Should I upgrade my PC now?

[bayonet14]

Hello. The PS4 and Xbox One is now out which means my computer is now outdated. I want to upgrade my PC to be on par with the next gen console's specs but it's too expensive, GTX 660 alone costs $230.
I added everything up, except the harddisk and PSU and it all costs around $500!
I know the prices of these hardware will go down and newer, better cheaper ones come out as time comes. Besides, consoles grow old.
So should I wait until prices of hardware goes down? or should I spend money now? (If I do I might as well spend it on a PS4, it's way cheaper).
I love playing games, especially the online experience.

 

[Sakkura]

You can get a GTX 660 for $150. $230 is GTX 760 / Radeon HD 7950 territory.

And your PC does not become outdated just because new consoles are released.

 

[bayonet14]

You can get a GTX 660 for $150. $230 is GTX 760 / Radeon HD 7950 territory.

And your PC does not become outdated just because new consoles are released.

Ok my bad that's $150. I just want a graphics card that can outlast the console.

 

[woodenbox]

Is what the latest gen of consoles better than what you're seeing on your PC? If so, that would be the cheapest route to go right now. Depending on where you currently sit with your PC, upgrading can easily double what it would cost to buy a console. In some cases you may just want to opt to start a new build from scratch for a little future proofing.

In my experience though, that is just the tradeoff with going with PC gaming instead of console gaming. You have the option to stay on the cutting edge with a PC, but it's going to be costly. With consoles, you get to enjoy that experience for a couple of years before the tech starts to lag behind. The benefit that consoles have is their set hardware that doesn't change. Developers can optimize games to run on a particular console and take advantage of every bit of performance they can get out of the hardware. With the way online communities have been integrated into console gaming with the last gen, I don't see any real differences here.

One other note about PC gaming: it also depends on what you are planning to play. In general, if you want to be able to play all of the latest FPS or simulator games it's going to be a lot harder to have a playable experience on a PC than if you're playing RTS or MMO games. You don't really have to worry about whether or not your hardware can handle it on a console, just buy the games you want to play and pop em in.

 

[bayonet14]

My specs is patterned after the Xbox 360. Except for the graphics card which is a Radeon 5670 and the 4GB RAM. I played Battlefield 4 and my PC was hurting. I was beginning to worry for what games may come with heavier system requirements.