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Giving up PC for console?

slitherjef

slitherjef

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 8, 2012
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Just curious if anyone has opted to shut down their PC in favor of console? My unsupported W11 box is frustrating (actually ordered a new PC but it's not a gaming rig for sure) and I'm not even sure if I'm interested in messing with the computer or trying Linux again on this rig. I'm not a hardcore gamer, just more casual interest. I do have a small steam library and some games I think are deck supported so that could be an option. But my sister is interested in console somewhat, most games she is interested in is on PS5 and I think physical media is still available for that. Kind of unsure on fiddling with PCs anymore.

My Windows 11 box is a ryxen 1700x to tell you how unsupported it is... Fedora might revive it somewhat but hardware is old.

Thoughts? Anyone give up PC in favor of console?
 
I went the other way and I game very little so while it's not what you were looking for the reason I did it was Steam and the business model I see console going towards. I'm older so even paying to play online/multiplayer has always been a slap in the face. Factor in Nintendo's crazy game prices, Xbox's push towards cloud only which will see annual subscription raises, console hardware price raises, and the push towards digital only it won't be long before Sony sells digital only consoles and no disc add-on.

While Steam is technically digital they have the majority of gamers which are vocal enough to make things happen in the industry. Console companies will just push with their narrative and you'll eventually be stuck paying subscription fees and own nothing. What's funny to me is a lot of 1st party console games are on Windows (e.g. God of War, Gears of War, Halo, etc) so why even have a console outside of ease of use. Heck, get a Steam Deck and hook it up to a TV with the dock. Consoles and their services will continue to rise and people will eventually grow tired of it.
 
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You can own both.

My recommendation is the following. If you mainly play fifa, live service games or competative shooters own a console. They are great if you are a casual gamer or only play the same 2-3 games.

PC is great if you are a gaming enthusiast and want wide access to game. On PC I can play Playstation, PC, Xbox titles but also games that are 10-20 years old. Many of which are not avaiable on the current consoles.
 
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I mostly went from console to pc (and Mac). I like the keyboard/mouse combination over a controller in most instances. The games selection is more expansive, the graphic quality is better, and the games generally have more options and details
 
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It depends. I have a large Steam library and like gaming on my computer, but I also play Mario Kart with family, so I need a Switch 2 for that, and it's nice from time to time to leave the computer off and game on a handheld.
 
I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the state of PC gaming currently. Even the most top end system for gaming has nothing but stuttering issues. I love keyboard and mouse for many games, but boy do I just have much better experiences on console than PC.

PC needs to fix the shader compilation problems.
Game developers need to STOP using Unreal Engine as they do not know how to use it properly.

Halo announcement recently that they are remaking Halo 1 campaign AGAIN and you could clearly see in the demo they provided its typical UE5 stuttering going on.

I would rather take lower graphics with more fluid gameplay than be able to play at 8k but have a stuttering mess to deal with. 1% lows are getting out of control on PC.

That being said, I wait to see the performance before I decide where I am going to buy the game. If it performs well on PC and has near zero stuttering, I will get it on PC. If, say for games like Persona that can play at 4k 60 on even the base PS5, but on even the top end PC has stuttering, I will use console.

It is also worth noting that there are many people that are not sensitive to the stuttering or 1% low issues and do not even notice it. Unfortunately, I am not one of those and it completely ruins gaming for me.
 
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Ethosik said:
I am EXTREMELY disappointed in the state of PC gaming currently. Even the most top end system for gaming has nothing but stuttering issues. I love keyboard and mouse for many games, but boy do I just have much better experiences on console than PC.
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I think this issue isn't PC exclusive but also apply to consoles. Many new games are buggy or poorly optimised on launch day. However, it more annoying on Pc if you have spent big money on a flagship PC.
 
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Macalicious2011 said:
I think this issue isn't PC exclusive but also apply to consoles. Many new games are buggy or poorly optimised on launch day. However, it more annoying on Pc if you have spent big money on a flagship PC.
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Stuttering on console usually is more of a zone loading and or frame pacing issue than shader compilation issue. But yes games coming out broken because they can fix it in post is a big issue.
 
Macalicious2011 said:
I think this issue isn't PC exclusive but also apply to consoles. Many new games are buggy or poorly optimised on launch day. However, it more annoying on Pc if you have spent big money on a flagship PC.
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Not shader compilation issues. I gave one example, there is also FF7 Remake and Rebirth. Sure it looks so bad on console unless you are fine with 30fps, but it doesn’t stutter like crazy. This shouldn’t happen on a 9800X3D and a 5090.
 
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Ethosik said:
Not shader compilation issues. I gave one example, there is also FF7 Remake and Rebirth. Sure it looks so bad on console unless you are fine with 30fps, but it doesn’t stutter like crazy. This shouldn’t happen on a 9800X3D and a 5090.
Click to expand...
Does it do that if you use the same settings as console?
 
slitherjef said:
Just curious if anyone has opted to shut down their PC in favor of console? My unsupported W11 box is frustrating (actually ordered a new PC but it's not a gaming rig for sure) and I'm not even sure if I'm interested in messing with the computer or trying Linux again on this rig. I'm not a hardcore gamer, just more casual interest. I do have a small steam library and some games I think are deck supported so that could be an option. But my sister is interested in console somewhat, most games she is interested in is on PS5 and I think physical media is still available for that. Kind of unsure on fiddling with PCs anymore.

My Windows 11 box is a ryxen 1700x to tell you how unsupported it is... Fedora might revive it somewhat but hardware is old.

Thoughts? Anyone give up PC in favor of console?
Click to expand...

Nope. I only play pc games. Consoles for sports mainly.
 
I still keep an old PC around for indie stuff and strategy games that don’t really translate well to console.
 
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diamond.g said:
It is a point towards console gaming (them not having to worry as much or at all about it).
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Yes. Especially with games like Persona. It can play at 4K 60 and even has Ray tracing on the BASE PS5. No stuttering and no frame pacing issues. However on my 9800X3D and 5090? Stuttering like crazy even at lower resolutions.
 
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Pulled up my steam library and only have 25 titles in it, wish list is twice that but also when I pulled the steam client up yesterday to play something, well couldn't find anything of interest to play for a bit or even to snag from my wishlist...

Most of the games are indi that I've snagged on sale.
 
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I am more of a mixed bag at present. I’ve been gaming for decades now, but I worked in IT for several years before and I did the whole PC thing, built a gaming rig, upgraded to the latest and greatest GPU every year.. then I moved onto a different career, but I also moved over to Mac years ago now too and stuck with it. Last gen I had a Switch, PS4 and Xbox One S. Now all gone. I started this gen with a Series X and traded that for a PS5 which I still have, will probably get a PS6.

But I have also dabbled in handhelds, I had the Steam Deck LCD, which I then sold as I wasn’t sure I was getting enough out of it? I then got an OLED Deck and again wasn’t sure if it was for me so returned it, I then ended up with another Deck OLED and stuck with it, I began to slowly get into it and use it for a few games, and it was Ok. But for my games it lacked that performance I wanted, but the key thing for me was it started giving me bad pains in my left thumb and hand, I had to stop using it and the pain went away but when I played it again it came back almost immediately.
So I traded the OLED in for an MSI claw 8 Ai Plus, with this one the performance was great! But it lacked an OLED, but the screen size was a lot better, but it also was a heavier device. However I played through DOOM The Dark Ages on it, worked fine, then my problems started, I stated to get micro stutters in every game I tried on it, I could not get rid of them no matter what. Plus the hours some of Windows updates took annoyed me no end. So I recently sold it.

So I now find myself at a bit of a crossroads, I have my PS5 which I use, works fine, but I also like to lunge around on the bed playing games, these days my life is incredibly busy, I can make myself time to play on the PS5 in the evenings but seem to end up falling asleep controller in hand, till I drop it on the carpet haha.. I have a small collection of Steam games but I am seeing what works on my Mac through Crossover for that, plan to upgrade that too at some point.

So I am deciding if I want another handheld or not and if so what? Do I get another Steam Deck and risk getting poisons again, Do I get the Xbox Ally X but then have a smaller 7” screen which for my eyes is not the best, do I get a Legion Go 2 expensive but by far has the ultimate screen, however it is also big and very heavy to hold.. and this means Windows, do I really want to mess around with that or not?

Or do I just get a Switch 2, which may also give me pain with its small buttons BUT I can get a grip case for it (And Luigi’s Mansion!!), however it has a lack of games on it. Where is Dying Light The Beast for example? DOOM the Dark Ages. Yet with nearly 10 million sold so far I can only see some big games coming to the Switch 2. However what will Sony’s rumoured handheld be like? With claims it will have PS5 levels of power in it.

TLDR: Gaming all my life, had consoles, went to PC, back to consoles and Mac, then handheld PC’s, now wondering what to do next?
I think, overall I am done with PC gaming, I will stick to Mac Gaming for my RTS games like Titan Quest 2 or StarCraft 2 or Diablo 4 as they work, then use consoles for everything else. I may just get a Switch 2, and play Luigi’s Mansion again.
 
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Pezimak said:
I am more of a mixed bag at present. I’ve been gaming for decades now, but I worked in IT for several years before and I did the whole PC thing, built a gaming rig, upgraded to the latest and greatest GPU every year.. then I moved onto a different career, but I also moved over to Mac years ago now too and stuck with it. Last gen I had a Switch, PS4 and Xbox One S. Now all gone. I started this gen with a Series X and traded that for a PS5 which I still have, will probably get a PS6.

But I have also dabbled in handhelds, I had the Steam Deck LCD, which I then sold as I wasn’t sure I was getting enough out of it? I then got an OLED Deck and again wasn’t sure if it was for me so returned it, I then ended up with another Deck OLED and stuck with it, I began to slowly get into it and use it for a few games, and it was Ok. But for my games it lacked that performance I wanted, but the key thing for me was it started giving me bad pains in my left thumb and hand, I had to stop using it and the pain went away but when I played it again it came back almost immediately.
So I traded the OLED in for an MSI claw 8 Ai Plus, with this one the performance was great! But it lacked an OLED, but the screen size was a lot better, but it also was a heavier device. However I played through DOOM The Dark Ages on it, worked fine, then my problems started, I stated to get micro stutters in every game I tried on it, I could not get rid of them no matter what. Plus the hours some of Windows updates took annoyed me no end. So I recently sold it.

So I now find myself at a bit of a crossroads, I have my PS5 which I use, works fine, but I also like to lunge around on the bed playing games, these days my life is incredibly busy, I can make myself time to play on the PS5 in the evenings but seem to end up falling asleep controller in hand, till I drop it on the carpet haha.. I have a small collection of Steam games but I am seeing what works on my Mac through Crossover for that, plan to upgrade that too at some point.

So I am deciding if I want another handheld or not and if so what? Do I get another Steam Deck and risk getting poisons again, Do I get the Xbox Ally X but then have a smaller 7” screen which for my eyes is not the best, do I get a Legion Go 2 expensive but by far has the ultimate screen, however it is also big and very heavy to hold.. and this means Windows, do I really want to mess around with that or not?

Or do I just get a Switch 2, which may also give me pain with its small buttons BUT I can get a grip case for it (And Luigi’s Mansion!!), however it has a lack of games on it. Where is Dying Light The Beast for example? DOOM the Dark Ages. Yet with nearly 10 million sold so far I can only see some big games coming to the Switch 2. However what will Sony’s rumoured handheld be like? With claims it will have PS5 levels of power in it.

TLDR: Gaming all my life, had consoles, went to PC, back to consoles and Mac, then handheld PC’s, now wondering what to do next?
I think, overall I am done with PC gaming, I will stick to Mac Gaming for my RTS games like Titan Quest 2 or StarCraft 2 or Diablo 4 as they work, then use consoles for everything else. I may just get a Switch 2, and play Luigi’s Mansion again.
Click to expand...
Since you have a PS5, why not get a Portal?
 
I haven't fired up my PS5 in a while, I think I may do so this weekend. I'm getting rather tired of sitting at my desk working and then playing
 
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diamond.g said:
At this point my PS5 gets turned on to play DVD/BluRays.
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My problem is that all of my progress and my +1 play throughs are on Steam. I largely lose that, if I wanted to play on my console. I do want to mix things up, so this afternoon I will fire up that bad boy.

I too use the PS5 for blueray, I've been more keen on buying discs rather then relying on streaming. Disney has edited movies on their platform, including star wars, I'd rather watch the movies as how George Lucas intended. I don't mean the original episode 3 cut, but rather disney has quietly altered various scenes in various movies in the franchise.
 
Have been kicking around the idea of a PS5 (possibly pro) sinc my sis is into PlayStation and I do have a games across multiple generations. Might need to re buy and or set up a psn account for backwards compatibility (ugh) for discs that won't play.

Figure it might be easier than messing with the outdated computer box I have and it will likely be expensive to get it up to date for a while.

But seeing as I got a new computer (m4 Mac mini) basically sitting in a box uh... 😳 Not sure on things hardware wise. A Linux distro might prolong the desktop though...

Or possibly give up gaming and computers all together 🤔
 
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