PC gamers stick to their own. Having better hardware and more impressive results will make you faithful, after all. 144hz monitors? Better GPUs? More modular hardware? I’d take that over any console (even if I have one) any day.
But when these videos about console-killing PCs started becoming trendy two years ago, it baffled me. Why compete with a piece of hardware that the been comprehensively proven is weaker? I can build a superior machine to a gaming console whenever I wish, but of the few times I did think about it, I thought what a pointless exercise. Not only do I have a powerful PC that can run anything at 1440p at ultra settings and at 60 fps, I also have a console. Do these PC builders have so much to prove that they went out of their way to outperform an entertainment console with a wider purpose?
Still, with all the spare parts that I have, I couldn’t resist the urge. I used an old Intel i3 processor and a 780 ti, and the result in gaming in a 1080p and 4K TVs are the same as a console. I gamed with a more capable screen, a 1080p Dell monitor with 144hz, and it’s completely unplayable. At least, it’s unplayable in the level I’m used to.
So, I asked myself again, why compare two machines that are supposed to operate in different ecosystems? As I tested, I couldn’t really see the point.
A Futile Exercise, If Anything
Let’s use logic in explaining everything. A gaming PC setup usually have a monitor that can render the capability of that machine in full. A 144hz monitor with a low latency can show 60-fps gaming in its full glory. That’s where I game, and at 1440p, it’s even more glorious.
A console-killing PC must be able to perform as good as consoles in a console ecosystem, and unfortunately for console killers, the PS4 and Xbox One perform best at 4K resolution. There’s no reality where a $400, or even a $1,000, console killer PC can perform well in 4K. It can perform well in 1080p, but in terms of traditional televisions, 1080p is a relic. So, that console killer can only be a console killer in a gaming PC ecosystem.
To actually build a console killer, you must have a card that can game at the best settings at 4K. Right now, only the most expensive GPUs can do that. From here, the point of console killer is moot if it can’t deal with 4K. With a few TVs having a native refresh rate of 120 hz, it may be worth to build a console killer. Or at least, upgrade your PC to game in high-refresh 4K. As Linus showed us, it is beautiful to see a game like Tomb Raider in 60 fps on a 65-inch TV at 4K. Those $300 console killers? It’s never going to reach the same performance level of a console in a console-centric display.
Why Not Just Buy a Console?
Many PC gamers are stubborn in believing that PC gaming is the only way to play. All those enjoying consoles are just paying for nothing. This kind of thinking really has to go, as not all people can spare the $800 in total building costs of creating 1080p, 60-fps gaming PC. More than that, consoles have become much more excellent than we give them credit for. The Xbox One S and PS4 Pro both claim that they can render games at native 4K, not upscaled 4K. In playing games Uncharted and Gears of War, I can attest to that claim. I can also attest that it’s not always true. If you want to see 60-fps gaming, your best choice is still on a desktop.
Gaming beautifully, though, you can do that at full-scale with a console. This is me while playing Witcher 3 on my PC, running it at ultra settings at 1440p. So, I know what a beautiful game looks like at its best, and consoles are not late in recreating the experience in their games.
We Have Our Thing
PC gamers are in another world when it comes to gaming. We experience games at its finest, and we create machines that are ultimately more powerful than any gaming console. We should be content with that, and letting more people experience what we experience.
In addition, we should really be checking our own instead of lording over others. The price of PC components are outrageous now compared to how they were before. The 2080 ti, Nvidia’s newest card, is the testament to that almost unreasonable pricing of PC components. We get that it’s groundbreaking with its ray tracing capabilities, but the company should’ve done better than simply following Apple’s footsteps. AMD releasing aggressively priced, well-reviewed products are doing it better, and the gaming public has rewarded them a renewed enthusiasm toward their products.
There’s also the increasingly frustrating of pay-for-play content of many MMORPGs. There’s already a strong system of making gamers pay for premium to get an advantage within the game. Not to mention the obvious money-grabs of limited-edition releases that are just taking money away from gamers.
So, why were so many so absorbed in being obnoxious toward console gamers? For a reason we may never know, I hope it never comes up again. It was such a waste of time of many brilliant people being reduced to argue why this is better than that. That time could’ve been used for better purposes, like playing games.
They have their 4K TVs, we have our 144hz monitors. They have a much simpler existence, we have one validated by our pursuit of what’s better (at a price). The quarreling should stop, as it’s making us look more childish. When in doubt, why not get a console yourself and see what all the fuss is about? You may like it, even after trashing so many fanboys in the comment section.
