Should I buy Playstation 4 ( PS4 ) or build a gaming PC rig ??

To quote myself in another similar thread.

No, PC's have a much higher initial cost than Consoles do.
But its a longer term investment, and is far more flexible in what you can do with it.

Basically everyone needs a PC, your going to have one anyway. And for the price of a PS4, you can throw in a nice graphics card that would obliterate a PS4.
A computer isn't a gaming console, its a device that its possible to game on. To expect it to compete against dedicated gaming devices at the same (sum total of parts) price is missing the point.

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Well the best bang for buck always is consoles, as they barely make anything on the consoles themselves and earn most of their income from games / controllers etc. So no for 400$ you would not be able to build a comparable PC. But a PC is much more than just a gaming thingy. You can do anything on it where as with the ps4 you can only game with it.

This should answer your question

^+1

Nicely phrased.

the answer is quite obvious. get the ps4.
1. a $400 pc or even a $500 cannot match the ps4 on 1080p gaming.
2. the $400 will only last for about a year or two before it becomes obsolete while the ps4 will last you for at least 4+ years.
3. ps4 games are optimized to fully utilize the ps4's hardware which means you'll never ever have to worry about not having sufficient processing/gpu grunt to run your games. compare that to a $400 pc which you'll probably end up upgrading in its 1st year because it doesn't have enough "oomph!" to run a particular game you like and you'll end up spending at least an additional $400~$600 for the cpu and gpu for a grand total of $1k+ investment.
4. ps4 exclusive games. nuff said.

- but no. you'd rather buy a $400 pc because its way more superior because once you've upgraded it to become a $1500 monstrosity you'll surely trample and laugh at the lowly ugly consoles. congratulations! you don't know how to do simple math!

here's a bonus tip: buying a ps4 to play games and buying a $400 pc to surf the web, chat and do some office work is a lot cheaper - $800 grand total compared to building a gaming class pc that cost more or less one grand.

There's no need to be a troll nor a jerk, here.

Also bear in mind that games on the PS4 cost $60, whereas games on the PC can easily be found on sale for $15 for the AAA titles. There's also no need to upgrade to a $1k computer; an $800 computer will constantly beat the PS4 and will eventually make the money back if you play more than a handful of games.

Also remember that the PC has a number of exclusive games.

sorry if you think that im trolling here. that is not what meant with my words. trust me im all in for the pc, but i believe that if the OP just wants to play games, so he might as well get the one specifically made for it without breaking the bank. that is all. i know you are entitled to your own opinion and so am i. and i respect yours so i am hoping you'll respect mine. so cheers, no need to be so uptight about it buddy. if you were offended with my "-but no ~" statement, well thats just me voicing my own opinion.

You are aware that you're on a PC enthusiast forum and not a console forum right? If you want console flame wars go to another forum like IGN.

But really PCs will never equal consoles and vice versa. It's foolish nonsense to compare the two. In terms of sheer processing and graphics power the PC wins every single time. There's been hundreds of attempts and fails to bridge the gap between PCs and consoles, and while many have tried, none have really succeeded.

Why don't you wait the 6 months till it cones out to make a decision? We hardly know anything about it. But for 400 you can't build a pc near that good

and in my defense, you do realize that the OP wants an unbiased recommendation right? he just wants to know which will be better - "a ps4 or a $400 pc." read his post, thats $400 dollars for a pc. if you can give him a $400 gaming rig that can play games on 1080p with decent fps then be my guest. being a pc elitist doesn't help anyone here kid except maybe your ego. i was once just like you - blabbering about the superiority of "the glorious pc gaming master race". but then i realized, pc or console - we are all doing the same old sh!t; playing video games. you'll understand that in a moment or when you actually grow up or maybe never. and please have the decency to make room for rationality inside your good elite pc heart the next time you attempt to help your fellow readers. they want information and not your ego nor your conspiracy theory of pc vs console wars and other such nonsense. have a good day mate.

How does that make me a conspiracy theorist? I'm completely tired of the nonsense coming from console fanboys saying that they're going to top PC graphics. Just because AMD is developing the processors on next generation consoles like the PS4 and XBOX One doesn't mean that they're going to be the equivalent of a new PC. Target stores sells pizza and hot dogs. That doesn't make it a restaurant, nor will it ever make them restaurants. AMD developed the graphics chip for the Nintendo Wii, doesn't make it a PC. FACT: Consoles are made for low power requirements and to meet a price point. PCs don't have that to deal with. If there's a market for a $1,000 graphics card like the Titan or the 7990, people will buy it. If there's a market for a $1,000 console, nobody is going to buy it (and that has been LONG proven throughout the history of consoles dating back to the early days of Atari). If you want the best then be prepared to fork it over, and if that's what makes me an elitist, so be it.

okay i'll feed the troll one last time out of pure pity and to make a point for the OP;
1. i never said that a ps4 will be better in terms of graphics than a $1000 pc. what i said was that a ps4 is better than any $400~500 pc.
2. i did said however that spending a thousand grand for a gaming pc instead of a $400 ps4 is and never will be equal (is $400 now the same as $1000 in terms of monetary value? has the economy finally collapsed so hard that money literally has no value?)
3. i never said anything about "console gamers said that amd made the chips for the consoles now and pc and consoles are now equal" bullsh!t you pulled out of a$$ out of sheer desperation out of having nothing better to say against me. as in none, no one did and no one will. i'd rather read the goddamn declaration of independence than do that.
4. am i not arguing over the superiority of the sexy titan and the beastly 7990. we all know its capabilities, we are not morons like you are. but still no, no one asked you to tell us and yes we know you are a moron.

you know what? i'd bet if gabe newell were reading your comments in his mansion right now, he'd be shedding tears of sadness and sweat of desperation. the said tear and sweat will then be gathered by valve's employees and make it the new source engine which they'll use to finally create half-life 3 and gabe will personally deliver it right at your doorstep just to show you what love really means. then out of pity and spite, the presidents of nintendo and sony will commit seppuku and their respective companies will close out. the other game publishers will come to a conclusion that gaming isn't profitable anymore because of the lack of 2 major console to port their games to and will just call it quits. microsoft will eventually give up because no one gives a sh!t about their console anymore and will now focus on actually making an OS that doesn't suck and name it windows l33t 7 just for the hell of it and indie games will now rule the pc landscape bombarding us with waves upon waves of never ending 2D games some of which will be great and original while others will just copy mario with mixed results. a few 3D indie games will trickle down but will mostly run on unity engine or udk 2.0 and are typically 3hrs long. kickstarter will turn evil and become a pc game publisher/digital retailer and they will duke it out with valve to settle once and for all where the glory of pc games supremacy will belong to. kickstarter will bombard valve with an endless assault of games from its stable of indie game makers (whose souls now belongs to them) while valve will retaliate with a number of games that ends with the number "2". --- to be continued. what the f*ck did i just wrote? well at any rate, enjoy!

okay i'll feed the troll one last time out of pure pity and to make a point for the OP;

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I'm a moderator on a PC enthusiast forum. The trolls are the ones who are comparing PCs to consoles, I'll bring that up every single thread I see. It's all fanboy speculation right now. And I'm getting really sick of seeing it on here.

1. i never said that a ps4 will be better in terms of graphics than a $1000 pc. what i said was that a ps4 is better than any $400~500 pc.

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Maybe but that depends on the GPU. You can get a Pentium G860 and a Radeon 7850 for under $500 and that will best any console you can name.

2. i did said however that spending a thousand grand for a gaming pc instead of a $400 ps4 is and never will be equal (is $400 now the same as $1000 in terms of monetary value? has the economy finally collapsed so hard that money literally has no value?)

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Yes that's true. But most people come here to look for what to buy in a PC, not what to look for in buying a console.

3. i never said anything about "console gamers said that amd made the chips for the consoles now and pc and consoles are now equal" bullsh!t you pulled out of a$$ out of sheer desperation out of having nothing better to say against me. as in none, no one did and no one will. i'd rather read the goddamn declaration of independence than do that.

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Whoa, back up! I am not attacking you personally, nor did I pull that "out of my ass". I'm saying the whole console vs. PC debate is a BS debate, always has been, and always will be.

4. am i not arguing over the superiority of the sexy titan and the beastly 7990. we all know its capabilities, we are not morons like you are. but still no, no one asked you to tell us and yes we know you are a moron.

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How am I a moron? I don't buy the console fanboy over hype and speculation. Remember the over hype with AMD Bulldozer and what an absolute fail it turned out to be? I'm done here. And knock off the personal attacks too. If I see it again, you will not like it. Fair warning.

This blew up into something fancy....
Okay then,to moderate,I'm of the opinion PC's are better. I'm also of the opinion a PS will always be better than Xbox. The APU on the PS4 remains that,graphics on a chip. Frankly,I don't trust it. And when EA hypes it,then I'm really scared.This is coming from a PlayStation diehard btw. I'll be getting it when it's slimmer and there's a new God of War just like with the PS2. Because it's a great DVD player, a great place to save music, and fun when the boys are over for fifa.
BUT CAN IT PLAY CRYSIS? DUM DUM DUUUUM

Yes, that's exactly what I've been trying to say. The processor that's on the PS4 is a glorified APU. Nothing more. It's no better than laptop hardware or the hardware that's on an all in one. I'm not buying the over hype from fanboys. Until we see the console in action, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon.

Based on the specifications PS4 graphics is on a level between AMD 8750 (as low as $160) and 8770 (can be found for $215) the CPU part power is still not known as PC analogs are yet to be released, but I will bet that a Pentium G2130 will be better as computational capabilities ($99). You can add a cheaper MB, ram, disk and case (see Tom's guides) and will get a PC that is on par with the PS4 spec for not much over $500. AND you will have a PC of course.
The only unknown factor here is PS4's shared DDR5 memory, but I doubt that the effect will be groundbreaking.
It is expected that AMD will release PC APUs with architecture similar (probably scaled down) to the one used in PS4 and xbox until the end of the year and then you will be able to make even cheaper PC (or get a notebook) with similar characteristics.

duly noted. out of my own good will this will be the last reply i'll give you.

I'm a moderator on a PC enthusiast forum. The trolls are the ones who are comparing PCs to consoles, I'll bring that up every single thread I see. It's all fanboy speculation right now. And I'm getting really sick of seeing it on here.

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1. i was merely answering the OP's question about which is better - "ps4 or equally priced pc" so of course my answer will be what i think is the most logical thing. its called an "opinion". if you don't like it, maybe you should delete this thread altogether right? it not my fault for expressing my opinions right? and i am not obligated to sugar coat my answers with a "$800 pc will be better because of (x) reason."

Maybe but that depends on the GPU. You can get a Pentium G860 and a Radeon 7850 for under $500 and that will best any console you can name.

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2. no, a pentium g860 wont cut it against these new consoles on 1080p (i'm talking about the new games which are now, finally making use of those extra cores). the pentiums are already struggling as it is. the 7850 though is good but game makers will create games that are optimized for the ps4 while the 7850 or any card for that matter (amd and nvidia can only do so much with their drivers) will not have such good fortunes even if amd did create that custom apu - the keyword here is "custom".

Yes that's true. But most people come here to look for what to buy in a PC, not what to look for in buying a console.

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3. yes that may be true for "most" but this particular OP is obviously here to ask about whether or not he should be buying a ps4 vs same priced pc so you can't fault me for answering a question IN YOUR forum no less about the god forsaken "ps4 vs equally priced pc". delete the thread or lock it somewhere no man will see it. i was merely helping him make a choice regardless of what platform are in his choices (in this case the ps4) because he is explicitly asking if he should buy the accursed ps4, bane of mankind.

Whoa, back up! I am not attacking you personally, nor did I pull that "out of my ass". I'm saying the whole console vs. PC debate is a BS debate, always has been, and always will be.

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4. i was rash yes, you may or may not be explicitly implying that i was the one who said that but the fact remains, i never said anything about the whole (i'll sum it all up in one neat equation) "amd+consoles=pc=equality" i never made such statements yet you (which still bewilders me btw) suddenly blurt the statement and i'll quote you on this one

just because AMD is developing the processors on next generation consoles like the PS4 and XBOX One doesn't mean that they're going to be the equivalent of a new PC. Target stores sells pizza and hot dogs. That doesn't make it a restaurant, nor will it ever make them restaurants. AMD developed the graphics chip for the Nintendo Wii, doesn't make it a PC.

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which btw is waaayyy out of the left field but still manages to be the main topic of your rebuttal. why? just why? i am not arguing about "high end pc's and consoles are equal in terms of hardware specs" because they aren't equal not by a long shot. i am arguing about what you'll get out of a ps4 compared to a "$400~500 pc." which is a very specific price bracket which the OP is aiming for and not at all stomping at the ego of your prized i7/titan combo.

How am I a moron? I don't buy the console fanboy over hype and speculation. Remember the over hype with AMD Bulldozer and what an absolute fail it turned out to be? I'm done here. And knock off the personal attacks too. If I see it again, you will not like it. Fair warning.

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5. i was out of the line on this one (particularly the "moron" part) and i'll be the first one to admit it was wrong. i will not let myself resort to that again and just keep it cool next time. but can you do the same for yourself? robbing those people of the answers they seek? here at good o'l toms? you may be a moderator here at the forums but that doesn't always make you right. ego, just let it go. i rest my case.

1. i was merely answering the OP's question about which is better - "ps4 or equally priced pc" so of course my answer will be what i think is the most logical thing. its called an "opinion". if you don't like it, maybe you should delete this thread altogether right? it not my fault for expressing my opinions right? and i am not obligated to sugar coat my answers with a "$800 pc will be better because of (x) reason."

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I will never say a console is better than a PC. There are people that are, and again, quite frankly, I've had enough of the console fanboy over hype.

2. no, a pentium g860 wont cut it against these new consoles on 1080p (i'm talking about the new games which are now, finally making use of those extra cores). the pentiums are already struggling as it is. the 7850 though is good but game makers will create games that are optimized for the ps4 while the 7850 or any card for that matter (amd and nvidia can only do so much with their drivers) will not have such good fortunes even if amd did create that custom apu - the keyword here is "custom".

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I suggest reading this, as it proves my point: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html

3. yes that may be true for "most" but this particular OP is obviously here to ask about whether or not he should be buying a ps4 vs same priced pc so you can't fault me for answering a question IN YOUR forum no less about the god forsaken "ps4 vs equally priced pc". delete the thread or lock it somewhere no man will see it. i was merely helping him make a choice regardless of what platform are in his choices (in this case the ps4) because he is explicitly asking if he should buy the accursed ps4, bane of mankind.

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Bane of mankind? OMG. That's taking things a bit too far here. I'm saying if you want to buy a console, buy a console, if you want to buy a PC, buy a PC, but you should never compare the two.

5. i was out of the line on this one (particularly the "moron" part) and i'll be the first one to admit it was wrong. i will not let myself resort to that again and just keep it cool next time. but can you do the same for yourself? robbing those people of the answers they seek? here at good o'l toms? you may be a moderator here at the forums but that doesn't always make you right. ego, just let it go. i rest my case.

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No and I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. But at the same time I'll keep saying this every time. Until I see a PS4 in action, I won't buy the hype coming from the console fanboys. Same with the XBOX One.

Chill out nokiddingboss
Now,to answer the question of is a $500 PC better,I helped build a AMD 6 core PC with a 650 ti boost 1gb today for 500 or so bucks down to the OS. He got a very decent monitor with that for a total $700.PlayStations don't come with TVs btw.
So,to explain the meaning of custom, I highly doubt AMD have reinvented the wheel here. At the very best it's a low power piledriver/steamroller core.It probably has the best graphics AMD can stack on it,and can run off unified memory. That right there is a red flag. You just can't shrink a HD 7850 onto a little square and expect it to share RAM and still punch out winning numbers. Point 2,AMD aren't doing this for charity,and while they're willing to sort Consoles out for a lower price, they won't do it without a margin or at a loss. So there's no way that APU is beating either current,or immediately upcoming APU's.
And last but not least, optimising means turning down Ultra settings so the console doesn't sweat. Most apparent evidence of this is Battlefield 3 PS vs PC. 4XAA ain't gonna happen on a console,period. I can get ultra on a 7770 ($99) on Most Wanted so I leave it there.
And simply put,you can pretend to be doing homework on a gaming PC by switching to Word. Because you get more than a media centre. Which places a PC somewhere a Console will never reach.
So plug your PS4 to your HDTV and your dual titans to your HD4K 3D monitor (see what i did there?) and enjoy both worlds

So,to explain the meaning of custom, I highly doubt AMD have reinvented the wheel here. At the very best it's a low power piledriver/steamroller core.It probably has the best graphics AMD can stack on it,and can run off unified memory. That right there is a red flag. You just can't shrink a HD 7850 onto a little square and expect it to share RAM and still punch out winning numbers. Point 2,AMD aren't doing this for charity,and while they're willing to sort Consoles out for a lower price, they won't do it without a margin or at a loss. So there's no way that APU is beating either current,or immediately upcoming APU's.

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Yeah that's a good way of putting it. So they slapped a few extra cores on a console processor - when really it's nothing more than a glorified, low cost low power APU, and all of a sudden the fanboys are like "OMG!!! AMD reinvented the wheel!!!".

Take a look at the hundreds of failed consoles that tried to do the same thing AMD's doing - which is push the limits of the hardware available and have to have it meet a certain price point, and really - it can't be done. And when I point out how stupid it is to compare the two, somehow I'm the troll?

Look as others have said, you're going to buy a PC anyway, for say $250 for light gaming and facebook and what not and then the PS4 is $400 and with $650 you can make a moderate PC. Or if you factor in the extra $20 a least you're going to pay for games on the PS4 and say you were going to buy 5 games that would give you $750 which would make a rather good PC...

But the thing is, since he is comparing the ps4 to a GAMING PC I would think he is using the PC mainly for gaming. Also, everyone has at least 1 t.v lieing around unless you don't need a t.v but most do. PC does have a lot to offer then just besides gaming, but say he has, let's say something similar to an iPhone where you can play apps. Picture this for the media side of consoles, while on a loading screen or a lobby in waiting, he can whip out his phone, use the Facebook app or MySpace or whatever and check his status and stuff. But again, if he's into say, video editing or cad or something similar, PC is the bright choice. But judging on his question, he seems to be focused on gaming.

Also, consoles do favor the gamers with a budget.

Necrobump!

Most people are going to have a PC even if they have a console and iPhone. If you read my post, using the money from a very cheap PC, some money that you would pay extra for games and the money he would spend on a console he could make a nice gaming PC.