Paddy78 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I came home last night from work and quite fancied playing a new game. As usual, I fired up Steam and looked for something that I like. I stumbled across the new (ish) Hitman Episodes and thought I’d buy it as I’ve been a huge fan of the series since the original… which is now 17 years old! I haven’t upgraded my PC in a while, but it has always been pretty good and I don’t game as much as I used to, so am not always after the latest and greatest hardware. I thought I’d randomly check to make sure my PC was still up to the task, but to my surprise (I shouldn’t have been surprised really) my PC is very close to not even being the minimum specs and the GFX card was well under. I quickly went on Amazon Now to see if I could get a new card delivered that same evening and to my joy, I could get a GeForce 1070 delivered by 8pm… So what’s the dilemma I hear you ask…? I decided not to order the card, even though my wife said I should as she knows how much I enjoy PC gaming. There has been a niggle in my head for a few months about whether I should abandon PC gaming and move to a console. I have had a lot of consoles over the years and always enjoyed playing (Apart from FPS – as I can’t stand (Read use) a joypad for them. However, when you weigh up the cost of a new console, game and XIM4 (Mouse and keyboard adapter) it is only slightly more than a new 3rd tier GFX card. ~£500 vs ~£400. With the console I won’t have to spend any more on hardware to play games until a new console is released. At which point another ~£400 investment will be required. If I continue with my PC, then before too long I will be faced with a full upgrade which will easily be £1000. It seems like a no brainer to me, especially if I can get a mouse and kb setup working… However, will I be massively disappointed with a console vs a PC? Any advice from people that have had the same dilemma would be greatly appreciated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I've gone the other way, and am now back on PC instead of consoles. Instead of the Scorpio I went for a 1080 instead, made more sense to me. I do enjoy console gaming still, but I'm sick of games only ever being 30fps (for the most part) and I want to be able to enjoy them all at 60fps in their glory, as that's what makes more of a difference to gameplay. I can still use my Xbone Elite pad if I want, and now MS are releasing first party (and soon third party) stuff on PC at the exact same time it seems a no-brainer. I'll need to do a full CPU & mobo upgrade next year probably to keep right up to date, but that's just a want rather than a must-have. 4K doesn't interest me, certainly not at 30fps, although the 1080 is more than capable of running at that or higher if I wanted to turn some gfx settings down. Until the next lot of consoles come out that can do 2160/60 with ease, which isn't likely for a long time, I'm staying PC. Interestingly, console FPS gamers on-line consider using M&K to be cheating, and will give you a ton of abuse for it. Personally I don't care as I don't play on-line, but I just found that interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I sacked off PC gaming a while back, the only reason I could think to stick with it was if I was desperate to run Full HD (at the time) at high frame rates, or multiple screens. If you're just teetering around minimum spec and not feeling the power lust for 4K at 120fps, you may as well go console. I soon forgot about frame rates, resolutions, buying and fitting components, a dedicated monitor, it's not like current gen consoles are 32-bit! Can't remember the last time I thought about minimum system requirements, possibly Football Manager, but then that's a number not polygon cruncher. Join the console gang, it's so retro, it might actually be a bit hipster The PS3 was £425 on release in 2007, it's still in production 10 years later. Have a quick look and see what a £425 gaming setup from 2007 has available now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 PC master race here , gaming is simply sub par on consoles , let alone the flexibility of steam and the modding which adds a complete new aspect to gaming , no way would i go back to consoles you will be disappointed Money spent on a PC will be saved over time with games as they are often a lot cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aashenfox Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) I have a serious gaming rig and have owned every major console since the Nintendo Gaming System, the Xbone is the first major console I did not buy since then, but I have a PS4. I only play sports, fighting and arcade driving games on the consoles, everything else that is available on both, is superior on the PC, as well it should be given the cost of investment. As someone who is already used to using a serious control method, using a joypad for all your games from now on will be just too much of a compromise, it would be for me. Grand Theft Auto for instance, is just a different game with a mouse and keyboard for on foot stuff and a joypad for driving, seamlessly switching between. You should have ordered the card. But you should own a PS4 too, pro evo 2017 is MAJESTIC on PS4, seriously. Edited April 20, 2017 by Aashenfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) I prefer separating work/music from gaming so am solidly in the console (xbox) gaming side of things. I did this about 6 years ago. If I had the space, I'd probably use the PC for racing sims but since I don't, the joypad is what I'm stuck with. Like yourself, I can't be bothered updating it every couple of years for very little improvement, sure it might be fractionally prettier but if a game is crap, it's crap Cheers for the heads up on the XIM4, I had no idea we could do that now ! (like others, yeah FPS with M&K is better) I'm keen on racing games with VR but once again that'll feel great with a wheel\seat set up and can't do that now. I feel this thread, like other things in life will be divided by what someone has invested more money and time in, it'll get rationalised that way rather than objectively. Edited April 20, 2017 by RobPhoboS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 PC master race here , gaming is simply sub par on consoles ,... That's like when people say; "oh you must get Blu-ray instead of DVD as it's a million times better". The truth is that there is very little noticeable difference between the two which the majority of the population would even notice (imho). Personally I prefer gaming on my PS4 console but I understand it does have it's limitations when compared to what is available for PC gamer's and what it can do but it suits me very well. I very much doubt you'd be disappointed with a console Paddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 This reminds me, need to flog ,my PS4 not witched her on for about 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gudzy Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I have previously gone through cycles of console gaming and then PC gaming but I've not really done any serious PC gaming for years now. I say, try and have a go with a friends console and see what you think to the controls/ graphics. If you can live with it, console gaming usually works out cheaper. My friends have Xboxes so thats what I play on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobPhoboS Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 This reminds me, need to flog ,my PS4 not witched her on for about 2 years. Upgrade it to Grammar Pro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aashenfox Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 This reminds me, need to flog ,my PS4 not witched her on for about 2 years. Worth keeping just for PES 2017 and Street Fighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I had to laugh, I went through something similar a couple of months back. Before I got married & had kids I used to love gaming, but since I just havent had the spare time to enjoy myself. But a few months back I decided to fire up the old Nintendo Wii for the first time in about 8 years and see what my 3 year old lad would make of it. He loved it. So I then fire up my "state of the art" media PC and realised Windows XP was a bit obsolete now. But, it still played the old games I used to love and the little lad thought it was great fun smashing cars up or racing super bikes around the track. So I thought, like you, id buy a couple of new car games from steam and hey presto, my PC wouldnt even play them. Quick bit of research revealed I had actually built the PC back in 2006 and now it was totally ancient. The graphics card which took up like 3 slots and had 3 power leads going to it which cost me as much as a console back then was now rubbish. So I upgraded the OS to Windows 8.1, bought a GTX 1050Ti for something like £150 and also upgraded the ram to 8gb (£112). That was enough to bring the PC up enough to be able to play all the latest games I wanted without having to go the whole hog and start looking at motherboards/cpu`s/ssd drives etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 This reminds me, need to flog ,my PS4 not witched her on for about 2 years. Upgrade it to Grammar Pro. y U NOT NOW HOW TO translate? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 PC master race here , gaming is simply sub par on consoles ,... The truth is that there is very little noticeable difference between the two which the majority of the population would even notice (imho). Maybe you cant see a difference between 30 and 60fps but most people can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 Thanks for the responses guys. With each post my mind has swung one way or the other. Interestingly, console FPS gamers on-line consider using M&K to be cheating, and will give you a ton of abuse for it. Personally I don't care as I don't play on-line, but I just found that interesting. That is interesting! Is there any way to tell what input device people are using? The immaturity online with the PC can sometimes be pretty bad, but I imagine consoles can be even worse... PC master race here , gaming is simply sub par on consoles , let alone the flexibility of steam and the modding which adds a complete new aspect to gaming , no way would i go back to consoles you will be disappointed Money spent on a PC will be saved over time with games as they are often a lot cheaper I would really miss Steam tbh, but I'm not sure your man maths is correct. Most new PC games are £40 now, Not sure when that happened as for years you could get new games for £25. Even if console games are £60, I doubt I'd save more than £100 a year on games as I don't play that often. As someone who is already used to using a serious control method, using a joypad for all your games from now on will be just too much of a compromise, it would be for me. Grand Theft Auto for instance, is just a different game with a mouse and keyboard for on foot stuff and a joypad for driving, seamlessly switching between. This has always been my major concern. I have a PS3 and played many, many hours of GTA5, but I have never gotten to grips with the shooting controls. They just aren't as good imho as an m & k. The only reason I even considered a switch to a console was because of the XIM4 which will apparently let you use and configure controls for use with an m & k. Cheers for the heads up on the XIM4, I had no idea we could do that now ! I don't know anyone that has used one, but they seem to get decent reviews. As above, I would not have considered a complete move to console without being able to use a mouse and keyboard. I'm too old to learn to be good with a controller. That's like when people say; "oh you must get Blu-ray instead of DVD as it's a million times better". The truth is that there is very little noticeable difference between the two which the majority of the population would even notice (imho). Personally I prefer gaming on my PS4 console but I understand it does have it's limitations when compared to what is available for PC gamer's and what it can do but it suits me very well. I very much doubt you'd be disappointed with a console Paddy. I am one of those people. I don't even like watching Blu-rays now some things come in UHD, so DVD quality makes me want to be sick in my mouth! With the right setup (And source), there is a night and day difference between them. However, with my PC being fairly dated, a PS4 would look pretty favourable graphically compared to my PC. I say, try and have a go with a friends console and see what you think to the controls/ graphics. If you can live with it, console gaming usually works out cheaper. My best mate has a PS4, we have a PS4 and XBone at work and I have a PS3. Graphics and controls for most games would not be an issue for me. The problem comes with FPS or 3PS where I absolutely hate the controls if not with mouse and keyboard. I had to laugh, I went through something similar a couple of months back. Before I got married & had kids I used to love gaming, but since I just havent had the spare time to enjoy myself. But a few months back I decided to fire up the old Nintendo Wii for the first time in about 8 years and see what my 3 year old lad would make of it. He loved it. So I then fire up my "state of the art" media PC and realised Windows XP was a bit obsolete now. But, it still played the old games I used to love and the little lad thought it was great fun smashing cars up or racing super bikes around the track. So I thought, like you, id buy a couple of new car games from steam and hey presto, my PC wouldnt even play them. Quick bit of research revealed I had actually built the PC back in 2006 and now it was totally ancient. The graphics card which took up like 3 slots and had 3 power leads going to it which cost me as much as a console back then was now rubbish. So I upgraded the OS to Windows 8.1, bought a GTX 1050Ti for something like £150 and also upgraded the ram to 8gb (£112). That was enough to bring the PC up enough to be able to play all the latest games I wanted without having to go the whole hog and start looking at motherboards/cpu`s/ssd drives etc. I think I'll have a look on eBay this afternoon to see if there are any bargain GFX cards to tide me over. The PC may get a stay of execution, at least until the next component becomes obsolete! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 That is interesting! Is there any way to tell what input device people are using? The immaturity online with the PC can sometimes be pretty bad, but I imagine consoles can be even worse... Oh don't you worry, they'll let you know... Tbh it's quite easy to tell, just the way a M&K can aim so much quicker gives it away. If it's a gfx card you're after, I've a GTX 980 sat here doing zilch. Needs to go, make me an offer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 PC master race here , gaming is simply sub par on consoles ,... The truth is that there is very little noticeable difference between the two which the majority of the population would even notice (imho). Maybe you cant see a difference between 30 and 60fps but most people can Yes I can obviously but frame rate also depends on your equipment (TV, leads etc) and I stand by that the majority of the population won't notice much difference between the same film on a DVD compared to a Bluray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 If you're talking about the difference between SD and HD, it's massive and a DVD at 480 is quite clearly inferior to a BD at 1080. The same can be said for 30fps vs 60fps, it's night and day. There is definitely a place for consoles, as the lower entry price and easier setup is such a boon. Plus you have stuff like the exclusives on the PS4 like Horizon Zero Dawn and the forthcoming TLOU2 which you'll never get elsewhere, and the online side is a more convenient place to manage things from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Yes I can obviously but frame rate also depends on your equipment (TV, leads etc) and I stand by that the majority of the population won't notice much difference between the same film on a DVD compared to a Bluray. I'm not that bothered about the majority of the population but anyone into games would notice the difference, on youtube there are comparison videos for most games, in most games its very noticable just on graphics when it comes to playing it can be night and day. Of course if you are playing Sonic the Hedgehog it wont matter just like if you are watching Gone with the Wind on DVD V Bluray, very different story to something like Forza Horizon or watching a Marvel superhero movie on Bluray or DVD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I used to be an avid gamer PC/Consoles and not really played anything for the past 6-10 years, just occasional on my sons PS or Xbox. Now however I am getting very tempted to get a new "something' to play games on. My thought process is a PC is always gong to be more expensive as you will inevitably end up upgrading bits, so when I do get something it will be a console. Just need to decide PS vs Xbox. TBH I am leaning more towards PS, but we will see. I think it also depend on the type of games you like playing as to which way to venture 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 So, the deed is done... New graphics card and 8GB more ram ordered. I love my PC too much to get rid. Considering the last time I ordered anything for my PC was October 2011, my benchmark was pretty decent: http://www.userbenchmark.com if anyone wants to make me jealous! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) So am I reading you've bought a GTX 580? Btw I'm primarily a console gamer, have both Xbox one and PS4. Used to be quite a hardcore PC gamer but like others can't be bothered with chasing figures. My current system actually has a GTX 280 IIRC bit it runs Starcraft II without issue Edit: just realised that's you current rig Edited April 20, 2017 by Fodder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aashenfox Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) So, the deed is done... New graphics card and 8GB more ram ordered. I love my PC too much to get rid. Considering the last time I ordered anything for my PC was October 2011, my benchmark was pretty decent: http://www.userbenchmark.com if anyone wants to make me jealous! I might have a go over the weekend, I'd need to redo an overclock or two. I'd cane you on graphics and disk speed, but your cpu is better than mine. Decent system, with a 1070 or 1080 GTX in there you'll be very happy By the way, I'm selling a 970 GTX cheap. Edited April 20, 2017 by Aashenfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargara Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) You'd have essentially forfeit your Steam library if you jumped shipped too. I understand that losing access to your games is a common occurrence for the console users every time a new model is released and you have to wait for backwards compatibility (if at all) but that's not an issue with Steam and a nice benefit not to overlook. Not to mention the cost of games being significantly cheaper on PC too than the console equivalent. Edited April 20, 2017 by Sargara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Ultimately it all comes down to the games, really. Love FPS? Stay PC. Driving? Xbone all day. Massive action games? PS4 easy. Either way, I wouldn't choose until the Scorpio is properly announced. Give yourself the best amount of choice before deciding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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