Skip to main content

Reasons to start PC Gaming (From Reddit May 2023)

I have been playing PC games for more than thirty years and it is still my favourite hobby. Over that time I have regularly come across questions on forums asking why should someone game on PC rather than console. I have occasionally offered my own opinion on the matter as I did in the reddit comment below. Surprisingly my answer to the question hasn't changed much over they years. If I can find an older answer I gave to a similar question I might post that as well for comparison. 


Top reasons to start PC gaming:

  1. It is at least two hobbies in one. Tinkering with HW and Software and trying to get the most of out of limited HW is a whole game in itself. If you are nerdy enough you may enjooy it more than actually playing games.

  2. PC games are cheaper. AAA gams may start out the same price but prices fall quicker on PC and PC has an enormous back catalogue of free games. You can pick up classics for a few $. PC gamers can quickly amass a library of hundreds of games.

  3. Did I mention the enormous back catalogue of historic games. If you are interested in the history of gaming then PC is by far your best choice.

  4. Certain types of game are only available on PC or are just better on PC. Grand strategy and Simulation are obvious examples but the indie scene is also strong on PC.

Reasons not to get into PC gaming:

  1. PC Gaming hardware is expensive. A graphics card alone will cost you more than an entire console.

  2. If you are not a nerd and don't want to tinker with hardware and software you will probably have a bad time. You can buy decent pre-built machines but PC gaming is not always plug and play. You will hit eventually unexplained incompatibilities and crashes and unless you are least willing to google some answers you will be stuck.

  3. AAA games are often better supported on consoles. There is a long history of flaky PC ports. Sometimes they get fixed. Sometimes not.

  4. Many of the gaps between PC and consoles have shrunk in recent years bit in terms of performance and in terms or availability of games. The PS5 and XBox X are as powerful as a mid-range gaming PC. They both support legacy games after a fashion. They both have plenty of indie titles. There are ways to play older games more cheaply.

  5. If you already have a kickass TV and sound system set up you might want to game on it rather than spending extra cash on a PC monitor and speakers / headphones. Don't be fooled however. PC gaming monitors can be much higher quality than an average TV and even though the PC screen seems smaller you are sitting much closer to it so you actually see more. To put this in perspective console games usually have only a 60 degree field of view while PC games use 90 deg or more (except for lazy PC ports that are are stuck with 60 deg field of view which is a recipe for motion sickness). Also a decent set of headphones plugged into your PC will beat the best TV sound system you can buy.


From my reply to a reddit post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/13khx9v/is_switching_to_pc_gaming_worth_it_nowadays/jkm10ui/
Labels:

Comments

Myramillan said…
Looking to enhance your Elden Ring experience with powerful runes? MMOexp offers a convenient and reliable platform to buy Elden Ring runes, providing a variety of options to augment your character's abilities and tailor your playstyle. Whether you seek runes that increase your damage output, bolster your defenses, or amplify your arcane prowess, MMOexp ensures a seamless purchasing process with secure transactions. Embark on your journey through the Lands Between fully prepared by visiting MMOexp to explore their selection of Elden Ring runes available for purchase. Strengthen your character, uncover hidden secrets, and conquer formidable foes with the aid of MMOexp's Elden Ring runes.
4:01 am
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Android Tip 3: Sharing a Folder between multiple users of an Android device

Android has allowed multiple user logins for quite a while now. This is can be very useful for tablets which are shared by family members. Normally Android erects strict Chinese walls between users preventing them from using each others apps and viewing each others files. This is a useful security feature and ensures your kids don't mess up your work spreadsheets when screwing around on the tablet and should also prevent them from buying €1,000 worth of Clash of Candy coins on your account. Sometimes however you really do want to share stuff with other users and this can prove surprisingly difficult. For example on a recent holiday I realised that I wanted to share a folder full of travel documents with my wife. Here are some ways to achieve this. 1. If you have guaranteed internet access  then you can create a shared folder on either Dropbox or Google drive. Either of these has the great advantage of being able to access the files on any device and the great disadvantage of bein...
52 comments
Read more

Portal 2 two screen coop on one PC.

I mentioned before that I intended to try Portal 2 in "unofficial split screen co-op mode. Well split screen on a small computer monitor is a recipe for a headache especially when the game defies gravity as much as portal. However a minor bit of extra fiddling allowed us to drive two seperate screens from one PC. The Steam forums describes a complicated method of doing this that I couldn't get working so this simpler method which worked for me might be of use to someone. 1. First I followed the instructions in this post to get split screen multi-player working: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1847904 A minor issue not mentioned is that you need to enable the console from the keyboard/mouse options menu I am using keyboard and one wired Xbox360 controller as suggested. Getting the controller to switch to channel 2 was tricky at first but as Chameleon8 mentions plugging it out and in again during loading works. The trick for me was to do the plug / p...
1 comment
Read more

Lotro: The Forgotten Treasury

Throg joined a Kinship group for the Forgotten Treasury instance last night. It was an enjoyable change from the solo questing that the now level 55 dwarf champion has been mostly doing so far in Moria. Some members of the group had tried and failed to clear the Treasury before so we knew it would be challenging but we were lucky enough to have a well balanced group with Guardian, Minstrel, Lore Master, Hunter, Burglar and Champion (Throg). Throg (level 55) and the minstrel (53) were both below the 56ish level of the instance but the others were all higher so it more or less balanced out. [SPOILERs ahead] It is a well designed enjoyable instance set in a circular chamber with balcony around. As you enter, a boss absconds to a locked side chamber with his treasure leaving the fellowship to clear trash ringed around the balcony. Once the trash are cleared you have access to a puzzle which must be solved in order to open the locked door. Clearing the (including six mini bosses) also get...
14 comments
Read more