Digital Foundry: 300£ PC vs PS4

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-budget-gaming-pc-guide

Building a budget gaming PC: final thoughts

The hardware capabilities of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are defining the next era of AAA gaming. We went into this project half-expecting to find graphical performance from our build at a mid-way point between the two consoles, but instead found that the GTX 750 Ti is capable of matching PS4 visuals point-for-point in many cases, even on the most recent titles. Of course, as developers get to grips with the consoles, we may find that the PC we've created falls behind (already there are issues with texture quality in a couple of games - the amount of VRAM on the GPU will probably become much more important this year), but the beauty of the platform is its upgradability - RAM, CPU and GPU can all be replaced with far more capable parts. The fact that entry-level enthusiast kit competes so closely is a double-edged sword: on the one hand it means that PC owners can enjoy the latest games on relatively modest kit. On the other, it means that scalability worthy of higher end PC hardware does tend to be rather limited - resolution and frame-rate gains are welcome, but improvements elsewhere can be thin on the ground.

However, the big takeaway from this project is the importance of the CPU and the reality that the Pentium G3258 - even with a massive 1GHz overclock in place - presents bottlenecks you may encounter sooner rather than later on more recent games. The obvious step to take when experiencing less than stellar performance is to lower resolution - on this set-up, that only goes so far. It works fine on a GPU-intensive games like Metro Last Light Redux or Tomb Raider, which aren't overly taxing on the main processor. However, for Assassin's Creed Unity, Battlefield 4, Ryse and Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, the performance hitches remain regardless of pixel count - the G3258 is a dual-core CPU processor substituting raw overclocked speed for multiple threads, and it doesn't quite work out.

Moving to a Core i3 represents a sizeable increase to overall performance stability, but it makes us wonder whether those looking to build a PC under a constrained budget might be better off dropping back to Intel's older socket 1155 and buying a used second-gen Core i5 from the Sandy Bridge generation, where non-overclocked versions sell for as little as £65-£70. There'd be more horsepower overall, with the added bonus that more capable AMD graphics cards at similar price-points to the GTX 750 Ti could become viable. It's an interesting alternative for those looking to build a cheap PC gaming rig, and one we'll be investigating in an upcoming feature.

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Basically, when pairing a G3258 with a 750ti and 8 gigs of ram, they get near ps4 performance.

Bumping to an I3-4XXX gets to that level.

More expensive than the ps4, but onyl about 30% more so. Not bad when you consider that you don't get discounted for mass manufacturing of parts

The only reason to own a console is if you're a simpleton or you want them for the exclusives, this just reaffirms that.

Oh no...

Here comes the arbitrary rules and nit-picking.

@nyadc: pretty much my thoughts.

Being a huge of fan of one of the franchises exclusive to a console would make me but it.

For example I'm likely to buy an x1 as I can't wait for new tomb raider game

Oh, i forgot

Isn't the exchange rate a British pound = $2ish?

About that. And the PS4 is sitting at £350 retail.

http://www.game.co.uk/en/playstation-4-console-209593?categoryIdentifier=737200&catGroupId=

Consoles were never meant to be PCs. They were meant to be consoles. Thank Christ for that.

@deadline-zero0 said:

Oh, i forgot

What exactly is this implying?

Damn!!!!! I didn't know you Brits had it so bad. $700 for a PS4 is ridiculous.

@nyadc said:

@deadline-zero0 said:

Oh, i forgot

What exactly is this implying?

You're missing the joke...

How much do you pay in tax? We pay 20%.

The only reason to own a console is if you're a simpleton or you want them for the exclusives, this just reaffirms that.

@clyde46 said:

@nyadc said:

@deadline-zero0 said:

Oh, i forgot

What exactly is this implying?

You're missing the joke...

I just want to make sure I'm not misconstruing what he's implying with that image.

Oi Vey!!!!!

It really depends on what state and city you live in. In my city/state the tax rate is ~10%.

Yet, the most played pc games are not multiplats

@nyadc said:

The only reason to own a console is if you're a simpleton or you want them for the exclusives, this just reaffirms that.

@clyde46 said:

@nyadc said:

@deadline-zero0 said:

Oh, i forgot

What exactly is this implying?

You're missing the joke...

I just want to make sure I'm not misconstruing what he's implying with that image.

Let me explain.

In threads like this, the same arguments and their counterparts are always brought up. One of the classic ones is that consoles are designed for gaming on a sofa, implying that PC's are restricted to the office desk. Of course we of the Master Race know this to be false as we can plug in our PC's into the living room thus making consoles obsolete. This in turn made the console babies very mad thus lots of shit flinging started to happen.

So a low tax mixed in with a weak dollar vs a strong Pound Sterling and a high tax rate. Don't you just low global economics.

Yeah man everyone knows that both consoles are outdated as hell. However, one should never build a cheap ass PC. Always build a proper PC that can last longer.

That PC wouldn't last you 4-5 years like a PS4 will.

Yup. PC can't play the goat, mlb 15. How sad

Depends on what you expect from it. Assuming DX12 doesn't cause compatibility issues, it should be fine

. The Pentium is shit, but you go for the I3, it'll be fine in 5 years.

A 750ti is a tricky bitch, but on upside, you can upgrade you card

Translation: "The PS4 hardware will be severely outdated in 4-5 years, games will begin to look and run even better than they already do on PC as the hardware and software technology advances and you'll be stuck with no ability to upgrade and keep up with the times as your experience inevitably diminishes."

I just hope less corridor games appear in the future.

By the end of the year, PC will be the best console on the market.

no copy of windows and you have to build it yourself and does not come with any inputs. These ultra cheap "gaming pcs" are always unfinished or garbage. If you want to be a pc gamer learn to build it yourself and be willing to spend at least around 600 bucks. Low end pcs wont last you and will just force you to upgrade early.

Yet neither of those pc quite matched the PS4. Why would I want all of the headache of pc gaming with none of the benefits. If you want a proper gaming pc you should go $1000 and up.

Just take a look at the top games for PC. They are games like League of Legends, Warcraft, Counter-Strike, etc.

With the i3 it was pretty much directly on par and in some cases better, also $800 should be sufficient, you just have to buy smart and hunt for deals.

P.S. What headache?

@SolidGame_basic: And why is that a problem?

..that seems to be the running theme of the PC herms.. Let's leave out all of the inputs & OS and build a PC that will need upgrades in two years... just to beat teh PS4/XBO.

smh

my laptop or any regular PC can play those games.

Interesting research but you are doing it wrong if you want to build a GAMING pc for less than 800 USD. Being a PC gamer means you are willing to spend more to get more bang for your buck. This is the whole purpose of PC gaming, not being stuck with outdated hardware, spend more to get more. These researches never take into account that you will get your money back with cheaper games and no online fees in a year or two. I would say the perfect cost of a gaming pc is around 1200 USD, for that cost you get a rig that will last for 4 year or even more if you are not very demanding with your games visual quality.

Well a k/m combo and be bought by 10 euros/dollars. You can also get a legit copy of windows for cheap on reddit. And since you can upgrade that one to w10, it's fine.

Honestly, this pc isn't one i'd recommend. But from a pure power perspective, it's interesting how a year and half latter, a pc that's onyl abit more expensive than a console can play at the same level.

After all, console parts are discounted due to mass production. We common consumers don't get so lucky.

Again, what's the problem?

Complete nonsense

Speak for yourself. I have and never will recommend a cheap build. Go big or go home.

Not any more. Its more like £1 = $1.50

What do you expect from a guy who lives in a dreamland.

@deadline-zero0: Not complete nonsense at all. You blabber about 4k, max settings 60fps and beyond. Those are the best advantages of pc gaming. And these budget builds get you none of that.

@anthonyautumns: More then what I expect from some pathetic troll on his alt.

How much did you pay for your PC?

Here we go,.

You don't need 1000$ to get max settings or 60fps. Sure, if you want everything at it's best, all the time, it costs money.

My I5, 760, 8GB pc costed me around 800 euros more than a year ago and it still maxes games out.

Depends on what you're playing, those CPUs will struggle at some point. Personally i wish i'd just thrown more cash at my PC and gone for an i5.

But you can get that on PC...

Sign me up for a PC now

So I can get GTA V 18 months late, Final Fantasy XV 18 months late, Halo 36 months late, basically any game worth a salt years later then consoles

Also said PC will never, ever match the Order 1886, Uncharted 4 or any PS4 exclusive in terms of visuals. Sure it may match or exceed poorly optimized trash thats on 4 different consoles, PC, and mobile

Its amazing how delusional people can get.

@clyde46: Not one under $1000 not without compromising.

And?

If only PC got 99% of every other game at the same time.

@clyde46: I said to really enjoy the advantages of pc gaming you need to go $1000 and up and Deadline_Zero was arguing otherwise.