Thinking about retiring from PC gaming and buying a PS4

[Dave3000]

I have fairly high-end system (i7-4930k, GTX 680, 32GB RAM, etc) but I'm thinking about retiring from PC gaming and buying a PS4 to fulfill my gaming time. I will still keep my PC. I read the recommendations for the upcoming Watchdogs in an article in the web and it said that to play that game in Ultra settings, a GTX 780 is recommended, but I only have a GTX 680. If I'm going to play this game in medium settings, I might as will get this game for PS4 when it comes out. Also there are very few games that take advantage of my PC's CPU but console games are optimized for their respective console. Will Watchdogs take advantage of more than 4 cores on the PC since the two latest consoles have more than 4 cores, or Watchdogs not take advantage of my CPU? Also by buying a PS4, i know that games that I buy for it will be optimized for it. I don't want to have to upgrade to a faster video card right now to play games at ultra settings as almost 2 years ago I bought my GTX 680 4GB for $560, hoping that it would be able to handle high to ultra settings for a few years.




I think you should have more than enough information to make your decision now. Thread has definitely run its course.

Anandtech Administrator
KeithTalent

 

[mazeroth]

"This is a terrible idea."

- Office Space

 

[purbeast0]

if the ps4 has games you want to play, buy it. if it doesn't, then don't buy it.

i'm also not sure why you can't use both the pc and ps4, if you were to get it. i know the general idea on these forums is you are only allowed to like 1 gaming platform, but those of us who aren't morons understand the concept of enjoying more than 1 platform.

 

[sze5003]

If you have such a good pc why retire from gaming with it. I too decided to get watch dogs on ps4..I think it looks good enough from what I have seen on ps4.

I would only buy a console if it had enough games I was interested in to play.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I am sure a GTX 680 would be fine for watchdogs in ultra. They would absolutely shoot themselves in the foot if not. Especially at 1080p.

 

[futurefields]

I would say wait until the game comes out, pick it up on PC, and how well it runs should be able to help you decide if it's worth sticking to PC gaming.

It seems to me like most of the "next-gen" games are coming with extremely high recommended specs, but then when the game comes out people find out you can play them maxed out @ 60fps with significantly less grunt than what the recommended specs indicate.

I am not sure if they are just trying to play it safe or if they are trying in some weird way to hype up the new consoles by making the PC recommended specs so high aka "wow these recommended specs are crazy, new consoles must be more powerful than I thought"

The fact is publishers and developers prefer you to get on the console and play the games there because they have more control in that environment. Consoles give control to the developers, PC's give control to the users.

 

[mmntech]

I'll trade you.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Your timing is horrible and if you think you need to upgrade to play watchdogs...well...

 

[Lil Frier]

I don't see a reason to give up PC gaming, though this is from someone who has a bit of a tough time playing on the PC himself (particularly online, since all of my online friends are on Xbox).

I'm getting Watch Dogs on Xbox One because I want to play it online with folks. However, I still fully intend to get some older games on Steam, during their crazy sales (like New Vegas). Odds are, the games I want to play online (and the Xbox exclusives, of course) will get bought on the Xbox, while the older stuff and the campaign-centric titles will be on the PC, and played with a wired controller.

 

[spaceman]

good riddance

 

[Bill Brasky]

A console is an excellent addition to a high end PC for gaming. Do you have any interest in the exclusives from either MS or Sony? Why did you pick a PS4?

i'm also not sure why you can't use both the pc and ps4

Agreed!

 

[mmntech]

A console is an excellent addition to a high end PC for gaming.

Agreed.

If you're a PC gamer wanting a console, take a look at the PS4 or Wii U.
I have nothing against Xbox, but I don't see much point in owning one if you already have a capable PC. Just too few exclusives to make it worthwhile.

That rig is more than powerful enough to play even the most demanding games provided you're not using a 4K monitor. The GTX 680 is still a very respectable GPU. That setup will steam roll the PS4. Have you considered just upgrading the GPU to a newer one. You can get a Radeon R9 290 4GB for around the price of a PS4.

 

[zerocool84]

I haven't played many PC games in like three years. I used to casually play console and seriously play PC but now I almost exclusively play console games. Reason being is that PC gaming is an expensive hobby. No real PC gamers want to turn down the graphics to be able to play a game. It's not cheap to keep up every other year with graphics. Plus I'd much rather recline on my couch and play than sit at a desk and play when I get home. Using a controller is not ideal when playing any FPS multiplayer on PC since you'll get murdered but on console, everyone is on the same playing field. Using a controller on PC is only good for single player games. Plus when having friends over and you want to play a game, sorry but that isn't happening on PC.

 

[futurefields]

I disagree on cost. THe initial cost of building a gaming PC is more if you are starting from nothing. But if you are smart and invest in a good Intel CPU it can easily last you like 5-7 years and then you just need to upgrade your gpu every 2-3 years if you insist on maxing everything out. Factoring in the relatively cheaper software and full "backwards compatibility" I think you probably spending equal amounts of $$$ on PC or console gaming if you are fully vested in either platform.

 

[zerocool84]

I disagree on cost. THe initial cost of building a gaming PC is more if you are starting from nothing. But if you are smart and invest in a good Intel CPU it can easily last you like 5-7 years and then you just need to upgrade your gpu every 2-3 years if you insist on maxing everything out. Factoring in the relatively cheaper software and full "backwards compatibility" I think you probably spending equal amounts of $$$ on PC or console gaming if you are fully vested in either platform.

Exactly and a good Intel CPU is not cheap, neither is a GPU that's going to last 2-3 years. Those two alone are either equal or more than a PS4. Plus with a higher end GPU/CPU, you're not going to be able to use the crappy PSU that comes with most computers, plus enough RAM to keep playing those games over the years as well. It's not as easy as people think. $400 buys you something you're guaranteed to play over the years.

 

[iluvdeal]

No reason to pick sides, play both. Think of it as $400 in hardware costs which will lasts you a good 7 years. Games will actually look and run better towards the end of its cycle than the beginning as devs master the ins and outs of the system.

 

[futurefields]

Exactly and a good Intel CPU is not cheap, neither is a GPU that's going to last 2-3 years. Those two alone are either equal or more than a PS4. Plus with a higher end GPU/CPU, you're not going to be able to use the crappy PSU that comes with most computers, plus enough RAM to keep playing those games over the years as well. It's not as easy as people think. $400 buys you something you're guaranteed to play over the years.

$400 buys you the machine, and then you need to buy the more expensive console games and you need to pay for service to play them online.

 

[HeXen]

It's the cost of a higher end GPU upgrade, there's no reason any gamer has to be tied down to just 1 platform their whole lives.
Live it up man, have both...hell buy a Wii U too. Two tears in a bucket and fck it I always say.

$400 buys you the machine, and then you need to buy the more expensive console games and you need to pay for service to play them online.

As often as people buy new mice/keyboards or Windows OS's or buys 20 Steam deal games in a month only to play 2 of them or anything else like that then I don't think it really matters.
A $400 GPU just buys you a GPU but in the end it's all down to the games themselves and your enjoyment of them and let's face it, MP on both systems is a little different, sometimes it's nice to play with so many others that have headsets and talk and for many it's easier to find more friends playing on console equivelants than PC.

 

[sze5003]

Have both so that when the gpu starts getting old you don't necessarily need to upgrade it you can switch to the console until you get time to upgrade the pc.

 

[cmdrdredd]

$400 buys you the machine, and then you need to buy the more expensive console games and you need to pay for service to play them online.

Games at release are $60 anyway...besides people buying games only on sale usually end up with nobody left in the online community playing, spoiled story since everyone has been talking about it for a while, and of the 10 games in the bundle only two are worth a crap.

 

[Lil Frier]

See, if you just don't have friends, none of those things are a problem, haha. No one can ruin a story for you if you don't talk to anyone.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've yet to play a game on my PC with GTX 680 and think to myself "gee, I wish I could play on a low-end console GPU with half-speed CPU cores and no SSD instead."

Console optimization only goes so far when the CPU cores are only 1.6 GHz and AMD instead of intel (so slower clock-for-clock). Magic low-level hardware access only goes so far when the GPU is a $100-150 graphics card. And when the system only leaves ~5 GB total for the CPU and GPU to share.

My 360 and PS3 have some great exclusive games, but given a choice I'd prefer the better graphics of a PC. I'd never buy an X1 or PS4 to play games that run on my PC.

That's even before considering mods. Watch Dogs might not have any, but games like Fallout, FONV, Oblivion, Skyrim aren't nearly as good without them.

 

[Tweak155]

I have a 670 and do not have this concern at all.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I've yet to play a game on my PC with GTX 680 and think to myself "gee, I wish I could play on a low-end console GPU with half-speed CPU cores and no SSD instead."

Console optimization only goes so far when the CPU cores are only 1.6 GHz and AMD instead of intel (so slower clock-for-clock). Magic low-level hardware access only goes so far when the GPU is a $100-150 graphics card. And when the system only leaves ~5 GB total for the CPU and GPU to share.

My 360 and PS3 have some great exclusive games, but given a choice I'd prefer the better graphics of a PC. I'd never buy an X1 or PS4 to play games that run on my PC.

That's even before considering mods. Watch Dogs might not have any, but games like Fallout, FONV, Oblivion, Skyrim aren't nearly as good without them.

The same tired argument. There are many reasons console gaming can be superior.

1) Cost. A good GPU, your 680 for example cost $500 at launch. More expensive than a PS4 and one game and more expensive than the Forza or Titanfall Bundles for the XB1. Then you need to buy a PSU, CPU, Motherboard, case, cooling system, DVD or BD drive, a HDD (SSD is much more expensive an option). So by the time you are done you'll be lucky to have under $1000 spent for something that will actually play the games on settings that look better than PS4/XB1. If you want to keep up in the coming years you need to reinvest in new hardware with a PC.
2) Online community. There are more people playing a singular title on console than PC. The online community for some games on PC is pretty low. CoD for example. People like to hate on that game but it has a huge following. There are simply more people playing it on consoles.
3) ease of entry. It is easier for someone to buy a console and plug it in than it is to figure out what exactly they need or want in a PC. Then you have drivers to update and vsync and other settings to learn the purpose of.
4) No extra software needed. A console has everything it needs to play games. With a PC you need extra software in Steam, Origin, uPlay. Then you have all the problems with origin and uplay(although I haven't had any problems myself). Sometimes preventing you from even playing.
5) Resolution isn't everything. People like to say "I can run at 1440p and use three monitors on my PC" That's fine but look, I have to run SLI to use 1440p with any sort of playability. Then if you want to run mods, tons of AA, turn on all the graphics effects and still run 1440p, you end up with a very low framerate unless you have the proper investment in the hardware. So what's the point of touting resolution if you are going to just turn all those effects and such off so it looks worse?

These arguments and blatant trolling is why I've moved away from PC gaming lately. The elitism is getting old and the arguments stale. I share some of the same sentiments, but the way you present them just don't work if you are trying to actually have a conversation. It's more like a kid on the playground when someone gets a new toy "Mine is still better!"

The OP's reasoning is spot on. No need to upgrade later to keep up, games optimized for the hardware. Plus there will be lots of games that never ever come to PC while games that were once considered PC only are coming to consoles.

 

[HeXen]

Don't forget the cost of Windows. Everyone forgets to include Windows and might as well be 8.1 cause lets face it, it's faster overall. At least until SteamOS gets a decent library IF they do. I wonder how SteamOS handles Uplay?
And you can put SSD in the new consoles if you want but even fast ones on PC only serve to load the games a little faster, not really worth the price to store games on IMO.
I use SSD's for OS only.

There is validity in both, however PC is a completely different marketing segment and you will never see a commercial on TV advertising PC hardware either. Open standards and proprietary standards both have their pro's and cons but unfortunately have never worked out combined.
PC's still need consistency and streamlining under a unified UI with standards that support things like power on/off and game to OS switching from the gamepad and a few other things just to enter the market segment that consoles are in.