PC or Next Gen Console? Help Me Decide

[tman2damax11]

The big question for gamers this year, PC or next gen consoles??? I'm split between sticking with PC or dropping $500 on a next gen console. My story with PC gaming started when my Xbox 360 broke and I had a custom built everyday use computer sitting in my office so I just plopped a $150 graphics card in it. I only played COD minecraft and Battlefield on my PC, but most of the hardware is from 2011 and is beginning to become outdated. I'm strongly considering just switching back to console. Here's what I think of the pros and cons of both PC and Consoles.

PC Pros:
Adjustable Graphics - you can get a game to look as beautiful as you want or get the highest frame rate if you want
Precision Mouse - get those head shots with ease
Key Binding - custom controls for your style and liking
Multitasking - have a game running and check your Facebook in the background or look up tutorials and other things

PC Cons:
Lack of Online Players - 10,000 players playing COD on PC instead of 500,000 people playing on Console
Lack of Friends - most of my friends never even heard of PC gaming and they all play on console
Lack of Dev Support - most game developers focus on console gamers because they give them 10x more business and PC gamers are stuck with game braking bugs that the devs fixed for consoles months ago
Hackers - the files that make the game a game are literally right there on your hard dive and with a few modifications you can do anything to turn the tides of war in your favor

Console Pros:
Everybody Has One - who can say they never had gaming console old or new, and there are always 10,000+ people on every game that came out in the last year
Console Exclusives - this one is special to me because the first game I ever remember playing was Halo: CE and I was so mad that I missed out on Halo 4 because I have played every other halo and I couldn't play it because I was stuck with PC, PS3 has exclusives like killzone and god of war, and xbox has a lot of cool arcade exclusives like trials evolution
OS support - the Xbox and ps3's operating system is updated and bugs are always fixed at least every month and I've never seen any lag while using the Xbox or ps3's user interface

Console Cons:
Gets Outdated - the current generation consoles became completely obsolete to PCs about 3 years ago, so Microsoft and Sony need to cram as much power in the next gen consoles for them to have the lasting potential of PCs which can be upgraded at anytime
Pesky Controller - I personally don't hate the joysticks and triggers but the worst is that games don't allow you bind controls to what ever button you want, instead your stuck with sometimes awful presets that don't make any sense
Pay for Online - I never had a problem with paying for Xbox Live, but after the PlayStation Network had all those hacker problems they fixed it and I've heard the PS3's online is just as good at Xbox Live and its free. If Microsoft keeps the play for live I better not see any hackers ever
Screaming 6 Year Old Noobs - if I switch back to console there better be a big red button when it starts up that says DISABLE ALL VOICE CHAT, yes please

That's all I have to say about my thoughts on PC vs Next Gen Consoles. I'm learning towards the next gen consoles because that's where all my friends are going. If you have any input, suggestions, or opinions feel free to post!

 

[Jura99]

Well the only 2 cons with PC gaming is that: a) It is expensive.
b) There are less people PC gaming than console gaming.
But PC will ALWAYS be superior to consoles. Sure it is expensive but it is better. You can always upgrade your PC gear so it is up to date whilst with consoles they're there for 5-10 years which makes their hardware just so low. So if you prefer graphics and have a good budget get a gaming PC but if you don't really care about a little graphic diffrence and you would like to play with your friends sure get a next gen console. BTW. Take in consideration the fact that keyboard and mouse are just superior in control over controllers.

 

[iplikator3333]

Just as a correction, not everyone has a console

 

[tman2damax11]

Just as a correction, not everyone has a console

I'm just saying that because a lot of people I know have one of course not "everyone" has one.

 

[Timstertimster]

The choice is increasingly moot, actually. Sony did a dumb move with PS3 architecture, because it made game porting a royal pain in the noggin due to their awkward chipset architecture.

They have learned their lesson and the PS4 will have An AMD based CPU. I'm not sure about details offhand but in essence, the PS4 is simply a custom built PC, and games likely can be ported with minimal fuss.

So the argument will increasingly be one of user experience. Do you prefer Steam community over PSN? Are all your friends on Live? I expect PS4 modding to become about as easy as on PC.

And xbox is of course nothing more than a custom PC running some derp Windows CE. In fact I'm quite sure PS3 is using Windows custom edition as well, because it says something about it in the system profiler.

Sony wants your living room. Microsoft wants your living room. Apple wants your living room. Comcast wants... You get the point. In the end, all devices are custom built PC's with fancy UIs popped on top for convenience and simplicity.

If you like max flexibility and drool over tesselation, phong shaders, and love modding to your heart's content, PC is the platform of choice. If you're a casual gamer and mostly just wanna relax in front of the TV and not worry about what goes on behind the scenes, I would go PS4, because personally I found PSN gamers to be just a tad more mature overall.

 

[casualcolors]

I expect PS4 modding to become about as easy as on PC.

I'm not sure how you think modding takes place, but lol.

Unless PS4 is going to get SDK's or unless you can rip 30gig blu-ray's to your PC, edit them, and then burn them back (maybe if this was 2000 and a Dreamcast), don't get your hopes up.

 

[Guest]

If you can only choose one, I would would personally go with a console; exclusives for me are worth more than better textures or framerate (although I game on PC at 1080p anyways).

Plus, the fact that all your friends will be on consoles kind of answered your question, especially if you like multiplayer games. This is the same argument when people ask "Xbox or PS?". You go either where your friends will go, or where the exclusives YOU want will go.

I just want to point out though that you're asking this question on a very PC-centric forum, so you can expect answers to sway in a particular direction... (not that it would be a right or wrong direction, mind you )

 

[tman2damax11]

The choice is increasingly moot, actually. Sony did a dumb move with PS3 architecture, because it made game porting a royal pain in the noggin due to their awkward chipset architecture.

They have learned their lesson and the PS4 will have An AMD based CPU. I'm not sure about details offhand but in essence, the PS4 is simply a custom built PC, and games likely can be ported with minimal fuss.

So the argument will increasingly be one of user experience. Do you prefer Steam community over PSN? Are all your friends on Live? I expect PS4 modding to become about as easy as on PC.

And xbox is of course nothing more than a custom PC running some derp Windows CE. In fact I'm quite sure PS3 is using Windows custom edition as well, because it says something about it in the system profiler.

Sony wants your living room. Microsoft wants your living room. Apple wants your living room. Comcast wants... You get the point. In the end, all devices are custom built PC's with fancy UIs popped on top for convenience and simplicity.

If you like max flexibility and drool over tesselation, phong shaders, and love modding to your heart's content, PC is the platform of choice. If you're a casual gamer and mostly just wanna relax in front of the TV and not worry about what goes on behind the scenes, I would go PS4, because personally I found PSN gamers to be just a tad more mature overall.

Consoles aren't for just casual gamers because most of the well know pro gamers are on consoles, and I don't really care about getting the best frame rate and/or graphics because my current pc can't run anything very well

 

[tman2damax11]

If you can only choose one, I would would personally go with a console; exclusives for me are worth more than better textures or framerate (although I game on PC at 1080p anyways).

Plus, the fact that all your friends will be on consoles kind of answered your question, especially if you like multiplayer games. This is the same argument when people ask "Xbox or PS?". You go either where your friends will go, or where the exclusives YOU want will go.

I just want to point out though that you're asking this question on a very PC-centric forum, so you can expect answers to sway in a particular direction... (not that it would be a right or wrong direction, mind you )

Its called toms "hardware" and last time I checked a console is a piece or hardware made or different pieces of hardware just like a pc

 

[Guest]

Fully aware of that, but the fact remains it's a very build-your-own-PC dedicated site...

 

[jaguarskx]

What's a console?


I would say that it depends on what you prefer. Personally I prefer a PC 'cause it can do more than just play games and movies. Since it can basically do anything a console can do, I'd rather simply have a PC which means less hardware just sitting around taking up space. PC games can also be modded by the gaming community which adds more variety, expanded quests, armor, weapons, higher textures. I read something about a high resolution texture pack that was released for Mass Effect 3, so I'll likely check that out when it get a chance.

Anyway, I suppose it comes down to exclusive games that you want to play. Some games are only released for specific "platforms". For example, if you want to play that shinny turd of a game known as SimCity 5, then you need to have a PC because it is not released for consoles.

Anywaste, for someone on the fence I generally recommend a console especially when money is a factor. The one great thing about consoles is that as long as a game is released for it, it should run fine. There have been a few when they do not though. I think I read that Doom 3 did not run very well on the Xbox. But generally speaking where a game is released the same year for the console or 5 years later, they will run on the console (unless it died). PC games on the other hand is totally different. A bad ass PC 5 years ago would give you really awesome performance back then. Now it will probably just be decent / good performance because PC game requirements are always pushing the tech curve. Therefore, you need to upgrade your PC ever so often to keep up with technology.

For me.... I'll stick with the PC.

For you... I don't care... It's your money. Spend it how you like.

 

[tman2damax11]

What's a console?


I would say that it depends on what you prefer. Personally I prefer a PC 'cause it can do more than just play games and movies. Since it can basically do anything a console can do, I'd rather simply have a PC which means less hardware just sitting around taking up space. PC games can also be modded by the gaming community which adds more variety, expanded quests, armor, weapons, higher textures. I read something about a high resolution texture pack that was released for Mass Effect 3, so I'll likely check that out when it get a chance.

Anyway, I suppose it comes down to exclusive games that you want to play. Some games are only released for specific "platforms". For example, if you want to play that shinny turd of a game known as SimCity 5, then you need to have a PC because it is not released for consoles.

Anywaste, for someone on the fence I generally recommend a console especially when money is a factor. The one great thing about consoles is that as long as a game is released for it, it should run fine. There have been a few when they do not though. I think I read that Doom 3 did not run very well on the Xbox. But generally speaking where a game is released the same year for the console or 5 years later, they will run on the console (unless it died). PC games on the other hand is totally different. A bad ass PC 5 years ago would give you really awesome performance back then. Now it will probably just be decent / good performance because PC game requirements are always pushing the tech curve. Therefore, you need to upgrade your PC ever so often to keep up with technology.

For me.... I'll stick with the PC.

For you... I don't care... It's your money. Spend it how you like.

I agree on your console side of the question is just plug and play where pc you have to download and tune to your liking and change the key bindings to your liking

 

[renz496]

just get both . maybe you can make budget pc right now and jump into the next gen console when there are more titles for it.

 

[cats_Paw]

With your post it almost seems as you are trying to make a statement rather than asking for help.
You have named most of the pros and cons aout there (thou a bit incorrectly).

Since you do seem to have a Bias towards consoles, id probably take the console way.
IT dosent matter what people will tell you or what is objectivly "better", what matters is waht you want.

Personally, i wouldent get a conosle for free if i had to after that pay for the games myself (thats how little i enjoy consoles), but you seem to like em more, so... go for it.

 

[1stTB]

im also in the same boat, £1000 on a pc or £500 on a console / £500 on a pc ...

im edging towards a very good gaming pc rig and getting a fairly decent GPU !! but ill wait and see on prices for the nextbox and ps4, and what features they have.

 

[michaelmk86]

I cant help you decide, it is only up to you.

just a side note, the ps4 is not going to be a powerhouse just like xbox 360 was back in 2005.

January 2004 - 22 months before xbox release there wasn't a GPU setup that could even come close to the xbox performance.
November 2005 - xbox released. (still thee is no pc gpu can beat the xbox gpu)

January 2012 - released a single GPU (HD7970GHz) that performs 2 times better than ps4 GPU.
November 2013 - ps4 released. (22 months late and half the performance).

 

[casualcolors]

I agree on your console side of the question is just plug and play where pc you have to download and tune to your liking and change the key bindings to your liking

You say "have to" as though that's not a privilege of PC gaming.

 

[tman2damax11]

I agree on your console side of the question is just plug and play where pc you have to download and tune to your liking and change the key bindings to your liking

You say "have to" as though that's not a privilege of PC gaming.

Of course not every game is like like that but most of the games I've played on PC are automatically on highest setting so I have to tweak them

 

[jesot]

I'm sticking with my HTPC and PC, personally. There's no benefit to a console anymore for me. Exclusives are nice, but that's a tiny percentage of the games that aren't on PC while I have a whole host of games on PC that aren't available on the consoles. Also, the mods available for PC games are a billion times better than the premium DLC on consoles.

I also have the ability to play OLD games and totally legal ROMs using Emulators since I totally own a bunch of Nintendo & Sega cartridges, but the consoles are broken.

If something breaks, I'm not screwed because I can easily fix whatever goes wrong. If I need more storage, that's no big deal, either.

As for cost, I paid ~$600 to put my HTPC together and it runs Bioshock Infinite at 50FPS on high.

 

[casualcolors]

Of course not every game is like like that but most of the games I've played on PC are automatically on highest setting so I have to tweak them

The ability to tweak has always been one of the advantages of PC gaming. It's not as though console games are guaranteed to have the best possible optimization for their hardware. It's just that you have no choice regarding how to improve the experience. On PC, you do. And the results often speak for themselves. Consoles just take the choice to optimize out of your hands and instead you get to hope that the dev team crossed every t and dotted every i. Given how many games on consoles still suffer ludicrous frame drops, input delay (ps3) and screen tearing (360), it's often not the case.

 

[tman2damax11]

Of course not every game is like like that but most of the games I've played on PC are automatically on highest setting so I have to tweak them

The ability to tweak has always been one of the advantages of PC gaming. It's not as though console games are guaranteed to have the best possible optimization for their hardware. It's just that you have no choice regarding how to improve the experience. On PC, you do. And the results often speak for themselves. Consoles just take the choice to optimize out of your hands and instead you get to hope that the dev team crossed every t and dotted every i. Given how many games on consoles still suffer ludicrous frame drops, input delay (ps3) and screen tearing (360), it's often not the case.

I might sound like I'm bragging about consoles and siding with them but I don't care about screen taring and not perfect graphics, also just to let you know your signature info is wrong, pretty sure u mean i5-2500k 3.8 not 4.8GHz, because I have the same processor

 

[jaguarskx]

...also just to let you know your signature info is wrong, pretty sure u mean i5-2500k 3.8 not 4.8GHz, because I have the same processor

The i5-2500k has been known to hit 4.8GHz. All it takes is a bit of luck (getting a good overclocker), some voltage increase, and a really good heatsink.

 

[Stringjam]

KB/M support ends this issue for me. A sub-issue of this is custom control mapping and input control options.

File manipulation is another huge one.

Number of players being lower for PC is not a CON. I would rather play online with 12 PC gamers than a thousand 12-year-olds who just learned how to say "f&*K".

As far as exclusives, that works both ways. I would rather have access to the PC exclusives than console exclusives, which are usually just adventure games that boil down to a series of animated cut-scenes with button-prompts.

Bottom line, PC lets you play your games the way YOU want to play them.

 

[iplikator3333]

Of course not every game is like like that but most of the games I've played on PC are automatically on highest setting so I have to tweak them

The ability to tweak has always been one of the advantages of PC gaming. It's not as though console games are guaranteed to have the best possible optimization for their hardware. It's just that you have no choice regarding how to improve the experience. On PC, you do. And the results often speak for themselves. Consoles just take the choice to optimize out of your hands and instead you get to hope that the dev team crossed every t and dotted every i. Given how many games on consoles still suffer ludicrous frame drops, input delay (ps3) and screen tearing (360), it's often not the case.

I might sound like I'm bragging about consoles and siding with them but I don't care about screen taring and not perfect graphics, also just to let you know your signature info is wrong, pretty sure u mean i5-2500k 3.8 not 4.8GHz, because I have the same processor

Google "overclocking"

 

[thee_prisoner]

Tman it might be helpful if you post your current computer specs. You said that your computer has a i5-2500k and the hardware is from 2011. That really isn't outdated. What video card did you install?

What I'm trying to say is that your current computer is probably fine for awhile and you may just need a video card update in the next year or more.
You may not need to put any money into the computer and just buy the console. With the consoles now using x86 based hardware, many games are and will be ported over to PC so exclusives aren't so exclusive when it comes to PC( except games exclusive to PC), unless you are a console gamer then all titles( in other words, you will have to have multiple consoles, instead of just having a PC) to that console are exclusive.

BTW, I have never owned a console so I can't speak to them. Playing with your friends is a big thing. I wish they would go back to cross platform online gaming but the reality was the console players just couldn't keep up with the PC gamers due to the keyboard/mouse(trackball) being a much more superior input device.

Lack of dev support or hacking, are problems for all platforms. If you look at forums everybody bitches about that.
A major con for consoles- the games cost more and take much longer to come down in price!

My opinion is, your computer is probably fine for gaming(post your stats) and just buy a console because your friends play on consoles. Either that if your friends are planning on getting a new computer soon, have them take that $500 to building a new computer. That will pay most of the cost of a new gaming computer depending on what they want and etc.

Happy gaming, the Prisoner...