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Forums - PC Discussion - GameSpot tried to build a Pc which costs around the same as a console.

MoHasanie on 28 December 2014

That was written almost a year ago and a lot has changed since then. For example, the X1 is much cheaper now. 



    

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RenCutypoison on 28 December 2014
MikeRox said:
RenCutypoison said:

Not sure about UK but here i see steam games at 60 euros, and psn at the same prices. I got TLOU:R and Infamous SS for 20 euros each 2 weeks ago, so less than one year old games at 33% price.

There are "less" sales, but there are also less games (mostly bc indies and older games), so it's pretty much the same IMO 


I'm not talking about sales. I'm talking about actual full prices. I try and buy the games I want on or close to release to actually support the developers.


Then it's the same, 60 euros both, some try 70 on psn but well, we all agree that's overpriced i think. Anyway in this case both steam and manufacturer's store are more expensive than retail games for me (in smaller stores, bigger chains = 70 euros = overpriced)



venuse8102 on 28 December 2014
SvennoJ said:
venuse8102 said:
sorry but you can build a gaming pc, that is close to the ps4 in power, for alot cheaper then that, plus why did they add taxes to the price? most online stores dont tax you. hell here is a quick thing i slaped together
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2rPGt6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2rPGt6/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.69 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 500GB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($40.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card ($111.99 @ Newegg)
Case: HEC Vigilance MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-101 Wired Standard Keyboard ($5.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: V7 Full size USB Optical Mouse Wired Optical Mouse ($4.50 @ Mwave)
Total: $456.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 12:06 EST-0500

so about $100 cheaper then there pc with about the same power.

^ So a year later $456 will get you a PC with half the memory of a console that's now $350
Putting you specs together in Canada I get $114 for the CPU, Motherboard out of stock no price, Video card $189 ($159 after rebate) out of stock. Nm.

Anyway, if you just want to play games, you're going through a lot of hassle, spend $100 more, and end up with a system that's not going to be able to keep up as games start taking full advantage of PS4 and XBox One. Sure you can add some memory later, upgrade the gpu, which offsets the cost of live or ps+. With those you get tons of games as well though.

actually it isnt half of the ps4 memory since developers only have acces to about 5 gigs of the memory in the ps4. the os takes up about 3 gigs.  

http://www.dualshockers.com/2014/03/11/naughty-dog-explains-ps4s-cpu-memory-and-more-in-detail-and-how-they-can-make-them-run-really-fast/

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ps3-system-software-memory

you are also forgeting that the gpu has 2 gigs of vram. so it is more like ps4 5 gigs and my build 6 gigs with the 2 gigs of vram



Zkuq on 28 December 2014

Factor in the cost of your normal PC (you probably have one, and you probably are going to have to upgrade it some time in the future) and online gaming, and it could be quite different already. Then there's the fact that your old input devices (mouse and keyboard) are probably good enough so you don't need to get new ones, and your old OS could be good enough (depending on your old PC's age). And finally, the most obvious part: PC games are cheaper, and if you're willing to wait, you can get PC games for almost nothing.

Of course the total price depends quite a bit, but overall, PC actually has a chance of being even significantly cheaper. And in some cases, consoles can naturally be cheaper too.



Mr.Playstation on 28 December 2014
Zkuq said:
Factor in the cost of your normal PC (you probably have one, and you probably are going to have to upgrade it some time in the future) and online gaming, and it could be quite different already. Then there's the fact that your old input devices (mouse and keyboard) are probably good enough so you don't need to get new ones, and your old OS could be good enough (depending on your old PC's age). And finally, the most obvious part: PC games are cheaper, and if you're willing to wait, you can get PC games for almost nothing.

Of course the total price depends quite a bit, but overall, PC actually has a chance of being even significantly cheaper. And in some cases, consoles can naturally be cheaper too.


All that you have just said is redundant to people who have a laptop which probably makes up most of the personal computer sales.



Send a Friend Request On PSN :P

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MikeRox on 28 December 2014
RenCutypoison said:
MikeRox said:

I'm not talking about sales. I'm talking about actual full prices. I try and buy the games I want on or close to release to actually support the developers.


Then it's the same, 60 euros both, some try 70 on psn but well, we all agree that's overpriced i think. Anyway in this case both steam and manufacturer's store are more expensive than retail games for me (in smaller stores, bigger chains = 70 euros = overpriced)


There's no doubt physical is often cheaper than digital. It's something I struggle to get my head around as physical is the preferred format for me.

You usually get PC games for £30-35 on release here while the PS4/XB1 versions are £45-50. That's for physical. Online there's also generally £10 surplus added to console games versus their PC counterpart.

Looking at a couple of upcoming 2015 titles:

Project CARS

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KL32ANQ/ref=s9_aas_bw_g63_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_r=1GJQYMGWZEPRCJPNMEQD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=571429347&pf_rd_i=2574536031

£45 PS4/XB1
£40 Wii U
£30 PC

Batman Arkham Knight

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Batman-Arkham-Knight-Xbox-One/dp/B00IS6S7RQ/ref=zg_bsnr_2785500031_7

£45 PS4/XB1
£26 PC

Witcher 3

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Witcher-Wild-Hunt-PS4/dp/B00BT9DU0I/ref=zg_bsnr_videogames_12

£44 PS4/XB1
£35 PC

Dying Light

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warner-Bros-Interactive-Dying-Light/dp/B00D781HIG/ref=zg_bsnr_videogames_3

£41 PS4/XB1
£25 PC

Battlefield Hardline

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-Battlefield-Hardline-Xbox/dp/B00KMV1T20/ref=zg_bsnr_videogames_15

£44 PS4/XB1
£36 PC

So yeah, over here, game by game, the pricier PC hardware starts to pay for itself.



RIP Dad 25/11/51 - 13/12/13. You will be missed but never forgotten.

Zkuq on 28 December 2014
Mr.Playstation said:
Zkuq said:
Factor in the cost of your normal PC (you probably have one, and you probably are going to have to upgrade it some time in the future) and online gaming, and it could be quite different already. Then there's the fact that your old input devices (mouse and keyboard) are probably good enough so you don't need to get new ones, and your old OS could be good enough (depending on your old PC's age). And finally, the most obvious part: PC games are cheaper, and if you're willing to wait, you can get PC games for almost nothing.

Of course the total price depends quite a bit, but overall, PC actually has a chance of being even significantly cheaper. And in some cases, consoles can naturally be cheaper too.

All that you have just said is redundant to people who have a laptop which probably makes up most of the personal computer sales.

Most is not everyone, and you completely ignored games and online gaming despite saying 'all'.



Mr.Playstation on 28 December 2014

PC ( Steam ):

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare €59,99

Watch Dogs ( 50% off ) €29.99

The Crew ( 20% off ) €39.99

Tomb Raider ( 80% off ) €3.99 ( This is a smashing deal )

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ( 25% off ) € 37.49



Ps4 ( Bought locally second hand ):

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare €30

The Crew €40

Watch Dogs €20

Tomb Raider €20

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor: €30

Console games are even cheaper than Pc games most of the time.



Send a Friend Request On PSN :P

SvennoJ on 28 December 2014
Game_God said:
SvennoJ said:
PenguinZ said:

A good gaming PC has a higher cost initially, but if you look at the long term, then there's certainly a lower cost associated with a gaming PC compared to a console.

Depends if you stick to Steam sales. New games cost about the same (at least where I live). A PC usually needs an upgrade or two during a console's life span, which offsets the cost of live or ps+. Yet those give you a lot of games as well.
You can trade in or sell console games. Can't with PC games.

Then you must live in the only country where PC games cost as much as their console counterparts!

The same game on PC is usually $20 cheaper than on console, furthermore on PC you have the modding community that expands the gaming experience of said games & you don't have to pay to play on-line!!!

At the end of 6 years, what you paid extra for games & internet is about $800, with that money I assure you that you can build a very decent gaming rig!

New games actually cost more. Far Cry 4 on steam here CAD 69.99. Physical in store CAD 67.99

Plus my isp charges me $2 per GB over 80GB a month, makes downloading games not attractive at all. I would have to pay extra for internet for PC gaming. This month I bought about 140GB of physical games, since I'm already down to 15GB left, that would be an extra $250 to download them. (It would be cheaper to upgrade my internet and pay another $180 a year before tax and hope 270GB a month will remain enough, or go for unlimited for $300 extra a year)

So if I switch to PC gaming I would end up paying an extra $1080 or $1800 for internet. That buys a lot of games.
$300 for ps+ for 6 years isn't that bad in comparison, and it's about as much as I can download anyway for digital games.



thatguymarco on 28 December 2014
Mr.Playstation said:
MohammadBadir said:
PCs cost more than consoles but the cheap games make up for the price. That's literally it. Why's this so hard for some people to understand


Second hand console games are also extremely cheap, I don't know why some people think that all new console games can only be bought for $60 when one can easily find them second hand for $40.


I know that this doesn't apply for most people, but one of the reasons I like to buy my games in Steam instead of my 360 is because like to support developers I trust, purchasing a game in Steam guarantees that the money I spend on a game (minus Valve's cut of the prize) will get to the hard working people behind it, buying an used game just helps the retailer. Plus, I trust having my games downloaded in my laptop  way more than having a physical copy of them, a disc can break, get scratches, or you could even lose it for some reason, I've had my fair share of consoles crapping out on me too, hell, even my 360 has started to malfunction, so I've learned to not trust consoles as much as I did when I was little.



I'm now filled with determination.