Game console VS PC

Something that I just don't understand from a technical point of view.
PC's cost around R10,000 - R12,000 for a decent system that can handle games - yet the Xbox360 costs under R4000 and has better quality games, Graphics, AI etc..how come?
Whats the point then in getting a high end PC- arn't they just a waste of money? I mean for normal day to day surfing, email, office work there is no need for anything say faster than a P3 even a P2 is good enough for your average day to day stuff, yet Intel keep releasing these Quad core cpus blah blah, what for?
What would you have to spend on a PC to get the same performance from games as an xbox? And then there are so many titles that as a PC gamer you just miss out on, so whats the point in investing in a high end PC?
I just don't really understand why PC's arn't 10x better than consoles when your Xbox is basically a computer with cpu's, memory, hard drive, graphics card, usb ports etc.., yet it costs a third of the price than a Pc that can handle similar type of games.
Basically this has come about because my PC has just died and I was thinking what to get and I have decided on the cheapest rubbish as I no longer use computers for games, so I just need something for decent surfing and office - yet previously (before I got my xbox) I was very concerned as to the quality of sound, graphics, cpu - but what the heck, nothing I get will be better than the Xbox so why waste money?

A high end PC will outperform a 360/PSTriple in terms of GFX power.

You need an HD TV as well

For me I prefer the PC because there are games I like unavailable on consoles plus I prefer mouse and keyboard controls.

Most importantly is as far as I know you have to live with texture tearing in console games. Which IMO is a load BS. What's the point of fancy graphics when you get that all over the screen

well... there's the fact that pc parts have a very high mark up... and that consoles are sold at a set price... and they made at factories where the prices are as low as can be...

The other factor to consider is 3 years down the line. They will be making games for PS3/Xbox360 that will perform at the same level if not better but your PC will be dog slow.

Processors are not just used for mundane tasks. If you're doing video editing, 3D rendering, simulations, code builds, etc. your processors can never be too fast; no matter how fast they are they're too slow.

Right now the consoles offer very good performance at a budget price, but the PC will catch up and overtake the consoles. And that is mostly in the area of graphics - any current processor should be able to provide good performance for AI and physics.

There are games and game types that are exclusive to or more common on the consoles.

The processors used in PCs are general purpose whereas a console has a fairly narrowly focussed purpose. Even supercomputers can be useless or very poor at tasks for which they were not intended.

If you no longer use your PC for games, then a basic CPU and GPU will be fully capable of handling typical daily tasks.

Fudzy said:

The other factor to consider is 3 years down the line. They will be making games for PS3/Xbox360 that will perform at the same level if not better but your PC will be dog slow.

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Are you smoking something? Computers get new products weekly. Computers will never be worse than a console in terms of raw power.

crysis said:

Are you smoking something? Computers get new products weekly. Computers will never be worse than a console in terms of raw power.

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I think his point was that without constantly upgrading the pc, three years down the road, the same machine wont be able to cope with the games of the day.

lived666 said:

Something that I just don't understand from a technical point of view.
PC's cost around R10,000 - R12,000 for a decent system that can handle games - yet the Xbox360 costs under R4000 and has better quality games, Graphics, AI etc..how come?

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A PC is made up of individual parts that are each sold separately and by different manufacturers, each charging their own price. They're infinitely more customizable than a console and all the parts can be upgraded individually, for the most part, independently of each other.

lived666 said:

Whats the point then in getting a high end PC- arn't they just a waste of money? I mean for normal day to day surfing, email, office work there is no need for anything say faster than a P3 even a P2 is good enough for your average day to day stuff, yet Intel keep releasing these Quad core cpus blah blah, what for?

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Technology moves at a rapid pace, it's what keeps the world in motion. In very basic terms, if Intel had to stop releasing better CPU's all the time it'd put an entire research department on the street and we'd all probably be playing Quake 2 roundabout now. It's the same everything else which keeps changing all the time (maybe not as regularly though, but a change none-the-less)... cars, cellphones, tv's, speakers, etc. It's about moving forward... the pace is relative.

lived666 said:

What would you have to spend on a PC to get the same performance from games as an xbox? And then there are so many titles that as a PC gamer you just miss out on, so whats the point in investing in a high end PC?

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Then get yourself an Xbox360

lived666 said:

I just don't really understand why PC's arn't 10x better than consoles when your Xbox is basically a computer with cpu's, memory, hard drive, graphics card, usb ports etc.., yet it costs a third of the price than a Pc that can handle similar type of games.
Basically this has come about because my PC has just died and I was thinking what to get and I have decided on the cheapest rubbish as I no longer use computers for games, so I just need something for decent surfing and office - yet previously (before I got my xbox) I was very concerned as to the quality of sound, graphics, cpu - but what the heck, nothing I get will be better than the Xbox so why waste money?

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Different people will obviously have different opinions on this. Depending on your loyalties, financial budget, etc. etc. I just go with having both a high end PC and Xbox360, and thus have no arguments

what's the problem? I have decided to have an xbox360 and a high end pc that way there is nothing i cant do.

ienjoy about 70% of my games for xbox purely for the fact that you throw in a disc (no patching / updates) the games just work... wouldnt say one is better then the other but they both have disctinct advantages and disadvantages.

One of the reasons why console games look as good as they do on 'low' end specs is because the developer knows exactly what each and every customer is going to use to play their game...

So instead of having to worry about whether the client has an ATI/nVidia gfx card running on Vista, XP or Linux they can just push the limited hardware to the extreme. A PC will always have better graphics if you have the best parts however the average PC most probably looks worse than any console...

i was a pc gamer for 10 years,switched to xbox.
its too damn expensive to play on a PC properly. for the annual cost of upgrading a PC, you can buy a new console every year. and everything just works. in the past, online gaming wasnt part of console gaming, now xbox live is the easiest thing to use.

Exactly what nrg_wp said.

The reason consoles are cheaper is that they are subsidized by the manufacturer because they make it back on the royalties for the games - you can't do that on a PC.

This generation of consoles can do almost anything a high end PC can do in terms of gameplay, and you adjust to the control scheme, don't listen to the PC snobs (I know I used to be one)

My logic (This worked on my wife!) is that It's R3700 for the 360, and now I'm replacing my PC I don't have to buy high end everything - All I need is a midrange PC for about R3000, not some mini super computer. now with the extra cash, So with the difference I'm building a Home Server to stream movies and music all over my house, and all the hardware will last me a lot longer, around 3 years or so, as opposed to having to upgrade every year.