Studies featured on Give Me Sport reveal that there are nearly 3.1 billion video game players buying titles on a regular basis. Considering that this is almost half the global population, the debate over the superiority of PC or console gaming is becoming a popular topic. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a forum that doesn’t actively debate this particular topic.
So, if you’re yet to decide on whether it’s really a “PC Master Race” or if consoles are life, read on as we have some information for you.
Pros and Cons of PC Gaming
Contemporary gaming PCs have come a long way in terms of power, variation, and accessibility. Nowadays, you have your choice between a desktop setup versus a gaming laptop, and either choice wouldn’t necessarily put you at a disadvantage. To fully endorse the scope of PC gaming, let’s break down its pros and cons.
Pros
– In terms of desktop PC rigs, you have more freedom in choosing your parts. You can build your own PC with the exact specifications you want based on your budget and power requirements. You can even base your parts purely on aesthetic value if you wanted to.
– Gaming PCs are usually more powerful than consoles. They’re built to compute other tasks, so they carry more advanced processors.
– Any component that may be lacking in power can be upgraded. For instance, the ASUS Rog Strix G15CK tempers its price by carrying the RTX2060 SUPER as a graphics card, which still packs a punch at 8GB GDDR6 despite being considered a midrange entry.
– You can always bring on more storage drives to increase your capacity for games. Theoretically, you could have up to five different drives with massive storage capacity to have endless room for games.
Cons
– There is a lack of access to console exclusives. For the most part, games will have a PC release. However, there are some great titles out there that simply won’t be available for PC. Case in point: The Last of Us and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
– Your costs will be determined by the number of peripherals you need from the get-go. The initial cost may come off higher simply because you’ll need to get tons of peripherals to have a complete setup.
– Pre-built PCs and laptops are much more expensive than both custom builds and consoles. This is because retail PCs have mark-ups and usually have additional costs simply from their brand name.
Pros and Cons of Console Gaming
Unlike PCs, gaming consoles are dedicated machines created solely for the gaming experience. These days, however, they’ve taken on more features that make them more flexible entertainment hubs. Whether or not they surpass PCs, though, may lie in their own pros and cons.
Pros
– Console gaming is generally more relaxed. The setup is more straightforward than PCs, too. Plus, when playing, you simply have a controller in hand. You aren’t limited to one sitting position or distance when playing.
– Consoles are generally cheaper. This doesn’t come at the cost of their build quality either, as the latest generation consoles are now leagues above their predecessors.
– Consoles have become much more powerful now and are on par with the processing power and graphical capability of many PCs. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X have processors that have clock speeds above 3.5GHz.
– Units like the Nintendo Switch offer portability that is more lightweight than a gaming laptop.
Cons
– You have a more limited library of games to choose from. All consoles have their fair share of exclusives, and a wide range of PC-only indie games will be closed off to you. Additionally, you get stuck with a new argument – Xbox versus PlayStation.
– There is no real upgrade path for consoles, although each generation does remain supported.
– There is currently a shortage of consoles as a whole, compared to just a few PC parts that are currently experiencing supply chain issues.
Conclusion
In the end, what it really comes down to is your own priorities. People who stream and also use their setup as a workstation will probably be happier with a PC. Meanwhile, gamers who prefer a laidback setup may choose to go with a console. Ultimately, the answer to which setup is better depends on your personal needs and preferences.
