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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Putting the PC cost argument to rest

flagstaad on 13 July 2014
Jizz_Beard_thePirate said:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL441D9BF9F40D0E5E

Here's a playlist of PCs that range from $350 to $1000+. Now, most of these are already outdated so you can get even better performance for the price if you do a little research on the latest version of these parts... Obviously a $350 PC can't play Crysis at Max settings but the performance is good enough to play most games at medium-high (depending on the game obviously).

I do think people vastly over estimates how much PC gaming costs. Back in the beginning of ps3/360 era, PC gaming costed a fortune thing was indeed the case. A PC that had the equivalent power of a ps3 would have costed you more than $1500 but that is not the case anymore for ps4/x1 third party games... If you want ps4/x1 level performance for third party games, you can certainly build a PC for <$1500 but > $700 that will give u equivalent performance/graphics and the best part is, Steam is Free and you can always upgrade ur PC in the future and really, all you really need to upgrade is the GPU since most PC games are GPU intensive

Something like the following (As an example) would definatly give u a higher performance/graphics than the ps4/x1...

For the first time since 2002 I am considering buying a gaming PC instead of a second console because I am starting see that there are not really a good advantage to the Xbox One or PS4, and I am starting to see many disadvantages (paying for online, higher game price, and others). It looks like the purchase will be done in winter 2015, I really don't care too much about the graphics of a game but I would like them to be good, how much can a PC that is similar in graphics capabilities to a PS4 would cost me right now? how much could it cost me in 1 year? Thanks for your advice.



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plip.plop on 13 July 2014

Just a quick random thought, but isn't the PS4, and Xbox 1 technically PC's, just running on a custom OS.
The only real console left is the WiiU.



Captain_Tom on 13 July 2014
RenCutypoison said:
Captain_Tom said:
RenCutypoison said:
VanceIX said:

And after that, you will never have to truly rebuy a new PC. Things like the HDD, case, fan, etc. can be reused for a relatively long time, or at least until they get too worn out. You won't ever have to spend $1000 again after the initial investment.


Not at once at least

CPU 6 years = 300 $

GPU 5 years = 450 $

Random shit broken for a random reason = 20$/year

Mouse/keyboard 3 years = 100$

Screen 5 years = 120 $

...


I love how you pull these numbers out of your @ss.  My cousin is currently using a 5 year old screen perfectly contently (That is also used for his PS4 so it doesn't just apply to PC's), and he has also been using an old 5 year old gaming laptop as well.  Both work great!  However my brother had to buy a new PS3, and some of my friends have bought multiple 360's.

 

The replacement parts argument goes both ways people.


I don't pull them of my ass, i pull them of what i see. Your cousin story is great, but at some point people have to replace pieces. If you bought a gaming pc 5 years ago, you just can't run watch dogs now. And of course you can keep the same screen for 20 years if you want (Most of jap indies run on pentium 3 in 800*600 after all), but most gamers like new stuff.


A 5870 and core 2 quad runs Watchdogs just fine bud, and that with a core 2 quad would have cost ~$1000 5 years ago.  

EDIT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrw2K47fXLc

Also my cousin's monitor is 1680x1050, and that is quite a bit higher than 800x600 lol!  But I don't get why monitors are being mentioned here. Both consoles and PC's use them so anything you say about one applies to the other.



Intrinsic on 13 July 2014
Captain_Tom said:
To make a PC (With OS) that is as strong as the PS4 would cost $600-$700, but would most likely make much of its money back from game sales and lack of having to pay for online.

However one could build a PC for $300 that while quite a bit weaker than the PS4, would still be a lot stronger than last-gen consoles and could keep up with games for the entirety of this generation.

Then again one could also build a PC for $1200 that is 4x as strong as the PS4!

My point is that PC gaming is whatever you want it to be. If you are poor and can only afford a $300 budget build + $5 games you will be happy as hell! But if you want to blow $2000 on a monster you can of course pay more for more.


P.S. Anyone who says these PC's would need to be replaced in 3 years doesn't understand that upgrading is optional, and a PC that is as strong as a PS4 will be as viable for gaming as long as a PS4 is. However you can upgrade IF YOU WANT TO. This is called FREEDOM!

Which begs the question... is any of it necesary? My current PC rig has two HD7970 GPUs in it, 16GB of Ram, a core i7, 4Tb HDD (storage drive), 256GB (OS and app drive) PCIe SSD  and a cintiq 24" pad. Mostly I use it for work related stuff, my Plex media hub and digital art (hobby of mine) but have probably not played a game on it more than 3 times in the past 12 months. I have a surface pro 3 now and it was a replacement for a macbook pro laptop. And funny thing is, browsing, youtube forums etc I prefer doing all that on my surface pro...even coding (nothing beats writing code on the crapper). Now this surface pro, it sure cost me a small fortune but its packing a core i7 and is basically the top of the line model. I can't even call it a tablet (if it weren't actually a tablet) cause it outperforms most laptops out there.

Now in all my time in college and then all my time as an independent adult so lets say over the past 15 years, I have not met one single other person that actually has a desktop. Everyone I know has a laptop and more and more of them seem to be having a tablet now. Times are changing. And I am sure if you ask a majority of people you or anyone here knows that has never heard of VGcharts, neogaf...etc if they have a desktop; the answer would be a resounding NO. 

I know all the benefits associated with owning a PC (even though I believe that some championed in this thread are purely subjective) I just feel the this notion that tehre are a lot of people that will want to get a desktop is nothing more than an enthusiast myth. Forum fodder so to speak. Which is natural cause there should be more enthusiast gaming hobbyist in or on forums than everyone else. Everyone else is the majority and that majority isn't interested, doesn't care, feel its too complicated, too ignorant or any combination of these factors; to get into PC gaming.

In this thread, you will see countless of suggestions (options) on how best to build a PC and for how many other types of budgets. Deals and sales, combinations or exceptions...etc. This may all sound ok to most of us here, but we all would be foolish if we somehow think that cause we do it or its easy for us its the norm. A majority of consumers, would simply rather just go and buy a console. Walk into a store, walk to that isle that has playstation, nintendo or xbox boldly branded all over it and just pick up a box and walk to the cashier. Done. Do people here realize that a majority of the people worldwide that own a PC doesn't even know what a GPU is or what RAM is for and how it differes from a HDD, not to mention that there are different types of all the afore entioned things.

Selling the idea of a PC to the general public, is like trying to get them to put a turbo charger in their civic, new muflers, a racing wheel, racing suspension..etc. Or even worse, it slike trying to get them not buy a civic at all and just buy a chassis, then buy every other part that makes up the car seperately.



Captain_Tom on 13 July 2014
Intrinsic said:
Captain_Tom said:
To make a PC (With OS) that is as strong as the PS4 would cost $600-$700, but would most likely make much of its money back from game sales and lack of having to pay for online.

However one could build a PC for $300 that while quite a bit weaker than the PS4, would still be a lot stronger than last-gen consoles and could keep up with games for the entirety of this generation.

Then again one could also build a PC for $1200 that is 4x as strong as the PS4!

My point is that PC gaming is whatever you want it to be. If you are poor and can only afford a $300 budget build + $5 games you will be happy as hell! But if you want to blow $2000 on a monster you can of course pay more for more.


P.S. Anyone who says these PC's would need to be replaced in 3 years doesn't understand that upgrading is optional, and a PC that is as strong as a PS4 will be as viable for gaming as long as a PS4 is. However you can upgrade IF YOU WANT TO. This is called FREEDOM!

Which begs the question... is any of it necesary? My current PC rig has two HD7970 GPUs in it, 16GB of Ram, a core i7, 4Tb HDD (storage drive), 256GB (OS and app drive) PCIe SSD  and a cintiq 24" pad. Mostly I use it for work related stuff, my Plex media hub and digital art (hobby of mine) but have probably not played a game on it more than 3 times in the past 12 months. I have a surface pro 3 now and it was a replacement for a macbook pro laptop. And funny thing is, browsing, youtube forums etc I prefer doing all that on my surface pro...even coding (nothing beats writing code on the crapper). Now this surface pro, it sure cost me a small fortune but its packing a core i7 and is basically the top of the line model. I can't even call it a tablet (if it weren't actually a tablet) cause it outperforms most laptops out there.

Now in all my time in college and then all my time as an independent adult so lets say over the past 15 years, I have not met one single other person that actually has a desktop. Everyone I know has a laptop and more and more of them seem to be having a tablet now. Times are changing. And I am sure if you ask a majority of people you or anyone here knows that has never heard of VGcharts, neogaf...etc if they have a desktop; the answer would be a resounding NO. 

I know all the benefits associated with owning a PC (even though I believe that some championed in this thread are purely subjective) I just feel the this notion that tehre are a lot of people that will want to get a desktop is nothing more than an enthusiast myth. Forum fodder so to speak. Which is natural cause there should be more enthusiast gaming hobbyist in or on forums than everyone else. Everyone else is the majority and that majority isn't interested, doesn't care, feel its too complicated, too ignorant or any combination of these factors; to get into PC gaming.

In this thread, you will see countless of suggestions (options) on how best to build a PC and for how many other types of budgets. Deals and sales, combinations or exceptions...etc. This may all sound ok to most of us here, but we all would be foolish if we somehow think that cause we do it or its easy for us its the norm. A majority of consumers, would simply rather just go and buy a console. Walk into a store, walk to that isle that has playstation, nintendo or xbox boldly branded all over it and just pick up a box and walk to the cashier. Done. Do people here realize that a majority of the people worldwide that own a PC doesn't even know what a GPU is or what RAM is for and how it differes from a HDD, not to mention that there are different types of all the afore entioned things.

Selling the idea of a PC to the general public, is like trying to get them to put a turbo charger in their civic, new muflers, a racing wheel, racing suspension..etc. Or even worse, it slike trying to get them not buy a civic at all and just buy a chassis, then buy every other part that makes up the car seperately.


Look idk where you go to college, but I go to an engineering school and almost everyone has one.  Is this most people?  NO!  But I believe around 20-40% of PC's sold each year are still desktops, so there are plenty.  Hell LOOK IT UP!  The number of gaming desktops sold is increasing!



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Intrinsic on 13 July 2014
plip.plop said:
Just a quick random thought, but isn't the PS4, and Xbox 1 technically PC's, just running on a custom OS.
The only real console left is the WiiU.

Nope. wrong. Cause something shares a similar architecture with something else doesn't make it the same. Consoles will always be consoles until the day you can swap out the CPU/GPU/PCU/RAM/SORAGE from the console. Right now the only thing you can change (and only one console fully supports this) is the HDD. 

The whole point oc consoles is to save costs on a global scale in relation to the board of the system. On a PC, you have a board, then connectors for RAM, then the actual memory chips (which in themselves are built in housings and have their own board), then connectors for drives, then the actual drives which again are built as a seperate entity, expansion connectors, the the expansions cards like GPUs, Modems, sound cards, Tv cards...etc. On a console, the aim is to make one board that has native inbuild support for as many components as possible to minimize costs. Couldn't be more different than a PC. Hell laptops are considered PCs yet all you can change in them are HDD and memory.



Intrinsic on 13 July 2014
Captain_Tom said:


Look idk where you go to college, but I go to an engineering school and almost everyone has one.  Is this most people?  NO!  But I believe around 20-40% of PC's sold each year are still desktops, so there are plenty.  Hell LOOK IT UP!  The number of gaming desktops sold is increasing!

You go to engineering school. And you wonder why a lot of people there have PCs? I went to medical school. And NO one had a desktop. Hell most people thought i was weird. Now try going to the law dept, accounting dept, comms departments of whatever college you go to or went to and you will find that again, they will not own a desktop. And no, 20-40% is not only a very very very wide statistic but its very misleading. Cause even if 40% of PCs sold each year are still desktops, you would find that over 80% of that number are either all in ones and bought mostly for business applications. Banks..etc.



Captain_Tom on 13 July 2014
Intrinsic said:
Captain_Tom said:


Look idk where you go to college, but I go to an engineering school and almost everyone has one.  Is this most people?  NO!  But I believe around 20-40% of PC's sold each year are still desktops, so there are plenty.  Hell LOOK IT UP!  The number of gaming desktops sold is increasing!

You go to engineering school. And you wonder why a lot of people there have PCs? I went to medical school. And NO one had a desktop. Hell most people thought i was weird. Now try going to the law dept, accounting dept, comms departments of whatever college you go to or went to and you will find that again, they will not own a desktop. And no, 20-40% is not only a very very very wide statistic but its very misleading. Cause even if 40% of PCs sold each year are still desktops, you would find that over 80% of that number are either all in ones and bought mostly for business applications. Banks..etc.

http://wccftech.com/report-pc-gaming-hardware-market-worth-215-billion-worldwide-2/



VanceIX on 13 July 2014
Cj2i3 said:
VanceIX said:

But I never said it was much cheaper, just that it wasn't as cost-prohibitive as people make it out to be. For me, I can get 30 games a year on PC through Humble Bundle or Steam sales for a total of $150-200. On console, I generally have to pay full price for each game, which is anywhere from $15-60, and I usually buy two or maybe even three games a month, not to mention the $50 I have to pay to play online. What I'm trying to say is that the high hardware cost of PC is offset by the low software cost.

I swear I read somewhere that you said PC gaming will be much cheaper overall after you buy a rig, you may have edited or I may have misinterpreted. I definitely agree with what you say in regards to the hardware, I mean you can pay about 500$ for a PC equivalent to the power of the PS4 or Xbox One  if not better.

Right now I'm contemplating whether to build a PC with about 600$ and perhaps use some of my current PCs hardware such as the RAM  and CPU to get a decent rig or if I should go with a PS4 and a game or two. 

I said per month you will be spending less on games and such with the PC, since there is no online subscription and Steam is a lot cheaper than pretty much any retailer.

But yeah, depends on the CPU you already have. If you have a i5 CPU and 8GB of RAM, you should easily be able to build a gaming PC with $600.



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Xbox One - PS4 - Wii U - PC

Idree on 13 July 2014

I believe intrinsic has a point, and to add insult to injury, i could've done the same and build a beast of a rig as you mentioned but opted for a simple synonology disk station with 3x 2tb harddisks running plex media center :)

I did that, and frankly noone i know has a desktop, except for my mother who runs a 12 year old Windows XP thingy with pentium 4, poor soul.

My disk station is running in The Netherlands, as i can't bring my rig with me.

I just connect to it using a secure VPN connection and have everything i want to my disposable on my laptop ^^

Honestly, look into Synology NAS & their products , its a godsend as i honestly cant be bothered with building rigs like i was years ago.




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