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Which console should I buy?

D

Dingado

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 13, 2011
57
7
Minnesota, United States
Hi guys,

I am really wanting to start playing video games again (I have been busy with studies the last three years, but the next 6 months things are slowing down).

I REALLY want to get into Battlefield 1, and I highly doubt that game will run on my MBP 2015 15" base model, even with bootcamp.

The thing, however, is that I am having to move overseas in a month and will stay there for 4 months and then move to another country again. So I can't invest in anything bulky such as a stationary computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse because who really wants to move that stuff between different countries three times in 6 months?

I noticed the feature Remote Play or Xbox Streaming and that seems to be so darn perfect, but then I realized that the input lag might ruin the whole experience on Battlefield 1.

I also thought about the PS Vita or the Nintendo Switch but it's just not my style at all.

I don't have the funds to go out and invest in a $1,500 gaming laptop.. So what am I gonna do?! Arghh..

I wish the MBP 15" with 2.2 GHZ, 16gb ram and the intel iris pro were able to run games such as BF1..

Do you guys have any advice? Should I just give up on the entire thing?
 
Dingado said:
Hi guys,

I am really wanting to start playing video games again (I have been busy with studies the last three years, but the next 6 months things are slowing down).

I REALLY want to get into Battlefield 1, and I highly doubt that game will run on my MBP 2015 15" base model, even with bootcamp.

The thing, however, is that I am having to move overseas in a month and will stay there for 4 months and then move to another country again. So I can't invest in anything bulky such as a stationary computer, monitor, keyboard and mouse because who really wants to move that stuff between different countries three times in 6 months?

I noticed the feature Remote Play or Xbox Streaming and that seems to be so darn perfect, but then I realized that the input lag might ruin the whole experience on Battlefield 1.

I also thought about the PS Vita or the Nintendo Switch but it's just not my style at all.

I don't have the funds to go out and invest in a $1,500 gaming laptop.. So what am I gonna do?! Arghh..

I wish the MBP 15" with 2.2 GHZ, 16gb ram and the intel iris pro were able to run games such as BF1..

Do you guys have any advice? Should I just give up on the entire thing?
Click to expand...

Running on low settings at 1440x900 (Half resolution - i.e. none-retina mode) you should be fine actually. If you want a console, the PS4 is great. And small enough that I think it''s easy to just throw in a bag
 
casperes1996 said:
Running on low settings at 1440x900 (Half resolution - i.e. none-retina mode) you should be fine actually. If you want a console, the PS4 is great. And small enough that I think it''s easy to just throw in a bag
Click to expand...

You really think it'd be able to run it without me wanting to throw it out the window? I've seen they do offer a trial period of like 7 days so perhaps I should give it a run.

Strongly considering the PS4, as you said it really isn't that big, and it'll be able to run anything I throw at it. My only issue is then having to buy a monitor if the input lag through remote play is too much (which I am assuming with FPS games)
 
Dingado said:
You really think it'd be able to run it without me wanting to throw it out the window? I've seen they do offer a trial period of like 7 days so perhaps I should give it a run.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried BF1, but I've played some newer tripple-A titles on mine, and if you don't assume you can run max settings, it works fairly well, yes. Though I don't know, are you a 60FPS or bust kinda person? Cause I personally couldn't care less if it runs at 30 or 60, and high-intensity competitive stuff isn't what I do either. With the seven day trial, give it a shot I say.

Dingado said:
Strongly considering the PS4, as you said it really isn't that big, and it'll be able to run anything I throw at it. My only issue is then having to buy a monitor if the input lag through remote play is too much (which I am assuming with FPS games)
Click to expand...

Hadn't thought about the need for an extra display. I don't know - the PS4 is a good device, but never tried the remote play thing.
 
Since the OP is moving, a laptop will probably suit best. Check out the Dell Inspiron 15 7567, $800 with quad-core i5, 15" 1080p screen, and GTX 1050. Pretty reasonable price for the specs. The only bad part is it comes with a TN screen. There is a similar one from HP with a better IPS screen, can't think of the model at the moment but it's priced similarly.

Here's the HP:
http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-power-pavilion-laptop--15t-x7p44av-1

I'd definitely go with the HP for $650.

Comparison of the two:
 
Last edited:
casperes1996 said:
Do you have actual temperatures? Running hot doesn't necessarily mean it's problematic. Besides, the standard PS4 is small too
Click to expand...

*extremely* hot - I have to put it on top of a dish receiver I have that is metal and has vents on top to help it(the component I had it on I was very concerned the heat it was giving off onto it). The dish receiver is off during play anyways.

http://community.us.playstation.com...als/New-PS4-slim-Hot-Really-Hot/td-p/46084211

The Youtube vids take the temp readings out the back fan exhaust (kind of useless) but it gets super hot on the bottom where the PS4 is sitting so does the thing it is sitting on.

Best to have it vertical.
 
I fully recommend the new version of the XBox One. You get great graphics and playability, plus you get 4K output. If you have a 4K TV you just saved another few hundred.
 
If you are solely interested in BF1, I'd go with the version with the largest player community:
http://bf1stats.com/

PS4 has edge over XB1, and both dwarf the PC community.

However, I'd pick the platform that has the best selection of games you are interested in playing, not just for BF1.
 
Last edited:
gkarris said:
The Youtube vids take the temp readings out the back fan exhaust (kind of useless) but it gets super hot on the bottom where the PS4 is sitting so does the thing it is sitting on.
Click to expand...

None of that really convinced me there's a problem. The chip inside the PS4 is rated to operate at up to, I believe it was 100°C. Now I have no reason to believe the chip is that how. As stated in some of the material you refer to yourself, better out then in. The Xbox has a larger area to disperse the heat, but the chip itself could very well have the exact same temperature.
 
Ps4 has the best variety of exclusives, but if you only care about battlefield, most would prefer Xbox live over psn for online play.
 
iosuser said:
Since the OP is moving, a laptop will probably suit best. Check out the Dell Inspiron 15 7567, $800 with quad-core i5, 15" 1080p screen, and GTX 1050. Pretty reasonable price for the specs. The only bad part is it comes with a TN screen. There is a similar one from HP with a better IPS screen, can't think of the model at the moment but it's priced similarly.

Here's the HP:
http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-power-pavilion-laptop--15t-x7p44av-1

I'd definitely go with the HP for $650.

Comparison of the two:
Click to expand...

I have thought about a laptop..

There is also this one: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-..._1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490142944&sr=8-1&keywords=E15

Getting a lot of positive reviews.. Does seem a little silly to have a MBP 15" and also a 15" Windows PC..

Hmmmm..
 
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Dingado said:
I have thought about a laptop..

There is also this one: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-..._1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490142944&sr=8-1&keywords=E15

Getting a lot of positive reviews.. Does seem a little silly to have a MBP 15" and also a 15" Windows PC..

Hmmmm..
Click to expand...
The 940MX in that Acer is very weak, probably not much better than the Iris in your MBP. For another $100 or so the HP will be far more powerful. The GTX 1050 is basically a portable PS4 in terms of power. A laptop will be far more convenient since you're moving multiple times in the next few months, so I thought portability will be your main factor. For sure a PS4 is the cheaper route to go, but with that you gotta buy and lug around a monitor.
 
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iosuser said:
The 940MX in that Acer is very weak, probably not much better than the Iris in your MBP. For another $100 or so the HP will be far more powerful. The GTX 1050 is basically a portable PS4 in terms of power. A laptop will be far more convenient since you're moving multiple times in the next few months, so I thought portability will be your main factor. For sure a PS4 is the cheaper route to go, but with that you gotta buy and lug around a monitor.
Click to expand...

Unless I buy a monitor in the first country, sell it before I leave and then buy a monitor in the second country?

How much does a minimum spec monitor cost? I could probably get by with a 24-inch or so, couldn't I?
 
Dingado said:
Unless I buy a monitor in the first country, sell it before I leave and then buy a monitor in the second country?

How much does a minimum spec monitor cost? I could probably get by with a 24-inch or so, couldn't I?
Click to expand...

Well, if you'd be OK with playing on a 15" display in a laptop, I don't see 24" being a problem at all. But question is, can you really do with a minimum spec monitor? it could look really quite crappy.

Don't know if you tried it, but I still suggest trying it out on your MBP before doing anything else, to see if that works well enough for you
 
casperes1996 said:
Well, if you'd be OK with playing on a 15" display in a laptop, I don't see 24" being a problem at all. But question is, can you really do with a minimum spec monitor? it could look really quite crappy.

Don't know if you tried it, but I still suggest trying it out on your MBP before doing anything else, to see if that works well enough for you
Click to expand...

I will. Waiting on my external SSD drive to come in as I'll run the games off of that. Should have a result next week. I'm just looking at other options in case it doesn't work!
 
Dingado said:
Unless I buy a monitor in the first country, sell it before I leave and then buy a monitor in the second country?

How much does a minimum spec monitor cost? I could probably get by with a 24-inch or so, couldn't I?
Click to expand...
$100 or so for a basic 24".

Seems like it'd be a lot of hassle buying selling and then buying another monitor. I have to believe a quad core GTX 1050 equipped will resell for at least $500 after it has served its purpose. Seems I'm the only one pushing a laptop here but that's what I would do if I'm moving around and want some gaming.
 
iosuser said:
$100 or so for a basic 24".

Seems like it'd be a lot of hassle buying selling and then buying another monitor. I have to believe a quad core GTX 1050 equipped will resell for at least $500 after it has served its purpose. Seems I'm the only one pushing a laptop here but that's what I would do if I'm moving around and want some gaming.
Click to expand...


That HP is on Spring Special for $649 right now - a great deal...
 
Do you have any friends that play online? Also, do you have cable tv? Xbox one has an HDMI out that ca pass through cable to the UI.
Its nicely integrated.
 
I borrow this thread to ask you all a question. Why should I play games on consoles instead of playing on tablets or phones? I can get the games on my tv with Apple TV. It’s games on iOS bad to play?
 
iOS based hardware is not capable of playing games anything like what the consoles are.
So if you want anything other than small kid like games you don't really have much option.
 
Kaelbron said:
I borrow this thread to ask you all a question. Why should I play games on consoles instead of playing on tablets or phones? I can get the games on my tv with Apple TV. It’s games on iOS bad to play?
Click to expand...

Aside from what AFEPPL said, there's just a very different selection, even with titles iOS hardware should be able to run. Then there's controller support, which some iOS games have, but all console games definitely will. And input lag, if you're streaming to AppleTV.
And as also mentioned in this thread, the online gaming communities. If your friends play on PlayStation Network, Game Centre won't help you much if you want to play with them
 
casperes1996 said:
Aside from what AFEPPL said, there's just a very different selection, even with titles iOS hardware should be able to run. Then there's controller support, which some iOS games have, but all console games definitely will. And input lag, if you're streaming to AppleTV.
And as also mentioned in this thread, the online gaming communities. If your friends play on PlayStation Network, Game Centre won't help you much if you want to play with them
Click to expand...
AFEPPL said:
iOS based hardware is not capable of playing games anything like what the consoles are.
So if you want anything other than small kid like games you don't really have much option.
Click to expand...


So you to mean that experience from
PlayStation is so much more than on playing on tablet? But much games are so that’s its worth every penny to get PlayStation?
 
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