on a rigid upgrade cycle, new PC every 3 years with a new GPU half way through. But now i haven't upgraded anything in about 4 years and i can play every single game that comes out at normally high or very high settings. The world you are remembering just doesn't exist anymore.
PC gaming has gotten simpler and console gaming as gotten more complicated. They are slowly converging into one, but the PC still brings massive advantages of choice, price, control, versatility and more. Consoles certainly have their place, but you would have to be insane to think they are better than a PC.
It is though, I upgraded my 7970 which I had for about 3 years a couple of months ago to a 290x and I won't upgrade now until Dec 2015 and by then my FX 8350 would be coming to 4 years old, look how long that cpu has lasted me playing games maxed when having a top end gpu to go with it and if you buy a good mobo and psu and some decent RAM to begin with you never need to upgrade them, what more proof do you need one cpu and two gpu's in 4 years playing maxed out, I also have a Wii which I play a lot.
If someone is upgrading their cpu or gpu every 2-4 months or so they must be buying low end rubbish, it's kind of their own fault really if they can't plan out a gaming rig.
Enjoy what you play, it's just annoying when people are saying PC is expensive and you need to upgrade every few months when it's no where near as bad, games are so much cheaper too.
Davonator makes a good point too, you can have a low mid end PC last years without upgrading it playing games like he mentioned and playing newer games at lower settings.
There is two things here.
To play the latest games on highest settings to beat consoles, then you will have to spend money and a £450 base PC will just not cut it, then you WILL have to keep upgrading if you want to keep playing the latest games. This is factually correct and there is no getting around this. In this instance, of course PCs are always going to give you the power to outperform consoles. That's like saying Ferrari's are faster than FIATs because they have bigger and better engines. But to get the Ferrari, you need to spend money.
The second point is, if you have a lower end PC that can only play simple games and newer games on lowest settings, then you're not really comparing it to a console, so of course you're going to spend less, but then you have a machine that isn't as capable as a console and then it's pointless having an argument between the two.
In conclusion, I'd say 5-10% (totally made up percentage, I admit) of PC gamers have and will have a PC that will outperform consoles in the latest games that they can play on ultra settings. They can shout out all they want how they have a machine capable of doing what consoles can't, but it's pretty dumb to do so as they have spent a fortune to achieve this, so it's common sense it beats a £350 console.
The problem is you are living in the past of PC gaming I can tell this from your upgrading memory comment. PC's have pretty much had a default of 8 gig of ram for 5 years and no game and pushed that requirement in fact most don't address above 4 gig. The demands on CPU even graphics cards are nothing like it used to be. My old GTX 260 which game with my original machine is 7 years old and can still play most games. Some like skyrim I need to drop the graphics down to play but it still looks outstanding. I think the only upgrade was a larger hard drive but that had more to do with storing movies than games.
I am sure some gamers do swap out cards every year or go nuts and buy 300 pound cards but the vast majority of PC Gamers are not like that. You really can buy a machine today and expect it to last 5 years.
One of the main reasons is that games in most cases have to work on consoles which are far behind PC hardware. So for a game to work on a console it has to be a lower spec than most PC's. So while PC games are able to take advantage of higher settings if the games support it old PC's are also supported because the consoles are also so limited.
If Battlefield 5 came out today, a 5 year old PC would struggle to get anywhere near what the PS4 could achieve. This isn't some made up fantasy, it's real life. Where consoles punch above their weight is the fact they are a closed system and developers have to squeeze every last drop from the CPU, GPU and RAM. They don't have to do this for PCs as they just move on to the next set of requirements that are out.
While the above example isn't very fair, we'll have a new one.
Fast forward to 2018, Battlefield 6 is released. If the PC is untouched and wasn't upgraded, the PS4 would play Battlefield 6 much much better than the PC due to its closed nature and the fact the developer has had to squeeze every last drop out of the console. This isn't the case for PCs. The PC in this example might still be a 'capable' gaming machine, but your PC hasn't had every last drop squeezed out of it from developers. Hence why this 'myth' is about that you have to keep upgrading. You do, if you want to keep up with consoles. To add to this, in 2018, a PS4 might cost £150/£200. Try building a PC for £200, to play Battlefield 6 and you'll be laughed at.
In conclusion to this, it all depends what you want from gaming. PC will always be the king of graphics, but I'd say not many people own those types of PCs as it would cost a fortune to keep it the best. Of course this isn't taking into consideration that software is usually cheaper on PC.
If Battlefield 5 came out today, a 5 year old PC would struggle to get anywhere near what the PS4 could achieve. This isn't some made up fantasy, it's real life. Where consoles punch above their weight is the fact they are a closed system and developers have to squeeze every last drop from the CPU, GPU and RAM. They don't have to do this for PCs as they just move on to the next set of requirements that are out.
While the above example isn't very fair, we'll have a new one.
Fast forward to 2018, Battlefield 6 is released. If the PC is untouched and wasn't upgraded, the PS4 would play Battlefield 6 much much better than the PC due to its closed nature and the fact the developer has had to squeeze every last drop out of the console. This isn't the case for PCs. The PC in this example might still be a 'capable' gaming machine, but your PC hasn't had every last drop squeezed out of it from developers. Hence why this 'myth' is about that you have to keep upgrading. You do, if you want to keep up with consoles. To add to this, in 2018, a PS4 might cost £150/£200. Try building a PC for £200, to play Battlefield 6 and you'll be laughed at.
In conclusion to this, it all depends what you want from gaming. PC will always be the king of graphics, but I'd say not many people own those types of PCs as it would cost a fortune to keep it the best. Of course this isn't taking into consideration that software is usually cheaper on PC.
When they can get a decent/quite spec PC into a small form factor, then I my get one. I was fingers crossed on the "steam boxes" but it seems to have gone very quite on that front.
Sorry but BF6 or whatever on the PS4 or Xbox in 2018 will look like crap compared to the then PC version. It was the case with Bad Company 2, BF3 and 4 on the 360 and PS3. Even a current gen decent PC will still be out performing the Consoles if it's configured correctly.
It's also about FPS as well. Eventually the PS4 and xbox will start dropping their resolutions to 720p at 30fps or under as gaming graphics get more advanced. Of course when that happens the PC crowd have the advantage of selling their old parts and upgrading to new
Sorry but BF6 or whatever on the PS4 or Xbox in 2018 will look like crap compared to the then PC version. It was the case with Bad Company 2, BF3 and 4 on the 360 and PS3. Even a current gen decent PC will still be out performing the Consoles if it's configured correctly.
It's also about FPS as well. Eventually the PS4 and xbox will start dropping their resolutions to 720p at 30fps or under as gaming graphics get more advanced. Of course when that happens the PC crowd have the advantage of selling their old parts and upgrading to new
Yes I was reading earlier that the xbox 1 is using a last gen AMD 7750 which is pretty bad and the ps4 a 7850 which just about cuts it as ok.
And Joker you have 780ti right? Do you plan to upgrade in 2 months?
Comments
Just lately, the former wins.
Yes that is very true, it always seemed to me when I was a PC gamer. Instead of programming the game well and optimising the code, they would just stick a higher system requirements sticker on the box.
PC gaming is pure hell, once your pc becomes a couple of months old. Forget it, games consoles win hands down, every time.
A couple of months old? why do people say this it's just rubbish you know lol
I've had the same cpu for the last two years and only two gpu's in 4 years, I play everything maxed, I probably got so much money back from steam and other sales, from the range of 5000+ indie titles on offer.
There are only 3 instances I can think of off the top of my head for PC delays. 1)Ubisoft, 2)GTAV and 3) No Man's Sky.
1) Ubisoft haven't had any love for PC for a long time, they don't seem to 'get' it.
2) Releasing GTAV alongside old gen and then releasing 'remasters' on PS4 and Xbox One would have created one hell of a shitstorm as modern GTA have always been intensive games for CPU/GPU and are played best on PC. For Rockstar to 'ignore' PC on the 'remasters' would have been a shot in the foot, so they waited and worked on the port alongside the next gen titles.
3) No Man's Sky has a small team and they have said they need extra time to work on the PC version.
I haven't had any compatibility issues for quite a long time, not since New Vegas but then again that game was a bugfest on all platforms. Games now are a lot more stable and you only see issues with crap produced by the likes of Activision or Ubisoft.
Not at all. The Witcher 3 represents the first major jump in requirements probably since Metro 2033. That will be 5 years.
I wasn't aware I could play TLOU: Remastered on my PS2, i'll be sure to check it out. ;-)
PC is an ever advancing platform in terms of hardware, consoles are not. You can see this as a strength, or you can see it as a weakness it is up to the individual. The best games, technically, will always be on PC because of it.
Only Ubisoft and Activision do this.
I've played about 200 games on my 5 year old machine and it's still fine. I'm not even a hardcore techhead either, I installed 32bit ubuntu before and I have no idea how to remove it so I can install 64bit Ubuntu.
If even a dope like me can be fine, i'm sure everyone else can be too :cool:
Total rubbish.
Cosoles are what they are - toys.
Windows XP made gaming so much easier.
Windows 7 has made gaming, and generally most things about the PC extremely, extremely easy to use.
Really makes me wonder if people are getting more lazy minded in terms of figuring out how stuff works. Inquisitive minds are becoming more and more fabled.
Building a PC as an adult these days should be no different to a kid playing with lego.
I'm deffo not a nerd, a hardcore one anyway. I'm just an Electrician who knows nothing about computer science, coding, engineering etc. Everything I know about the PC is self taught and since google search went boom its made most problem-solving almost a doddle. I'm still to play any games from Steam as I always buy direct, so to think Steam apparently makes installing/managing your games easier... like omfg seriously console fanboys..
but consoles are for simple plug and play gaming. I wouldn't call them 'toys' though. I enjoy gaming on PC and console. The best of all worlds so to speak.
Pick controller up.
Put disc in / download, click install.
Go through a sequence of windows/pages to find your game.
Play game.
PC:
Hands on keyboard/mouse.
Put disc in / download, click install.
Double click the game icon on your main screen (desktop).
Play game.
With current gen consoles, the settings are basically no different to the PC. Both require system updates, Windows 7 has made it hassle free for the PC you literally click install and that's it job done, all Windows updates are done automatic in the background, its only the graphics driver that needs some attention.
The PC becomes more complex than the console when we're talking about setting up multiple TV's. As for upgrading the hardware once you've done it once, twice tops it then becomes easy next time (+for the rest of your life), its not much different to knowing how to upgrade the harddrives on the consoles.
That is the problem, sometimes computers can have problems, saying that my mates computer is over 5 years old, it got to be as I built it before I built mine and he have had no problem with it apart from updating to windows 8, which is why he have gone back to 7. the only updates he done was a few weeks back, a new keyboard, I love the keyboard, a better video card and some more memory.
We did give the computer a good clean out as after 5 years of sitting there we thought it would be really dusty inside, but was surprised how little there was, the side filter and PSU filters needed a good blow out, but the front filter is easy to remove and he does that few times a year.
but yes the machine have been really good. He does have a PS3, but use it for netflix these days.
As i said i do not play a lot of games and certainly nothing that need a hihg powered machine, so I am going by my mate here who is a gamer, more MMO mind you.
His machine is 5 years, which to be honest five years in technology is a long time and only a few weeks ago decided to update the video card, i think he went for a R9 290X, not cheap, but he said it should last for a few years.
I think, but not sure it cost him around £250.
The problem with your console is who is to say that MS or sony will keep those console going for ten years, I know they did for the older machines, but with technology the way it is now, I expect it is a bit cheaper and easier to design a new console say every 5 years than it used to be.
But I can fully understand your reasoning.
Also, you can use a computer for other things..
A lot of people would disagree with that and yes a lot of people would agree with it.
For me I prefer the PC, for the few games I play, mainly as I still can not go on with the controllers on the consoles. the only game I really play on my PS3 is pinball
My mate would agree with you there, he played a lot of his games maxed on his old video card , ok there was some that would not, but then it is a five year old card and it was not expensive when he got it. His new card is amazing, I was watching some demos that checks the frame rate and the quality was fantastic, and considering that it still got a 5 years I7 CPU running.
Personally my choice on PC or Console is largely based on the type of games I play and the media that best suits it. For example driving games, sports games and action GTA games are much easier to play through the controller and hence the console. For FPS, RPG, MMORPG, strategy, RTS they are best played with a keyboard and mouse so suit the PC. Of course you can get controllers for the PC and keyboards for the consoles but they just tend to be easier on that format or the games better suited.
The comments about upgrading PC's and the cost of hardware really come from about 10 years ago when the pace of hardware growth was trying to keep up with the games. These days the hardware is a long way ahead of what the games industry requires. I have a PC 7 years old that can still play 90% of the games today. It is just an old myth most people upgrade their PC about every 5 years same as the console.
I think there are some advantages to the PC which the consoles still lag behind.
Price - Games are much cheaper on the PC while the hardware maybe more expensive in the long run due to the costs of the games PC Gaming is cheaper
Mods / Patching - PC games tend to have a better community support they tend to get patches quicker and have mods which can extend the game beyond the basic version.
I think the term 'PC gaming' though is too 'one size fits all'. Please dont think all PC gamers buy £450 graphics cards, put in fluid cooling and are obsessed with cranking out the highest Frames from the most advanced engines.
Yes there are people like that but there are also people with low, mid-ranged PCs happily playing Civ, Minecraft, Football Manager, Goat Simulator....and more!
It's not rubbish or a myth, you forget that most of us on here have been PC gamers like myself and just got sick of having to buy more memory, better cpu etc, just to play the latest games. I did used to keep buying the latest GFX cards and fastest memory. But never could seem to get the latest games to play smooth. So in the end I gave up on my PC for games and use it for video editing and office/business use.
It is though, I upgraded my 7970 which I had for about 3 years a couple of months ago to a 290x and I won't upgrade now until Dec 2015 and by then my FX 8350 would be coming to 4 years old, look how long that cpu has lasted me playing games maxed when having a top end gpu to go with it and if you buy a good mobo and psu and some decent RAM to begin with you never need to upgrade them, what more proof do you need one cpu and two gpu's in 4 years playing maxed out, I also have a Wii which I play a lot.
If someone is upgrading their cpu or gpu every 2-4 months or so they must be buying low end rubbish, it's kind of their own fault really if they can't plan out a gaming rig.
Enjoy what you play, it's just annoying when people are saying PC is expensive and you need to upgrade every few months when it's no where near as bad, games are so much cheaper too.
Davonator makes a good point too, you can have a low mid end PC last years without upgrading it playing games like he mentioned and playing newer games at lower settings.
This bit doesn't make sense! What graphics cards were you buying? Did you have a gaming quality PSU to give the supply needed or did you just stick with the stock one?
The problem is you are living in the past of PC gaming I can tell this from your upgrading memory comment. PC's have pretty much had a default of 8 gig of ram for 5 years and no game and pushed that requirement in fact most don't address above 4 gig. The demands on CPU even graphics cards are nothing like it used to be. My old GTX 260 which game with my original machine is 7 years old and can still play most games. Some like skyrim I need to drop the graphics down to play but it still looks outstanding. I think the only upgrade was a larger hard drive but that had more to do with storing movies than games.
I am sure some gamers do swap out cards every year or go nuts and buy 300 pound cards but the vast majority of PC Gamers are not like that. You really can buy a machine today and expect it to last 5 years.
One of the main reasons is that games in most cases have to work on consoles which are far behind PC hardware. So for a game to work on a console it has to be a lower spec than most PC's. So while PC games are able to take advantage of higher settings if the games support it old PC's are also supported because the consoles are also so limited.
Its really not like that any more. Years ago i used to be on a rigid upgrade cycle, new PC every 3 years with a new GPU half way through. But now i haven't upgraded anything in about 4 years and i can play every single game that comes out at normally high or very high settings. The world you are remembering just doesn't exist anymore.
PC gaming has gotten simpler and console gaming as gotten more complicated. They are slowly converging into one, but the PC still brings massive advantages of choice, price, control, versatility and more. Consoles certainly have their place, but you would have to be insane to think they are better than a PC.
There is two things here.
To play the latest games on highest settings to beat consoles, then you will have to spend money and a £450 base PC will just not cut it, then you WILL have to keep upgrading if you want to keep playing the latest games. This is factually correct and there is no getting around this. In this instance, of course PCs are always going to give you the power to outperform consoles. That's like saying Ferrari's are faster than FIATs because they have bigger and better engines. But to get the Ferrari, you need to spend money.
The second point is, if you have a lower end PC that can only play simple games and newer games on lowest settings, then you're not really comparing it to a console, so of course you're going to spend less, but then you have a machine that isn't as capable as a console and then it's pointless having an argument between the two.
In conclusion, I'd say 5-10% (totally made up percentage, I admit) of PC gamers have and will have a PC that will outperform consoles in the latest games that they can play on ultra settings. They can shout out all they want how they have a machine capable of doing what consoles can't, but it's pretty dumb to do so as they have spent a fortune to achieve this, so it's common sense it beats a £350 console.
If Battlefield 5 came out today, a 5 year old PC would struggle to get anywhere near what the PS4 could achieve. This isn't some made up fantasy, it's real life. Where consoles punch above their weight is the fact they are a closed system and developers have to squeeze every last drop from the CPU, GPU and RAM. They don't have to do this for PCs as they just move on to the next set of requirements that are out.
While the above example isn't very fair, we'll have a new one.
PS4 - £350 - bought 1/1/14
PC equivalent - £500 - £600 - bought/made 1/1/14
Fast forward to 2018, Battlefield 6 is released. If the PC is untouched and wasn't upgraded, the PS4 would play Battlefield 6 much much better than the PC due to its closed nature and the fact the developer has had to squeeze every last drop out of the console. This isn't the case for PCs. The PC in this example might still be a 'capable' gaming machine, but your PC hasn't had every last drop squeezed out of it from developers. Hence why this 'myth' is about that you have to keep upgrading. You do, if you want to keep up with consoles. To add to this, in 2018, a PS4 might cost £150/£200. Try building a PC for £200, to play Battlefield 6 and you'll be laughed at.
In conclusion to this, it all depends what you want from gaming. PC will always be the king of graphics, but I'd say not many people own those types of PCs as it would cost a fortune to keep it the best. Of course this isn't taking into consideration that software is usually cheaper on PC.
I'm sorry but you're talking a load of balls.
Not at all. This is the way PCs and consoles work for gaming.
Something like 7750 and 7850's?
Sorry but BF6 or whatever on the PS4 or Xbox in 2018 will look like crap compared to the then PC version. It was the case with Bad Company 2, BF3 and 4 on the 360 and PS3. Even a current gen decent PC will still be out performing the Consoles if it's configured correctly.
It's also about FPS as well. Eventually the PS4 and xbox will start dropping their resolutions to 720p at 30fps or under as gaming graphics get more advanced. Of course when that happens the PC crowd have the advantage of selling their old parts and upgrading to new
Yes I was reading earlier that the xbox 1 is using a last gen AMD 7750 which is pretty bad and the ps4 a 7850 which just about cuts it as ok.
And Joker you have 780ti right? Do you plan to upgrade in 2 months?