....................................what?

Now, I like my PS3 plenty, you're certainly right about it's amazing exclusives, but...

Nothing has more variety than PC.  Nothing even comes close.  If you don't see that, you're just not looking.  At all.

You can buy a PC for a very low price now. A $105 APU beats the PS3. You don't need an expensive card to last a gen. If I buy a card comparable to the PS4's right now, then it will have the same graphical quality as a PS4 for it's entire life. That it's graphics are on the same level as a ps3's. When will you realize that people buy new gpu's every 2 years because it they like doing it. It is in no way a necesity. The OP has backed up every single claim he has made with sources and you continue to spew out random garbage that you find on youtube. 

Wow! What a misleading thread. Quite a lot of bullshit being spread in this thread and not to mention how some of the information given is completely out of context.

First off whats with the comparison of current gen PC tech with PS3 and XBOX360???? Last i checked, these consoles released 6 - 7 years ago. Back then YOU ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT BUY A 360 "PC" equivalent for anywhere close to the price. Not even close.

Second the so called affordable PC builds ive seen in this thread are hiding significant costs (given that this is mentioned in OP but its still makes posts misleading). You absolutely can't leave out the OS cost, mouse & keyboard cost, cost to assemble the machine!!! Apparently you can buy PC parts and they put themselves together...HA!

Thirdly these are horrible builds. I think i saw a build for ~$450 at the beginning of the thread. Decent gpu, and decent cpu. Everything else is complete shit. How on earth can you condone a new PC buyer to buy a shitty PSU? Thats ridiculous. Please if you are new to PC building DO NOT FOLLOW ANY OF THE SHIT BUILDS YOU HAVE SEEN IN THIS THREAD. Rather create a new thread and you will get decent input on where to cheap out and where you should not. These builds just seem to throw in a low-mid current gpu and then it gets PS4 power level status somehow magically?

And fourthly, saying "X cpu shits all over the PS4 cpu", or "7770 destroys next box gpu and comes close to ps4" means JACK SHIT. Where are the numbers to back up these claims? Even on the most involved forums people dont claim to know these answers. And how the fuck does anyone know what gpu is in the next xbox? And since when did a 7770 start being on par with a custom designed 7870/7850 hybrid gpu (which NO ONE actually knows all the specs of???)?

Next the complete ignoring of the fact that consoles are designed with the primary function of running games. PC's are not. Developers are given lower level access to the hardware which definitely has a real world advantage. Again, I haven't come across anyone who disagrees with this. Everything is optimised for that specific hardware configuration. Look at the benefits you get when you start tweaking some game settings on a PC now take that same concept to extreme levels.

The seems to be a big misconception here, that when you buy a console you buying some sort of cut down gimped PC. Uhm you not. You buying a games console. These two things are not directly comparable. And if you do decide to compare atleast ATTEMPT TO DO IT RIGHT.

Also the comparisons with the WiiU are even more ridiculous. The gamepad is obviously a big cost for Nintendo when it comes to the WiiU and its exclusive to that system. NO PC WILL EVER HAVE IT (maybe in an extreme case ). So how in the hell are you comparing ? How do we know what cost the gamepad takes up?

Also people speaking about the ps4 as if its old tech...its not. Its quite a significant achievement for an APU design. Look at a massive 7870 gpu...being able to take that power and fit it into an apu design is something remarkable in my opinion. If the PS4 releases at ~400 then that will be great. And you will not be able to buy a FULL PC system (with decent components!) that has all its functionality and surpasses it for the same amount. There's just no way. At least not at the release of the PS4.

He has a point depending on what a gmer's tastes are. Since making slight modifications to my PC a couple months ago for gaming, I haven't found much of anything worth getting yet. Looking at my current library of PS3 games (excluding all Ps2, PSP, and Ps1 games), most of what I have isn't available for PC.

OT: PC gaming is not affordable for most people. That's just a fact. Consoles are sold at a loss in the early stages of their lifecycles for a reason. A lot of people need to be able to buy them.

All this talk about current (and even older) high end rigs destroying current and next gen consoles is silly. That's like saying an Enzo Ferrari is better than a 2014 Mazda 6. The performance of the Ferrari makes no different if you don't actually own one. And most people don't own a high end gaming PC.

You sure can build cheap PCs. But a PS3 is available for 199 € and comes with a nice small case and a very good PSU. It doesn't take up much space and runs very quiet. It plays Blu-Ray, even in 3D and all that stuff. You just can't build something that can possibly compare when it comes to price. For a decent PC, you should be ready to invest quite a lot or else you will find yourself with a big monster of a machine that makes a hell lot of noise thanks to Boxed Coolers. The real question should be what gamesyou like. If it's Multiplattform or some excklusives, I say go for a console. If you're more into MMOs, Indie Titles or simulators, there's no way around a PC. There are of course those people who just always need Top of the line graphics, because they get seriously turned off when they see that Lara's hair in Tomb Raider isn't moving 100 % realistic. For those peoplethe PC is also obviously the system of choice. 

I personally prefer consoles and use my PC just for working and Internet stuff. I also changed to Notebooks about five years ago and I'm never going back to Tower PCs. Notebooks are just so much more convenient. And since I'm not playing any games on the PC, I don't care about the lower performance of mobile Hardware. 

Every gaming Plattform is good in its own way. Which one fits you the best is up to you to decide. There is no ultimate Platform that blows everything else away. So just really ask yourself what's important to you. Is it the price? Is it power? What about games? Don't have time to play many games? Go cheap with PS+. There are so many possiblities for gamers nowadays and we should be very happy about that.

I think a bigger challenge would be... build a PC using only components and standards circa 2005 that can run the latest games that are available on X360 like Far Cry 3, Crysis 3, Battlefield 3, etc.

This thread is kinda funny :D
But if you really want to build a low price gaming PC, I'd just do this
APU: 130 USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280
MB: 70 USD not counting the current 10% off promo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157334
PSU: 65 USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
Case: 30 USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353013
RAM@2400MHz(since it's an APU): 70 USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231587
HDD: 80 USD currently on promo with 15 USD off so 65 USD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Pirate Windows 7 Ultimate because you want to be a bastard to MS.

Total cost: 428 USD

The RAM with more bandwidth will surprise people when used on these iGPUs at extra potential -_^b If people are not happy with it, just toss in a 6670 at about 70 bucks more and do crossfire lol.

Lolwut. Putting a PC together is rediculously easy. If you pay for someone to do it for you, you have been ripped off. Any 14 yr old with access to youtube could put a PC together if all he had as a screwdriver.

Shinobi-san said: Wow! What a misleading thread. Quite a lot of bullshit being spread in this thread and not to mention how some of the information given is completely out of context. First off whats with the comparison of current gen PC tech with PS3 and XBOX360???? Last i checked, these consoles released 6 - 7 years ago. Back then YOU ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT BUY A 360 "PC" equivalent for anywhere close to the price. Not even close. Second the so called affordable PC builds ive seen in this thread are hiding significant costs (given that this is mentioned in OP but its still makes posts misleading). You absolutely can't leave out the OS cost, mouse & keyboard cost, cost to assemble the machine!!! Apparently you can buy PC parts and they put themselves together...HA! Thirdly these are horrible builds. I think i saw a build for ~$450 at the beginning of the thread. Decent gpu, and decent cpu. Everything else is complete shit. How on earth can you condone a new PC buyer to buy a shitty PSU? Thats ridiculous. Please if you are new to PC building DO NOT FOLLOW ANY OF THE SHIT BUILDS YOU HAVE SEEN IN THIS THREAD. Rather create a new thread and you will get decent input on where to cheap out and where you should not. These builds just seem to throw in a low-mid current gpu and then it gets PS4 power level status somehow magically? And fourthly, saying "X cpu shits all over the PS4 cpu", or "7770 destroys next box gpu and comes close to ps4" means JACK SHIT. Where are the numbers to back up these claims? Even on the most involved forums people dont claim to know these answers. And how the fuck does anyone know what gpu is in the next xbox? And since when did a 7770 start being on par with a custom designed 7870/7850 hybrid gpu (which NO ONE actually knows all the specs of???)? Next the complete ignoring of the fact that consoles are designed with the primary function of running games. PC's are not. Developers are given lower level access to the hardware which definitely has a real world advantage. Again, I haven't come across anyone who disagrees with this. Everything is optimised for that specific hardware configuration. Look at the benefits you get when you start tweaking some game settings on a PC now take that same concept to extreme levels. The seems to be a big misconception here, that when you buy a console you buying some sort of cut down gimped PC. Uhm you not. You buying a games console. These two things are not directly comparable. And if you do decide to compare atleast ATTEMPT TO DO IT RIGHT. Also the comparisons with the WiiU are even more ridiculous. The gamepad is obviously a big cost for Nintendo when it comes to the WiiU and its exclusive to that system. NO PC WILL EVER HAVE IT (maybe in an extreme case ). So how in the hell are you comparing ? How do we know what cost the gamepad takes up? Also people speaking about the ps4 as if its old tech...its not. Its quite a significant achievement for an APU design. Look at a massive 7870 gpu...being able to take that power and fit it into an apu design is something remarkable in my opinion. If the PS4 releases at ~400 then that will be great. And you will not be able to buy a FULL PC system (with decent components!) that has all its functionality and surpasses it for the same amount. There's just no way. At least not at the release of the PS4.

We aren't saying it's a surprise that PC's can game better than consoles at this point. We are saying it's stupid that some people think they are incredibly overpriced. Also, what cost to build a PC you? I ordered the parts and put them together myself. That sounds pretty free to me. Don't say that you need expertise. People who put them together like doing it, and it doesn't take that long (last one I built took two hours to build and install everything). I can post a build that is $30 more than a wiiu that would beat or match it's performance, and it has a 500gb hard drive. That price includes windows. Optimization only means so much. It helps, but you can build a pc for almost the same price now that matches it's performance. You can get cheap parts that aren't bad by the way. It's also arguable if you should include a mouse and keyboard. The only person that I know that didn't have a usb mouse and keyboard was my Grandpa. If you look at the  prices right now, it is really well priced. In 8 months, there will probably be a very similarly priced components by then. Yes you are correct about the fact that you won't be able to get a PC with that price per performance on release. If you could, then there would be no advantage to getting a console ever. To be clear, I am definitely getting a PS4 because I love those exclusives. 

wow your ignorance is amazing.

Guys in this thread don't seem to realise how niche PC building is. Im well aware of how easy it is to put together a PC...you dont really need anything apart from the manuals. Even without those you could probably fit together parts just based on how they look. Not really the point.

Console gaming goes waaaaay beyond this. Look at the current gen...~75mil PS3's sold, ~76mil 360's sold, ~100mil wii's sold. Thats a massive audience. Id bet a great deal that the majority of those poeple will NEVER build up their own PC. And even if they could they will choose not to. Say what you want but it is time consuming...and people who are not nerds, working in some IT stream or technology inclined will not attempt it. Its a fact. Buying a console on the other hand?

You cant take cost factors out of the situation that suites you, it doesnt work that way. You need to do the comparisons right. What don't you understand about this? I walk into the shop I buy a console i go home i plug it in it works. You need to use the same analogy for the equavalent PC. Otherwise you not really comparing the same thing. ANd even then you still not comparing the same thing...