My opinion on the proper way to convert console players to PC players..

[UberPCman]

Hey guys I use to be a console player that was the ignorant type that would say things like: "Optimization makes consoles have better graphics, I don't have to upgrade every 3 years to play the latest games, don't have to worry about computer problems", and so forth. Well, I now realize today that I did not know what the hell I was talking about. I use to be a PS3/Xbox360 guy, but my PC friend got me into PC gaming by letting me play games likes BF3, Crysis 3, Witcher 2, and Dark Souls on his PC. Man, I was blown away!! Not only that, he then showed me the graphics settings, and all of them were set to low spec!! Even at low spec, the graphics where stunning and the draw distances in games like Battlefield 3 was amazing versus what my console could do.

So, I just wanted to say why it took me so long to get over my ignorance. You see, I was going to build a PC in the past and asked people on PC forums what hardware would be enough for PC gaming that I selected. Well, many of them would say my selection would lead to only slow frame rates at this setting or this setting, and they said it would need upgrading real soon and that I should buy more expensive parts to get good game play. Everyone was then arguing about this is not correct or that won't be good enough for his build with each other. In the end I had everyone's opinions, but no definitive answers. This is what put me off on wanting to build a gaming PC. I felt it was too much trouble.

But then my PC gamer friend then made me realized something: that these guys did not take into account that I was a console gamer, and console gamers are use to what we call "good graphics" on consoles and not what's on PC's and the majority of PC guys make mistake the of picking under-powered processors for their video cards. Like Core i3's expecting to run HD7970's. LOL. This means that what looks terrible to a PC gamer at low settings in game, will look like next gen epicness to a console gamer like me. He explained to me that the processor should be adequate enough to not bottleneck future video cards that are at least at the HD7870 or GTX670 level for 1920X1080P resolution if I wanted to go up in graphics detail someday, but not have pay out the butt for something like HD7970's or GTX680's as they are overkill. He said the new players in the PC world make the mistake of picking an under performing processor and then they wonder why they get marginal FPS increase when they buy a high end card, which in turn means they have to spend money on a processor upgrade too. This is where the upgrade the PC every so often myth came from because of people buying under powered processors for their builds. Finally, he told me that since I am coming from a console, that the HD7790 is the perfect choice for a budget build that will allow better graphics then consoles and still be playable at low settings, but at 1920X1080P resolution versus the consoles' 720P.

So I did lots of research and asked my PC friend about the processor I picked, and built the following PC:

• ASRock B75M-ITX Motherboard

• Intel Core i5-3350P

• SeaSonic M12II 520 Bronze 520Watt powersupply

• Radeon HD 7790

• Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW060A3K5 2.5" 60GB SATA III SSD for OS

• Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM HDD for storage

• COOLER MASTER Elite 120 ITX Tower Computer Case

• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit

• LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM Model UH12NS29

• Kingston KVR1333D3N9K2/8G 2X4GB DDR3-1333 RAM 8GB total

Input devices

• Logitech G500 Mouse

• Xbox 360 controller from console that I sold

• Microsoft Keyboard 200 6JH-00001 Black USB Wired
• XTRAC PADS Fat Mat Mouse Pad

Display

• My 42" LG HD 1080P TV that was once used for consoles...

So far I've had no problems with my PC and I can even play many games on Medium settings with the HD7790 which kind of surprising. So, I think in the future that the best way to get console guys over to PC is to show them what a PC can do at low settings vs a console. It really helps convince them to switch over I think. Well I am glad I joined the PC gaming crowd finally, and I can't wait to see what games will come next for PC. I especially like Steam!!! Consoles could use something like this service. It is crazy how you can buy many games in bundle for like $10. That is just crazy.

Edited June 3, 2013 by UberPCman

[Humbug]

Yeah; a lot of us (PC enthusiasts) get carried away with all the benchmarks we seen online. You need x CPU and y GPU in order to max out crysis 3 at 1080p. But there are few games which are even close to that demandind and even they can be made to run better by lowering the settings. For somebody starting out on PC gaming with a limited budget the priority should be in building a balanced system which can run games decently, and has a future upgrade path. Not in trying to build a supercomputer.

[xAdam]

Welcome :) good aint it? If you ever get bored.. just add something new and fancy to your PC :P just wait till steam summer sale! its like chrismas come early, every single summer :) games are half the price on PC aswell :D and you can play with whatever input device you want, good little article. Thats mid range rig, and easily upgradable too :)

[Blue Pixel]

Some of the Ultra settings on those more demanding games make very little to no visual difference to the game that is noticeable unless you stand still and try and look for them but those settings also cripple lower end cards. You just have to find the best settings whilst lowering the ones that don't neccesarily make much of a difference. The Metro 2033 depth of field is good example. I literally couldn't tell the difference between the DX11 version and the standard but I got a pretty hefty hit to my FPS if I had the DX11 version enabled.

 

You got it right though. Getting a decent CPU to begin with saves a lot of hassle further down the line.

[Wulfgar]

[Humbug]

Also- that's a solid build but if I was you I would have gone with a cheaper CPU like AMD-fx6300 and gotten a radeon 7850 instead of the 7790 (keeping overall cost the same). It's not a dead-end platform unlike Intel 1155.

[T.Vengeance]

Also- that's a solid build but if I was you I would have gone with a cheaper CPU like AMD-fx6300 and gotten a radeon 7850 instead of the 7790 (keeping overall cost the same). It's not a dead-end platform unlike Intel 1155.

Well to be fair, upgrading from that i5 to something like a 3770k would still be an upgrade and would be almost on par with the current 4770k. So really 1155 while technically is a deadend platform, it really isn't for him.

[Tr33]

why do you want to convert people? some people like console gaming more and always will.

[Legion]

why do you want to convert people? some people like console gaming more and always will.

 

Because people are close minded when it comes to PC games and have never used a real gaming rig in their life.

 

A lot of my friends have been convinced from buying next gen consoles and stopped playing their consoles after seeing what my PC is capable of.Mods,Emulators,"Backwards Compatible",Sales,International Prices,Upgrade Paths

.Honestly have no idea why you are a pc based tech forum when you seem to hate PCs.

[rashdanml]

I started doing that recently, by putting together $300-400 (which is far less than the average console launch price) systems that'll blow away consoles. Hardware has really matured to the point where it's possible, perfectly capable of playing modern games on low-med settings at playable framerates.

 

Usually picking a very good processor to start. AMD's APUs make for a good starting point.

 

Naturally, some console gamers are still adamant. Allowing them to actually try PC games is a good tip. I'll bear that in mind.

[Wats]

Sell the tv, buy a monitor and food. Why use a wired mouse and keyboard if you're going to have a TV introducing input delay?

 

Video card will help warm the food. A lot better than a 360 will. They always rrod before the pizza is done...

[TechTheWorld]

Do we have to wear silver?

[TechTheWorld]

I agree 100% good job mate. I personally came over from console in a way. I had played on consoles at friends but did not have the money to get 1. So then I found out that you could play games on a computer. At that time I had (well my parents) computer with like an athlon phenom 2 @ 2.1ghz or something with onboard graphics...it was a start.

[TassieTim]

welcome to the wonderful world of real gaming style :D

 

and the endless need to upgrade begins,  must have better ...newer ......,faster more pooooooooower ,  ........lol

[KaareKanin]

why do you want to convert people? some people like console gaming more and always will.

^This

 

As a student, i deliberately kept away from PC as a gaming platform... why? because a console doesn't get old until the next generation of consoles comes along. For a mere 300$ I had a gaming system that could play all the games I could manage for well over the 5 years I've had it, and that without the need to upgrade anything. Sure, the graphics doesn't look as shiny as it would on a PC, but who cares? The quality of a game doesn't rely solely on the graphics, and I would know that as long as the game was available for my console, I could play it as it was intended. For a student with very low income, that's just what is needed.

 

There's of course other advantages to PC, like more complex games, better controls (for a lot of the games). Some say the games are cheaper for PCs, which is true to a certain extent (Steam has some killer sales), but for the absolute majority of my console games I never paid more than 30-40% of the retail price (I paid 4$ for Gears of War 2). And then there's the argument that you can use a PC for everything a PC does. But guess what, a lot of people has more use of a laptop than a desktop computer, and getting both seems very wasteful. 

 

So yes, PC as a gaming platform is technically better than a console in all aspects, but consoles are often far better for people in the target market. 

[LDX]

Do we have to wear silver?

 

Do we have to wear silver?

 

that was hilarious

[Tr33]

Because people are close minded when it comes to PC games and have never used a real gaming rig in their life.

 

A lot of my friends have been convinced from buying next gen consoles and stopped playing their consoles after seeing what my PC is capable of.Mods,Emulators,"Backwards Compatible",Sales,International Prices,Upgrade Paths

.Honestly have no idea why you are a pc based tech forum when you seem to hate PCs.

I don't hate PCs. I'm just saying that not everyone likes PC gaming even if it has mods, better graphics, etc. If you can convince someone and they end up liking PC gaming then that's awesome but if they don't want to switch then don't make them.

[Tr33]

^This

 

As a student, i deliberately kept away from PC as a gaming platform... why? because a console doesn't get old until the next generation of consoles comes along. For a mere 300$ I had a gaming system that could play all the games I could manage for well over the 5 years I've had it, and that without the need to upgrade anything. Sure, the graphics doesn't look as shiny as it would on a PC, but who cares? The quality of a game doesn't rely solely on the graphics, and I would know that as long as the game was available for my console, I could play it as it was intended. For a student with very low income, that's just what is needed.

 

There's of course other advantages to PC, like more complex games, better controls (for a lot of the games). Some say the games are cheaper for PCs, which is true to a certain extent (Steam has some killer sales), but for the absolute majority of my console games I never paid more than 30-40% of the retail price (I paid 4$ for Gears of War 2). And then there's the argument that you can use a PC for everything a PC does. But guess what, a lot of people has more use of a laptop than a desktop computer, and getting both seems very wasteful. 

 

So yes, PC as a gaming platform is technically better than a console in all aspects, but consoles are often far better for people in the target market. 

Exactly. Everyone has his/her opinions and I don't care if this is a PC forum. I am both a PC and console gamer so my opinion is not biased towards one or the other at all. What I like about PC is not the graphics but having KB/M for those certain games that benefit from that and having the ability to quit a game and go on the net(yes u can do that on console but with a controller it sucks) Now what I like about console gaming is that action, adventure games are generally for me much more fun to play on console and I think just SP games in general. I don't care about graphics. Gameplay is and always will be the most important think and if you think otherwise you shouldn't call yourself a gamer. Gameplay> Graphics always! Sure bf3 has awesome graphics but I hate the gameplay.(just an example). I think PC is more oriented for MP FPS games, RTS, MMORPGs ,RPGs and console is more oriented for Action,Adventure,Platformer, Racing etc. Take your pick.

[pierrelucsav]

Wait, Dark Souls 2 is out?

[Legion]

Exactly. Everyone has his/her opinions and I don't care if this is a PC forum. I am both a PC and console gamer so my opinion is not biased towards one or the other at all. What I like about PC is not the graphics but having KB/M for those certain games that benefit from that and having the ability to quit a game and go on the net(yes u can do that on console but with a controller it sucks) Now what I like about console gaming is that action, adventure games are generally for me much more fun to play on console and I think just SP games in general. I don't care about graphics. Gameplay is and always will be the most important think and if you think otherwise you shouldn't call yourself a gamer. Gameplay> Graphics always! Sure bf3 has awesome graphics but I hate the gameplay.(just an example). I think PC is more oriented for MP FPS games, RTS, MMORPGs ,RPGs and console is more oriented for Action,Adventure,Platformer, Racing etc. Take your pick.

 

Not really considering I can simply plug in a controller of my choice and have the same if not better experience than a console gamer.

 

Gameplay is greater than graphics, but how many unofficial patches have been released on pc to fix issues in a game long after the dev stopped caring, can't do that with a console. :)

 

To me consoles are simple, they for the most part just work.

 

PC's are open ended options freedom to do what you like.

[rashdanml]

Gameplay > Graphics - on some level, it's true. However, improved visuals enhances the gameplay quite significantly.

[Tr33]

Not really considering I can simply plug in a controller of my choice and have the same if not better experience than a console gamer.

 

Gameplay is greater than graphics, but how many unofficial patches have been released on pc to fix issues in a game long after the dev stopped caring, can't do that with a console. :)

 

To me consoles are simple, they for the most part just work.

 

PC's are open ended options freedom to do what you like.

We all have our opinions and neither of us is completely right I guess. Let's just agree to disagree. Peace

[Tr33]

Gameplay > Graphics - on some level, it's true. However, improved visuals enhances the gameplay quite significantly.

Hmmm not really.

[MeressXIII]

 

I've been looking for that image.

[GABE_CLENDENNING]

Yah I was like that too, but that's in the past now :)