PC gaming cannot do what handheld games do. Fit in your pocket. If they ever do, that isn't really much of a PC anymore.

edit: what I mean is it becomes a mobile device, and by that time, handheld games will have moved further into its evolution.

This "if you game on a PC then you have to spend thousands of dollars" thing is just laughable. The idea that no one can be satisfied playing on a PC unless they're running Crysis at ultra-high is a nothing but a preconception by people who don't know what they're talking about. It's as bad as saying all console gamers are 12-year olds playing CoD.

My gaming PC cost me about $300 over what I would spend on a normal PC. It's going to last me several years. I likely won't need to upgrade it but if I do then I'll buy something relatively cheap. Will I be playing on ultra-high? Nope, but I don't care and it will STILL look as good as most games on a console.

Meanwhile, I will have more games on PC at a fraction of the cost of my PS3 library. My Steam backlog is absolutely huge and almost all of them were incredibly cheap.

The thing is, which a lot of people seem unable to understand, is that the cost of PC gaming is highly variable. If you WANT to spend thousands of dollars then you can. However, assuming everyone has to have bleeding edge components is like saying everyone who drives has to spend $80,000 just because you know of a few people who own Mercedes.

www.humblebundle.com

digital distribution ♥

The first gaming PC I ever built was in 2001 and it was used by me in high school. Because I used it work school work and games, I never considered it to be solely a gaming device. Then as I upgraded, I took this system to university. Notice the pattern - the desktop PC I use for work and games. Now I also use it to work from home some days because I find it easier on the eyes to be productive on a 37 inch LCD PC monitor than doing work on my laptop. To me a desktop PC serves as a universal productivity device that happens to be an awesome gaming machine with a quick GPU upgrade. I would still own a desktop regardless since it's SO much faster and cheaper than any laptop. 

Regardless of the above whether you use a PC for school/work + games or not, as others have mentioned to you, the time prior to 2008 was a time of exponential increases in CPU hardware. Since then everything changed. A core i7 920 cost $284 in November 2008 and that CPU overclocks to 3.9-4.0ghz on stock voltage on a $30 Cooler Master 212+ Evo. That CPU @ 4.0ghz will not bottleneck you even if you have a $500 HD7970Ghz/GTX680. Prior to this time, CPU speed increased roughly 2x every 18 months. This stopped after Core i7 920 @ 4.0ghz. Even Core i7-3770K @ $325 today overclocked is not that much faster than an i7 920 @ 4.0ghz. So that means since 2008, there was no reason at all to upgrade your CPU+motherboard+RAM.  My CPU upgrades have been very affordable over the years since I buy bundles at MicroCenter and resell them 2 years later with minimal losses. 

The only cash outlay expected was SSD (if you wanted to benefit from other things you do on the PC like browing the interent with 100 tabs open in Firefox, opening documents/multi-tasking, using Adobe Photoshop, etc.) and a GPU. If all you did was use the PC for games, you don't even need an SSD upgrade if you are that cost conscious. The more games you purchase, the cheaper PC gaming becomes. PC Perspective has a good chart (although I don't agree with $150 x 2 penalty for consoles for accessories as that's optional):

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/Five-Stages-Griefing-Death-Consoles/Appendix-Cost-Consoles-source

Also, you are assigning no value at all to the fact that PC building happens to be a hobby like modding cars, or decorating your house. It's not simple a comparison of $xx on a PS4 vs. $yy on a PC. Some people get a satisfaction out of building their own system, customizing it, choosing parts they want. For them, it's fun. This article explains this aspects well:

http://kotaku.com/5944356/its-time-for-me-to-be-a-pc-gamer-again

Finally as I said, you are not assigning any value to superior graphics on the PC when you pick and choose superior components. If you just want PS4 level of graphics, you can easily build a PC like that in 2013 and it will last a long time.  Here is something you didn't realize, if you don't have a PC, you have to do work on something if you are a professional and for many of us that means either buying a more expensive laptop or trying to find a job where the employer gives us a free laptop. Thus it's also not as simple as looking at it as Console costs $xx and PC costs $yy and thus desktop PC is more expensive (even though it's not true based on price of games along over 8 years).

If you don't need a PC for work and prefer laptops over desktops, I could see how owning a console + laptop + desktop PC could get expensive. The main point I wanted to make is NOT that it's cheaper to own a PC over a console but that your cost difference is exaggerated. If PC gaming is significantly more expensive, than the gaming experience is superior as well. You can't have it both ways. For example, if you wanted the same level of PS3/360 graphics, well HD4850 can still provide you this to this day and it cost $199 in 2008. The same will be true next year as as a $200 HD7950 should easily last 5 years if all you want is similar level of graphics to PS4.

Exactly. A lot of people who own a PC use it for more than gaming. We don't just go out and drop $2000 on a PC for games only. If you just wanted a gaming PC, it can be done for $600. 

Also, to your point about burning out i7-860 from OCing, Intel now offers bullet-proof insurance for cheap: http://gizmodo.com/5877447/intels-cpu-insurance-is-an-overclockers-wet-dream

Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel®

The same can be said for console tech. In the 90s console tech was rapidly evolving and only had 5 year lifecycles. That's why you havcompanies like Nintendo, Sega, Atari, Sony on top of each other over night. Consoles nowadays are virtually future proof, that's why we're having longer 7-10 year console cycles.

I do agree PC gaming CAN be more expensive than consoles on the hardware perspective, obviously, because you got any target of specs to aim for. You don't need a monster PC.

When I first got curious with PC gaming, all I had was an HP tower running a single core Athlon. I went out and got the Orange Box and stuck a GT430 in it. I was able to play on high settings with nice framerates. The card cost me only $60. I cannot account for the computer since it was not intended to game with originally.

When that computer died, I decided to invest a little further. I wanted something that can handle all my school work, plus some more-than-casual-but-not-hardcore PC gaming. My current computer has an i3 @ 3.3Ghz with a GTX550Ti. The computer cost me only $240, and the card cost me $170 (built by Nvidia) and only had to replace the power supply ($70 for Corsair 600 GS). This means the "gaming" part of my computer cost me only $240. If you want to be pushy then fine the total is $480. Less than what I paid for my PS3.

If you game on Steam, then game prices are insanely cheap as long as you buy during the sales. Less than console games.

Result: PC gaming can be cheaper than console gaming.

Of course not, that's why handheld consoles are a separate market from in-home consoles and desktop PC, but I don't think this thread was comparing things like 3DS/Vita to a PC gaming.

If you are going to argue portable consoles, that's an entirely different point. You can't take PS4/Xbox 720 with you on the go either. So this argument makes PS4/Xbox 720 redundant too. Many people play casual games on tablets/smarthones now to pass the time. I also don't think people understand the PC gaming culture. We don't just build PCs, it's the idea behind tinkering and building things and improving them. A lot of PC gamers also happen to be audiophiles and drop $$ on high-end headphones. Some people are happy with $30 headphones. It's also how much are you willing to invest and tinker to enhance your entertainment experience? Consoles is a good "Turn-key" style solution. As a person matures, they might want to take on new exciting challenges and try a hands-on approach of building something with their own hands. It's the whole mind-set behind some desktop PC gamers as well. They might spend $ just to enhance their experience from visuals to music to whatever. It's not just the cost perspective but an outlook on things. PC building becomes just as much of a hobby as gaming. The same person might also modify their car, their house, work on their landscaping in the backyard, etc. As I said, you can build a very cost conscious gaming PC without going overboard and connect it in your living room next to your TV. Not everyone needs to spend $5,000 on 30 inch 5-way Eyefinity to have a desktop gaming PC!

Some people go over the top but it's an entirely different experience than gaming on a console and that's why they pay extra. But even for those who don't own mid-range to high-end gaming rigs, there plenty of awesome indie titles are can be played on the cheapest PC and are a blast, like Limbo, Braid, Super Meatboy, Faster than Light, World of Goo, Botanicula, or games like Starcraft 2 can be enjoyed on laptops too. I don't think we need to make a distinction that it's either consoles or PCs. You can play some games on a PC and some games on consoles and enjoy both. There are plenty of cheap awesome games on the PC too, as well as great Humble bundle deals like the current 6 games going for under $6 posted above.

I also understand unique traits of consoles such as playing 4 player split screen in the same room and that can be a lot of fun too. Although with the online gaming revolution, most people now play over Xbox Live or PSN which to me is a step back to the social interactivity that consoles used to offer in the past.

Of course I know that.  I was just saying this because there are people who literally think that PCs can do anything and everything consoles can do, no exceptions.  That PCs can do everything and more.  Handheld consoles are consoles as well, and the fact still remains that this still counts as a point for Consoles vs PCs.  

This is what you morons don't get:  

1) You don't need to spend that much!  My PC is around $900 and it is crazy overkill.  I will admit that when the consoles came out PC's were incredibly overpriced (That's why I didn't buy one until now).  But they are not anymore.  Oh and by crazy overkill I mean I can run Crysis 2  100% maxed out in 1080p at 80 frames per second.  Plus my couson's PC ($500)  can max out any game in 1080p.

2)  Guess what?  My PC will run every game very well for 5+ years (A standard console generation).  Will they run maxed out?  No, but Low settings in 5 years will look like what ultra does now so I will upgrade when this feels old.   PC gamers don't have to upgrade all the time, they just have the luxury of being able too!

Oh and that build you made is retarded.  The 680 isn't the strongest card out (7970 GHz is), and EVERY smart PC builder knows to not but any CPU higher than the i5.



This post has been moderated ~Barozi