Console killer pcs still possible in 2022?

[sanderlawrence]

Can we still build console killer pcs for a good/decent price in today's current market? What are your thoughts? Is it worth spending much for a pc if you're just going to play games?

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, sanderlawrence said:

Can we still build console killer pcs for a good/decent price in today's current market?

Don't think so if you're buying new.

2 minutes ago, sanderlawrence said:

Is it worth spending much for a pc if you're just going to play games?

For me it is, I get full control over graphics settings and can run a ton more mods, and I get a good kick out of that.

[TexasBulldog74]

does it really even matter when you can't just go to the store or online and buy a ps5?  

 

I was looking for a PS5 today.  You have to sign up for an invite with Amazon to even get a chance to buy one.  Best Buy, Walmart and Target are all out of stock as well.  Hard to believe this is still the case IMO.  Now I didn't check Xbox as ive never been an xbox fan so they could be available for all i know but PS5's are still not available at least here in SoCal where im from.

[Bismut]

It will be really tough, price-to-performance wise.

And if building a PC is worth it... it honestly depends on what you're doing with the device. If you just want to play three different video games and watch BluRays other than that, a PS or XBOX are the way to go. If you like indie games, modding or doing stuff outside of gaming (or while gaming, like talking to people in TeamSpeak or Discord), the PC is the only all in one option I'm aware of.

[sharknado34]

32 minutes ago, sanderlawrence said:

Can we still build console killer pcs for a good/decent price in today's current market? What are your thoughts? Is it worth spending much for a pc if you're just going to play games?

I own the PS5, xbox series S, xbox series X and PC with an r9 3900x with 32 gb of ram and a rtx 3080 ti.

 

Honestly it's pretty overkill for me to own all of these, but I really wanted to play exclusives that I've never had the chance to play before.

 

I would say Xbox currently has the following going for it:

Game pass

Backwards compatibility

Quick resume

Auto HDR

Fps boost

Xbox play anywhere

 

Ps5 has:

Solid exclusive games

Solid ps4 backwards compatibility

Interesting controller

Some upgrades to random ps4 titles (Not always super clear to the user)

More polished UX/navigation

 

PC has:

Massive catalogue of games (and plenty of pc exclusives that have never hit console)

Endless Customization/support for almost any setup

Plenty of emulators

Endless in game tweaking

Ability to upgrade individual components at a time

No monthly subscription for basic multiplayer access (adds up quickly)

 

Honestly it really comes down to what you want. If you like xbox's or PlayStation's exclusives you will be happy with one of those two. That said most console exclusive games are coming to PC now as it is a massive market.

 

By far my favorite part of Xbox is quick resume. It lets you swap games super easy and is great for a busy person. PlayStation kinda feels like the apple of gaming, very asthetic, but chunks of stuff at a price premium.

 

I would say that PC is probably the cheapest option in the long run though, because there are so many sales all the time and endless sites to buy steam games for dirt cheap. PC can be upgraded pretty easily if you don't like performance. If you get really good at buying and selling components at the right time you can pick up some pretty sweet deals for upgrades too. You also save around $200 ($15 * 12) a year by not paying for a subscription (gotta have Xbox live or ps now to play fps games or sometimes even have cloud saves)

 

[porina]

It depends a lot on how you define "console killer" but if it comes down to perf/$ then chances are, probably not. I tend to look at it a bit differently. Define your performance expectation then try to meet it according to budget. I wanted a 4k60+ high experience on PC, so got a 3070 although a 3080 would be better. Easily beats my PS5 on games that run on both. Then again the GPU alone costs more than the PS5.

 

I guess that's the other part. To me you have to look at games first, hardware 2nd. Most, but not all games are on PC, sometimes later if they're console timed exclusive. I have bought consoles for their exclusives, like well many Pokemon games on Nintendo through the generations.

 

Edit: forgot to say, there's xbox game pass on PC too. Undecided if I'll sub long term but certainly there's some games on there I don't think I'd play enough to buy outright.

[Neroon]

Nothing is gonna beat a consoles price. They are mass produced, and aren't made to make money on. They make the money through games and services.

 

As to whether what's best. I got gaming laptop with a 3070, and a Series X. I bought the Series X because it was just a great bang for buck, and already had gamepass. I bought my laptop because I have a bunch of friends who are pretty much only PC gamers. Price difference is massive, you are easily gonna spend double for a PC, and depending on the peripherals you have, you may need to spend even more. Like I was tired of my old monitor, so I bought a 32:9 gaming monitor. You could do the same with your TV, but you use that for watching TV as well.

 

So do you have friends you play with? What do they use? What else you need a fast PC for?

[thrasher_565]

at $500 ya hands down but at $1000 or w/e they cost not really. a lot of good points thow were brout up.  with x box your only playing the console exclusives if you have a pc. but ps5 and Nintendo you have to buy em if you want to play it.

 

only problem with pc is alot of older games might not run or is a pain to get running and seem value treys hard to make it so they dont run... any game i click on in steam take like 5 mints to load...

[danomicar]

Does the steam deck fit into the console killer category?

[Salv8 (sam)]

kinda?

pc gaming hasn't gotten cheaper unfortunately (my 1070 was about $500 AUD when i got it and now a 3070 is about $700 AUD i mean come on)

but you can still get mini pc's such as the MSI MAG Trident S 5M, the downside is that the integrated GPU's in em really are meant for 1080p gaming, maybe 4K if it's an indie game or 2d game but it depends on the game itself.

 

and thats just the hardware, the software side hasn't gotten better. windows really isn't designed for a console like experience, while os's like steam os are tempting, it's not ready for mass use on non-valve or valve supported hardware.

 

and even if you are ok with that you will never get offical support from streaming services, you can use them via kodi and some unofficial (or offical if you use plex) add-ons. and even then getting them to work properly is hit or miss, some services like disney+ will not allow anything higher then 720P running on linux.

 

and thats ignoring cost...

 

i would honestly wait a couple more years, valve has shown off some interesting controller designs in an IGN japan interview so maybe they're going to revisit the steam machine? i don't know, if you really wait one i would wait until prices go down and build a mini ITX compact system with the specs you want for the games you wanna play.

[sanderlawrence]

21 hours ago, sharknado34 said:

I own the PS5, xbox series S, xbox series X and PC with an r9 3900x with 32 gb of ram and a rtx 3080 ti.

 

Honestly it's pretty overkill for me to own all of these, but I really wanted to play exclusives that I've never had the chance to play before.

 

I would say Xbox currently has the following going for it:

Game pass

Backwards compatibility

Quick resume

Auto HDR

Fps boost

Xbox play anywhere

 

Ps5 has:

Solid exclusive games

Solid ps4 backwards compatibility

Interesting controller

Some upgrades to random ps4 titles (Not always super clear to the user)

More polished UX/navigation

 

PC has:

Massive catalogue of games (and plenty of pc exclusives that have never hit console)

Endless Customization/support for almost any setup

Plenty of emulators

Endless in game tweaking

Ability to upgrade individual components at a time

No monthly subscription for basic multiplayer access (adds up quickly)

 

Honestly it really comes down to what you want. If you like xbox's or PlayStation's exclusives you will be happy with one of those two. That said most console exclusive games are coming to PC now as it is a massive market.

 

By far my favorite part of Xbox is quick resume. It lets you swap games super easy and is great for a busy person. PlayStation kinda feels like the apple of gaming, very asthetic, but chunks of stuff at a price premium.

 

I would say that PC is probably the cheapest option in the long run though, because there are so many sales all the time and endless sites to buy steam games for dirt cheap. PC can be upgraded pretty easily if you don't like performance. If you get really good at buying and selling components at the right time you can pick up some pretty sweet deals for upgrades too. You also save around $200 ($15 * 12) a year by not paying for a subscription (gotta have Xbox live or ps now to play fps games or sometimes even have cloud saves)

 

I agree with the statement that a PC is probably the cheapest option in the long run. Upfront, building a PC is much more expensive than a console. It would probably cost you almost double or triple the price of the console with peripherals included. With the prices of the GPU's falling down due to cryptos crashing and the arrival of RTX 4000 series, I can say that you can build a PC that's not absurdly expensive for like 800-900 dollars. Sure it doesn't beat the consoles in terms of price to performance but personally, I'd rather spend the extra 300 dollars just to get into the PC platform because a PC can do everything. Games are cheap on Steam and Epic regularly gives free games and also PC's have the capability of running emulators. And when you're studying or working, you're gonna need a PC to check e-mails and documents and do work stuff.

[rikitikitavi]

Steam Deck + Steam prices, HumbleBundles, weekly giveaways and such - definitely destroys anything Nintendo.

[Neroon]

20 hours ago, danomicar said:

Does the steam deck fit into the console killer category?

Of course not. I'm sure it looks great on a tiny screen, but running that on a large screen, can't be a very good experience. And the OP is obviously looking to player new games.

[aisle9]

The "console killer" for me was a PC you could buy and rebuild into something more capable in games than a typical console, and cheaper. The current console generation has really moved that bar upwards. GPUs capable of matching that power cost much more than their 2019 ancestors in the same tier. The cheapo Optiplexes and HP Elite office prebuilts that served as the cheap base for a lot of those builds are now either too old to keep up, even maxed out, or a newer model so covered in bizarre angles and proprietary bullshit that, well, good luck retrofitting one.

 

You could still get a console killer if you absolutely wreck someone on Craigslist and walk away with their PC for a fraction of what it should cost, but IMO, the console killer has been killed.

[JoeyButterhands]

Depends, Xbox Series S price vs performance? No

PS5, absolutely.

 

I just finished my first rig in 13 years, i5 12400, 16gb 3200mhz ram, Asus Radeon RX6600 and 4tb of NMVE storage to replace my Series S. I was in the process of getting a Series X and the price difference was so small it made no sense to go X

 

PC total came to 1470 Series X local pricing is 1213. 

Now I have a media server, game player, workstation and random thing doer for only a touch more.

 

It performs better than the Series S, so I am happy as a pig

[Isuck Assimov]

On 8/13/2022 at 7:07 AM, sanderlawrence said:

Can we still build console killer pcs...

YES
 

On 8/13/2022 at 7:07 AM, sanderlawrence said:

...for a good/decent price in today's current market?

NO

[Coaxialgamer]

As long as you're buying used, perhaps.

[wasab]

It will be when the next gen gpu and processor comes out. PC parts upgrade/release yearly while console upgrade every 5 years on their hardware. Even at speed below that of Morse law, progress in pc graphics and processor hardware would match if not leave the console in the dirt after about 2-3 iterations of yearly improvement in terms of price to performance ratio.

[bluesummer]

On 8/12/2022 at 10:26 PM, TexasBulldog74 said:

does it really even matter when you can't just go to the store or online and buy a ps5?  

 

I was looking for a PS5 today.  You have to sign up for an invite with Amazon to even get a chance to buy one.  Best Buy, Walmart and Target are all out of stock as well.  Hard to believe this is still the case IMO.  Now I didn't check Xbox as ive never been an xbox fan so they could be available for all i know but PS5's are still not available at least here in SoCal where im from.

Insane how Sony hasn't caught up with the supply chain, 2 god damn years later, Is there something I'm missing? Now I don't even want one. All the games worth playing are gonna be on PC anyhow, Last of Us, Uncharted, hell Spider-Man just came out on PC. As for Xbox, as much good Microsoft has done with the Series X, it's just not worth it if you have the money for or already own a PC. 

 

They should've done what Valve did with the Steam Deck, you put down a deposit, then wait. What's nice about it is that it makes sure scalpers can't go anywhere selling them. And yes, I know the PS5 is far less specialized of a release compared to the Steam Deck, more consumer centric than enthusiast centric, and I get that. But is it really that much better when 2 years later the consumer they're attempting to sell too still can't get one, and all the scalpers just bot sites and scoop them all up?

 

Honestly I haven't had a poor experience at all with Valve, I don't wanna be a fanboy here but I honestly was happy waiting for mine and waiting for SteamOS to get an actual proper makeover since launch. All the stuff with the worse fans and worse SSDs is complete garbage though, but that's a tale for another day.

[Thaldor]

The old "console killer PC build" is dead today, there's hardly any chance to build a PC that has more power than the current consoles with the same price, especially if we go the exotics of the current console generation (RAID NVMe SSDs, gained boost from hibernating the OS...).

 

But IMO, what there is in current consoles other than the initial price over PC?

 

Only real reasons I can think of are couple game series that are released only on consoles but because the way their monetization has moved, who could care anymore?

 

"Ease of use" was thrown out of the window with XBOX 360 and PS3 when game installation and updates came to consoles with PS4 and Xbox One almost requiring them and bringing the PC experience to the console gaming with limited disk space and everything else. Long are the days you could just come home from school/work after stopping at the local game store, slap the new game in and start playing. Hell, you have more the old console experience with PC today as long as you don't have metered internet and run your rig 24/7 and the game is on Steam, just buy the game with Steam app and put your PC to install and update it while you are still at school/work ("on break, you lazy MF!") and when you get home the game is waiting and ready to play.

With bluetooth being the connection between Xbox One/Series and even PS4/5 controllers setting them up isn't as huge deal with PC as it used to be, at least Xbox controller is the default on PC most of the time. If you can get one, as consoles also controllers seem to be low on stock everywhere (at least PC parts have mostly been just question of slapping more money to the table).

 

Game library. What game library? That almost 1000 games I have on Steam? Ah, I must be meaning that you don't have a game library for the new console because there's no backwards compatibility and most likely if you bought a digital game to your Xbox One or PS4, it most likely won't install on your new Xbox Series or PS5 because "impossible to run because different architecture" (except those that can be upgraded to the new console)...

...

...

Holy shit (excuse my French), I just wrote that out of my bollocks and though "they can't be that evil?", googled a bit and yes, apparently if the game specifically isn't freely upgradeable to the PS5 and you have the PS4 digital version, you ain't playing that shit without paying extra for the PS5 upgrade.

Talk about pain of knowledge. That is some new level diabolical rear drilling. Seriously whoever thinks the PS5 is better than a PC from 2 decades ago must be either stupid or idiot or both. That you have a game that you need to eitherway download from a server but if you haven't paid for the version for the new console you ain't playing it. Fast storage and pretty graphics are tiny positives next to that monstrous "F**K YOU"-sign.

At least Microsoft seems to offer even down to original Xbox free upgrades for the games you already own with Xbox Series X (Series S is digital only).

 

But good luck getting any consoles today. Most likely if you saved the money the console costed you today and added to that every couple weeks a bit more, you probably could afford good gaming PC before you could get the console.

[Sauron]

If you take the MSRP of consoles at face value, no - but good luck finding one at that price.

[DANK_AS_gay]

On 8/16/2022 at 9:51 PM, wasab said:

It will be when the next gen gpu and processor comes out. PC parts upgrade/release yearly while console upgrade every 5 years on their hardware. Even at speed below that of Morse law, progress in pc graphics and processor hardware would match if not leave the console in the dirt after about 2-3 iterations of yearly improvement in terms of price to performance ratio.

Until they release the "Pro" versions 3-4 years after the first set of consoles comes out, and makes the original consoles cheaper. Microsoft knows they are competing with PCs, Sony knows they are competing with Xbox, the prices all drop, except for Nintendo's.

[Imbadatnames]

No, you can get consoles for MSRP now. A decent CPU, MB, case, RAM and PSU will cost you around that now and the GPU to match will cost at least half the console if not more.

[Imbadatnames]

2 hours ago, Sauron said:

If you take the MSRP of consoles at face value, no - but good luck finding one at that price.

You can get them here at MSRP from Amazon or several big box stores. 
 

Xbox Series X https://amzn.eu/d/6LrdTPK

[Sauron]

Just now, Imbadatnames said:

You can get them here at MSRP from Amazon or several big box stores. 

on invite.