The technology in video gaming is continuously improving, and it’s probably going to make the most out of the newest hardware upgrade releases these days.
The next-gen consoles for example, the Xbox One and Playstation 4, created a huge hype when they were first released just a few months ago.
While the conclusion of having a better game through a greater graphics feature is still debatable, the improvements on these consoles compared to their predecessors were definitely highlighted in many social media platforms and advertisements.
What about the PC? Is gaming on PC still popular these days? How would it perform compared to the next-gen consoles?
The Xbox One, Playstation 4, and the Gaming PC
It doesn’t really matter whether you prefer either one of these platform for playing video games. If you’ve been playing with Playstation units for many years, choosing the Playstation 4 as your next-gen console may make the most sense for you.
Since the comparisons of these three gaming platforms have been around on the web for months now, you might want to consider looking at their specifications first before you make a biased judgment.
Gaming Platform Comparison Chart
|
Hardware/Platform |
Xbox One |
Playstation 4 |
Gaming PC (Specs to Match) Gamefront Edition |
| CPU – Board |
Microsoft custom CPU (8-cores) |
Single-chip x86 AMD “Jaguar” (8-cores) |
AMD FX-8120 (8-cores) MSI 970A-G46 (Mobo) |
| Graphics Card |
853 MHz AMD Radeon GPU w/ 768 shaders |
AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next engine w/ 1152 shaders |
MSI R780 Twin Frozr 1.76 TFLOPs |
| RAM |
8GB DDR3 |
8GB GDDR5 |
8GB GDDR5 Crucial Ballistix |
| Optical Drive |
Blu-ray/DVD |
Blu-ray/DVD |
N/A |
| Storage |
500 GB Hard Drive |
500 GB 5400 RPM SATA II hard drive |
WD Blue 500 GB Hard Drive (7200rpm) |
| USB |
3.0 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
| PSU |
External (Power Brick) |
Internal |
Rosewill Capstone 550W |
| Unit Price |
$399.99 |
$399.99 |
$500 – $600 |
The Xbox One and Playstation 4 are pretty close when it comes to hardware specifications, with a few changes when it comes to graphics capability and RAM speed. The graphics card of the Xbox one has lesser shaders, and it’s only equipped with a DDR3 RAM compared to Playstation 4’s DDR5 RAM.
You might think that these things matter, but it’s actually up to the developers of the next-gen games on how they are going to make their games run flawlessly on each console.
There are numerous complaints about “bugs” coming from the games of each console, so comparing the two when it comes to performance is really very difficult.
The PC is definitely a standard when it comes to video games. You can easily do performance tests through some applications you can download for free, but the results you get can only be useful when you compare it to other gaming PCs.
If you really want to test how these three gaming platforms perform, get an Xbox One, a Playstation 4, and a gaming PC having the equivalent specs of next-gen consoles, and run the same game at the same time.
Pricing, Game Availability, and Bug Patches
The pricing of next-gen consoles have been through a lot of changes these past few months. The Xbox One and Playstation 4 started out at $500 and $400 respectively, and both had price cuts after a few months.
The Xbox One’s price was a surprise for everyone, and this became the reason why many people considered having a gaming console instead.
With not-so-many games released yet, more and more gamers are starting to question the next-gen consoles’ value. In fact, the Xbox One banned game sharing so people can’t have them traded or borrowed from someone!
Well, a decent gaming PC shouldn’t cost you more than $200. There are lots of options that you can choose from when you start to make your first build.
If you really wanted to have something that would perform better than next-gen consoles, your budget should go around $500 to $600. The question is – why should you go for a gaming PC instead of the next-gen consoles?
The answer is, a gaming PC can definitely do a lot more things than the next-gen consoles. Game availability for example – there are lots of games that you can play on a PC!
If you have the budget for a next-gen console-like PC build, the graphics is just better with the PC since you can install texture patches and other configurations to match your “graphic needs”.
Another thing that should change your mind from having next-gen consoles is that bugs can be solved easily. You must have experienced waiting for a game update for your Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 because of a bug you had in Skyrim. Well, you don’t have to wait that long when it comes to PC gaming.
Repair and Maintenance of Next-Gen Consoles and PC
The best thing about the PC is that you can easily repair it. If you know your ways into building a PC, it’s certainly easier to do maintenance on it than having your next-gen console serviced for a few days.
If you want to add more RAM or get a better processor, you can do it with ease with a PC. This is one limitation that next-gen consoles have – hardware optimization.
You can’t improve them, so they’re definitely going to depreciate in value as technology in the gaming industry improves. As for the PC, you can just get future-proof parts that will let you save money on newer games.
When graphics-hungry games in the future arrive, you don’t have to spend money on newer hardware.
If you’re on a budget, the PC is your best option for your gaming needs. There are lots of online shops out there that sell cheaper hardware, but can still run new games without hicks.
To know more information about gaming PCs and how you can build one, you might want to check out PC reviews and forums.
While others play on consoles that’s going to be outdated soon, you can get your hands on a next-gen PC that can run games 5 or 10 years from now!
