Used consoles are cheap AF. My PS5 cost me £280 when I got it 2 years ago. Even with old used pc parts you can't get remotely close to that power for the price with PC building.

If you want a PC that isn't weaker than a console then the up front cost will be more but there's various benefits like not having to pay to play online which reduce the gap over time. Though if someone is only gonna play single player or local multiplayer stuff then that part doesn't matter for them. Even in that case however the higher cost also gets you a higher quality experience like being able to use mods and having access to a bunch of store fronts instead of just one.

You don't have to spend hundreds a year to maintain a modern PC, not even close. After you've bought the parts or the pre-built you don't have to spend any more on it at all unless you want to or get unlucky and run into hardware issues. Dropping thousands on one is completely optional but can be done if someone wants a really good PC that'll play games much better than current consoles but most people don't do that and have low to mid-range builds instead. If someone wants a high FPS at 4k with the settings turned up then that'll need pricey hardware but if instead someone is content with 1080p 30fps then a fairly cheap rig would do them just fine. Basically you get what you pay for and can customize things to your liking so if you want one that costs around 1k then that would get ya a nice PC.

Just to expand on the bolded part:

Unlike previous generations where consoles and hardware got cheaper over time, now the consoles get more expensive and hardware just barely cheaper over time. At the same time PC hardware had some hefty price hikes in the 2017-2023 timeframe, which raised the prices for a PC equivalent to a console much more expensive.

However, while in 2021-2023 it was pretty expensive to build a PC that was equivalent to a PS5, now with new, cheaper hardware and the price hikes for the PS5, buying a new PC with similar capabilities as a PS5 isn't much more expensive than the console now. I just made the test, and even added a Playstation controller additional to the mouse/keyboard for good measure (though I left out Windows for Linux).

The price tag: 882€ (1031€ with assembly and testing): 

Keep in mind even the weakest Zen 4 CPU and RDNA4 GPU eviscerate what's in a PS5, with a bit more RAM (35GB kit for 105€ bringing the price of the system to 925€) it could easily compete with a PS5 Pro. Please note that I could have gotten about 50€ cheaper if I always took the cheapest option (and entry-level components like an A620 board or old PCIe 2 SSD). Also, with the RAM upgrade this system should easily be playable for the coming years.

The PS5 is 540€ on the same site, so not a huge gap, especially if one factors paid online or the higher game prices on consoles.

At this point who knows.
PC components are more and more expensive with every new generation GPU and CPU.
So who knows.
If price of components stay similar to these today then 1000e PC build will most likely beat PS6, plus no pay to play online and other crap. Not to mention that sales on Steam are usually bigger so you save a lot.
And since all Sony games will come to PC eventually i rly dont see any reason to not buy PC next generation.

Had I bought a pre-built PC, it would have been very close to console levels of convenience, I suspect. I don't have a recent console, but at least on my PS4, updates are way more painful than on PC. I don't like to keep my PS4 in standby mode when I'm not using it, I'd rather turn it off completely. Hence when there's updates, I have to install them manually. On PC, it happens automatically when I turn off the device. Game updates are even worse on consoles, because I have no reason to turn on the device when I'm not playing games, so updates are always something that try their best to hinder me from playing. On PC, it's usually automatic while I do other stuff. I suppose if you use PC only for gaming, it might not be any better though.

Controllers are an interesting point. For the most part, they're not really an issue on PC, but some games don't handle controllers too well, and Steam Input for my DualShock 4 sometimes just stops working, and I have to disconnect and reconnect the controller again. Not a huge deal, but it's definitely something.

Game performance is definitely a valid point. I don't think it's exactly been a huge issue for me personally, but I can see how it could be to some. I usually have a pretty good idea of what to expect, knowing my hardware, but it's probably trickier if you don't have as much experience with PC stuff.

For me personally, consoles are infinitely more inconvenient. Since I use a PC for other stuff as well, I can just start installing games whenever I think I want to play them in the near future, and when I actually get around to it, the game's been downloaded and installed while I do other stuff. Updates usually happen automatically or at least don't get in the way. On consoles, I have to separately turn on the console, install games, monitor downloading updates, and turn off the console once everything's done - like I said, I don't want my consoles in standby mode. Then when I turn on the console to play some games, the console might have an update that I have to find a suitable spot for to install. At least game updates haven't been a common issue for me, but that might have something to do with me usually playing games in a fairly mature state (i.e. way after release). And if I want to look up some guide or something? A huge pain on consoles, Alt + Tab away on PC. The same goes for all sorts of minor inconveniences too, because consoles do what they do, and if you want to deviate from that in any way, there's usually limited opportunities. Mouse and keyboard is also way more convenient for certain genres but hardly an option on consoles. There's inconveniences on PC as well, but for me, they're quite predictable and don't really get in the way. On consoles, I feel like my hands are tied. Most of the time, it's not really an issue, but sometimes it really is.

I get why people think console gaming is more convenient, and I'm not going to say PC gaming would be better for everyone. But for me, PC gaming is definitely way more convenient overall. I definitely get why that might not be the case for everyone though.

That's because of how you use it. It depends for both what you use regularly. As I said earlier, I haven't played Elite Dangerous in a couple years, booting that up now would pretty much require a full re-download, reconfigure the settings and bindings before I can get in again. Yet with the PS5 in standby I don't even notice games getting updated and I have to check manually whether it actually was. 

My laptop is always on, updates still don't happen automatically. Reason is, I turned that off as I was losing my 'work' because of Windows restarting for updates. So now it nags it has to restart for updates, which always takes a long time. 

So yeah it depends on how you use each. If I would only use my gaming laptop for gaming, I wouldn't worry about Windows restarting losing my open stuff. I'm still on Windows 10 btw, support ending soon, on the 14th. Maybe that will mean the annoying updates will stop lol. Another thing you don't have to worry about on console, OS going obsolete... At least not during its lifetime.


The worst I had with controllers on PC is Forza Horizon not being compatible with DS4, not even if the DS4 was just connected for charging. The game simply wouldn't work. And with Elite Dangerous 7 pages of bindings just reset to blank after an update. Most of the things work, but now and then you hit those kind of annoyances. And you often still get the wrong prompts in games, but that's from trying to get a Dualsense to work as an XBox controller.


I like to keep work separated from play. PC is associated with stress to me, consoles with relaxation. And all that background downloading works from my laptop as well. Leave the PS5 in standby, buy something from the PS store on my laptop and set it to download from the store. When I turn on the PS5 at night it's installed and ready to go. (Or starts installing when you turn it on if it wasn't in standby mode)

But yeah, if you don't want to use standby mode, you're just making it harder on yourself. Same how I make updates harder for myself as I don't want Windows auto updating when I don't expect it. And when I buy a physical game I simply stick in the disc when I get home and let it do its thing, no need to turn the tv on. Ready to play later.


"And if I want to look up some guide or something? A huge pain on consoles, Alt + Tab away on PC."

Another double edged sword. I was getting far too comfy on PC to just alt-tab the answer :/ On console I try a little harder and usually figure it out myself instead of getting up from the couch to Google the answer.

Yet indeed, some genres are far better with a mouse and keyboard. I'm very curious how FS2024 is going to be on console. On my laptop I had tons of keyboard shortcuts while using the mouse on the instrument panels, just occasionally using my flight stick for take off, landing or some sight seeing. Most of the time it's configuring the flight computer, auto pilot and ATC management. I'll wait for VR patch anyway, much easier to control dashboards in VR.

And yeah games like The Sims, RTS, BG3 really belong on PC imo. So much better with a mouse and sitting close enough to read all the tiny fonts. We tried BG3 in split-screen on PS5, 5ft from a 65" screen. Next to still hardly being able to read the inventory descriptions, the constant shifting back and forth during battles in split-screen made me motion sick sitting so close to the tv :/ Yet then PoE2 was brilliant in split-screen on the couch. (On the pro anyway, demanding game)

Well, unless you only buy physical games.

Also, to follow up my thread, yeah… PC is sounding very enticing. Getting to play everything that I can on my PS5 and more at similar (if not better) performance, alongside the added benefit of Steam, emulation (for retro games), free online, and simply having a nice PC to work on my studies with, it seems like a no brainer at this point.

The only remaining issue: Portability. The reason I love my MacBook, iPad, Switch 2, and iPhone so much is because I can very easily pick up everything I need, carry it in a bag, and move it elsewhere with an easy set up.

That said: How are gaming laptops? I don’t like the lack of freedom that comes in customizing specs and such, but this would easily be the most affordable option, as I could simply sell my MacBook and PS5 for a very nice $2,000 gaming laptop.