PC Gaming is better than console - nVIDIA Press

Since this affects consoles and PCs alike this article probably belongs in general gaming.

And I am hyper excited this is the good news of the day for PC gamers. This validates the thousands of dollars I spend on my gaming PC this last year to get ready for 2012 and beyond.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nv...field-3-bf3-pc-gaming,13499.html#xtor=RSS-181


Interesting that this is now NVIDIA's take on this since it does not have any of its technology in any of the upcoming consoles.
 
Consoles are a novel concept, but PCs will always be far better IMO. Can't stand the thumb sticks. Gotta have my mouse and keyboard!
 
Consoles are a novel concept, but PCs will always be far better IMO. Can't stand the thumb sticks. Gotta have my mouse and keyboard!

So if consoles had those (like the new counterstrike whatever) you would be and instant convert :p
 
nVidia always has a skewed comment, but this one is thought provoking at the least. Their graph is of course a joke and flawed because it shows as of 2011 console gaming is ahead and if you look back it should be rising. However I recently built 2 rigs with i7 2500ks and I did not have video cards as I was waiting for good sales. So I have been running some games such as TF2 on those rigs. Surprisingly the onboard gpu plays it with just fine FPS as long as the graphics are not turned up typically I have a minimum of 30 fps and it can move up into the 100s. I think this and AMD pushing into the low end with capable graphics will be huge for PC gaming. No it will not be the best but if they can play at 30 fps that is as good as consoles.

I also think there are alot of factors that have to do with conflicts of interest that are feeding us alot of hype. For instance no best buy is going to bother with PC gaming much anymore. I mean they completely miss access to the vast majority of sales that are going to direct dl services. So it is in their best interest to advertise sales on console equipment and games, and push customers that way. And it seems to me most PC gamers are a little more savy with purchasing. It is just not a crowd they want to cater to because it is not profitable enough for them.

Another conflict of interest has been all the companies that dabble in both PC and console gaming. If nVidia is to miss out on the next generation of consoles that could be a great thing for PC gamers as for the first time in a long time there will be a company which lives and dies on PC gaming and needs to push it. Most other companies are to conflicted to help PC gamers move forward. (microsoft in xbox, amd in consoles, and so on).

All this has meant that most of the advertising we see is focused on consoles and there are just to many people in positions of power that want to push a view that PC gaming is dead. And there just are not enough people who want to tell everyone how good PC gaming is. Even the companies that make games are conflicted since as long as they can keep consoles in the lime light they are seeing multiple game sales to the same people since people want to play with their friends on xbox live and PC and so on. Reminds me of how apple centric advertising is because most of the people whom are in the advertising industry use macs they push it hard put macs in every commercial and so and there is no one out there saying hey the vast majority of people have always and still use PCs. You hear almost no news about windows except bad news when you turn on the TV or radio but shit I have been PC gaming and using windows for over a decade and they way I see it everything has been getting alot better not worse if you take the average direction.
 
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I have learned to love both tbh. PC's used to be the ONLY thing you were going to play competitive first person shooters on. Consoles were archaic and lagged extremely behind PC graphics. Western RPG's could only be found on the PC side as well.

Now that time has moved on, I find console graphics pretty good, especially compared to the days gone past. I really enjoy couch co op these days as well.

Frankly, my PC is only for RTS and various other strategy games (i.e. the Total War series). My console is for just about everything else. I also use my pc for old pc exclusive titles like Baldurs Gate.

I used to be really PC heavy and defend pc at all costs but now I can see what is good about both areas. PC game is dying and its not just due to piracy, consoles are catching up graphically and while they will never surpass PC games (or even get close), games look so good now that people dont really care about the difference as much. Just my two cents.
 
Where in that article did Nvidia ever say "PC Gaming is better than console"?

Not exactly the title I would have chosen either.

Perhaps:
"PC gaming growing faster than console gaming."
"Consoles expected to decline in the future."
 
Nvidia was late on multimonitor technology a la Eyefinity, and now they are locked out of the upcoming consoles, so sure, it's no surprise they want to announce that they are still relevant on the PC platform.

Now how about that TWIMTBP stuff . . .
 
It is true. The current generation of consoles have been showing their age for quite some time. Battlefield 3 is the one title that is going to prove this is spades. Consoles are utilizing 8 year old technology. They aren't getting better, because they can't be upgraded. And the next crop of consoles aren't expected at the earliest until a possible 2013 (rumored) but most likely 2014. Which is just pathetic. Console gamers are looking at the PC games coming out and seeing the differences in graphics and gameplay on a PC and going "damn man, I think I might go with the PC for my gaming needs because consoles are looking like fucking Atari 2600's right about now" and they would be right.

Everyone has or is getting HDTV's and playing their games in outdated standard resolutions and noticing the difference. If you don't, you need to see a fucking optometrist. Even back in 2008 when I bought my PS3 (not to game mind you, just wanted a bluray player and they were cheaper than a standalone) and I slid in GTA4 and was so disappointed in the graphics I didn't even finish the game on the PS3. I thought, incorrectly, that the PS3/XBOX360 would have 1080p resolutions for all of their games. Boy was I wrong. If it wasn't for the fact that it played Blurays perfectly, I would have took that fucker back the next day. $400 for substandard resolution and outdated graphics...fuck that, I could have bought a decent videocard/motherboard/cpu combo that would have blown it away in graphics easily at that time.
 
In today's day and age, one simply can't afford NOT to have a decent computer.

They are used in just about every facet of our lives.

The only real difference between a good laptop, and a gaming laptop, is that the gaming laptop has a powerful GPU.

Considering it is no harder to plug a laptop into a television with an HDMI cable than it is a console, to buy a console in ADDITION to a laptop is simply redundant and more expensive than just buying a laptop with a better GPU. That laptop can then be brought on the subway, to work, to a friends house, wherever and your gaming system and all saved games follow you. That laptop is also going to be a far better media center with Windows 7 or the upcoming 8 than consoles can hope to be.

I was a console gamer ever since the NES, and I own a Wii and a PS3 now... but PC gaming is the future. The consoles were only pushed hard by the industry as it was easier to control piracy on a locked down proprietary system. Piracy aside, having several different proprietary systems is in no way in the consumer's best interest. Piracy I believe will be addressed at least somewhat with new online distribution systems like Steam.
 
In today's day and age, one simply can't afford NOT to have a decent computer.

They are used in just about every facet of our lives.

The only real difference between a good laptop, and a gaming laptop, is that the gaming laptop has a powerful GPU.

Considering it is no harder to plug a laptop into a television with an HDMI cable than it is a console, to buy a console in ADDITION to a laptop is simply redundant and more expensive than just buying a laptop with a better GPU. That laptop can then be brought on the subway, to work, to a friends house, wherever and your gaming system and all saved games follow you. That laptop is also going to be a far better media center with Windows 7 or the upcoming 8 than consoles can hope to be.

I was a console gamer ever since the NES, and I own a Wii and a PS3 now... but PC gaming is the future. The consoles were only pushed hard by the industry as it was easier to control piracy on a locked down proprietary system. Piracy aside, having several different proprietary systems is in no way in the consumer's best interest. Piracy I believe will be addressed at least somewhat with new online distribution systems like Steam.

Yes because have a 13 inch thin and lightweight laptop compared to a heavy, thick, and hot gaming laptop is the same.

It is true. The current generation of consoles have been showing their age for quite some time. Battlefield 3 is the one title that is going to prove this is spades. Consoles are utilizing 8 year old technology. They aren't getting better, because they can't be upgraded. And the next crop of consoles aren't expected at the earliest until a possible 2013 (rumored) but most likely 2014. Which is just pathetic. Console gamers are looking at the PC games coming out and seeing the differences in graphics and gameplay on a PC and going "damn man, I think I might go with the PC for my gaming needs because consoles are looking like fucking Atari 2600's right about now" and they would be right.

People don't care...hate to break it to you.

Its not about graphics. It is about comfort and ease of use. PC has neither.

If you want PC gaming to take off then you will have to give up one thing....your precious Keyboard and Mouse. People do not want to sit at a desk and play (or try and rig up a keyboard and mouse from the couch). I'm as un-biased as a gamer can get, but I sit at a desk all day long and the last thing I want to do when I get home and sit at a desk to play a game.

In short it is all about the controller....advance that and accept it as a player base, or continue on with your jaded opinions of where gaming is going.

but PC gaming is the future.

Nope, it will still be consoles. Laptops are the future of PCs, and they don't have the power, plus that whole keyboard and mouse thing. You guys talk like the current consoles are going to be around forever, when the market is ready something else will be released.
 
You have an axe to grind and your posts have showed it for quite some time. Anyways, comfort is subjective.
 
1) Graph is a joke, where's the 8800GTX from 2006?

2) Doesn't make a difference to me as PC will always beat console anytime, IMHO. Want to go mobile? A cheap laptop with a GT555M or 6670M will beat a console in overall performance without costing a bomb. Still using a desktop? A cheaper desktop will trash a console outright. Game titles? They're far cheaper (and for those that don't like MW2 / SC2 etc are overrated and aren't worth the price anyway).
 
You have an axe to grind and your posts have showed it for quite some time. Anyways, comfort is subjective.

Yep, with a lap type desk holding my keyboard and mouse, sitting on the couch while gaming is quite comfortable. I can also use a console controller with most games, depending on what type of game it is. Having a decent chair and desk can make gaming at a desk quite comfortable, too.

That guy's axe grinding causes sparks to go in his eyes, blinding him to reality.
 
As much as I would like PC games to be the future, I just don't see it. None of my friends are PC gamers, and even when I try to get them into PC gaming they are so lazy and get frustrated with having to install it, possibly enter in codes such as cd keys or register it online, then get patches etc.

I imagine it's much the same for everyone.
 
As much as I would like PC games to be the future, I just don't see it. None of my friends are PC gamers, and even when I try to get them into PC gaming they are so lazy and get frustrated with having to install it, possibly enter in codes such as cd keys or register it online, then get patches etc.

I imagine it's much the same for everyone.

Consoles these days have installs (PS3), codes to enter (pre-order codes/online passes), and patches so not much different. Actually Steam eliminates all of those problems you mentioned your friends having.
 
Consoles these days have installs (PS3), codes to enter (pre-order codes/online passes), and patches so not much different. Actually Steam eliminates all of those problems you mentioned your friends having.

Add in ridiculous load times, even when the game is installed, and console gaming is honestly less "easy to use" sometimes.
 
People don't care...hate to break it to you.

Its not about graphics. It is about comfort and ease of use. PC has neither.

If you want PC gaming to take off then you will have to give up one thing....your precious Keyboard and Mouse. People do not want to sit at a desk and play (or try and rig up a keyboard and mouse from the couch). I'm as un-biased as a gamer can get, but I sit at a desk all day long and the last thing I want to do when I get home and sit at a desk to play a game.

In short it is all about the controller....advance that and accept it as a player base, or continue on with your jaded opinions of where gaming is going.

Upcoming next generation Consoles are supposed to be released in 2012 ...so the graphics (will be 1080p) agrument is moot. However ...I agree it's the lack of "Comfort" while sitting at a Computer Desk using a Keyboard/mouse. Right now I play my Xbox 360 & PS3 720p games on a 8ft. Screen using a much easier to play with Contoller & also while sitting in complete comfort on my plushy Sofa or my reclined Game Chair for waaaaaaaaaaaay more hours than I ever could on a my PC.
 
Upcoming next generation Consoles are supposed to be released in 2012 ...so the graphics (will be 1080p) agrument is moot. However ...I agree it's the lack of "Comfort" while sitting at a Computer Desk using a Keyboard/mouse. Right now I play my Xbox 360 & PS3 720p games on a 8ft. Screen using a much easier to play with Contoller & also while sitting in complete comfort on my plushy Sofa or my reclined Game Chair for waaaaaaaaaaaay more hours than I ever could on a my PC.

You people do realize that you can get just about any kind of controller made for for PC's as well?:rolleyes: And that keyboard/ mouse is the ONLY decent way to play FPS games?
 
I sit in comfort using my PC 24/7. Have a 10ft usb extension + whatever length my keyboard/mouse is. Also have a wireless keyboard/mouse too. Using my 37" HDTV as a monitor is great as well as a 360 controller
 
Upcoming next generation Consoles are supposed to be released in 2012 ...so the graphics (will be 1080p) agrument is moot. However ...I agree it's the lack of "Comfort" while sitting at a Computer Desk using a Keyboard/mouse. Right now I play my Xbox 360 & PS3 720p games on a 8ft. Screen using a much easier to play with Contoller & also while sitting in complete comfort on my plushy Sofa or my reclined Game Chair for waaaaaaaaaaaay more hours than I ever could on a my PC.

^hasn't yet figured out computers can do all of that and more.
 
I play pc games on a 2011 42" Panasonic plasma. (Better picture than any LCD monitor what what?)

I play while standing up, at a standing desk i fandangled with ikea desk parts. (Sitting is unhealthy, i sit 25% of the time in a drafting chair with reclining capability)
I also own an xbox 360 controller for driving games / side scrollers.

But i do it at 1080p, and my games are always <$20. And i stick to games, until i beat them, so i easily spend less than 120$ a year on games. Not to mention the replayability of multiplayer games, BC2, TF2, L4D/2, awesome games to play with some level-headed friends.
 
I would love a mix of the two. How about making a console that doesn't look like laggy crap compared to my pc? Sorry.

The comfort and ease of use I agree with. If you are good with the rest of the performance, great.

However, games look terrible compared to my pc at 1080P. I can't get past that.
 
I play pc games on a 2011 42" Panasonic plasma. (Better picture than any LCD monitor what what?)

I play while standing up, at a standing desk i fandangled with ikea desk parts. (Sitting is unhealthy, i sit 25% of the time in a drafting chair with reclining capability)
I also own an xbox 360 controller for driving games / side scrollers.

But i do it at 1080p, and my games are always <$20. And i stick to games, until i beat them, so i easily spend less than 120$ a year on games. Not to mention the replayability of multiplayer games, BC2, TF2, L4D/2, awesome games to play with some level-headed friends.

what the fuck -- i want a standing desk
 
Upcoming next generation Consoles are supposed to be released in 2012 ...so the graphics (will be 1080p) agrument is moot. However ...I agree it's the lack of "Comfort" while sitting at a Computer Desk using a Keyboard/mouse. Right now I play my Xbox 360 & PS3 720p games on a 8ft. Screen using a much easier to play with Contoller & also while sitting in complete comfort on my plushy Sofa or my reclined Game Chair for waaaaaaaaaaaay more hours than I ever could on a my PC.

I do this with my PC too. But I prefer a keyboard and mouse it is just way more accurate and my office chair is just as comfortable as my couch. The point is a TV is nothing more than a display and there is nothing that says you cannnot hook a PC up to a TV it can and does happen.

There is only 1 disadvantage I have ever really noticed about PCs and that is that most games do not support split screen so you cannot bring a bunch of people over and hook up 4 controllers and play. But that point is becoming less important since many console games are starting to move toward dropping split screen and becoming basically just liek PC gaming without the power and abilities.
 
The truth is that the problem is the PC as a platform. What do PC gamers want, desktops, and big ones at that. They want fast GPUs that suck power.

What does everybody else buying a computer want, laptops, thin and light ones at that. They want great battery life and a small form factor.

Why does this matter? Because you can't actual play PC games on the type of computers people want to buy these days. The GPU is way too anemic and cramming a proper gaming GPU into a laptop kills the form factor and battery life making it a product people don't want.

Hell, even gaming culture now shows everybody "PC gaming" on laptops, case in point this is from today

i-TbhdFCV-XL.jpg


Herp derp.

Everybody has a "computer" in their house, you have to, you've had to for a while now. But unlike the late 90s or the early 2000s computer no longer means "desktop that is one GPU upgrade away from gaming" more and more, and this trend is only increasing computer means "laptop that can't really game and can't be upgraded to game".

So arguments about "you can hook it up to your tv" or "you can just slap a controller in it" are all fairly moot as the type computers that are selling now are simply not gaming capable in any sense of the form.

Unless hardware companies really concentrate on farming out great mobile products that can game without having a negative impact on battery life and without requiring hefty laptops the writing is on the wall. Razer already got the memo and is doing this, but as expected that product is under attack from PC gamers wanting more power.
 
I play pc games on a 2011 42" Panasonic plasma. (Better picture than any LCD monitor what what?)

I play while standing up, at a standing desk i fandangled with ikea desk parts. (Sitting is unhealthy, i sit 25% of the time in a drafting chair with reclining capability)
I also own an xbox 360 controller for driving games / side scrollers.

But i do it at 1080p, and my games are always <$20. And i stick to games, until i beat them, so i easily spend less than 120$ a year on games. Not to mention the replayability of multiplayer games, BC2, TF2, L4D/2, awesome games to play with some level-headed friends.



Pics of your setup, please!

I totally agree with sitting for long periods of time being unhealthy. I have that habit myself but am trying to break it. Haven't thought of a standing desk though. About how far back is your head from the tv?
 
The truth is that the problem is the PC as a platform. What do PC gamers want, desktops, and big ones at that. They want fast GPUs that suck power.

What does everybody else buying a computer want, laptops, thin and light ones at that. They want great battery life and a small form factor.

Why does this matter? Because you can't actual play PC games on the type of computers people want to buy these days. The GPU is way too anemic and cramming a proper gaming GPU into a laptop kills the form factor and battery life making it a product people don't want.

Hell, even gaming culture now shows everybody "PC gaming" on laptops, case in point this is from today

i-TbhdFCV-XL.jpg


Herp derp.

Everybody has a "computer" in their house, you have to, you've had to for a while now. But unlike the late 90s or the early 2000s computer no longer means "desktop that is one GPU upgrade away from gaming" more and more, and this trend is only increasing computer means "laptop that can't really game and can't be upgraded to game".

So arguments about "you can hook it up to your tv" or "you can just slap a controller in it" are all fairly moot as the type computers that are selling now are simply not gaming capable in any sense of the form.

Unless hardware companies really concentrate on farming out great mobile products that can game without having a negative impact on battery life and without requiring hefty laptops the writing is on the wall. Razer already got the memo and is doing this, but as expected that product is under attack from PC gamers wanting more power.

That's pretty stupid considering those that have a computer for gaming usually have one capable of gaming. Yes, people who play Farmville can do it on a netbook or tablet, but someone who buys or builds a computer with the intention of using it for gaming usually buys or builds one that can do so. Nobody is going to play a game on a laptop that isn't plugged into the wall, either. Who cares what sales trends show about consumers who don't game in the first place? You're confusing people who play games with people that want a mobile media platform.

Anyway, a $500 laptop these days will game just as well as a console. You've failed. Especially using PA for a PC gamer reference.
 
You have a lot of fair points sd11, none of which I really disagree with. The other option for developers is the MMO approach. Make a game that has really low graphics requirements but allow it to scale up to take more advantage of beefier systems. That seems to be the way things are going these days. This often means less impressive graphics on the high end though.
 
That's pretty stupid considering those that have a computer for gaming usually have one capable of gaming. Yes, people who play Farmville can do it on a netbook or tablet, but someone who buys or builds a computer with the intention of using it for gaming usually buys or builds one that can do so. Nobody is going to play a game on a laptop that isn't plugged into the wall, either. Who cares what sales trends show about consumers who don't game in the first place? You're confusing people who play games with people that want a mobile media platform.

Anyway, a $500 laptop these days will game just as well as a console. You've failed. Especially using PA for a PC gamer reference.

PA is a gamer reference you know that? As in all gamers. Which are a much larger population than hardcore hardware enthusiasts which are a minority.

Most people, ie the public at large, does not buy a computer and think about gaming really. Will it facebook, will it run office, will it skype, does it have the internet, can I watch movies? Once all those boxes are checked they go straight after form factor and battery life.

So nope, your average person with a laptop with an intel IGP or anemic amd/nvidia GPU cannot game better than they can on a console. And that's what makes up the majority of what's out there. And while they could probably even get a cheaper laptop with a better GPU, the cost in battery and form factor make that a worse buy for what they actually want to do.

Yeah, people that want to game buy a desktop. But the days where someone that bought a computer could become a PC gamer for an $300 GPU upgrade are over and long gone. Now doing that requires buying an entirely new PC just to game on because their $1000-3000 laptop that does everything but game perfectly fine isn't capable of running the game very well at all.

So unlike the late 90s and early 2000s you can't just turn people who weren't PC gamers into PC gamers with a quick upgrade.

going to gaming conventions and tournaments it's always the same shit. Someone with a macbook or sony viao, or whatever "you know you could play that game on PC" "well it runs like crap and the console version runs fine and I don't need another computer, this one is perfectly good"

Put it this way, each time someone goes out and buys a computer now and gets a laptop instead of a desktop who isn't already a PC gamer, that's one more person who isn't going to be a PC gamer in the future.
 
Just wait for Trinity to raise the baseline of what's possible with iGPU's once again.
 
It's a debate that'll never end, but I tend to agree with sd11. The computers that are selling are getting smaller. Seen the specs needed to run Windows 8? They're the same as Windows 7 and Vista. The motivation for people to buy something bigger/better/faster isn't there for most users.
Short of someone working as a designer, there's very little reason to get a fast PC other than gaming. Firefox opening 1/4 of a second faster and Word making global font changes 1 millisecond faster just doesn't matter. Even the Adobe design suite works fine on core 2 duos with integrated graphics. It can be better, but will the average person know or care?
I think the success of PC gaming is going to fall on something else that requires more power. Maybe Window 9 or some kind of 3D interface would do the trick, but for now people are scaling back for the sake of size and convenience.
 

You didn't read my post. I don't care about the average joe that plays a game or two every 4 months, neither do game publishers. And if you bought a $1,000-3,000 laptop that can't play new games, you better make sure it wasn't the ol' brick in a laptop box trick.

Computers ARE getting smaller, not less powerful. A new $700 HTPC can play games much better than a $2000 full tower desktop from 4 years ago.

Also, why keep on bringing up battery life? Anyone playing any sort of non-flash based game will have the thing plugged into the wall, whether it's a MBP or power hungry Acer.
 
Nvidia is going to say this regardless of which direction the market is going. It means nothing.
 
While I am a PC gamer with a setup that I've invested a ridiculous amount of money in, the best I can say is Console gaming is different then PC gaming.

I think the PC has a great deal more potential, I hate the affect Console sales have had on PC development, and I think a mouse / KB combo is infinitely faster and more accurate interface. That said, there is a large market of gamers that do not want to fuss with all the things I enjoy about PC's. Without this market AAA titles would not have the budgets they have today. Both platforms are valid, they simply both need to be given the same priority during development.

While I think the Console makers have already missed the boat for next gen sales, they're market analysis is not far off. Looking at the time line presented in Nvidia's charts, both console makers are rumored to be releasing their next product about the time PC would over take their sales. Personally I would have been more pro-active, releasing before needing to try and reverse the momentum of declining sales, as primarily a PC gamer, I am glad they have chosen this path. Our platform has long needed to restore some of its former glory and respect... and as an outcome, attention during game development.

Regardless of the reasons or motives behind it, this is good news in my opinion.
 
all other generations you could justify your upgrade because some killer app was screaming for more power, today even though I've moved up to a 2560x1600 screen (previously difficult to power at native res) everything still runs smoothly.

Of course Nvidia probably care a great deal that someone who previously dropped £500+ every 18 months on high end cards suddenly isn't doing so anymore, I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I have to disagree with you on that one... at least to an extent.

I too have been the guy who updated every 12-18 months. A 9800GTX -> 280GTX -> HD5870 -> Crossfire OC'ed 5870's. My reasons much the same as yours, 2560x1600 -> 7680x1600, a demanding resolution. However I've not upgraded to the 6990 or Nvidia's 580 because, as you've pointed out, there hasn't been enough reason too. Until now.

With Battlefield 3 on the horizon, Rage in less then two weeks, Metro Last Light (I still cannot play 2033 on full settings) shortly there after, Stalker 2 next year, Far Cry 3 (and if we're REALLY lucky Half-Life 3 on a new engine)... I see lots of reasons for me to want the next gen cards NOW, if not by November.

With the console makers sitting on their laurels, things have taken a slight turn toward the PC. We're seeing higher resolution textures, even post release texture packs. Tessellation is showing up in more and more games and there's a greater demand for the kind of physics Mirror's Edge tinkered with. To me, that all points to the need for continued hardware development, particularly if you want to throw 3D and/or multi-monitor into the equation. As far as I'm concerned, AMD cannot get the 7980 out fast enough. ;)
 
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