MrGalactus said:
So, whats the deal? What makes this system worth 4 PS4s with money left over for a pretty big TV? What can I do to use this thing properly? What piece of the master race gaming platform am I missing here?
Almost no PC is actually worth that much, and the fact that you paid that much for it is... Well, not the wisest move to say the least. If you just want to get into and try PC gaming, you should have gone for a cheaper make. If you wanted to truly jump in and go full end, should have built yourself - or asked online for a good build, gone into your local parts store and had them assemble it for you - and it would have been marginally more expensive than a PS4, depending on exactly what you want.
What makes a PC better than PS4?
RTS, 4X, KSP, Tycoon games, infinite backwards compatibility... I could go on.
What makes it worth more than a PS4 to you? Well, that's for you to decide isn't it? Not everyone is the same, so if there's nothing you like on the PC... Well, you know, there's nothing you like on a PC. Its like buying a souped up Van and then complaining that it only barely drives faster than your 6 year old electric mini you traded in. Well, yeah, but most people don't buy a Van just to go faster than a mini. They buy a sportscar for that, and a Van for all its extra carrying capacity.
So, what advantages?
1. Infinite backwards compatibility. Who needs to have bought/owned a PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4, and keep them all stashed around your house so you can play your old games? Certainly not a PC player! 1 machine, you can play every game ever made. Sure, for some you might need to download an emulator [DOSBox] in order to get them running, but every PC game ever released is at your fingertips right now. A huge number of them are also free, being so old that the source code has been floating around the internet for a decade or so, and any rights pertaining to it have expired. This is without going into console emulators, of usually questionable legality that can be gotten past through some loopholes [But most people don't do this], that allow one to play any game on any console except the PS3/Xbox 360 and the current gen as well, all on the one machine. It is a true one stop entertainment shop, the sort of thing Sony and Microsoft wish they could make.
2. Many genres that simply don't exist on consoles, or exist very poorly. 4X and RTS games being the obvious big ones. You get barely any on consoles. In fact, phones and handheld gaming devices get more of these things than consoles do. If you're into these sorts of games, which you should be because they are amazing, then PC is your only option by default. MOBAs are also mostly only on PC, as are MMOs, though there are a couple of exceptions. This is without going into the same genre exclusives that pop up for PC as well, or all the weird and unique games like Kerbal Space Program.
3. Graphics and such. 4K screens, that run natively at 4K. 'nough said. Higher graphics options on PC games that have had actual effort put into them also look absolutely stunning. There's a reason PC gamers can tell a console port at a glance. No effort has gone into it except remapping the controls - and even then that's not always done. PC games with even a little effort put into them look great, and when made fully with a PC in mind... See Witcher 3, or Star Citizen's alpha, or the latest Battlefield/Battlefront games, or Witcher 2, or Crysis games... Ect. Also, multi-monitor setups. I am presently running with 3 monitors: Middle 4K monitor for gaming, side 1080p monitor for internet, and another smaller 768p monitor for Skype and such. A bit impossible to do with just a games console.
4. Modding. It'll never be just DLC, because people would quite simply refuse to pay for it, and just make it themselves most of the time. Look at Warcraft III - a thousand clones of better mods because they weren't that hard to make, but were too hard or something. There's also the matter of making mods yourself - which I often find more fun than playing the damn original game.
Beyond modding itself, and what this should probably overall be considered as, customisability is a huge big thing. Don't like motion blur? Turn it off. Lense flair? Turn it off. Want a wider FoV? Normally just a .ini edit away. Graphics injectors allow you to alter the game itself's appearance to add in new effects if you want as well. You can choose to play with KB+M, or controller, via only your voice [I shit you not, Voice attack. Might not be the most efficient method for some games, but you can do it =P], or whatever you want.
Don't like Windows UI? Change it. There are thousands of programs dedicated to altering little things about Windows and its UI so you can have the experience you want. You could have your Windows boot up with an Iron Man logo and then say "Good day Master" in Jarvis' voice if you wanted to, and then log in to a full on Jarvis interface straight outa the movies. Sky is the limit, do what you want.
You can also sit your PC anywhere, and if you get a laptop, take it anywhere. Want it in your living room? Can do. Too big, and you want a little one, get a micro ITX case instead. Sure, its a trade of power v size and portability, but power is the least of your worries these days. It pretty much only locks you out of some higher graphics settings, which are the smallest of the benefits PCs provide.
5. Steam Sales, GoG Sales, Free to Play games, Internet Flash Games, ect. Yeah, it depends on what you want, and what's available at the time, but generally you'll find something worth playing. And if not, well, oh well, half of them were free anyway =P
But I do understand this isn't for everyone. I get barely any use out of this, mostly just the Humble Bundles instead where I get 5 games for $1, even if most of the time they are Indies that I've never heard of, though there are still the occasional publisher sales through them [For example I got Civ III, IV, all expansions, Railroads, Alpha Centauri, Pirates, V and all expansions and DLC for $8 at one point. Was a good day].
The big thing is though, you've got to pick what matters to you, and then adapt yourself and your PC to that. Want to just play the usual console AAA games sitting on your couch? Then if you're going for PC, get a micro ITX case and some mid range parts, grab a controller, and just sit it in your living room to do so. Probably cost you less than a thousand. If you see some awesome PC game you'd like to play, that's got high system requirements, build a PC to run it, and go wild. It seems you might have done things backwards; built a really expensive PC that doesn't really suit your interests, and then tried to justify it. Best thing to do is to look for things you like doing, and then see how you can do them on the PC.
