Settle a discussion. Xbox 360 graphics vs High End PC

Pugnate

Senior member
Jun 25, 2006
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I am having a chat with a couple of blokes who insist that the Xbox 360 can match a high end PC's graphics for years to come. Even though I've shown links of the developers of Crysis saying the 360 can't do a DX 10 level of Crysis, they keep insisting it is possible, and they feel that a 360 will basically match a high end PC for years to come.

Their argument is that Oblivion didn't look as good on the 360 as Gears of War. Well that's obviously because one is an open structured RPG and the other is just a FPS.

Anyway your thoughts?

NOTE:

Price is NOT AN issue. We all know the 360 is excellent value. The argument is that the 360 can do all that a modern PC can. I don't see how that is possible at all. :p

edit:

Yea I posted the same gamespot article. To be honest there is no comparison:

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147028/p-2.html

If you click on the link scroll down to high end PC, which is again using a 7900GTX (old article), which is a joke compared to the 7950 or the 8800.

Oblivion looks better on a high-end PC than on the Xbox 360. Note the additional foliage visible in the background. We matched up resolutions for screenshot comparison purposes here, but a high-end PC with an AMD Athlon FX-60 CPU and GeForce 7900 GTX graphics card can enable all the settings and take resolutions up to 1600x1200 or more and still maintain smooth frame rates

Even with a GeForce 6600GT the PC was able to match Oblivion

A medium spec PC with a decent processor and a mid-range DirectX 9 video card like a GeForce 6600 GT allows you to enable a few more graphics settings like view distance and some shadows. Take it easy on the view distance settings since they will lower the frame rate. The Xbox 360 version of the game looks slightly better overall, though not by much

The 6600GT running Oblivion looks almost as good. So if that is the case how in the world can you expect Crysis to run on the 360
 

TheRealMrGrey

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Jan 20, 2007
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Bah, the DX10 games will be better. Look, the xbox360 came out before the DX10 cards, right? I'd assume that since it was made a ways before the DX10 archetecture was released, it would be based on the older DX9 graphics architcture. Then how could the 360 out-do a technology that has only just been released (DX10 capable cards and DX10 itself)?

Besides that, the xbox360 does not have the same kind of games the PC does. I was considering whether to go console or upgrade my PC a few months ago. In the end, I realized most of the games I wanted to play were on the PC, and not available on the consoles. (I'm not a Halo nut like a lot of people, though)
 

Nightmare225

Golden Member
May 20, 2006
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But, Oblivion already looks better on a high-end PC, it's been said by Gamespot:

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147028/p-2.html

QUOTE:
Oblivion looks better on a high-end PC than on the Xbox 360. Note the additional foliage visible in the background. We matched up resolutions for screenshot comparison purposes here, but a high-end PC with an AMD Athlon FX-60 CPU and GeForce 7900 GTX graphics card can enable all the settings and take resolutions up to 1600x1200 or more and still maintain smooth frame rates. We noticed that the Xbox 360 version had better antialiasing since our PC version couldn't enable HDR and antialiasing at the same time. Of course on the PC version, you can get rid of jaggies the old-fashioned way by jacking up the resolution.

Notice, this is a bit old, and these parts no longer represent the top-end. Now, you can even do HDR+AA. Believe me, a High-end PC nowadays blows away a 360 with its dual-cores and 8800GTX.
 

Zstream

Diamond Member
Oct 24, 2005
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Originally posted by: Pugnate
I am having a chat with a couple of blokes who insist that the Xbox 360 can match a high end PC's graphics for years to come. Even though I've shown links of the developers of Crysis saying the 360 can't do a DX 10 level of Crysis, they keep insisting it is possible, and they feel that a 360 will basically match a high end PC for years to come.

Their argument is that Oblivion didn't look as good on the 360 as Gears of War. Well that's obviously because one is an open structured RPG and the other is just a FPS.

Anyway your thoughts?

400$ vs 1500$ emmmm I pick the 400$ one :p
 

IntelUser2000

Elite Member
Oct 14, 2003
8,686
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I am having a chat with a couple of blokes who insist that the Xbox 360 can match a high end PC's graphics for years to come. Even though I've shown links of the developers of Crysis saying the 360 can't do a DX 10 level of Crysis, they keep insisting it is possible, and they feel that a 360 will basically match a high end PC for years to come.

Their argument is that Oblivion didn't look as good on the 360 as Gears of War. Well that's obviously because one is an open structured RPG and the other is just a FPS.

Anyway your thoughts?

They are sort of right. Console game developers have a stable platform to work on which will not change for couple of years, unlike on the PC. In PC, developers have to sacrifice some features to fit for the lowest end of the market, the integrated graphics market, and the previous generation. In consoles, there is no low-end to worry about.
 

DeathReborn

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2005
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Originally posted by: Zstream
Originally posted by: Pugnate
I am having a chat with a couple of blokes who insist that the Xbox 360 can match a high end PC's graphics for years to come. Even though I've shown links of the developers of Crysis saying the 360 can't do a DX 10 level of Crysis, they keep insisting it is possible, and they feel that a 360 will basically match a high end PC for years to come.

Their argument is that Oblivion didn't look as good on the 360 as Gears of War. Well that's obviously because one is an open structured RPG and the other is just a FPS.

Anyway your thoughts?

400$ vs 1500$ emmmm I pick the 400$ one :p

Price isn't a part of the comparison but the 360 graphically will slot below R600 & 8800's but slightly above X19xxXTX.
 

TheRealMrGrey

Member
Jan 20, 2007
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Ya, price is a good point. Though I use my PC for more things than just game playing, so I'd need one anyway. If the argument was graphic per dollar and you were only playing games, you'd probably want the xbox360. But I like the PC's game selection better.

Counterpoint: hidden costs. Are you really playing your xbox360 on your old color TV that you had in your dorm room? How much is a high definition TV these days? You can add a few more hundred dollars onto that $400 price tag.

And, if I want the graphics savyness of an 8800, I can just go buy one and put it in. While they are more than the 360 now, they won't be forever (or for long).
 

Pugnate

Senior member
Jun 25, 2006
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Originally posted by: DeathReborn
Originally posted by: Zstream
Originally posted by: Pugnate
I am having a chat with a couple of blokes who insist that the Xbox 360 can match a high end PC's graphics for years to come. Even though I've shown links of the developers of Crysis saying the 360 can't do a DX 10 level of Crysis, they keep insisting it is possible, and they feel that a 360 will basically match a high end PC for years to come.

Their argument is that Oblivion didn't look as good on the 360 as Gears of War. Well that's obviously because one is an open structured RPG and the other is just a FPS.

Anyway your thoughts?

400$ vs 1500$ emmmm I pick the 400$ one :p

Price isn't a part of the comparison but the 360 graphically will slot below R600 & 8800's but slightly above X19xxXTX.

I have to disagree. Any PC running Oblivion with a X1900XTX runs Oblivion better and with far more bells and whistles.

This was the situation before. The gap only widens with the 7950GTX and the 8800GTX.
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
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Um there is no 7950 GTX. The 7900GTX was the fastest NV 7 series single core. Maybe you mean 7950GX2?

As for graphics gamespot showed Oblivion already looks better on the NV7 series card and in terms of video quality 8800>X19xx>7xxx>Xbox360
 

WT

Diamond Member
Sep 21, 2000
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If Bob Ross were still alive, he could paint Oblivion better than either a PC or console .. *sniff*

He is already being missed. God be with ya, Bob !
 

videopho

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2005
4,185
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I have slowly and surely started switching to 360 console games myself, basically for two primary reasons:

1) Not to shell out $300-$500 for a new video card every 6 months for my rig so that I can keep up fps with newer games. hum...let's see in the last 2 years...from x800 to 6800 to 7800 to 7900 series cards that have totaled > $1000. I almost spent another $300 to step up to the 8800 series but have decided to put a brake on it, finally.

2) Console games are available in abundant and cheap (if you know where to shop ;)), imo and best yet I play these 360 games in my Plasma 42".
Note: I just recently bought a almost brand new 360 premium with 4 great games for $450 here at our FT/FS site. :)

The only games I now play with my rig are flight and sub sim type.
Best bang for the bucks: 360 is a clear winner, period.
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
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Originally posted by: TheRealMrGrey
Bah, the DX10 games will be better. Look, the xbox360 came out before the DX10 cards, right? I'd assume that since it was made a ways before the DX10 archetecture was released, it would be based on the older DX9 graphics architcture. Then how could the 360 out-do a technology that has only just been released (DX10 capable cards and DX10 itself)?

Besides that, the xbox360 does not have the same kind of games the PC does. I was considering whether to go console or upgrade my PC a few months ago. In the end, I realized most of the games I wanted to play were on the PC, and not available on the consoles. (I'm not a Halo nut like a lot of people, though)

The graphics core of the Xbox 360 uses unified shaders, which is the main new feature of DX10 graphics cards.

I'm thinking that Oblivion performs poorly because it was ported from the PC to the Xbox.
 

GundamSonicZeroX

Platinum Member
Oct 6, 2005
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Originally posted by: Paratus
Um there is no 7950 GTX. The 7900GTX was the fastest NV 7 series single core. Maybe you mean 7950GX2?

As for graphics gamespot showed Oblivion already looks better on the NV7 series card and in terms of video quality 8800>X19xx>7xxx>Xbox360

There is for laptops. I'll look around for a link. They reviewed it here on anandtech.
 

Vesper8

Senior member
Apr 29, 2005
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this question was already settled a year ago ! Already a year ago the x1900xtx pwnd the xbox360. Having a SLI solution makes the gap between a high end pc and the 360 even larger! And now with the 8800gtx and the upcoming r600 and directx 10.. games are going to look SO much better on PCs it will be laughing stock to say otherwise.

just consider the resolution you can achieve with a PC and a big screen. Even with the biggest TV the resolution the xbox360 outputs will never come close to what PCs can offer

your friends are just jealous of your PC and are very ignorant if they think their precious 360 can hold it's own compared to a PC. Hell Oblivion looks MUCH better on the PC with the tweaks and high resolution and that was 6 months ago and with a single gfx card!
 

Wreckage

Banned
Jul 1, 2005
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Xbox 360 tops out at maybe 1080p but most games are upscaled from 720p which is only 1280x720. Also I read they only run 2 to 4xaa. So a PC with a nice widescreen monitor will win hands down.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: IntelUser2000
I am having a chat with a couple of blokes who insist that the Xbox 360 can match a high end PC's graphics for years to come. Even though I've shown links of the developers of Crysis saying the 360 can't do a DX 10 level of Crysis, they keep insisting it is possible, and they feel that a 360 will basically match a high end PC for years to come.

Their argument is that Oblivion didn't look as good on the 360 as Gears of War. Well that's obviously because one is an open structured RPG and the other is just a FPS.

Anyway your thoughts?

They are sort of right. Console game developers have a stable platform to work on which will not change for couple of years, unlike on the PC. In PC, developers have to sacrifice some features to fit for the lowest end of the market, the integrated graphics market, and the previous generation. In consoles, there is no low-end to worry about.

agreed

imo, it's gonna be *close* for a couple of years ... until the *full DX10 games* start coming out ... Unreal3 will run on both the PC and 360 ... i wanna see *these games* mature before i make a *final judgement*

i think the devs have many of the *tricks down* on the x-box360 already ... it's been out 'awhile' ... so, probably we are seeing games on the Xbox right now that are ~75+% of their ultimate gfx potential ;)

OTOH, the PS3 will still take *years* to efficiently program for ... so it's potential is still unknown
[sorry for mentioning the PS3] :p
:eek:


:D
 

MBrown

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2001
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I think right now the PC's have passed up the console with the 8800gtx. I have a decent machine and IMO its just as good as my 360. rig in sig.
 

SpeedZealot369

Platinum Member
Feb 5, 2006
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Originally posted by: Pugnate


The 6600GT running Oblivion looks almost as good. So if that is the case how in the world can you expect Crysis to run on the 360

I have a hard time believing that you can make GoW run on a pc with a 6600gt as well as it does on 360.

Seriously though I don't mean to complain but I'm really getting tired of the same old arguments surface over and over again and now smiley faces are also starting to piss me off too lol :D:D:D:D:):(:):D:D it doesnt make you cool to use smiley faces guys

 

CKXP

Senior member
Nov 20, 2005
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Seriously though I don't mean to complain but I'm really getting tired of the same old arguments surface over and over again and now smiley faces are also starting to piss me off too lol it doesnt make you cool to use smiley faces guys

:(
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: SpeedZealot369
Originally posted by: Pugnate


The 6600GT running Oblivion looks almost as good. So if that is the case how in the world can you expect Crysis to run on the 360

I have a hard time believing that you can make GoW run on a pc with a 6600gt as well as it does on 360.

Seriously though I don't mean to complain but I'm really getting tired of the same old arguments surface over and over again and now smiley faces are also starting to piss me off too lol :D:D:D:D:):(:):D:D it doesnt make you cool to use smiley faces guys

i am cool already

i just use them because i want to

:D

perhaps you should start :p

and there is no *settling this* ... even *indisputable proof* would be rejected by either zealot camp
 

TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
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While on the Oblivion topic, another thing the PC has going for it is the mods.

You can get high quality texture and LOD mods to make Oblivion look far better on the PC.
And there are countless number of gameplay mods like OOO.

I think that as we see Vista and it's drivers mature that the PC will once again start to pull away from the console in terms of graphics and speed.
If DX10 really runs as well as we've heard (60FPS+ on Crysis@high resolution) then the console might be in for a beating.
 

GimpyFuzznut

Senior member
Sep 2, 2002
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The 360 has a couple of things going for it aside from graphics. Its the simplicity of use. You don't have to worry about drivers, you don't have to worry about framerates, you don't have to worry about hardware upgrades, and you don't have the worry about the next guy loading the map 15 seconds before you and picking up the quad damage (or whatever you know)! This is probably one of the strongest advantages the 360 has. Its just plug and play and you got to love that.

As for Oblivion - you also have to realize this is a launch title for the 360 so its obviously not perfectly optimized for it. As someone mentioned, you are better off looking at titles like GoW which take advantage of 360 hardware to get an idea of its graphical power.