That's true, but at the moment I want to just focus on the actual price to get a gaming box. Convenience of 'pick up from store' is added value that sticks another amount on the cost of the PC.
What’s the price of switching from console to PC?
- Thread starter Shifty Geezer
- Start date
If its a case that you don't buy a lot of games and are not really fussed a out the higher resolutions, settings and such then if I were you I would stick to consoles.
When I get back in later ill build 3 PC SKU's all at different price points and give a rough break down of what each offer if people are interested.
When I get back in later ill build 3 PC SKU's all at different price points and give a rough break down of what each offer if people are interested.
No body does that....
Shifty Geezer said:
But it is important and assosciated with cost. The average consumer sees different prices because the prices to build a cheap gaming PC are not visible unless he does extensive research. The product that is ready for direct purchase and use shows more expensive PC solutions. The consumer who wants to save money from PC has to deal with the cost of time, research and building of the product. That cheaper PC is not available. He has to build it
I can't really see how form factor would be a requirement when it comes to a PC. The only reason consoles are that small is so they can fit under your TV. A PC only need to fit under your desk.
And the cost of hardware is probably not higher factoring in that most people (atleast everyone I know) will still spend $300-400 on a PC aswell as a console for $300-400.
And the comfy couch experience can still be had if you add a controller for ~$50, although that won't work for all games.
Now if your arbitrary requirements are a console sized PC (when theres no practical need) for a console price, that will be tougher to find.
And the cost of hardware is probably not higher factoring in that most people (atleast everyone I know) will still spend $300-400 on a PC aswell as a console for $300-400.
And the comfy couch experience can still be had if you add a controller for ~$50, although that won't work for all games.
Now if your arbitrary requirements are a console sized PC (when theres no practical need) for a console price, that will be tougher to find.
Svensk Viking
Regular
If one's an Xbox gamer, having free online on the PC(well, except for MMOs) will add up to considerable savings with time
PC games are generally cheaper, but the price difference at launch is only around 10 USD. So, alot of games are needed before you start saving by having a PC.
Consoles are no longer as convenient as they used to be though. Installations are more common, and the games get just as many patches as on the PC. On the PC, many games today also feature native 360 controller support.
IMO it's clearly true that the cost difference between PC vs console has gone down, but after the PS3/360 have been out for 6 years, it better should have. It looks like AMD's A8/A10 APUs are enough to play games a little better than the consoles.
I definitely expect the cost difference to be more vital again once the next-gen consoles come though.
PC games are generally cheaper, but the price difference at launch is only around 10 USD. So, alot of games are needed before you start saving by having a PC.
Consoles are no longer as convenient as they used to be though. Installations are more common, and the games get just as many patches as on the PC. On the PC, many games today also feature native 360 controller support.
IMO it's clearly true that the cost difference between PC vs console has gone down, but after the PS3/360 have been out for 6 years, it better should have. It looks like AMD's A8/A10 APUs are enough to play games a little better than the consoles.
I definitely expect the cost difference to be more vital again once the next-gen consoles come though.
There are many variables depending on context of the shoppers, which is why I present myself as a sort of average case of which I'm very familiar with the specifics. I'd be okay building my own PC - it's less effort than a flat-packed piece of furniture these days. Obviously other potential console buyers just wanting an off-the-shelf box would need to pay more to offset the time cost of a DIY effort.
Because I want to 1) move it upstairs and down depending on what screen is available; 2) take it around friends' houses. Edit: I'll add that small form isn't necessary, but it you don't have it, that's a cost associated with switching to PC. And the purpose of this thread is to identify what the real costs are.
Won't it? That's quite a significant concern. My belief is that PC gaming is seen as different to console gaming and treated differently, so on PC the emphasis is KB+M and solo play or online multiplayer. If you can't be sure of controller gaming and couch coop, then those would be non-financial costs to factor into making a change. I don't know what the state of play regards controller support is. I know it's natively supported in DX and you can use XB and Dual Shock controllers, but not if PC game developers target that control scheme or expect KB+M.
I just bought myself a new laptop to replace my ageing core 2 duo with AMD HD3470. My replacement is an i5, 6GB ram and 1TB HD with a Intel HD4000 and a G650M with 2GB of dedicated ram. The core 2 cost me ~£800 when I bought it (about 3 years ago) and the new laptop cost substantially less.
I used to be a PC gamer and swappted to consoles fully with the PS2. For me it was the ease of use that got me. Stick a disc in an it worked. No messing about with config.sys or checking what highmem driver you were using etc. And then there was the joy of getting stuff to work with my Millenium 2 and PVR card or Voodoo2 etc etc.
After this next generation arrives I think I will be swapping back again though.
I used to be a PC gamer and swappted to consoles fully with the PS2. For me it was the ease of use that got me. Stick a disc in an it worked. No messing about with config.sys or checking what highmem driver you were using etc. And then there was the joy of getting stuff to work with my Millenium 2 and PVR card or Voodoo2 etc etc.
After this next generation arrives I think I will be swapping back again though.
On the subject of small form factor, console size PCs need to be Mini ITX, or Micro ATX to go a bit larger, right? What are the component limits on these machines like, if any?
Is that instead of buying a next gen console? If so, what would your budget be to buy a next-gen console spec PC (7850, who knows what CPU)? If another £800 PC replacement, that seems good value. But hardware considerations don't address the other aspects like social gaming. If PC can't replicate that side, consoles still seem irreplaceable.
You didn't include the cost of the base OS. There's plenty of factors you also left out for new consumers, such as you said the case, hdd, keyboard and mouse. It's not a genuine comparison until you include the cost of all base software and hardware to make the experience.
I don't know where you guys are shopping for your console games, but you're getting ripped off if you're paying over $25 for a game older than 3 months. Outside of launch-day titles which are $40-$50 when you include all the various promotions that MS Store, Amazon, or NewEgg has going on, I haven't payed more than $20 for the other games. Most of them I picked up for $12. Yes, they were used games, but the point is there are exactly the same sort of deals for console games that there are for PC games.
Shifty Geezer said:
Well I will have to say that the majority arent the type that would spend the time. If someone doesnt mind building one its is a great solution. But for the most people nothing beats the convenience of knowing you will plug in the console to the TV and know you will have a decent performance without unexpected issues that are familiar with PCs. I think for someone who is going to buy a PC upgrade for general purposes at this time anyways he can get one that beats the console in gaming automatically. Seamless convertion right there
I see many reasons why some will not convert to PCs or even try much gaming on PCs even though they already have a decent one that is more powerfull than consoles.
The reason why this thread will not reach a conclusion is because everyone is right for their own reasons and people have different perception about the cost and value asosciated with such a convertion. Paying £300 for a piwerfull gaming PC and convert away from consoles is great for Bob but a waste of money for Tom but its the same price for both Bob and Tom in absolute terms
For some its worth it for others its not and prefer to wait for the next console release.
Someone may come up with a price for a silent and small awesome gaming PC that beats a console, but someone else will share his opinion that the cost does not bring enough value
Whether anyone else regards it as of value or not is immaterial, because my purpose is solely to get a measure of cost. The answer to the thread would be that pricetag for that PC. Whether Mr. X or Mr. Y would each consider it worth buying is a completely different discussion. That's why I specify me as the the target, because it limits the variables to a well understood general case and focusses the discussion on actual numbers instead of meandering discussions on value. I literally want to know what can and can't be done on PC and at what pricepoints (where of course the limitless pricepoints allows everything to be done).
Some smaller cases don't have room for full length graphics cards, but in a >400€ machine you won't put a full length card anyway.
And on the motherboard side a Mini ITX motherboard will only have 1 expansion slot, so you can't use 2 graphics cards, or add a soundcard (all motherboards have built in soundcards anyway, that for most people are good enough). They also only have 2 RAM slots, but that doesn't usually limit you (can still have 16GB RAM). Micro ATX will have more expansion slots, and possibly more RAM slots aswell. So if you want to add a soundcard, or hardware RAID you can do that.
Right I've been busy, making an half decent machine that's £300 is difficult so I set myself a slightly higher limit as it would have to be used as an office machine which would save money using it for gaming and office work. These prices are for the base machine only and do not include a monitor or KB/Mouse.
Budget machine can be seen here : https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/ypwcWXJfYGw4Pa_UGPojYw,,
It's a quad-core Trinity based machine so it offers a good mix of power and graphics performance, as a gaming machine it offers more power the the current consoles do and would have no problems at all playing consoles ports at higher then console settings.
It has a Blu-Ray drive for media functions and 8Gb of DDR3 that runs at 1866Mhz to provide a boost to GPU performance via increased memory bandwidth.
It also is micro ATX in form factor making it smaller then the average machine, has a PCIEX slot to add a dedicated GPU in the future.
Mid-range system can b seen here : https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/LKDIJONlA067gq7ZdYIKfg,,
Phenom 2 x4 Black edition, much better gaming CPU then Bulldozer!
8Gb RAM, 2x HDD's in RAID 0
Blu-Ray drive and an HD 7770 which is a massive boost over the GPU in the budget PC
All in one water cooler for CPU over clocking
High end system can be seen here : https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/IE3WpyWfgAXnH8Rb82luSw,,
The system is £932 with an HD 7870 GPU, this price will vary depending on GPU you ultimately want to go with, add another £40 for a HD 7950.
Comes with a Blu-ray drive and an SSD for blazing OS load times, plenty of storage for games.
Is water cooled with a Corsair H100 for CPU overclocking while being quiet, the system is still micro ATX and is still small.
Not only will this system blaze through any console port it will also rip any pc games at 1080p fully maxed out.
My 2 cents
I built these very very quickly, shopping around you could get them built cheaper, even though the budget system is over the £300 price set by Shifty it double up as a gaming machine AND office PC, with a console a PC is still required and that in itself is a £300-400 out lay.
You can spend more then the high end like myself but moving to a higher end Intel CPU won't improve gaming all that much and a 7870/7950 would be more then enough for 1080p.
Shifty that budget machine would be ideal for you, enough grunt for some decent gaming and the capability of an office PC all in one small package.
Budget machine can be seen here : https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/ypwcWXJfYGw4Pa_UGPojYw,,
It's a quad-core Trinity based machine so it offers a good mix of power and graphics performance, as a gaming machine it offers more power the the current consoles do and would have no problems at all playing consoles ports at higher then console settings.
It has a Blu-Ray drive for media functions and 8Gb of DDR3 that runs at 1866Mhz to provide a boost to GPU performance via increased memory bandwidth.
It also is micro ATX in form factor making it smaller then the average machine, has a PCIEX slot to add a dedicated GPU in the future.
Mid-range system can b seen here : https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/LKDIJONlA067gq7ZdYIKfg,,
Phenom 2 x4 Black edition, much better gaming CPU then Bulldozer!
8Gb RAM, 2x HDD's in RAID 0
Blu-Ray drive and an HD 7770 which is a massive boost over the GPU in the budget PC
All in one water cooler for CPU over clocking
High end system can be seen here : https://www.aria.co.uk/WishList/IE3WpyWfgAXnH8Rb82luSw,,
The system is £932 with an HD 7870 GPU, this price will vary depending on GPU you ultimately want to go with, add another £40 for a HD 7950.
Comes with a Blu-ray drive and an SSD for blazing OS load times, plenty of storage for games.
Is water cooled with a Corsair H100 for CPU overclocking while being quiet, the system is still micro ATX and is still small.
Not only will this system blaze through any console port it will also rip any pc games at 1080p fully maxed out.
My 2 cents
I built these very very quickly, shopping around you could get them built cheaper, even though the budget system is over the £300 price set by Shifty it double up as a gaming machine AND office PC, with a console a PC is still required and that in itself is a £300-400 out lay.
You can spend more then the high end like myself but moving to a higher end Intel CPU won't improve gaming all that much and a 7870/7950 would be more then enough for 1080p.
Shifty that budget machine would be ideal for you, enough grunt for some decent gaming and the capability of an office PC all in one small package.
Honestly, if all you want is a console-equivalent experience at a console-equivalent price, you get a console.
If you really aren't too interested in any of the advantages that a PC offers over a console then it seems self-evident that it isn't worth the cost either in terms of what you lose from the console experience or financially.
For me, though, I consider a competent gaming PC to be a tremendous value when you consider the overall improved experience it offers. I have a PC, 360 and PS3 and if I were ever in a position that I could keep only one for the purpose of gaming, the PC stays, the consoles go.
If you really aren't too interested in any of the advantages that a PC offers over a console then it seems self-evident that it isn't worth the cost either in terms of what you lose from the console experience or financially.
For me, though, I consider a competent gaming PC to be a tremendous value when you consider the overall improved experience it offers. I have a PC, 360 and PS3 and if I were ever in a position that I could keep only one for the purpose of gaming, the PC stays, the consoles go.
