Pre-built PC vs buying two consoles; could use advice!

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
D

Dynamic4k

Commendable
Nov 13, 2016
4
0
1,510
I'm going to be getting a pretty nice 4K TV (55 inch KS8000), and wanted to pair it with an awesome entertainment setup. I'm budgeting around $800-900 for that, and was considering whether to get into PC gaming or buy the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S.

Here's the caveats:

-I don't want to build my own PC. I want to get it and be able to plug it in and play games just like I would a console. So anything from digital storm or other PC builders is what I'm looking for.

-I don't particularly care about any console exclusive titles so that's not a factor. I mainly considered getting both consoles for playing different games.

-I want to play Skyrim, Just Cause 3, Battlefield 1, and Crackdown 3 when it comes out. Preferably at the highest settings that can maintain great FPS.

-I do want to watch blu ray 4k movies.

-I'd like to be able to play the latest games on high settings for several years.

I know that with PC you tend to get the best results, but I wanted to know if there was a build setup that could beat consoles in terms of being able to handle the latest games at high settings without having to upgrade for several years, in my budget range.
 
Solution
XistenZ
Pre-made PCs tend to be a bit more expensive than if you'd pick all the components yourself, but many times the difference is negligable.
The price for a PS4 and Xbox One will get you a pretty bad gaming-PC, so if cost is an issue then go for the consoles. I'm highly anti-console and I'd recommend spending about twice the cost on a OK gaming-PC that will outlive both consoles. And make sure it comes with a bluray player and your media and gaming needs will be set for years to come :)

If you're getting a PC, make sure it has a good CPU. You'd only have to upgrade (maybe) RAM and the graphics card in the future, both are extremely easy things to do.
Sort by date Sort by votes
XistenZ

XistenZ

Distinguished
Jan 19, 2014
174
1
18,765
Pre-made PCs tend to be a bit more expensive than if you'd pick all the components yourself, but many times the difference is negligable.
The price for a PS4 and Xbox One will get you a pretty bad gaming-PC, so if cost is an issue then go for the consoles. I'm highly anti-console and I'd recommend spending about twice the cost on a OK gaming-PC that will outlive both consoles. And make sure it comes with a bluray player and your media and gaming needs will be set for years to come :)

If you're getting a PC, make sure it has a good CPU. You'd only have to upgrade (maybe) RAM and the graphics card in the future, both are extremely easy things to do.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
D

Dynamic4k

Commendable
Nov 13, 2016
4
0
1,510
Cost is a bit of an inhibiting factor, but I know that overtime the cost of having two consoles with multiplayer adds up, and games tend to cost more. Do you have a prebuilt PC you'd recommend that would play the latest games in high/max quality for years?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
XistenZ

XistenZ

Distinguished
Jan 19, 2014
174
1
18,765
Go to your favourite computer/hardware onlinestore and check what they have to offer :) I don't know which sites to recommend since every country probably have 100's of their own. I can recommend 'komplett.se' but shipping might be a nightmare...

Stay away from BRANDS, like HP, Lenovo etc. You want a PC that's tailored by the company where you buy it from.

If you can link me to a site you feel comfortable ordering from I can see what I might dig up.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
XistenZ

XistenZ

Distinguished
Jan 19, 2014
174
1
18,765
The "Vanquish 5" from digitalstorm.com. Customize the ultimate version (starting at 1911$).

- Change the CPU to a 6700K (+112$, this is well worth it because it unlocks overclocking).
- Change RAM from 16GB to 8GB (-78$, only if you need to save a few $. 16GB of RAM is kind of a luxury but it's needed for high-end games).
- Change DVD to bluray (+77$)
- Remove the 1TB storage (+65$. Optional, depending on if you need to have old games installed or if you'll store a lot of movies/shows etc. The build comes with a 240GB SSD, so you'll have around 150GB over for storage).
- Change the GPU from a 1080 to a 1060 (-482$. The 1060 is a great card and can easily be upgraded in a few years if the need comes. It's about a million times more powerful than any consoles GPU so imagine the overkill of keeping the 1080...).

Ends up at 1475$. A great price, actually. I'd recommend keeping the 16GB of RAM though, looking at the big picture you're saving nothing :)

This is a very futureproof build. I'm no oracle but I'd estimate that this machine kicks the butt of the upcoming PS6 (yes, 6).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215


Your going to pay 30% more for a pre built vs doing it yourself. If you simply don't want to do it then that's fine, but if your worried then about it, don't worry, it's easy. pc looks better, much cheaper games, many good free games. Unless you buy on day 1 you can typically buy a new game for 30%+ less on pc. A pc will last longer, long term. If you have a decent CPU (i5) & GPU (1060) then you can run everything at 60+fps I would guess for the next 3 years and high / ultra settings before wanting to upgrade the GPU. Even then you would spend maybe 200$ or less 1 time and be set for another 3 years. The technology with pc gaming hardware over the last 2 years has come a long way. Pricing have dropped while performance went way up.

You can easily save 200$ over 3 years from paying less for games which pays for the GPU upgrade. The issue for you is that you don't wanna build it and pre built will cost 30% more. You can build a monster gaming machine well within your limits, so ez. The 800 custom built system that puts a console to shame will cost 1100+ when pre built.

If you have a friend who knows how then pay him 100$ to build your maching. Take a budget of 800$ for parts and pay him 100$ you can get equal to 1100+ prebuilt.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215



He wants to play more than 3 AAA titles and 240gb ssd wont cut it.. Doom and NBA 2k17 were 60+gb each. If he puts some movies, music and 3 games + windows the machine is full. He will most likely download a bunch of steam games from the free games / sales or humbebundles. when gaming on pc it fills up fast. You have to have at least 500gb SSD or a 240gb ssd + 500gb or higher HDD. You can go with 240gb SSD and then add a 40$ 1tb HDD later on it takes about 3 seconds to install it.

I would only remove 1tb or storage because its overpriced at 65$, but not because he won't need it. I can guarantee you that 240$ won't be enough. I have a 240gb + 1tb hdd and constantly have to shuffle games around. It's not a huge deal because I have the other drive so I just move what I will be playing more often to the SSD, but w/o the other drive I would of committed suicide months ago over this.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
XistenZ

XistenZ

Distinguished
Jan 19, 2014
174
1
18,765


That's why I said it's optinal, depending on how he wants to use it. It's very much possible to only play one game at a time, then uninstall it to make room for the next game you want to play (not taking into account the life-span of the SSD). Now I'm not saying that's the normal way people play games but it's POSSIBLE to do it this way if you're concerned about costs (65$ is still 65$).
I was only trying to help putting a pre-built machine together with the users concerns in mind, of which cost was one of them.
I myself have nearly 10TB of storage, i hate to delete anything. For me, storage is cheap and it's a no-brainer to replace the smallest HDD with a biggher one to build up more storage as it's needed. But that's me, you're you and the OP is himself.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
James Mason

James Mason

Titan
Jan 2, 2014
13,553
7
74,965
FYI, you're not gonna play 4k games at their highest settings for less than $2.1k, and that's if you build it yourself. The new upgraded consoles don't even play 4k blurays.
You need SLI'd 1080s for highest settings at 4k.
So you'd be looking for something like this, and you'll have to add on 30% to get someone to build it for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($57.29 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($128.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *ADATA Premier 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($191.25 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($639.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($639.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair Carbide SPEC-M2 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($85.70 @ My Choice Software)
Total: $2271.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-21 11:07 EST-0500
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
XistenZ

XistenZ

Distinguished
Jan 19, 2014
174
1
18,765


Playing games at 4K is not the same as playing video at 4K.
It's not entirely clear if OP wants to game @4k, I assumed that was only true for watching movies. If 4K gaming is a criteria then yeah, the above mentioned SLI-build would be more close to achieving that goal.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
T

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
756
1
11,215


how does it cost 2.1k custom build to play 4k games? a single 1080 can play 4k pretty well. a single 1080 gets 60fps crysis 3 on ultra. doom 75fps ultra 4k, witcher 3 53fps ultra 4k. the only games I've seen that struggles on 100% maxed out 4k settings around 30fps. I guess if you want to run everything at way past 60fps or you are dead set against making any smart tweaks then 2 1080s would be needed. The much higher resolution also gives more room to turn settings down just slightly and greatly increase fps. 4k on medium - ultra custom settings is going to add 50%+ fps and still look absolutely amazing.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
James Mason

James Mason

Titan
Jan 2, 2014
13,553
7
74,965


 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom