PC Tech - Part 10 - PC Vs. Consoles, Which is better for Gaming?
PC Vs. Console and which is better? This question has had the gaming community split with each team making rumours about the other. When faced with solid facts, both sides either try and fight with poor logic, ie, butthurt, or will just plain ignore you and go back to playing some awesome game, regardless of what it is played on.
I have weighed in a few times with arguments such as this, while I remain firm on being a PC gamer, I appreciate console gaming too.
I think it had to do with having the right tool for the job. While Consoles remain limited in there usability, they are perfectly designed for the job in hand. On the other side of that coin PC's have an almost endless list of what you can do with it.
Lets get to basics of each platform.
Windows based PC's are designed to accept a large number of different parts, if that be to replace a broken memory module, to upgrading a graphics card. But in order to do this, the Operating system that runs the computer needs Drivers in order to run pre installed or changes in hardware. Think of it like an interpretor, the Motherboard speaks a different language to the Graphics card, thus enabling them to work together. (Read more about Drivers here). Consoles on the other hand are pre designed with a specific set of hardware, the advantage of this is all the resources are dedicated to gaming. So the next time you hear someone say... ''My PC CPU is 5 times faster than your console'', just remind them that a PC has split resources and only a portion can be dedicated to gaming.
There have been just as many arguments about a $500 console Vs. a $500 PC. Admitidly, even I went on a rant about this, but to play any new triple A titles on PC you would need to invest in some more money. (Read my Rant here). So if you were to compare a PC and Console at the same price, performance would depend entirely on what hardware and Operating system the PC used. Oh, and what is on sale at the time. But to put it in simple terms, an equal value PC running either Windows 10 or Linux Steam OS will perform just as well as a console of the same value. Yes the processor and graphics may be faster and more powerful, but the system resources are not 100% dedicated to gaming.
PC gaming as a whole is becoming more popular everyday, surpassing consoles, but this is at the PC gamers cost. For a mid level gaming PC, complete with all the peripherals and connectivity you would get with a console, they are spending over £800 (about $1050USD), almost double that of the console. The benefit though, the gaming experience can be much better. Let me explain.
When a game is developed for a console, it is designed to run at a graphical setting that results in smooth gameplay with no stuttering, low frame rate or crashes. Depending on how powerful a PC is, that graphical setting can be increased dramatically, higher frame rates, higher resolutions (up to 16K in some instances), multiple monitor setups, cleaner and more realistic graphics. If you want all that however, make sure you have deep pockets, some systems can cost upwards of $5k.
When it comes down to it, consoles are great, they are a purpose built tool designed to do one thing fantastic at a good price. PC are also good, can cost much more, but is a tool that does so much more. The more you spend on a PC the better it will become.
Price for price though, both sides are equally matched for gaming.
Gamers are always wanting to immerse themselves further in the games they play, unfortunately for consoles, that is limited, PC's on the other hand are limitless and that may be the reason more and more people are turning to PC's.
So enough with the arguing over what is better. just stop being a brand whore and try thinking outside the box (no pun intended)
Consoles are finite in what they are, and technological leaps in performance are limited to being updated once every 2-3 years, in this time, game developers learn how to push the console to its limits, improving its capability. PC is always evolving, new hardware is released almost on a daily basis and moves much quicker. the disadvantage to gamers is the developers have to constantly be on the look out for new hardware and make sure the games they are making is compatible with it. for example;- when Metal Gear Solid 5 came out for PC, users who had new AMD radeon Graphics couldn't play due to comparability issues, until the Dev team released a Patch to solve the problem. Many PC games run into comparability issues, an affliction consoles don't have.
In Short... Stop bitching at each other and just play.
Thanks for reading.
Stu @TechMojo