PS5 or first gaming PC?

SlavOz on 31/12/2020 - 02:05

Was initially really keen on the Ps5 but the more I think of it, I don't really need it. I still have a healthy backlog of Ps4 games to play and it looks like a lot of new releases will be launching on Ps4 anyway.

By coincidence I've also been thinking about getting into PC gaming. I've never been a PC game but I hear wonderful things. The main appeal for me is the endless amount of strategy games. Many of them are on console but they are terrible to control.

So with a budget of around $2k, can I expect a good gaming laptop and what's it like going from a life of console to PC gaming?

Gaming Computer Desktop Computer Game Console Sony

Comments

  • WoodYouLikeSomeCash on 31/12/2020 - 02:16
    +8

    Ps5 or first gaming PC?

    Gaming PC.

  • AustriaBargain on 31/12/2020 - 03:09

    Both. But seeing as the PS5 could take a long time to come back in stock I'd go with the PC first. Unless you must have a 3090 at or below RRP, then maybe find another hobby until late next year.

  • mizx on 31/12/2020 - 03:17
    +1

    They'll still release exclusives for PS4 right? So you'll be covered.

    This is important… Laptop or Desktop.
    You can get a well packaged laptop here for $2K (or here for deals page) and all you need is a decent mouse and mouse pad ($75+).

    With desktop, you also need to factor in peripherals, whether you want a good (mechanical) keyboard or not, what resolution and refresh rate (e.g. 144hz) for the monitor (e.g. 1080p, 1440p, 4K)($200+), headphones, chair/desk etc. etc.

    I guess PC life is like console + phone (browsing/watching stuff) + much more precision in games where controller does not excel at, like you mentioned.

    So yeah, the real budget for a desktop is going to be way lower than $2K compared to spending it all on the laptop.

  • DingoBilly on 31/12/2020 - 08:31

    I personally play a lot of strategy games on PS4. It's not as simple as PC for sure, and there's not as many - but the ones that are there are fantastic and I think they control great myself. You can always just attach a keyboard and mouse as well?

    Otherwise, I'd recommend a PC over a laptop if you can, and for strategy games you can actually get away with much less than $2k to support most games as they tend to not be as GPU focussed.

    In terms of the life… depending on whether you can connect your PC to your TV or not. If you can't, you'll be sitting a lot more in front of some desk. For me doing that after work sucks, so I much prefer just chilling on the couch and playing games on console myself.

    • SlavOz on 31/12/2020 - 11:45

      This is actually something which really concerned me as well. On a bad (good) day, I can go 8 hours+ playing my Ps4 or Switch while sitting back on the couch with my feet up. I'd imagine spending that much time at a desk on my PC would turn cumbersome, even with one of those awesome gaming chairs…unless I spent more money on a crazy set-up which I'm not really interested in.

      I already spend the better part of 8 hours sitting in a chair staring at a screen at work. My back needs a break from that awkward angle.

  • oscargamer on 31/12/2020 - 09:05

    PC

  • witheredcouch on 31/12/2020 - 09:17
    +1

    Part of it depends what kind of gamer you are. I have tried to adjust myself to PC gaming, but I just much prefer the console experience, a lot less having to worry about settings, drivers etc (because if there are things to tweak, I will whether I want to or not), it is just set and forget, and even a PC with a controller just isn't the same vibe or simplicity. For me, gaming is switch my mind off and relax time and I find it hard to do that with a computer, and impossible with a keyboard and mouse. Due to this, I found myself choosing to play even my base Xbox One, with its incredibly underpowered hardware over my far more capable PC as it is just a more streamlined experience, I have since moved on to a PS5 and have been very happy with it so far, it is fast, responsive, and just works.

    However, I can see where a PC would work better for strategy games, just depends what style of gameplay you like and what you prefer.

    • SlavOz on 31/12/2020 - 11:50

      Don't care in the slightest about graphics or even frame rate. I play plenty of ported games on Switch which look terrible but it doesn't bother me at all. I hardly notice until someone points it out tbh.

      My main interest in a PC is just to have access to a large library of strategy games or get the ultimate first-person shooter control experience.

  • YeemaiI on 31/12/2020 - 09:47

    PC. You won't regret it

  • tallkid123 on 31/12/2020 - 10:19
    +1

    Get a PC first since PS5 are currently out of stock anyway.

    I'm currently awaiting a new desktop and once Sony releases some special edition PS5s, I'll get one then.

  • KaTst3R on 31/12/2020 - 11:04
    -1

    Depends if you enjoy tweaking your video settings etc. It takes some effort to get games running optimally on the PC. If you are more of a start and play type of person, then the PS5 will suit you better.

    • Baa on 31/12/2020 - 11:19

      I don't think this is necessarily true anymore, most games will auto optimise based on your configuration. I only had to do minimal tweaking on my very old 1070 on most games I played and this was usually based on preferences.

      The only exception are games like Cyberpunk, but hey at least you can play it on PC at all!

      These days we do not get to experience the joy of just trying to get a game work on your PC for a week before being able to even play it (Thanks Return to Zork).

      • KaTst3R on 31/12/2020 - 11:47

        Games will auto detect, but you will need to fine tune based your preference. I have a preference for high fps over quality. You start off with auto optimised settings, I go into the game see what graphics quality and fps. Get out, turn off some shadows, motion blur, play with different AAs. Go into the game again, get out, retweak some settings, lower ambient occlusion, change FOV, etc. Go into the game again, get out, retweak until I find the perfect balance. This takes time to trial and error.

        It is not so straight forward. This is not even considering the fact that sometimes major game updates may affect performance and people will have to play around with settings again.

        If you are referring to editing ini files, then it is rare these days.

        • Baa on 31/12/2020 - 12:17

          Sure you can customise all your settings, but this is not 'required' to play games on a PC, and even if you do need to do minimal tweaking for most users it will be reducing the preset from high to medium (compared to say reduicing shadows or FOV).

          I know many not very tech savvy gamers that play a wide array of games on various aged machines, and if it was this hard they would not bother. No need to scare people off gaming on PC's by making seem harder than it actually is.

          • KaTst3R on 31/12/2020 - 13:01

            @Baa: Sure, if you just wanna play, the software runs immediately once you double click the icon. Gamers who are not tech savvy might not care. But is that setting optimal? Probably not. Thats where the ability to fine tune comes in. In fact, it is an advantage. Spend some effort, get the best settings for your GPU based on preference. The versatility gives a wider spectrum of one end performance to the other end quality. I enjoy the process.

            As time goes by and the GPU showing its age, that is when tweaking becomes more important. Not scaring anyone off PC gaming. They just gotta understand you are dipping your toes into an experience that cant be perfectly optimised because there are millions of system combinations out there.

            There are only limited variants of consoles, everything is pre-optimised. So as a gamer, take your platform pick. Consistency vs versatility.

            I game on both PC and PS4. They both have their own pros and cons.

            • Baa on 31/12/2020 - 13:27
              +1

              @KaTst3R: Yes, I understand this and personally I like the level of control - however this shouldn't be something that deters your run of the mill person from getting into PC gaming.

              I have no issues with consoles, althought admit outside of the Switch I barely touch the PS4, but complexity of PC gaming should not be the reason you avoid it, with cost more often being the limiting factor which with a $2k budget is sufficient for OP.

              For the OP who plays strategy games being on a PC should absolutely be the place to game, brings back memories of playing C&C on the PS1 before I started playing them on the PC which was night and day in terms of experience.

              • KaTst3R on 31/12/2020 - 13:44
                +1

                @Baa: I do encourage people to give the PC a shot. I personally enjoy using KB&M more than a controller and tweaking settings. I hope more people can share the same joy i get out of it. My missus doesnt, but well story for another day…

  • Fire Chicken on 31/12/2020 - 11:56

    You mentioned a gaming laptop, is that for portability? If so, then OK, I'm not too knowledgable on laptop offerings, but AMD are coming out with their 5000 series APUs for laptop in the near intermediate future, but you are at the mercy of laptop manufacturers as to what they put into their systems.

    But if not, I recently built a new mini ITX PC. For $2000, and you could get a reference rx 6800 or RTX 3070 (~$900-950), Ryzen 5 3600 ($250), CPU after market air cooler (depends on your case, $80-120), B450 mobo ($100-150), 16 GB RAM (~$100), PSU (decent one $150) and 1TB NVMe drive ($150-200) to fit in a nice case of your choosing.

    Of course, you'll also need to think about the monitor, but the Dell S2721DGF ($450-500, 27in, IPS, 1440p, 165Hz) goes on sale often enough that you can get by with an old monitor until you complete your ascension.

  • pharkurnell on 31/12/2020 - 13:08

    Going from PC to Console and back can be a bit challenging depending on what games you play..

    what strategy games you playing? im bored of shooters.

  • iridiumstem on 31/12/2020 - 13:25

    Gaming PC does have better modding capabilities normally, which I love.
    On Mount and Blade or Civ 5, there are mods that I cannot play without that just makes game more fun to play (better interface or new faction etc).

  • Jugganautx on 31/12/2020 - 14:50
    -3

    You'll save the price of the PS5 just in the first year of owning a PC…. Who the **** would pay north of $80 for a game when you can just download them for free.

    • witheredcouch on 31/12/2020 - 15:19
      +2

      People that don't want to pirate games? Unless you are referring to some legal method for free games that I am unaware of.

      • iridiumstem on 31/12/2020 - 19:04

        Well I have been playing Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup since high school (on and off), still haven't managed to beat the game yet and that game is free.

  • Bid Sniper on 31/12/2020 - 15:18

    Library of games on PC are endless and way cheaper long run than a console.

    Go a desktop rather and laptop, better and cheaper long run.

  • Godric on 31/12/2020 - 16:07

    PC

    Join me in C&C Remastered
    Sick of being beaten by gods needs more fresh players on lol

  • zeda96 on 01/01/2021 - 08:12

    Hi! My strategy is quite simple. I am aiming to get myself a PC first where I can play games until PS5 exclusives like God of War 2, Horizon Forbidden West launches. Until then, I will be on my PC.

  • kazuyamishima on 02/01/2021 - 22:08

    It depends on your internet connection.
    I got a gaming laptop with a GTX1650 Ti that plays most of recent games decently but my internet connection is pretty bad so I barely downloaded 1 game after a month of having it.

    Also, the price in games is very subjective, I got recently physical games to play on my PS5 like the last of us part II for $20, Resident Evil 3 remake for $9, Borderlands 3 for $9, and so much more around $9-20 each.

    Even using pages like Eneba, I didn’t find enough cheap prices for games I was looking for.

  • BusMan247 on 13/01/2021 - 00:35

    Personally I wanted a launch PS5 but couldn’t get one. Now that I don’t have one, I kind of am over it he whole thing a little. I mean, I do want one eventually but all I keep reading is how the games aren’t running that amazing on it yet. A lot of games still need updates. There’s been the usual teething issues as well. And to top it off cyberpunk which was going to be my first banger isn’t playable really yet. Hardly worth the launch cost price of admission.

    I’m going to wait for stock to become normal and the inevitable price drop or case revision or at the very least revised hardware with mouth issues.

    Where the PC is good to go now. Get a 1080ti, a 2080 or even one of the new 3070+ and you are laughing.

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