Next Gen Console vs This Gen PC graphics

[synobal]

The main question is will the new consoles be more powerful then the current high end gaming PC's ?

No.

Not even close.

The key phrase there is "high end". A high end PC is several times more powerful than next gen console will be.

The funny thing is that most of that power goes to waste on a gaming PC since basically every game released these days is built around being able to run on console hardware, that being where the market is.

Pretty much this, I just upgraded my video card. I'm holding off on the processor/mobo/ram until I know what is going to happen to AMD. But even just upgrading the videcard I can now run farcry 3 on ultra settings despite having a rather out of date mobo and processor (2.4ghz amd phenom and an Asus m3a-h). I had been running games with an ATI 4870 and pretty much could run anything on high up until just the last few years. Now just upgrading my videocard to an ATI 7850 I can now run Farcry 3 on ultra with a solid 40 to 60 fps.

Consoles have dramatically slowed down video game graphics progression, or rather this last release cycle did with it being so very long. It isn't a bad thing per say, because it forces developers and coders to find new tricks and such to stretch hardware to the max which in the end can be applied else where down the line for better performance. That and the slow console release cycle has allowed me to save a lot of cash by upgrading my PC far later than usual.

High-end gaming PCs cost thousands of dollars, whereas consoles only cost a couple of hundred. When it comes to graphics, which I'm not that big on anyway (I play Minecraft and Hotline Miami, so I clearly don't care), I would prefer the much cheaper option.

You say that, but people wouldn't stop bitching about the Wii U price point, even though the PS3 sold at a whopping 500 at launch and the 360 sold for about the wii U's price point as well. If Gamers are content with paying the lesser price, why is bitching still prominent?

Because people will always find something to ***** about. I obviously don't speak for all console gamers (I'd prefer not to even be associated with the kids on Xbox Live who know no words other than "******"), but I definitely acknowledge the fact that PC is undoubtedly better - you'd expect so with the price - but I'm not that dedicated to gaming that I would fork out that much before even buying a game.

Also, how much is the Wii U going for? I don't really keep up with the news.

200 for a 8 gig, 350 for a 32 gig. reasonable prices considering they just came out.

I find it amazing that there is such a big price difference between one with a slightly larger SSD. I assume it is using SSD, but if it is using a HDD it only makes my point even more strongly. I mean seriously why would you put up with that sort of thing, disk space is cheap, to charge so much for extra is nuts, its like when computer sellers charge 200 more dollars for a ram upgrade, utterly ridiculous.

 

[synobal]

double post

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

A 4GB 360 here in Australia is currently going for the same.

The RRP on the Wii U is AU$349.95 for the basic model and $429.95 for the premium model.

I assume it is using SSD

Well, if you want to call simple Flash memory a SSD, then yes.

 

[synobal]

A 4GB 360 here in Australia is currently going for the same.

The RRP on the Wii U is AU$349.95 for the basic model and $429.95 for the premium model.

I assume it is using SSD

Well, if you want to call simple Flash memory a SSD, then yes.

Hmm interesting Sandisk flash memory, like the stuff I put in my digital camera?

 

[snowbear]

Snip

The last time I looked the basic model was $250 at the cheapest. (some places were charging $300 at launch)

The 32gb "premium" console also comes with a game (Nintendo Land), various accessories (wii sensor bar, gamepad stand, and console stands) and a premium subscription to the Wii U store where you get $5 vouchers for every $50 or so you spend on there, so not really that bad of a deal once you include the extra memory too.

And yes pretty sure its like the stuff you put in your camera lol.

/Off topic

 

[oliver.begg]

the funny thing is that all you guys say consoles are cheaper, thats not always the case. in NZ upon the release of the PS3 it was 1200 dollars, thats the console + controller and 2 games (i think, thats a couple of years back now), so that plus a tv and the need toys could very well set you back 2000 - 2500

i can buy a top of the line rig fully kited out for that, sure it won't use a 7970 or 690ti, but it will sure as hell eat what ammounts to really optimised laptop

 

[Royta]

This makes me sad. I was hoping the next gen would make people consider console gamers as on par with PC gamers but it doesn't look like it will. Believe me I would play PC more if the only games I prefer on mine weren't RTS.

Consoles need a paradigm shift, something to keep them relevant, something groundbreaking and differant. Rather than just churn out a cycle of obsoletion I'd rather see an innovation than just carry on for the sake of money. Console gamers like me get shafted quite regularly and some put up with it(like me) while others get all pissy and buy a PC. Whereas a fair few of people i know are like me and seriously game on their consoles, too many simply buy CoD every year.

Either consoles need to change or console gamers are. At least if the mystic land of equallity in gaming I envision is but mere fantasy.

Well that paradigm shift has already happened, we simply didn't accept it yet. That and the technology simply wasn't there yet. It's called OnLIVE. Basically a PC console that uses streaming to play. It connects to the internet where it links with this super omega high end gaming PC from NASA, which plays the game you play and then streams it to you. Basically it's a PC you never have to upgrade yourself, the company does it for you when they upgrade their server PC.

That being said, internet speeds simply aren't there yet. If OnLive were to be a succesful format we'd never need more then a new patchupdate instead of a new console.

 

[maxmanrules]

Umm...? I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at here. There isn't anything that a console can offer that isn't being manufactured for a PC. So how is this possible? I'm no computer engineer and I don't know the exact history, but I'm pretty sure there's never been a time when consoles have ever caught up to PCs let alone surpassed them since its all the same tech. Plus consoles are always made cheap so Sony or Microsoft can turn a profit selling them for far less than what would cost a high end gaming PC. For consoles to ever really catch up to PCs, the tech will have to stop being upgraded as it has been every year since the creation of it. And that will only happen when silicon reaches its limits. Which will eventually happen, and should turn out to be interesting because then we're going to start seeing all the companies in silicon valley banging on the doors of computer scientists in Berkeley demanding them to stop dilly dallying and start working on them quantum computers that they've been wide-eye theorizing only up till now (if you ask me, we have a better chance of discovering cold fission before that happens).

...

Yeah, sorry, I have a wandering mind and I kinda went off topic there a bit.

lol

I have read some stuff about quantum computers, but it was a couple of years ago in the NZ PC World magazine. They had a working one, but data storage was only 75% accurate or something, so it was practically useless.

 

[maxmanrules]

High-end gaming PCs cost thousands of dollars, whereas consoles only cost a couple of hundred. When it comes to graphics, which I'm not that big on anyway (I play Minecraft and Hotline Miami, so I clearly don't care), I would prefer the much cheaper option.

A high end PC NOW costs 400$ minimum and 800$ MAX. The 800$ PC being able to render and do heavy workhorse stuff. Only con men and floor salesmen sell computers for thousands.

Its like buying a car at sticker price.

High end is a relative term. A $400 computer is low end, and few thousand is high end. This is because the more expensive computer is comparatively better than the cheaper computer. Also, I would like to see your part list for a $400-$800 high end PC. (not to make fun of it or anything, just to compare with a more expensive build and against a modern games graphical requirements.) While you could spend that amount of money and be able to run new release games, you cannot run them at the same graphical fidelity as a more expensive computer.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

High-end gaming PCs cost thousands of dollars, whereas consoles only cost a couple of hundred. When it comes to graphics, which I'm not that big on anyway (I play Minecraft and Hotline Miami, so I clearly don't care), I would prefer the much cheaper option.

A high end PC NOW costs 400$ minimum and 800$ MAX. The 800$ PC being able to render and do heavy workhorse stuff. Only con men and floor salesmen sell computers for thousands.

Its like buying a car at sticker price.

My laptop cost me $600 (I've looked for it since, not being able to find it any cheaper than $700) and it can barely run Amnesia on the lowest settings with no other programs running. My $250 Xbox, however, can run Skyrim and Crysis 2 without so much as frame rate issues. Sure, the graphics won't blow my mind, but it's a good price for something that is guaranteed to run the games made for it without an issue and won't need to be replaced for a good 6 or 7 years. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for PC gaming and if I had that kind of money to dedicate to gaming I would definitely get into it, but financially speaking, consoles are the better choice.

 

[Joccaren]

High end is a relative term. A $400 computer is low end, and few thousand is high end. This is because the more expensive computer is comparatively better than the cheaper computer. Also, I would like to see your part list for a $400-$800 high end PC. (not to make fun of it or anything, just to compare with a more expensive build and against a modern games graphical requirements.) While you could spend that amount of money and be able to run new release games, you cannot run them at the same graphical fidelity as a more expensive computer.

While I'll agree with you for the most part, a computer that will run all modern games on maximum settings at 2560*1600 with 80+ FPS should not cost you more than $1500. A few thousand is for rendering the Avatar movie - nobody is ever going to need a PC like that, and you can get a more specialised one for that purpose far cheaper.
I generally class things as POS, low end, low mid range, mid range, high mid range, high end, godlike. The few thousand dollar ones are godlike, high end costs 1.5K or slightly over, high mid range costs about 1-1.2K, mid range costs 800-1K, low mid range costs $600-$800, and low end costs around $400 and a POS was mid range/low end 4 years or more back.
Of course, this is for a whole new computer, and not upgrades. In addition price is not the criteria for what range it lies in, however those are the average prices of PCs within that range ATM.
Going with purely upgrades though Ultra's numbers are around about right. Spending that much will net you a high mid range to high end PC, dependent on what you're replacing and what you have.

 

[00slash00]

how powerful the graphics of the next consoles will be wont matter for quite some time. first of all, ive seen nothing to indicate that the next consoles will be released within the next couple of years and more importantly, when the new consoles do come out, developers wont really know how to use them. the first year or so after a console comes out, the games look like only a slight improvement over the previous console generation. thats because companies havent really figured out how to fully take advantage of the hardware. the reason console games can look good with 8 year old hardware is because developers learn tricks by working with the same hardware over and over again. if youre expecting the ps4 to come out and immediately blow pc graphics out of the water, you are going to be very disappointed

 

[Darmy647]

Well of course it runs those games with good near perfect fps. If they didn't, consumers would complain, they would demand their console be able to perform. If that happened, Sony and Microsoft, if it was a really big important decision, would make a patch to cut the graphics down, optimize it to run better. If people continued to complain and demand higher things from the companies instead of settling, then the companies would eventually deliver. A revolution of beauty as Sony and Microsoft release a console with interchangeable parts. But that would never happen. Console gamers accept it as it is and allow the bar to stay where it is. Its why Activision has sold millions of Tony hawk games, call of duty games, ea's madden games, etc etc etc. Its because gamers accepted it and didnt fight back at all. They ate from the buffet but didnt care if the food got stale or the taste deteriorated. That's one thing that amazes me. One thing that strikes pure awe and love. The fact Nintendo has managed to make all its franchises still as loved and memorable after all these years. When you stop and think about it, its damned impressive.

 

[Darmy647]

Well of course it runs those games with good near perfect fps. If they didn't, consumers would complain, they would demand their console be able to perform. If that happened, Sony and Microsoft, if it was a really big important decision, would make a patch to cut the graphics down, optimize it to run better. If people continued to complain and demand higher things from the companies instead of settling, then the companies would eventually deliver. A revolution of beauty as Sony and Microsoft release a console with interchangeable parts. But that would never happen. Console gamers accept it as it is and allow the bar to stay where it is. Its why Activision has sold millions of Tony hawk games, call of duty games, ea's madden games, etc etc etc. Its because gamers accepted it and didnt fight back at all. They ate from the buffet but didnt care if the food got stale or the taste deteriorated. That's one thing that amazes me. One thing that strikes pure awe and love. The fact Nintendo has managed to make all its franchises still as loved and memorable after all these years. When you stop and think about it, its damned impressive.

Consoles with buyable hardware? Its called a PC.

People buy consoles so they DON'T have to deal with that shit

A high end console would bankrupt Sony and Microsoft. Its the reason they refuse to go all out on the new consoles and why they are so weak.

That was kindve the sarcastic...nevermind. You get it though right? Its just an endless loop of bitching/Walk around/If people really overall want a change, it could happen. i HATE call of duty with a passion because of the sole reason its taken a large chunk of communities from other games. But hey, if it sells and works, I dont have a real say in it. If it prints money man, it prints money. If people overall want a change, it'll happen.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

I'm sure they won't stack up to PC. We'll see how good they are when they come out. Right now all we have to go on for next gen is the Wii U and... Well, Looking to Nintendo for any kind of graphical standard is like looking to Taco Bell for authentic Mexican cuisine... Or visiting Buffalo, NY for the weather...

 

[phreakdb]

Consoles with buyable hardware? Its called a PC.

People buy consoles so they DON'T have to deal with that shit

A high end console would bankrupt Sony and Microsoft. Its the reason they refuse to go all out on the new consoles and why they are so weak.

I roll on a PC for my gaming.

A console with buyable hardware modules is not a PC. It is a modular console.

Let's get one thing straight. A console is a closed system, just like an Apple computer. The reason why Apple computers run as well as a PC with half the power, has to do with the fact that the programming is made for a closed system, with known specifications.

I haven't looked at Apple computer construction for a couple of years, so I don't really know whether this still holds true. The closed system on the Windows 8 Tablets and Mobile Devices is another reason why Windows 8 will perform better on those devices (Besides the fact that Windows 8 was specifically designed for that, with the PC market as a secondary thought).

Essentially, a Modular Console would remain a closed system. You would have the Case and Power Supply. Then, every few years, you would build a hardbox with a gpu, cpu, board and ram upgrade contained therein. You would remove the old module and RTM it or sell it on craigslist or donate it to a charitable organization so that someone who didn't Upgrade from Xbox 720 Silver to Xbox 720 Gold could have it, while you are driving Xbox 720 Platinum.

Just sayin, Modular Consoles are a viable solution. It could also contain backward compatibility. The only problem with this model is the games released for 720 Platinum would be hard pressed to play like they were intended on a 720 Silver or Gold.

But I am betting that alot of people would be willing to play CoD 8 Platinum Edition on their Gold Machine with lower graphical settings.

All things considered, it would still be a closed system, so the old specs would be known, and could be programmed for.