Got 600-700 Dollars, ps4 or gaming pc?

Pc, more games generally cheaper games, superior multi plats, choice of controller options, choice of play (either at a desk with monitor or set up by big TV similar to console play)

That price will get something decent and the cheaper games and no online fees offsets the overall money spent when you take into account you might have to upgrade it a bit in a few years

@romio7754: i have a gaming pc and a PS4, and i am playing more games on the PS4. But that's just me. I would recomend getting the PS4 personally unless you like some PC games over the PS4. So i say, what games do you want to playÆ?

Don't even think about getting a PC unless you are spending at least £1000 on it.

700 isn't enough for a good pc with lastability. I'd recommend saving a bit more money. Not only will you get a better machine, but by the time you do save some money, the gfx cards that will be out will be truly optimized for next gen.

@Heirren: It depends. In euros 700-800 would get you a mid range PC that blows next gen consoles. Most prices i've seen in the US are somewhat equal, so 700, with some search, can get you a great rig that maxes out most games at 60fps, or atleast 30. If one cares more about fps, then just lower the res and quality.

TC, a couple of questions:

1- Do you already have an HD tv?

2- Do you already have a pc table, chair, HD monitor, speakers, etc?

If teh answer is yes for both, get a p. You'll mostly just need a new gpu, cou, mobo, RAM, power, hardrive, and maybe a new case and wires, and you should be set,

Also

3- Do you already have a last gen console?

PC, since it actually has games to play.

@deadline-zero0:

Yes, but console games are bound to be more optimized down the road. I still think it makes sense to wait, save a bit more money, and build a machine that will truly last the length of the generation.

This. Spending £600 on a PC now will only hurt you in the long run.

PC is a non streamlined, inconsistent experience. The best way to consolize it is to boot directly to Steam's big screen mode however you still have to pick up the mouse/kb which is fine if you like sitting alone at the desk, wireless on the couch is pretty funky at best. Going all gamepad is a no can do for the most part at least until Valve releases their trackpad controller. It's also a segregated platform, like if you want EA games you need Origin as well. Uplay popup box within Steam is a bit jarring visually and filled to the brim with UBI related ads and info. It can be a clusterfck and an inconvenience. Games can be cheaper but you likely will end up spending more as a result and often get a bunch of crappy games that you don't play despite their low sale price...waste is a waste no matter how you slice it.

Games will run inconstantly, even with high end setup if you want to maximize the visuals and frame rates which really is the entire point of PC gaming. If you can't max it then go console. When it comes to mods, only a few games really have actual good mods. Some games require other software to force mods to work and most graphical enhancing files require quite a bit of tweaking and some experimentation. It's not uncommon to spend more hours tweaking a specific game than actually playing it. For example there is a lot of talk on the pirated versions of WatchDogs, many are tweaking it like crazy just to get it running smooth and many complaints wishing they had more Vram, for games like that, it's often easier to get more enjoyment and playtime out of it to just get the console version. Only a few games like Stalker or Skyrim have enough well made mods to actually add more enjoyment to the game, others just add gimmicks or fluff. In the case of Skyrim, there are so many that picking out the good ones you want and will all work together is quite time consuming on it's own. Overall, most mods aren't that great but the few are certainly very worthy if it's a game you really like.

What I do is break it all down to specific games on specific platforms since I have several. Some FPS's I'll get on PC. Racers, sports..etc I'll get on console. More casual, indie type games I'll get on handhelds or tablet. There is no easy choice for that price range. Spending only $700 can and will lead to some disappointments, especially as time goes on. I would say PC is at least backwards compatable with all the old games but that's not often true, the older a game gets, the harder it is to get running properly on a modern machine. I got a couple of games from GOG with unfixable resolution issues and they just flat out will not size right onscreen, others won't even run or just crash to desktop. PC is a mixed bag so you really need to enjoy spending time with it.

A $400 console and you're set for 5 + years guaranteed. You can at least sell your games, borrow them and rent them if such stores exist in your area but the main con is you pay the premium so it will make you more picky which isn't a bad thing considering so many Steam deal games that given the limited time on the price I have got on impulse only to never play or realize I hate it.

Depends. Do you already have a good monitor and mouse+keyboard? If so, I'd look at this build here. A good monitor is going to throw you close to 1k with a decent build like this. I'm no expert, but I believe that gpu/cpu combo would allow you to play about every game on high or ultra settings for a couple of years before having to bump down to medium(normal) settings, but all at 1080p if you really care.

@Heirren:

Optimization isn't that much of a huge issue anymore. Still some games are terrible ports like Dark Souls, but most work fine. If fact, some of the bigger issues, tend to happen when people want run the games higher than the consoles.

Can't speak for others, but AC4 on medium 1080p and 30fps like the PS4 was perfect. It was when i tried running on ultra and higher fps that it started to have problems, but those where fixed anyway. Wolfenstein was also having problems for some, but apparently not everyone.

If you want the ultimate experience in terms of res, fps, quality, high end PC is teh only way to go. If the next gen version, and above are good enough for you, mid PC wil get you that easy.

As far as upgrades, nah. A mid range PC would probably last 3-4 years before it started to run at medium, 30fps. Then teh onyl thing you'd need to upgrade would a new GPU, and a new mobo for OC if you CPU is starting to fail. That right there, is about what you'd pay for XBOX live, PSN for the whole gen.

Nobody needs a gen-proofed rig to get all the advantages of PC.

But exclusives also factor in obviously.

Yeah but you don't need a GTX780 to play games at better settings and higher resolutions than current gen consoles.

I have a 3-year old mid end PC, that would probably cost 600-700 now and so far I've played all multiplats with better performance and higher settings than a PS4 can...

But of course when you have to buy everything, not just the desktop PC, like screen, speakers, m/kb etc... than you will spend more than 700.

I would totally recommend going for a PC. As I said, you can play all of the multiplats better and there are a ton of exclusives. Something witch both PS4 and Xbone lack at the moment.

Honestly at that budget. I would go PS4, if you have patients to wait for games and features.

Even if I had 2 grand and and only 1 choice I'd go with PS4. I find console exclusives to be more fun imo, but I do have a gaming pc and a ps4.

UPDATE: I forgot to say i have a monitor and mouse and keyboard so they dont need to be in the price. i already have them

Thanks

You have 7 posts? I still side towards the PS4 at that budget. You will never see the value and amount of games you get from a PC though.

Well, so pretty much you can't go wrong with both. I personally think you can never go wrong getting the best of both worlds.

If you're gauging your PC's performance based upon if you're playing multiplats better than a console then you're just doing it wrong. PCs need to stand strong on their own if you really want to get your money's worth. You have gotten your money's worth as your PC is 3 years old. However if you're building a PC in 2014 that's just more powerful than a PS4/Xbox One because you couldn't afford the higher end parts for your initial build, then you're really doing it wrong.

I understand you're getting the big library and maybe that's all that matters. But going forward you'll be making a lot of compromises while with the PS4 you would just be able to play every new game launched on it without having to compromise one bit.

You need about $800 to build a PC that would be able to do this. This is just for the PC, not the monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers which a person who doesn't have their own PC, or has a laptop, probably doesn't have.

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