Forums » General Gaming

XBOX ONE vs GAMING P.C.

    • 38 posts
    January 19, 2014 12:45 AM EST

    Having a baby girl, and a Wife thats in school full time don't allow me for many big purchases for myself, I want something better than my 360 and its a toss between these two, the biggest dfference for me is price, debating rather to spend the 450 on the new xbox or probably well over 1500 for the p.c, i never played games on p.c, is that much of a price difference worth investing in a gaming p.c?

    • 79 posts
    January 19, 2014 1:05 AM EST

    PC all the way. Pen. if you got the time, read this article it'll enlighten you on your decision.

    • 38 posts
    January 19, 2014 1:33 AM EST

    Yeah looks like a good gaming p.c could be pieced together for around 600-800, maybe less, thats a good point they had in with the xbox gold membership cost adding up over four years and could be my selling point for why we need another p.c. .

    • 162 posts
    January 19, 2014 3:51 AM EST

    In the long run I definitely recommend the PC.

    Also you can use a PC for more that just gaming (a huge open door, I know) and the price difference between a normal computer and one decend for gaming hardy exceed the cost for a Xbox or PS3.

    And for the money. Everything in live is a choice and has it's priorities, by far the most people can't have it all. In my humble opinion your wife, your little girl and all they need come first (Btw, they are the result of your choices ain't they? ).

    (When I sound like your mum, that maybe because I'm one myself. )

    • 26 posts
    January 19, 2014 4:18 AM EST

    Get a PC. It eliminates the need for another PC to access the internet, you don't need to pay to play online (Steam), games are a lot cheaper, etc. It'll be more expensive in the long run, but better value and more rewarding in the long run.

    • 111 posts
    January 19, 2014 11:18 AM EST

    You might want to consider a laptop as an alternative. Most of the latest ones come with really good graphics chips (eg NVIDIA GT 750M) and some are even upgradeable. Of course the laptop/tablet/hybrid tekkies are still making them, bigger, better, and cheaper, but that at least gives you some mileage in developing a  good all rounder which is versatile enough to address all your family needs from education through shopping, professional business applications such as RDBMSs and so forth. Additionally you don't have the aggravation of finding storage room for a desktop tower. most HD tv's have an interface slot so they can double as a monitor. Even a half decent widescreen monitor won't set you back too much. Overall, in  terms of price there ain't a great deal of difference between compatible pc's and laptops/hybrids

    Personally as a retired business systems consultant I'm viewing the pc as now having a limited life span. Business and more noticeably domestic users are looking to  to smartphones, tablets, and laptops for gaming 

    I built my own systems for years and rather splash out to upgrade my custom built pc again (now over 5 years old) I shall be migrating to one of the newer options which offer the same facilities I am so keen to retain

    • 297 posts
    January 19, 2014 1:31 PM EST

    pc is incomparible too a console however my advice if going for a console would be too go for the ps4 it is far more powerfull than the xboxone and also is cheaper and can offer you a realistic 1080p gaming experience rather than the 'mostly' 720p games on the xboxone

    • 38 posts
    January 19, 2014 8:50 PM EST
    Thanks everyone, i am going to check out some P.C's. I don't think a laptop will work out seeing i like playing on a huge screen.
    • 158 posts
    January 19, 2014 10:24 PM EST

    Keep in mind with the laptops also that it isn't just whether the graphics chip is good enough - laptops don't have the heat dispersing mechanisms that desktop machines do.  Running a resource-intensive video game makes laptops overheat, even with good graphics chips.  Speaking from personal experience.

    • 111 posts
    January 20, 2014 2:46 AM EST

    A good point that serious and persistent gamers (I've over 2,500 hours on Skyrim alone) need to think about. My processor an AMD 9950 Quad core 2.6Ghz quite happily trundles along running Skyrim and I get near zero CTDs (only had one or two ever). However the GPU fan on my NVIDIA GTX 550Ti screams it's protests regularly but again it doesn't fall over. The cooling units do their job but the heat dispersal as you point out is noticeable. Of course with such a dated system fps is a bit of a joke sometimes and I get the occasional pause while the system tries to catch up with my "need for speed" button punching but I'm happy enough - for now

    Please remember that Penance said he was looking to address the needs of his whole family if poss hence my suggestion. A lot of people are switching to gaming on tablets and laptops in a general way as the kit gets much better at coping with gamers' demands

    • 253 posts
    January 20, 2014 2:49 AM EST

    Consider Dell, they have a nice monthly payment option, allowing for a 1500$ laptop to become like 40 bucks a month instead. The Alienware 14 fully upgraded is a great deal. 

    • 158 posts
    January 20, 2014 6:04 PM EST

    Sure, but if the heat sink solder melts or the fan warps and he can't use the laptop, then it doesn't really serve the needs of his family, now, does it?  I didn't know about any of these things ahead of time and basically melted out the laptop I was using for my PhD work.  If he chooses to buy a laptop, then he'll want to ask about the heat dispersal features, that's all I'm saying.

    • 365 posts
    January 20, 2014 6:26 PM EST

    A good custom-built gaming rig is cheap if you know what you're doing. You can very easily pick up a nice Nvidia video card for peanuts on a tight budget, since they're stuff is better than Radeon; I reccomend the GTX 275 - I've got it and so has Vazgen, it's over 7 years old and still runs Skyrim on Ultra graphics, it's the best value for money, even considering it's before the 6 series.

    If you don't know what you're doing, hold off on buying a custom built one, or getting someone to build one for you. If they don't fully understand what kind of stuff you're using it for, games, etc. you can easily be tricked into spending more purely on the basis of how much RAM it's got, or generally the Operating System... not the processor or the graphics card.

    Mine cost about 700 quid to build, and runs games from around 2011-2013 on very high settings, so it was cheap and good.

    I'll list my specs...

    Windows 7

    Chip Type: Nvidia GTX 275

    Approx Total Memory: 1649Mb

    Generic PnP monitor - Display Mode: 1440 x 900 (32bit) (75hertz)

    Driver Model: WDDM 1.1

    2Gb RAM

    Over 7 years old.

    That all cost about $700....

    • 1913 posts
    January 20, 2014 6:38 PM EST
    As much as I want to say how in the long run it will be cheaper to buy an xbone... I really don't want to help the xbone sell, so get a gaming PC!!!
    • 5 posts
    January 20, 2014 9:37 PM EST

    Yeah, go for PC. I often shop for 5 bucks games in steam also I can mod Skyrim in PC. Modding make Skyrim better.

    • 111 posts
    January 21, 2014 5:41 AM EST

    Agreed a big important point. Laptops were not designed originally to take the loads that modern graphic/processor gobbling games throw at them. Care is the watchword and it's horses for courses . PCs were developed to accommodate resource demanding games as well as the standard support for business applications. Consoles do the same thing but with less graphics quality, less versatility and thus less cost

    I always remember one of my first business consultancies in the early nineties. The business needed a mix of standard business applications and some 3D design capabilities from it's IT kit. The guy in charge of buying the stuff always tested the kit with the latest Microsoft golf game (or equivalent to see how well the pc performed. He left after becoming a golf pro and going on tour


    Sorry If I gave the impression that I was trying to discredit your comments - I wasn't

    • 39 posts
    January 21, 2014 7:36 AM EST

    While I will always tell you go with the Xbox, it's up to you. Also, you don't have to spend 1.5k on the computer if that's what you want. Go to dell.com and get the X51 (alienware section) for around $700. Hope this helps, and happy gaming!

    • 38 posts
    January 21, 2014 1:27 PM EST

    Thanks for the info, i have no clue how to build a p.c, but like all things i dont know i just turn to youtube.

    • 39 posts
    January 23, 2014 7:44 AM EST

    Y u hate xbox? Monster.

  • January 23, 2014 8:51 AM EST

    Gaming PC any day any week any year.

    Oh and desktop > laptop. More comfort, no overheating problems whatsoever, more customizable, more powerful.

  • January 23, 2014 8:54 AM EST

    Alienware is highly overpriced just because of its brand name, exactly like Apple. Better go with a customized HP/Acer or even get an Asus.

    The Acer Predator is a bit overpriced itself but it's quite good overall.

    • 111 posts
    January 23, 2014 12:23 PM EST

    Agreed for gaming alone desktop always has to be the best option particularly when you think about mods and how they enhance the enjoyment of your Skyrim environs

    But for the future desktops have a limited lifespan