What would it cost, right now, to beat the horsepower in an Xbox One or PlayStation 4

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Plainview

I am a sinner.
Sep 11, 2013
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I've read it before that PC's are superior to what Microsoft and Sony are coming out with in November. I love graphics. I'm a graphics whore. What would it cost to build a PC that can surpass what Sony and Microsoft have to offer right now?
 
Honestly can't answer it as far as "to make games look superior."

Pure horsepower wise.. not much. But wouldn't be as cheap as a lot of PC gamers claim.

You'd want at least a GTX660Ti I imagine, and that alone would run you ~$250. CPU you could go cheap 4 core on.. then you'll need 8GB DDR3, an optical drive.. case.. decent PSU, motherboard, etc.

I'd say $700 for horsepower wise.

As far as actually matching them graphically much harder to say, we'll have to wait and see how much of a difference their otpimized memory architecture and other optimizations make.

I feel pretty comfortable my i7/670 machine will do pretty well into next gen and to build that from scratch would run you ~$1,000. But I also wouldn't be shocked if I have to start setting my games well below "Ultra" (most games I can almost max) a year or so into the gen.
 
I'd day about $700 also to beat next gen consoles comfortably. Even if you can't max out games, you'll still be ahead of what next gen consoles are pushing.

$700 will get you a pc that's better than mine.....and even on my pc, I ran the BF4 un-optimized beta at 1080p, which already is ahead.
 
Honestly can't answer it as far as "to make games look superior."

Pure horsepower wise.. not much. But wouldn't be as cheap as a lot of PC gamers claim.

You'd want at least a GTX660Ti I imagine, and that alone would run you ~$250. CPU you could go cheap 4 core on.. then you'll need 8GB DDR3, an optical drive.. case.. decent PSU, motherboard, etc.

I'd say $700 for horsepower wise.

As far as actually matching them graphically much harder to say, we'll have to wait and see how much of a difference their otpimized memory architecture and other optimizations make.

I feel pretty comfortable my i7/670 machine will do pretty well into next gen and to build that from scratch would run you ~$1,000. But I also wouldn't be shocked if I have to start setting my games well below "Ultra" (most games I can almost max) a year or so into the gen.

I have read people say about $450 would get you similar specs but also have to factor in that these consoles are optimized for games. So similar specs would actually be a bit worse than the consoles. I think people forget the additional cost of the controller, cables, headset that come with the systems. Granted, its not a large part of it but it still counts. So Bunz saying $700 or so seems reasonable.
 
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127760
Radeon 270x for $230 rated at approximately 3.2 terapflops

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960
AMD eight core 3.6GHz processor for $160

That right there is already only $390 of non-taxable product. The PS4 and Xbox One will cost $430 and $540 respectively when you consider the sale tax. Motherboard, RAM, and PSU shouldn't cost more than $200-300. For $700 of sales tax free purchases, you get a GPU with almost double the power of the PS4 and a CPU with over double the power of the PS4. I was kind of surprised when I actually found these prices. I may just have to upgrade my PC next year, but for now, I want that PS4!
 
Since when was a 270x 3.2 TFLOPS? That's a 2.6 or so card IIRC.

And if you are only spending $200 on your motherboard/ram/case /optical/PSU... I just... Dunno.

People seem to exaggerate to me. A good case alone can be over $100, let alone a good mv and ram and psu. Decent BR drive is $50-100.

I'm also unsure how future proof a 2GB graphics card is these days. There are current games that can push > 2GB VRAM usage and from the early reports on next gen games they are going crazy on textures.

edit: It's also often ignored that parting out systems then still requires you to build them.. which things can go wrong during.. then you deal with RMA'ing, etc. Build effort / potential for things to go bad / etc. are factored into the price of a pre-built system.. really should use pre-builts as a comparison not a list of parts.
 
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Since when was a 270x 3.2 TFLOPS? That's a 2.6 or so card IIRC.

And if you are only spending $200 on your motherboard/ram/case /optical/PSU... I just... Dunno.

People seem to exaggerate to me. A good case alone can be over $100, let alone a good mv and ram and psu. Decent BR drive is $50-100.

I'm also unsure how future proof a 2GB graphics card is these days. There are current games that can push > 2GB VRAM usage and from the early reports on next gen games they are going crazy on textures.
There are fine $20 cases that will do you good.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811237037

But who needs a tower? Just nail it all to wooden board and nail on some fans, and you can make that $1000 case's cooling performance look like a joke. And Blu-Ray drive not required for PC gaming. I haven't even seen any PC games on Blu-Ray and Steam is disc-free.
 
Sooo... buy some really crappy case... some crappy motherbaord.. some crappy PSU.. some crappy RAM.. skip the optical.

And you have a $700 PC that you still have to build yourself.. with only 2GB of VRAM and questionable future proofing.

The point about the BR drive was to at least attempt to make the 2 systems feature relevant. You generally don't want a PC without at least a DVD drive.. it still comes in handy.
 
According to this video:


$744

Now let me ask a question.

How much more expensive than this PC would these next-gen consoles end up being over the life of said consoles?

Again, according to that video if you were to buy 40 games over the course of 8 years the PC would end up costing you $2344, the Xbox One $3380 and the PS4 $3200. And this isn't even taking into account the INSANE prices during Steam sales.
Source: Info graphic @ 04:10

edit: Then there's all the things you can do with a PC that you can't with these consoles, especially where they concern gaming itself, mainly mods.
 
- How about the fact you can trade in games or sell them to get back money?
- PCs require fiddling around and drivers
- No hardcore PC guy is going to go 8 years without spending more cash on hardware upgrades
- You can also save more by doing Gamefly, Redbox or lending games to friends with consoles
- Most people don't play their PC games on their big living room TV. Instead most play on a monitor. Therefore, single player gaming locally. That's not to say someone can't hook up their PC to a big screen TV. But the chances of replicating comfy couch playing like consoles esp. with more than one person locally isn't really a PC thing
 
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127760
Radeon 270x for $230 rated at approximately 3.2 terapflops

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960
AMD eight core 3.6GHz processor for $160

That right there is already only $390 of non-taxable product. The PS4 and Xbox One will cost $430 and $540 respectively when you consider the sale tax. Motherboard, RAM, and PSU shouldn't cost more than $200-300. For $700 of sales tax free purchases, you get a GPU with almost double the power of the PS4 and a CPU with over double the power of the PS4. I was kind of surprised when I actually found these prices. I may just have to upgrade my PC next year, but for now, I want that PS4!

Shouldn't taxes are negligible? The same online store I can get the computer parts(Amazon), I can get a next gen console tax free. In the US of course.
 
Below $1000 isn't putting out better visuals but maybe below would get you better performance.



Of course below 1k is putting out better visuals. Between 700 and 800 is going to put out better visuals and performance.
 
- How about the fact you can trade in games or sell them to get back money?
- PCs require fiddling around and drivers
- No hardcore PC guy is going to go 8 years without spending more cash on hardware upgrades
- You can also save more by doing Gamefly, Redbox or lending games to friends with consoles
- Most people don't play their PC games on their big living room TV. Instead most play on a monitor. Therefore, single player gaming locally. That's not to say someone can't hook up their PC to a big screen TV. But the chances of replicating comfy couch playing like consoles esp. with more than one person locally isn't really a PC thing



How about these facts:
-PC games generally cost less
-In 8 years, consoles will set you back at least another $400 just for live/psn costs
-You can also save more by sharing Steam accounts to lend out games....and you don't have to wait for them to return it to you. :)
-Playing on pc screen provides more details, but the option is still there to easily connect to TV.



Am I doing it right?
 
$19 for a DVD player to install Windows 8 for when the internet is down and I lose my old DVD player.

I guess if you want a PC made up of all of the cheapest possible parts...

Still more expensive, and you end up with a rather mediocre product in the end.

And you have to build it and maintain it, things can go wrong, warranties aren't as simple to deal with, etc.

Aslo you don't end up with a 3.2Tflop GPU, I like how you just keep glossing over a good portion of my posts. Can you at least explain why you claimed an AMD 270X is 3.2TFLOPs? lol

I guess a lot of PC games don't give half a s*** about quality components or something.. my minimum PC is maybe a $1,200 rig.. and I'm not going to build it myself either. It's not rocket science and I could easily do it.. but I also don't change my oil, or install my own water heater.. or do a million things I could do.. because I don't have endless hours to do pain in the ass projects.
 
Shouldn't taxes are negligible? The same online store I can get the computer parts(Amazon), I can get a next gen console tax free. In the US of course.
I forgot that that. Dismiss my point then.
 
I've read it before that PC's are superior to what Microsoft and Sony are coming out with in November. I love graphics. I'm a graphics whore. What would it cost to build a PC that can surpass what Sony and Microsoft have to offer right now?
Hey PV here is something to consider

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10...hase?utm_campaign=fbposts&utm_source=facebook


Alienware Offering $200 for Old Game Consoles with PC Purchase
Accepting trade-ins of old PCs and Macs, too.



by Matt Clark
October 24, 2013




The next generation of console gaming is just over the horizon. And while there's plenty of reasons to hang on to your old PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, owning a competent gaming PC is also a solid investment. Today, Alienware has expanded its trade-in program to accept aging game consoles for anyone purchasing one of its PC rigs.

x51.jpg


No, this isn't the first time Alienware has offered such a trade-in program. Back in 2007, the PC manufacturer began handing out cash for hardware--$200 back then, too--for everything from MP3 players to game consoles. Currently, the trade-in program is accepting working-condition PlayStation 3 units, Xbox 360 Slim units, as well as a wide range of desktop PCs and laptops. As far as we can tell, they all pay out 200 bucks.

But before you get your hands on the cash, you'll have to buy an Alienware PC and save the receipt. Logging onto the Alienware Trade website with the proof-of-purchase and your bank information in-hand, you'll answer a few questions about your old hardware and send the device off to Alienware with free shipping. After your trade-in is verified, Alienware says your $200 will show up in the bank within 40 days.
 
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I'd say around $800 for a comfortable pure horsepower advantage on consoles. Like mentioned before though, is that consoles nickle and dime you with online subscription fees and higher priced games. Over the life a console, you're paying MUCH more than you would if you went PC. The devil is in the details.
 
I'd say around $800 for a comfortable pure horsepower advantage on consoles. Like mentioned before though, is that consoles nickle and dime you with online subscription fees and higher priced games. Over the life a console, you're paying MUCH more than you would if you went PC. The devil is in the details.

Only if you buy cheap PC's though and never upgrade them.

The PC I just bought would pay for an entire generation of console gaming for someone even with extra controllers, online fees and plenty of games.
 
I feel the video makes some good points, but touches none of the negatives.

The people in the video i feel are not mentioning the expertise and time consumption needed to build and maintaining the system. I have an IT degree, its not hard for me to maintain a computer but i know plenty of people who don't even know what a GPU is, much less troubleshoot that they need a new driver for a game. They also struggle greatly with understanding if their computer can play a game well. Think about that. If you struggle with these basics like understanding requirements to play the game, what a GPU is, and drivers, how well are you going to handle other issues?

People see these videos and hear about how great PC gaming is, hear its not that hard and then either try to build the PC themselves and find out they don't know what they are doing, and/or just end up spending twice as much to have someone else to it which removes much of the saving people are talking about. Even in the video they try to turn that into a positive, you'll learn how computers work, blah, blah.

If you are computer literate, than sure the PC is a great way to play games cheaply at high resolutions. The prices for the games are cheaper on the PC. You do have those great steam sales which i do take full advantage of. On the other hand i received $20 in rewards for just about every PS3 game i bought new thru Best Buy gamers club this year. So overall for 40 games i think you can drop those totals down across the board.

Last thing i want to add, is many PC gamers fall into the upgrading trap. Here is a video of a guy describing it better than i could.


I am not bashing PC gaming. I actually enjoy it but i think we need to remember much of the population might use a computer for the internet, email, or whatever but has no idea what is under the hood. So i think stating some of the negatives is important. The cost maybe higher with consoles but you know exactly what you getting and that it will work.
 
That video is pretty much just saying that it's addictive to constantly want to just buy newer hardware just for the sake of it. I see the point, but it's not actually related to the costs of PC hardware and upgrading. It is addictive tho.

I feel the video makes some good points, but touches none of the negatives.

The people in the video i feel are not mentioning the expertise and time consumption needed to build and maintaining the system. I have an IT degree, its not hard for me to maintain a computer but i know plenty of people who don't even know what a GPU is, much less troubleshoot that they need a new driver for a game. They also struggle greatly with understanding if their computer can play a game well. Think about that. If you struggle with these basics like understanding requirements to play the game, what a GPU is, and drivers, how well are you going to handle other issue?

I agree with this. Building and maintaining PCs is a bit intimidating. But I think everyone should try and at least learn because it really is indeed very easy once you get past that initial mental barrier. We all at one point or another didn't know how to use a game controller to play games or how to use a PC for Facebook using a mouse, but we all learned how to anyways. PC gaming is definitely more difficult, but I think more of it has to do with the lack of willingness to learn.
 
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That video is pretty much just saying that it's addictive to constantly want to just buy newer hardware just for the sake of it. I see the point, but it's not actually related to the costs of PC hardware and upgrading. It is addictive tho.

Correct that video is, my post is hitting on some negatives of PC gaming because i think its important that people know the downsides. The PC upgrade trap is just one of those i mentioned. I provided the video since i feel he describes it better than i would have.
 
with what case? and whats included?

GPU 250
CPU 150
mobo 65
Ram 75
Case 50
Hard Drive 65
DVD drive 25
Power Supply 65
os 100

That's about 850 right there for a pc that will outdo next gen console. You don't need a titan or some other expensive gpu to outdo next gen consoles.


Meanwhile, with the cheapest next gen console (ps4) the console and psn cost for 8 years will be at least 800, not including more expensive games. AND.....AND.....right out the gate, that pc will have you playing games at better visuals AND performance than the console will.


Seems like console gaming ends up being the more expensive option, with worse visuals and/or performance. Not sure how console gamers have convinced themselves that pc gaming is the more expensive route.
 
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GPU 250
CPU 150
mobo 65
Ram 75
Case 50
Hard Drive 65
DVD drive 25
Power Supply 65
os 100

That's about 850 right there for a pc that will outdo next gen console. You don't need a titan or some other expensive gpu to outdo next gen consoles.

No controllers? KB/Mouse?
DVD? these consoles use BR
How much ram?
65 for the PSU..what watt is it?

For those prices that pc is a piece of junk.
 
I'm not anywhere near as confident in that statement QBert.

I question how long my GTX670 will last into the generation without compromise compared to console versions and it's an almost $400 card still on it's own. Textures and other data MUST be loaded into the GPU's RAM for instance, so even if the shader/overall speed ability trumps anything in the next gen consoles it might be a bottleneck.

"Next gen" PC games might at least come with the OPTION to actually start maxing out the higher RAM cards. And at least for the settings that have to be compromised to fit within a 2GB PC card and move some of that over to the separate DDR3 pool might be a "win" for the console. Hell some lazy console->PC ports designed for an 8GB pool of unified RAM might suck on anything but a 5GB VRAM card.. we just don't know. There may be other optimizations that matter as well.

Although those console CPU's really don't seem very powerful.. so it also could go the other way, and some $800 PC will easily top the next gen consoles.

But it's quite possible it will take a bit more than that.

In a year though it won't even really be a question.. let alone 2-3 years.

The flip side of the "well a console lasts 8 years" argument is that you don't have to keep a PC forever either.. and you CAN upgrade. A $250 videocard upgrade 3 years from now could bring a $800 PC of 2013 that competes well with the $400-500 consoles way beyond that consoles power.

At the very least I just think none of it is set in stone how much these consoles architectures and optimized OS/API's will matter. It's different every generation really.
 
No controllers? KB/Mouse?
DVD? these consoles use BR
How much ram?
65 for the PSU..what watt is it?

For those prices that pc is a piece of junk.



What, you don't already have a keyboard/mouse? Your current controllers work fine, you don't need new ones.

Ram - 8 gig ddr3
PSu - 650w (you don't need more)


You do know that the components in consoles are going to be truly junk, right?
 
I'm not anywhere near as confident in that statement QBert.

I question how long my GTX670 will last into the generation without compromise compared to console versions and it's an almost $400 card still on it's own. Textures and other data MUST be loaded into the GPU's RAM for instance, so even if the shader/overall speed ability trumps anything in the next gen consoles it might be a bottleneck.

"Next gen" PC games might at least come with the OPTION to actually start maxing out the higher RAM cards. And at least for the settings that have to be compromised to fit within a 2GB PC card and move some of that over to the separate DDR3 pool might be a "win" for the console. There may be other optimizations that matter as well.

Although those console CPU's really don't seem very powerful.. so it also could go the other way, and some $800 PC will easily top the next gen consoles.

But it's quite possible it will take a bit more than that.


Dude, a 3gig 7950 could be had right now at amazon for 270. Sure, 5 years from now, you won't be able to max out games that come out...5 years from now......BUT, neither will next gen console. If anything, next gen will start reducing resolutions and dumbing settings down to keep up.
 
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