PC Or Game Console - 5 Facts That Will Help You Decide

Chalgyr's Game Room happily presents the next of our collaborations with Seatup and Katie Porter

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The age-old debate: PC vs Consoles. Millions of arguments exist across thousands of forums disputing the dominance of one gaming platform over the other. The variety of opinions and preferences makes choosing one over the other quite difficult. However, there are some predominantly true facts about both platforms that can help you make your decision about your next gaming machine.

The expense

In general, gaming consoles tend to cost less than their PC counterparts. Gaming consoles tend to fall in the $300 to $400 range, occasionally even dipping below that on sales. Building a gaming PC in that price range is highly challenging and would require you to make a lot of compromises.

However, gaming consoles can get a tad pricey over time. Games, in general, are more expensive on gaming consoles and you also have to contend with monthly fees to game online via their consoles. PC games are often cheaper, especially if you wait for sales on services like Steam, and do not involve any additional costs for multiplayer gaming.

Performance

If your budget isn’t particularly tight, a gaming PC can give a level of visual performance gaming consoles would be hard-pressed to match. Gaming consoles generally have lower spec hardware so even the same game can appear to be less impressive on a console than on a PC. Access to higher resolutions and higher frame rates makes gaming PCs especially well suited for working with gaming monitors. Lastly, lags from peripherals such your gaming mouse and keyboard are significantly lower than the wireless controllers most gaming consoles favor. This can be a dealbreaker if you have a penchant for online multiplayer gaming.

Game library

This is perhaps the most contentious comparison of all. While a number of popular titles make their way to both consoles and PC, some are released exclusively to one platform. The exclusivity of some titles within different consoles further complicates the matter. That said, there is a developing movement where the PC is increasingly being considered neutral territory by console manufacturers. In fact, Microsoft has opened up the entire Xbox game library via its Xbox Play Anywhere program, making a number of popular titles readily available for PC gamers.

In addition to that, there are a number of gaming titles that are exclusive to PC. Strategy games such as Civilization and StarCraft are generally exclusive to PC as they tend to work better with the mouse and keyboard combination. Likewise, competitive online games such as Counter-Strike and DotA are exclusive to the console given the high importance for low lag during gameplay.

Similarly, backward compatibility can also be an issue in gaming consoles especially if you have a penchant for vintage titles. PCs fare better in this regard, with an older title even from the 90s running smoothly in most instances with simple software changes

Usability

PCs have a distinct advantage over consoles due to the range of functions they can perform. While modern gaming consoles double as home entertainment systems, allowing you to stream content as well as play games, PCs present a much better all-in-one solution that should cater to all your needs.

However, gaming of PCs offers a unique set of challenges. The high variation between each user’s hardware and software setup means you will often see unexpected glitches and problems in installing and running games. Moreover, the solutions to problems can also cover a range of complexities. In contrast to this, console gaming remarkably pain-free, simply requiring you to download a title or pop in a CD.

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All in all, the choice of gaming platform is highly dependent on the level of gaming you do. For hardcore gamers reveling in high frame rates and minute input latencies, a gaming PC is the go-to solution. For the more casual gamer looking to relax with friends, a gaming console would probably be the better choice. Either way, it is important to outline your requirements for your gaming solution and choose wisely.

Article by Katie