a $10 keyboard and mouse (especially wireless) is not comparable to a PS4 or X1 controller. If you're going to get things on the cheap that aren't comparable, you might as well get a cheap graphics card.

The point of the comparison is to make a PC that can rival a console, so that also means it needs to be conveniently operational in a living room like a console is. That means the microphone needs to either be wireless, or connect to your controller of choice.

There are less than legal ways of obatining everything, so that's pointless to bring up. Again, I have to bring up convenience. Right now (and probably for a good while longer), Steam OS and especially Linux now that Steam OS is being pushed by Valve are not viable options because most games don't run on them.

You're right about the peripherals, but the same could be said for consoles in terms of PSUs, graphics cards, and CPUs. Once you buy the console, that's it for at least 5 years. They will be the main focus of 90% of developers, and always optimized for.

I'm not trying to put PC gaming down, because I also game on my PC, I'm just trying to point out the sillyness of trying to price match consoles. And if you're gaming on a PC, you should be trying to outperform consoles (by a lot), not match them. Don't be ashamed to pay more for better performance.

A better test will be on upcoming Next Gen exclusives like Witcher 3. Looking at these 7th gen ports isn't really testing the waters, these games are not optimised for PC or the new systems.

Uh what? If you wan't comparible, buy a console controller.
The keyboard and mouse will *never* be comparible to a console controller. - The Keyboard and Mouse is arguably a more responsive and accurate control method.

There is also nothing wrong with a $10 keyboard and mouse if you're on a budget.
Heck, I've sunk thousands into my PC and after my $100 Saitek Cyborg RAT mouse died after 6 months of use, I instead used a $10 mouse that I got from kmart  and it works fine.

There are parts that you need to sink your cash into and others that don't so you get the best price/performance, but that's just logic. Otherwise everyone would spend $400 on a 1200 watt Power Supply Unit even if their PC only consumes 25 watts.

No it doesn't.
Stop moving the goal posts.
You might need it, not everyone else does, but you would be the exception not the norm in that regard.

You should have read my post regarding WINE and DosBox, Steam already has games that run on Linux.

The difference is, once you have a PC, you can play all past games and future games, one system to rule them all.
Consoles you need multiple consoles of differing generations, lets say you bought 2 generations of consoles, that's at-least $800 right there, just for the basic machine, no games, no accessories.
An $800 PC would play both generations and as you upgrade you can repurpose the hardware or sell it off to recoup costs.
Converesly the price you pay just for online access is enough to pay for a graphics card upgrade every few years, go figure.

That's just opinion.

Everyone is different, some people don't care about performance and some people don't care about graphics. (I.E. Nintendo proved this with the Wii.)
The PC gives you the option of both, cheaper with less graphics or pay for more and get better graphics and choice is never a bad thing.

You're not dictated by a multi-billion dollar company who charges for every single facet of the device and adds on a "games tax" to every game sold, wanna spend more? Go ahead, but you don't have to.
You could spend less than this build and happily play the latest games if you sacrifice graphics.

*See the numbers next to your responses*

And before you say something is my opinion to dismiss it, make sure you're not being a hypocrite by stating your own opinion to make up half your argument.

1) Yes, if you want comparable you'll have to buy a controller. That's what I said in my post, so why are you just repeating me? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and just assume you didn't understand my post.

In regards to a $10 keyboard and mouse being adequate, that's your opinion (see my statement above about your hypocrisy).

Yes, in regards to just building a gaming PC to fit your needs and budget, there are parts that you need to focus on more, but that's not what I'm getting at. A PC comparable to next gen consoles performance wise cannot match their price (especially not the PS4) without making serious concessions to the point where your rig wouldn't even be useable.

2) Yes it does. Moving the goal posts? That's not a preference it's a necessity if you want to have a comparable experience in your living room. And it is the norm. How many people do you know game in their living room on their couch with a mic that can't even reach them? Are they just screaming at the mic or something? Do they have a ridiculously small living room where their tv and Desktop is a foot from their couch, so their wired mic can reach?

3) Yes, Steam has games that run on Linux, but it's a very very very very very small number (307) compared to what can be played on a Windows OS ( 2522 or most games worth playing) and it's even small compared to what can be played with the Mac OS (664) through Steam. I don't even see why you saw fit to try and argue with me on this one. I said most games don't run on Linux (fact), and you did nothing to dispute that.

4) Your logic here is banking on a lot of happy path situations in favor of PC gaming for your statement to even be remotely true. First, you're assuming people arte early adopters of consoles and will pay the launch price, but the majority aren't, so $800 for two generations of consoles is a stretch. An $800 PC from 2005 won't be able to play much of anything in 2013 and beyond, so your notion of playing gamers for two console generations makes no sense. And you bring up upgrading, but you're dismissing that you have to spend money to upgrade even if you sold old parts, so that $800 PC is no longer $800 is it? Mentioning online multiplayer fees is a bit of a stretch when this is about hardware, but you have a valid point here. Though, you can just wait for deals for Xbox Live Gold or PS+.

5) I made two points here, so I'm not sure what you're stating is my opinion exactly. If you're saying that it's my opinion that you should be trying to outperform consoles and not match them, then no shit. I never said it was a fact or mandatory did I?  But trying to price match consoles with a PC build is silly because it's pretty much impossible, which is a fact. Lastly, I don't understand why you brought up sacrificing graphics since the whole point of this thread is about a Digital Foundry article about getting the same performance (this includes graphics) in your PC as next gen consoles.

Considering the performance of the X1 and the fact this R7 260 graphics card is superior to it (similar to PS4 performance), the price differential between console and PC has never been so close (an extra £20 and you can beat PS4 performance). Take into account the cheaper games and free conline play and the price differences between console and PC don't seem so huge.

You're missing the point.
The Keyboard and Mouse is a superior input method in many regards, most PC gamers don't use a controller.
Most PC gamers don't have their PC in the lounge room.
The thread was about a comparible PC in price/performance, it meets that and you're just trying to change the playing field.

However for kicks and giggles... If you wanted a controller this is more than ample, you can then set Steam to boot with Windows and enter big-picture mode.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2BM0YA3575

As for Price, the PC can match and even beat a PS4, you're going to have to make a sacrifice in some area to compliment another.
Even then, over the long term you're going to save money, games are cheaper, you don't have to pay for online, which more than makes up for the more frequent hardware upgrade you may be required to do.

If you're that worried about it, don't get a free standing Microphone, this is more than ample:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1FS0K74271

I'm going to assume you have no idea what I was talking about in my prior point.
So here.
http://appdb.winehq.org/
It allows for almost 21 thousand windows games and programs to be run in Linux.
Linux also has DOSBOX which allows you to run about 5,800 games that ran in Microsoft's DOS/Windows.
You also have other platform emulators for platforms such as Playstation.

Barren of games? Hardly.

Actually, $800 is a conservative number, after you buy a couple extra controllers, pay for online access, buy a few rediculously expensive games... And taking into account the Australian console launch price... They are generally 50% or more compared to that $400 figure for a launch console.

The Xbox Live and PS+ deals are also laughable, using them as a comparison point to PC sales is entertaining to say the least.
Lets take the Mirrors Edge sale on Xbox Live, it's $4.94 on Xbox Live today.
A few years ago, I bought the game from Steam for $1 (It was 90% off), that's almost a 500% price difference.
Steam discounts thousands of games at any one time during sale time, with discounts as large as 90%.
Lets not forget how crazy the humble bundle gets either.

Currently the most heavily discounted game on Xbox Live right now is "Shank 2" at 75%, an arcade game, the rest are only 50-67%, hence why it's laughable.

No it's not fact.
Want to match a PS4 for less?

It's *really really* easy.

Buy a Core 2 Quad machine second hand for $50-$100, overclock that sucker to 3.6ghz, drop in a Radeon 7870 and you're probably looking at $300 for the lot, throw in mantle to make up for the CPU deficiency and you're set for years.
The irony is that the Core 2 Quad was released 6 years ago and overclocked can still handle most games today just fine.

I wholeheartedly agree with you about the X1 compared to the 260 (in the X1's current state), but the PS4 is comparable to a 7850, so an extra £20 over the cost of a 260 to beat the PS4 is not accurate. Also, you need to take into account the PS4's architecture, as it will probably be slightly outperforming a 7850 in a year or two with better optimized games and software. Having locked specs is the reason why you eventually need a more powerful PC setup to match console performance.

The PC gets optimizations too.
There is a massive and I mean massive... Performance delta between when the 7000 series launched and now.
Heck, just the Never Settle driver boosted performance by 15-20% alone.

Mantle will also receive updates over time that will increase performance.

The problem with PC games is that generally they are "Enhanced" versions of the console derivative with more effects and overall better image quality, so they're never a fair comparison point of performance anyway.

In a few years though... I fully expect the 7850 to begin to struggle at 1080P (As that's it's target resolution.)
Overclocking should hold that off for the immediate future.
And by the time it's "useless" there will be substantually more powerfull hardware on the market.
Heck, the 5870 is basically ancient and it can still kick it with some of the latest games.