Saturday, July 13, 2013

Is the next generation of consoles already outdated?

With the technology the next gen is bringing, do PCs already have them beat?

The PS4 is offering up to 8 times more power than the PS3. The Xbox One, up to 6x more power than the Xbox 360. But PCs vary in power. From average 2004 models, to beefy machines that can power a helicopter. Are consoles already outdated? In my opinion, yes. But that's my opinion, and I'm biased because I am a PC gamer. I believe they are outdated because of the technology that already exists in personal computers. We have tons of CPU power, up to quad core processors with almost 4.0 ghz capabilities. We have loads of RAM, upwards of 16GB compared to the 8GB the "new" consoles are offering. We have the ability of customization for things such as hard drive space. We can get 1TB of space if we need, while the consoles get only half that.
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I am not entirely hating on the new consoles. They will, undoubtedly, have a heap of power beneath them and they are certainly much stronger than their previous installments. However, I just believe that PCs have been advancing much quicker than the console scene has and our technology is just much more superior. In every single way. But yes, I hear the folks saying that consoles aren't outdated. They are new, yes. They are powerful, yes. There is two sides to this argument. Some say the average Joe doesn't have this technology yet, so the consoles are in fact "in". Others argue that PCs have had this kind of power much longer than even the current generation has and we're just much more superior. Whichever side you take, you are right. It's quite complex, to be honest. This new technology is obviously one worth having. Everyone has a console nowadays but not very people have a powerful PC. They just have a regular laptop that can play a lot of games, but not the graphic-heavy games like the current generation of consoles can. The power within the next generation is so drastically different from this generation that it's so easy to get lost in the argument and say that consoles are in fact NOT outdated already. I agree with both sides. Consoles are in right now which means they are not outdated. They aren't even released to the public so it's hard for people to say they are outdated. But obviously, we can go right back to the PC argument. Again, both are completely correct and right to say. Which side are you on? PC? Console? Handheld?

Is PC gaming the way to go?

Next-gen consoles or PC?

With all the hype of the next generation coming this holiday, I realized that my PC has stood the test of time. I bought this desktop 5 years ago and still, it is fully capable of running demanding games such as Skyrim and Fallout 3 on decent settings. I've only upgraded the machine twice, which weren't really large upgrades at all. They were pretty minimum in cost, too. Sony and Microsoft have both recently revealed their prices for their next gen consoles, at $399 and $499 respectively. My PC cost around $1000 to build and maintain.
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The Playstation 3 is still ongoing but it's coming to a close with the PS4 about to take over. PS3 has lasted around 4-6 years with solid playing time. This includes the time which it was actually pretty mainstream and good games were being developed for it. Not including the first couple of months when everybody believed it was a huge failure and the amount of games on it were very little. At first glance, the consoles look to be much cheaper. That is, for the next generation of consoles. For this generation, my PC obviously takes the cake. With launch prices of up to $799 for the PS3, it was way too expensive for me to buy so I rather took a building scheme of my computer and spent upward of $850 initially. It lasted well and still does. However, the Playstation 3 does not. It's already coming to a close while my PC is good for another 2 or so years. For gamers that already bought a PC back in this generation, keep your PCs and don't mind the new generation of consoles. For those that still do not have a powerful personal computer, I would suggest purchasing either a PS4 or Xbox One as they are selling for really cheap on launch date compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360. PCs are generally much more expensive but they go a long way. The choice is yours to make.

For a read on the best gaming monitor reviews, click on that link.

Is ASUS better than BenQ?

ASUS or BenQ? Who wins?

I've tried multiple computer monitors for several different uses such as regular computer work, photo editing, video editing, and a lot of gaming. Asus and BenQ frequently come up in my list of used monitors and I would go as far as saying they are both some of the top model monitors. However, pitting these two competitors doesn't really solve anything. This is because of the different models they both manufacture. Wouldn't it be easier to use a model vs model kind of comparison? I've done the hard part of just comparing the two companies as a whole and the winner may surprise you... BenQ is not really the first company that comes to mind when you mention things like best computer monitor, best gaming monitor, best monitor for video editing, etc. Obviously, BenQ is a fairly solid company that makes great monitors. I've tried plenty of them, most of them in fact. The truth is, they are extremely quality and really provide value for your money.
best gaming monitor
Asus, on the other hand, is a bit cheaper in general with their prices. That's not to say they are not quality monitor producers. They are. And the truth with them is that they make some of the best monitors in the world, even as far as better than models from Samsung, Sony, and the like. However, ASUS has serious problems with build quality. One of the monitors I've used was so unstable I had to bring in another friend of mine just to install it. I sincerely felt that it was going to break extremely soon within a few days. That eventually was the case and I had to get a replacement. The difference between the two is their customer support. ASUS did a great job getting me a new monitor for my gaming needs, although it wasn't quality initially. BenQ had quality the first time around so I didn't really need the support. Overall, I believe that BenQ is the winner here. I just feel that the initial purchase should be the last time I get the product from them unless I want another monitor. With ASUS, things fell apart but they are still a very great company.