Is the PC Master Race real ?

[lmahoney14]

please read whole thing before commenting. Thank you

 

This is going to be a fairly long winded post but i need a little help and advice. I am going to include a little background information and context to help me get my point across with maximum clarity.

 

To begin I will list my current build to give people an idea of what I'm working with and also what I paid for the items at the time. Any Items in BLUE are what I am currently using, Any in YELLOW are what I still use from my original PC, Any Items in GREEN are what I have used and paid for but aren't currently using but I need to include to back up my point:

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DVD Reader: Super Write Master

HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda

RAM: Corsair 8 GB Vengeance LPX DDR4k £60.98

Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel B250M-D2V Socket 1151 mATX £55.00

GPU: Sapphire PCI Express R7 260X 2GB Graphics Card £89.99

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1080 Windforce 8GB OC GDDR5X £439.98

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700k 4.2Ghz £289.99

Case Fans:  3 X Cooler Master Jetflo 120 (120mm) £8.89 (Each)

CPU Cooler: BE QUIET! BK008 Pure Rock Slim Heatsink & Fan £24.91

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine 11 GT Rev.2 £8.86

Case: AvP Hyperion EV33B Black Cube case £21.00

General Cables and adapters: Approx £10

PSU: ACE 850 W 12 cm Power Supply Unit £28.99

 

TOTAL: Approx £1,000.00

 

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The reason I included so many items is because these are things that don't need to be purchased when buying an Xbox One for example. A games console comes fully assembled and is as plug and play as possible. I understand that part of the excitement when it comes to PC's is of course the building of the system which i do personally enjoy myself (most of the time). I will however be counting this as a con as I will be writing this from the point of view of a general user who wants to play games and media with as much ease as possible.

 

Another point I feel needs to be made is of course the price. As shown above I have listed the the parts that I have purchased since receiving my first PC a few years back. Some items I have replaced (again something which doesn't need to be done with a console). As you can see the price is fairly extensive and I myself do not have a great deal of money and a fairly big quantity of what I have goes towards my PC as I do enjoy gaming and do want to have a good system. However an Xbox One X at the time of me writing this is roughly £429.99 which is substantially cheaper than my build and it too can game in 4k. I appreciate that I may not be able to achieve the level of frames on the console and the games may not be as highly detailed but i'm not convinced that it is worth the extra £600.

 

One pro of PC gaming however is the list of titles and the price of the games. I love the fact that almost every game imaginable is available on PC and I enjoy the fact I can use steam for the majority of these games in order to keep them organised. Part of the reason I wanted a gaming PC in the first place is the ability to get cheaper games instantly through game key websites at a discount. I still don't feel that the amount of discount on the games brings me even with the price of an Xbox Yet.

 

There also is a vast amount of vagueness when it comes to PC building as there are so many different parts and manufacturers and compatible parts and incompatible parts that it can become massively confusing to someone who doesn't have a large knowledge of PC building. I consider myself to have a reasonably good knowledge when it comes to building systems but only hours before writing this I was playing Need for Speed Payback on my PC and noticed that the game was lagging drastically. Unsure of what was wrong i tried playing at low settings and with the game lagging still i noticed my CPU was running at 100ºC. I then found out that the CPU cooler I had been using for months was not sufficient enough for my build which in my parts list above is why i have purchased 2 CPU coolers.I am still unsure if this is why the game was running so poorly or if this was down to something such as poor game optimisation I understand that this may seem like this was my fault (which of course it is) It still adds to my point of incompatibility an vagueness when it comes to choosing parts.

 

I have also never once had an issue with my Xbox One since the day I got it around 4 years ago. I have used it almost everyday and never had to replace anything. Current and even last gen consoles also have access to internet browsing, video and audio streaming content and even in some cases apps such as Netflix, Spotify, Twitch and so on so even these can be used for processes other than gaming now. Another point to add would be that I will never need to upgrade anything in my Xbox console as no matter what versions of the Xbox One are released as long as the title is an Xbox One title it will play on my console. It is true that my Xbox Unlike the newer versions cannot play games in 4k but buying a new Xbox every 3 years is still cheaper than upgrading a graphics card every 3 years as well as other parts which may need to be replaced in my PC for whatever reason. Every title is fully optimised for a console as that is the only device the game is designed to be played on. Obviously PC's are built with huge variety's of parts so optimisation can be difficult for game developers and this can lead to games playing poorly on my system. I should also include software and driver updates on to this list also as although consoles and console games do need to be updated they are done almost automatically and only require a single download at one time unlike individual PC parts such as graphics cards which may have to be updated manually when the user is unaware that there is an update even available. There also isn't any third party software when it comes to consoles.

 

Size, shape and design can also be an issue. I recently purchased 3 fans for my PC and the volume they run at is incredible they sound like I am sat directly across from a Jet engine. My Xbox however is silent and operates constantly at a low noise level. The size of a console is also an advantage as it is tiny. My PC isn't considered a big PC but an Xbox One is still minuscule in comparison.

 

I also wanted to add that not once has my Xbox ever crashed, Needed restarting, Lagged, Not booted correctly, Blue screened or indeed overheated.

 

To round this off i do want to say that my intention was never to insult PC gamers as I am technically one myself. And my point when I got my first PC as a Christmas gift a few years back was to prove that high quality gaming and general computing can be done on a budget but unfortunately as the months go on and I spend more my point has dissolved into what is essentially a flat out lie. As i said in the beginning I am hoping for advice. All i want is for someone to convince me that what i am doing is still worth it and I should continue with PC gaming and get rid of my console which is of course what I wanted when i originally got my first PC.

 

Thank you if you made it this far and i didn't completely bore you to death 

 

(please don't be afraid to correct me if i am wrong about something or if you don't agree this is the reason i wrote this)

[Dankk]

It's okay not to play on PC all the points you brought up are from the first-hand experience we should not need to convince you. (just go with whatever you like more)

[lmahoney14]

I know it's fine if i don't want to play on PC but after spending this much money I really need a concrete reason from someone to help me at least believe what i'm doing isn't completely nuts and or wasteful 

[lefudgelover666]

its the law of diminishing returns bud, you pay more for less improvement from the lower tier, this applies to pretty much everything in life, but that isnt really a viable point against PCMR since price is only what you are willing to pay and not a set in stone number that must be had

[Dankk]

Just now, lmahoney14 said:

I know it's fine if i don't want to play on PC but after spending this much money I really need a concrete reason from someone to help me at least believe what i'm doing isn't completely nuts and or wasteful 

Mods, in-game chat, More indie games (some stuff at the top of my head)

[LeapFrogMasterRace]

6 minutes ago, lmahoney14 said:

A games console comes fully assembled and is as plug and play as possible. I understand that part of the excitement when it comes to PC's is of course the building of the system which i do personally enjoy myself (most of the time). I will however be counting this as a con as I will be writing this from the point of view of a general user who wants to play games and media with as much ease as possible.

 

7 minutes ago, lmahoney14 said:

There also is a vast amount of vagueness when it comes to PC building as there are so many different parts and manufacturers and compatible parts and incompatible parts that it can become massively confusing to someone who doesn't have a large knowledge of PC building.

PC Master Race is a HOBBY every complaint you made is a part of every hobby. You want to walk into a store buy a console plug it in and enjoy games that fine but that is all you can do. You want to research, maintain and  upgrade the very thing you waste your life on, get a pc. Heck I even often use an OSD to monitor my temps,clock speeds,Vram,ram gpu power drawl etc because I find it fun and interesting. A console PEASANT does not give a crap about that stuff. If you don't enjoy what comes with being a part of the PCMR stick with consoles and maybe pickup another hobby but in the end you will be putting up with the same complaints on a different toy like an RC car or whatever.

[lmahoney14]

I never thought of indie games and mods so I appreciate that suggestion. Also I don’t think it’s fair to call people with a console peasants as i feel almost every positive I listed help with ease of set up and saving time. And I also feel that all I want is my ‘hobby’ to work as expected and to not have so many issues. It’s surprising how many things have gone wrong with my PC considering how much I’ve spent. I should also add that although there is no such thing as a general price for a PC build my intention was to build something that would rival the latest current gen console until at least the next gen console was released. I hope this made it slightly more clear.

[Dankk]

Just now, lmahoney14 said:

I never thought of indie games and mods so I appreciate that. Also I don’t think it’s fair to call people with a console peasants as i feel almost every positive I listed help with ease of set up and saving time. And I also feel that all I want is my ‘hobby’ to work as expected and to not have so many issues. It’s surprising how many things have gone wrong with my PC considering how much I’ve spent. I should also add that although there is no such thing as a general price for a PC build my intention was to build something that would rival the latest current gen console until at least the next gen console was released. I hope this made it slightly more clear.

You are very welcome (Hobby is something done for pleasure some enjoy tinkering with things to make it work, like old cars)

[lmahoney14]

I also wanted to add that I am not looking for people to tell me what I should be doing with my PC i am more looking for suggestions as to what you enjoy about PC gaming in the hope that it will help me gain some more motivation when it comes to my build

[dizmo]

I think the "PCMasterRace" thing is very stupid, childish, and puts PC gamers in a bad light. Especially when they go off spouting "console peasant" rhetoric like we get from @LeapFrogMasterRace I can only assume it's because they're young, immature, and it makes them feel like they belong to part of a superior group.

 

Your pricing comparison is a little skewed. You have a 1080; you don't need anything near that to get the same performance that you find in a current console.

 

As for multiple parts, yes, there's a huge vast selection and not everything is compatible. However, researching is part of the journey. If you're not willing to do that, IMO you shouldn't be building a PC. There are of course forums like this that can assist you, any computer store will assist you, or there are prebuilts, which can generally still be upgraded with relative ease.

 

Size is again irrelevant. You can build a tiny PC. You can purchase silent fans. You just chose not to.

 

A PC will perform better if you do your due diligence while building it and maintain it properly.

 

A Toyota Corolla will get you from point A to point B with little maintenance.

A Ferrari will get you from point A to point B, but requires more maintenance and a little knowledge.

I know which one I'd rather have.

That said, consoles are a great choice for a large number of situations.

 

Welcome to the forum
Don't forget to quote or tag people when replying to them.

[AshleyAshes]

A lot of the PCMR debates basically boil down to people trying to say that other people are playing video games 'wrong'.  In reality there is only one wrong way to play video games: By not playing video games and instead investing time in arguing on the internet that other people are playing games incorrectly.

[CyberFern0]

26 minutes ago, lmahoney14 said:

I know it's fine if i don't want to play on PC but after spending this much money I really need a concrete reason from someone to help me at least believe what i'm doing isn't completely nuts and or wasteful 

Ok I really don't have any words for this. I've been gaming on a PC since I was 8. I don't really have the words to describe my love for PC gaming. It's kind of like that. However, no matter whatever you play on with a controller, you can never feel the thrill of playing on a PC. You can never marvel at the godly graphics and godly frames. You can never feel the immersiveness. You can never have endless customization options. Finally, you can never build your own machine to game on and never feel the pride that comes with building something and having it work, right after pressing that on button for the first time. Finally, you have insane bragging rights. Consolers can do nothing but look up at you. Suddenly, you are more superior than every consoler in the world.

[Uzume]

I don't seriously think about PCMR stuff, but it can be good for a laugh every now and again.

 

Q) Why did the console peasant cross the road?

 

A) To render the building on the other side.

 

(shamelessly stolen)