Committed PC gamers are generally not interested in pure content consumption platforms. They are power users and pay thousands for the ability to play games at very high settings and then do business, video/photo editing, content creation and other tasks with maximum horsepower at their disposal in a desktop ergonomic environment.” A gaming PC’s utility is another reason for the segment’s continued success. Many console purists lament the PC’s relatively high price tag as a deterrent for some consumers. But the fact remains that a worthwhile gaming PC may initially cost more than a console, but the gaming PC can simply do more. And what they both do, the PC typically does better. In addition, there are a multitude of games available for the PC at a fraction of the price of most console titles. It’s far easier for a PC gamer to amass a large collection of titles, for a a lot less money than console games. And although the Microsoft MSFT -0.63% Xbox One and Sony PS4 are huge updates over the previous console generation, they are roughly equivalent to an entry-level PC gaming systems in terms of total horsepower. Both the Xbox One and PS4 are packing, low-power 8-core AMD Jaguar based APUs, with graphics engines no more powerful than mainstream discrete graphics cards. Jon Peddie, president of JPR, notes that “NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD have enthusiast CPUs and GPUs that are so powerful, when combined with SSD’s and fast memory they absolutely trounce the computing power and gaming capabilities of the newest console generation. Being able to drive 3840 × 2160 (4K) at acceptable frame rates is already a reality for the highest end configurations.” That is something worth noting. While Sony and Microsoft console fans start flame wars over the merits of 720P vs. 900P vs. 1080P, a high-end gaming PC can push 4K displays (that’s 4X the resolution of 1080P), with better image quality. It takes a powerful system, but it’s absolutely doable. And I speak from experience—I’m typing this, while sitting in front of a 4K display, being powered by a couple of Radeon R9 290X cards.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 21:12:58 +0000
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