Originally Posted by
Vash The Stampede
Right now I could easily make a PC better than a console for $500, but that's not saying much when console hardware is 7 or 8 years old. This includes the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X as a used RX580 or GTX1060 can be had for a little over $100, while the new RX 5500 is like $150. Making something better than a PS5 or XBox Series X is going to take $700, depending on how disruptive Intel is in the GPU market next year. AMD and Nvidia seem to be mostly ignoring the $150-$250 GPU market where the overwelming majority of people buy their graphic cards according to Steam. AMD clearly has no reason to be competitive against consoles since they have a clear bias towards them, but Nvidia isn't exactly beholden to that market. People forget what pushed the PC market into the renaissance was the GTX 970 and R9 290. The competition made 1080p 60fps gaming at max settings the norm, while also making console gaming look dated, even though they really weren't. They're based on the Radeon HD 7850 with less memory bandwidth, but was the mid range GPU of 2012 at $250. By the time the PS5 and Xbox Series X is released the equivalent GPU will again be $250, and if Intel has anything to say then maybe we'll get even better prices and more performance.
If consoles are $500+ then spending another $200 on a PC is good value. Especially when you have to consider that you're paying a monthly fee to play games online. If these consoles were $400-$450 then I can see value but anything more and you might as well get a PC. Also I'm talking about building your own PC, which is obviously cheaper than buying a pre-built.