You just can’t beat PC gaming
Nintendo versus Sega, Xbox versus Playstation, console versus PC gaming. Fanboydom and console wars have plagued gaming since the start.
Today only a handful of exclusives and minor hardware differences separate console platforms, yet posts by screennames like D4_SN1P3R420 continue to flame.
There is one platform that dramatically distinguishes itself from the rest, though. The PC.
I’ve owned every mainstream console since the 16-bit era but the PC has always been my platform of choice. I’ve always loved consoles and will continue to buy them each generation, but the PC is unmatched.
An Obsession
My love of PC gaming started with Doom, grew around the release of Diablo and matured with Half Life 2. But it wasn’t until I started building my own rigs when my love for PC gaming really flourished.
Since then, terms like GPU, CPU, motherboard and RAM have dominated my vocabulary.
I spend countless hours researching components and keeping up with the latest hardware. It’s an obsession. Building and modifying PCs is a full-blown hobby and stretches far beyond just the realm of gaming.
That’s something consoles just don’t offer.
F1 vs Hot Hatch
I like to think of building gaming PCs as hot rodding; the PC is my car and I’m the driving enthusiast. Sure, I can go to the dealership and buy a Corvette, but as an enthusiast I would rather build a custom track car that runs circles around anything stock.
The only difference is that instead of measuring horsepower and torque, I look at framerates and resolution.
The enthusiast approach makes me see my custom PC as a lovingly built Formula 1 car and my Playstation 4 as a Focus RS. Sure, the Focus is a blazing hot hatch right off the lot, but pitted against a racecar it seems more like a golf cart.
Gaming on a PC compared to on a console is like driving an F1 car versus a hot hatch.
To be completely honest, I love building and modifying gaming PCs more than I care about gaming on them.
The debate over performance and graphical capabilities of consoles versus PC is a no-brainer. Even the most dedicated console gamer can’t argue with the power of the PC.
While modern consoles struggle to output games at 1080p and 30 frames per second, even entry-level graphics cards and processors have no problem achieving numbers that double a console’s.
Mid-range hardware like the GTX 1060 and AMD RX480 have no issue running games at 1080p 60fps, and enthusiast hardware like the 1080 puts consoles to shame.
Sure, smooth performance and topnotch graphics don’t necessarily determine the quality of a gaming experience, but they certainly improve it.
Not without flaws
The PC isn’t perfect, though.
Much like a Formula 1 car PCs require lots of maintenance. Components are rarely plug-and-play and users need to have extensive knowledge of operating systems and drivers. Crashes, bugs and driver issues are a constant.
Then there’s the elitists.
The “PC Master Race” mentality is destructive to the gaming community and makes PC gamers look like idiots. Buying something that’s different than what your neighbor owns doesn’t make you a better person.
It’s a hobby for Christ’s sake. Get over it.
Not everyone wants to dedicate the time and effort to building and maintaining a gaming PC, and that’s cool. Some people just want a plug-and-play experience without any hassle, and others simply don’t care about framerates and resolution.
As a game collector and video game enthusiast I hope consoles continue to serve their fanbase and provide people with an easy way to play excellent games. I’ll just be gaming the way I want; at the highest resolution possible.
