Console Gaming VS PC Gaming - Visuals

[Kowan]

So i decided to pay the premium and was updating to mewer parts, mainly my 4870 x2. But i was wondering, ive been a console gamer for 10 yrs and still play. Getting used to the mouse and keyboard is weird, but im getting used to, and i can always hook up a controller. But my main concern is, do games look better on a PC with high end graphics like the 4870 x2, or on a console. So lets say, CoD4 on x360 vs CoD4 on PC with all max settings at a high res, which one is visually better?

Higher resolution, AA, and AF will tip the IQ in favor of PCs. Even if the game textures, models, etc.. are all the same on both platforms, AA + AF + higher resolution means the PC will come out on top. Just the way it is.

Exactly. That's what the OP was asking. 1920x1080 isn't the res he was referring to.
He's trying to convince his parents he deserves a 2560x1600 30in monitor.

 

[speedy523]

Exactly. That's what the OP was asking. 1920x1080 isn't the res he was referring to.
He's trying to convince his parents he deserves a 2560x1600 30in monitor.

haha well i told my dad im waiting till december for nehalem, and he said ok and right when my nehalem rig is built the monitor will arrive

Now the choice is which monitor to get

And yes 2 everyone, i was wondering against 2560 x 1600 against 1080p which is the console's highest. I tested CoD4 at 1920 x 1080 on my pc on a 52" Bravia and i got to say, it blew 1080 CoD4 360 right out of the water. The textures and lighting looked spectactular with 12x Q AD CFAA 16x AF.

 

[Mr. K6]

PC's are way ahead of the latest console's capabilities, unfortunately besides Crysis, there hasn't been anything that will show what PC's can truly do with graphics.

Amen, but there's a hell of a lineup coming out this fall (it seems like games are restricted to spring and fall releases now, with summer and winter being a deadzone, what gives?). Currently on my radar I have S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, Crysis: Warhead, Silent Hill 5, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, and Left 4 Dead.

 

[Kowan]

I like your choices.

 

[kllrnohj]

And yes 2 everyone, i was wondering against 2560 x 1600 against 1080p which is the console's highest. I tested CoD4 at 1920 x 1080 on my pc on a 52" Bravia and i got to say, it blew 1080 CoD4 360 right out of the water. The textures and lighting looked spectactular with 12x Q AD CFAA 16x AF.

For one thing, CoD4 on a console renders at 1066x600, not 1920x1080. That means your PC at 1920x1080 was rendering 3.2 times the number of pixels. In fact, there are very few (if any) games on a console that actually renders at 1920x1080. There aren't that many that even do 1280x720. Even Halo 3 was only 640p. GTA IV on the PS3 is 630p (on the 360 it is 720p)

 

[speedy523]

whoa i turned on my xbox 360 after 2 months and popped in CoD. i started up a private match to get warmed up again, and holy shit was it ugly. Damn, compared to it on my pc, my xbox 360 is crap.

 

[topdog5050]

I wish i had a 4870x2.lol...........

 

[Hamidxa]

For one thing, CoD4 on a console renders at 1066x600, not 1920x1080. That means your PC at 1920x1080 was rendering 3.2 times the number of pixels. In fact, there are very few (if any) games on a console that actually renders at 1920x1080. There aren't that many that even do 1280x720. Even Halo 3 was only 640p. GTA IV on the PS3 is 630p (on the 360 it is 720p)

Exactly.
That's a point that is quite often overlooked by consolers.

PC gamers are usually running their games at 3 times the resolution of console gamers, and still maintaining roughly 2x the framerates, and that's with maxed out effects, as well as copious amounts of AA and AF to boot.

There really is no comparison in terms of horsepower and performance.

whoa i turned on my xbox 360 after 2 months and popped in CoD. i started up a private match to get warmed up again, and holy shit was it ugly. Damn, compared to it on my pc, my xbox 360 is crap.

Yep, there also really isn't a comparison in terms of graphics.

 

[pizza]

I can't wait for GTA4 on the PC specifically for the vastly better graphics on the PC. Maybe some other Ps3 owners here can relate to this, but I found GTA4 on the Ps3 very ugly and low res when I got it. After playing high res PC games with all the filters and settings turned up GTA4 looked like butt.

 

[BravO)))]

I can't wait for GTA4 on the PC specifically for the vastly better graphics on the PC. Maybe some other Ps3 owners here can relate to this, but I found GTA4 on the Ps3 very ugly and low res when I got it. After playing high res PC games with all the filters and settings turned up GTA4 looked like butt.

Don't expect it to get that much better. History shows us that console ports to the pc just suck ass.

 

[pizza]

Don't expect it to get that much better. History shows us that console ports to the pc just suck ass.

Well, if San Andreas for PC is any indication I think it will be much better. The graphics are so much better on the PC version for that game. Plus there were mods that made the graphics even better doing things like increasing draw distance. 630p vs 1080p w/ filters. Hopefully my pc will run it.

 

[Mr. K6]

Don't expect it to get that much better. History shows us that console ports to the pc just suck ass.

Not the case so much anymore. Many ports are getting revamped before debuting on the PC. San Andreas was one, others that come to mind are Mass Effect and CoD4. Hopefully GTA4 will follow this trend.

 

[Hamidxa]

Don't expect it to get that much better. History shows us that console ports to the pc just suck ass.

Not really.

I can think of more ports that ran and looked better on the PC than otherwise.

And besides, ALL of the GTA games ran and looked better on the PC.

 

[Shadowhaxor]

Don't expect it to get that much better. History shows us that console ports to the pc just suck ass.

As said prior to me, that's not always the case. That just depends on the dev/company.
As of recent, this hasn't been true... Devil May Cry 4 for example was the better of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC release.

 

[TOOL1075]

And besides, ALL of the GTA games ran and looked better on the PC.

QFT

 

[mobusta1]

They do look better on a PC at this point. Basically, consoles look better for only a short while. The reason is consoles actually get their hardware technology from PC accelerators. It should be no surprise that nVidia and ATi don't spend the money to develop a whole different kind of technology just for consoles.

Basically what happens is the console maker approaches them and works out a deal to get hardware customized for their new console. This involves things like making it use integrated memory, hitting specific thermal targets, etc. Generally, the timeline is such that it is a pretty high priority delivery, and beats the PC part to market by a little bit.

So, when a console first comes out, it can be more powerful than anything you find in the PC space. However, that doesn't last. The console's hardware is never upgraded in terms of capabilities. So it isn't long before the equivalent PC part comes out. Sometimes it even happens first, like in the case of the PS3 and nVidia 7900. Because of the PS3's delays, the 7900 launched before it got to market.

Then there's the simple fact that PC hardware keeps trudging along. The graphics companies always want more of your dollars, so they keep rolling out new hardware. Thus this hardware will be farther and farther ahead of the consoles.

Makes sense. I mean I spent $400 on a graphics card. Just a graphics card, that's not the system to support it. You can get a 360 for less than that, the whole deal. Not only that, I will be able to spend that $400 again next year and upgrade, if I wish.

PCs cost a good deal more, at least if you want to keep up with the new tech, and thus they do end up looking better as you'd expect.

In general, when a console first comes out, they look as good or better than even high end PC. However, by the time a new one is getting ready to come out, even lower end PCs are better.

I agree with this. When the xbox 360 came out I remember looking at the graphics and just thinking WOW goddamn do they look good. But if you compare xbox games to PC games (visually) the xbox gets smacked in the face by the PC .