Building a Gaming PC vs Buying a Next-Gen Console

When looking to build a gaming pc the question often arises when tallying up the costs of all the pc components involved…Is it worth buying a next generation gaming console instead? after all a next-gen console is a third of the price compared to a high end gaming computer and have 80% of games PCs do – sometimes video games consoles get them first.

Building a Gaming PC

Building a gaming PC can be quite expensive if you are going all out but the scalability and upgradability returned from the investment will keep a gaming computer churning pixels longer over the course of time then a next generation console. While there is not much between next generation consoles and gaming computers at present, a year or two down the line when new game titles are released with a heavier demand on hardware its then your investment into a gaming computer will start to shine.

With a small investment and some extra ram a year down the line you can bump up performance and keep your games running at ultra settings while console graphics will start being limited like we saw in the later years of the PS2, Xbox, PS3 and Xbox 360s life cycle.

What if I don’t like using a keyboard and mouse?

If you have an old Xbox 360 controller lying around with a built-in usb cable, U can just plug it in and windows will take care of the rest allowing you to use it to game on your pc.

Next Generation Game Console

Sony’s Playstation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One are not that different from each other in terms of hardware. Both consoles utilise an AMD 8-core CPU, but Microsoft pulled a fast one with a last-minute upgrade. They decided on a custom 1.7GHz 8-Core CPU leaving Sony with 10% less processing power with a AMD 8-Core CPU clocked at 1.6ghz.

When it comes to their GPUs, Sony is clearly in the lead pushing 1.84 teraslops, with the Xbox One graphics coming in at 1.31 teraslops. while Microsoft may have more processing power, Sony has what counts – more graphics power.

Now on paper it may seem like the Xbox One has what matters but then there is a lot of extra software and hardware connected. With background applications monitoring Xbox Kinect, player positioning, voice gestures and such all the time, I’m not convinced that extra 100MHz will make much difference at all, the PS4 is clearly the winner on hardware.

Can’t Sell Games On Xbox One

I grew up as a child trading in my games that I never played after all they are collecting dust, could be getting better use else where and I get a shiny new game or two to play from it all, where is the harm in that? Well that’s all about to change, Microsoft did indeed go ahead with plans to stop gamers selling their games. While users of the Xbox One can lend their games to people who have been on their friends list for at least 30 days, user will not be able to go and trade in their old games collecting dust any longer.

From my point of view this is the nail in the coffin for Xbox, sales figures clearly show Microsoft are behind Sony in sales with only 4 million units sold since the consoles launch, With Sony trailing ahead with 6.12 Million units sold, I think this can be partly attributed to the restriction on reselling your games and maybe a little to do with hardware.

Sony Playstation 4 Has to be the Clear Winner

So with the Playstation 4 clearly ahead in terms of hardware and no restrictions on games, for me alone the restrictions on trading in your old xbox one games is a deal breaker and instantly turned my head towards the Playstation 4, Taking a looking at the hardware and also the immense game titles being planned I was sold.

So Next-Gen Console vs Custom Gaming PC?

It still leaves the question, should your build your own gaming pc or should you save some pennies and get a next-gen console? Both questions ultimately depend on your budget, if you can afford to build your own custom gaming pc then that’s the route I would personally take, not because I dislike consoles, I absolute love them, but for me the extra control I have over my games with the keyboard and mouse really keeps me coming back for more.

I still play my consoles but most of the time after a long day when I don’t want to sit at my desk hunched over or when I have friends round. So that leaves another question- Do you prefer desks or couches?