# Choosing between a Console and Desktop/Laptop



## rixon.d9 (Mar 14, 2014)

I have to decide one of the most confusing things I have in my mind right now. Gaming , Football and Torrent download is what I do all day. Being at work still have a passion for games. I want need some help in choosing which equipments to buy.

1. Thinking to assemble a Gaming Desktop.
2. Also need a TV to watch Football using DTH connection.
3. If I buy a TV ,Console( PS4 or XBOX ONE ) will be cheaper than PC.

Few things I would like to know , Is gaming on consoles better than on PC ? I heard there are many games only meant for Consoles ? Also Can I use my desktop monitor as TV and connect DTH ? Or Can I use TV as Desktop monitor ?


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## topgear (Mar 15, 2014)

If you go by the variety and visuals PC is the best. If you only play games with gamepad then opt for console. Yes there's console only game but lots of them gets ported to pc sooner or later and there's also PC exclusive titles.

You can use your desktop monitor as TV and connect DTH but for that you may need to buy a supported TV tuner card or the monior and DTH box both having HDMI port.


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## ithehappy (Mar 15, 2014)

rixon.d9 said:


> Is gaming on consoles better than on PC ?


Which came earlier? The chicken or the egg? You will have different answers always. It's the same about Consoles and PC gaming. The only difference is, for the latter people know what's better, but it's just pure fanboyism, ignorance and lack of knowledge.
The big question is, how much are you devoted into gaming? If you are one of those casual gamers, who play a game once and then don't play for a long while, and quality means nothing to you, then I would advice you go for Console. But if you are a serious and enthusiast, then there is no option other than PC, given you are heavily loaded. Playing games in Consoles and future upgrades a LOT cheaper than PC gaming, and I am sure you know that already.
There is no competition there brother, PC gaming never had any rivalry, and there is none as of yet. Now if you keep Googling about the matter you might go in a limbo and never find the answer, so decide with your brain.
And yes, you can use TV as a monitor (but I will look for the lowest input lag ones). And when done, use it as TV normally.


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## kkn13 (Mar 15, 2014)

rixon.d9 said:


> I have to decide one of the most confusing things I have in my mind right now. Gaming , Football and Torrent download is what I do all day. Being at work still have a passion for games. I want need some help in choosing which equipments to buy.
> 
> 1. Thinking to assemble a Gaming Desktop.
> 2. Also need a TV to watch Football using DTH connection.
> ...



how will ps4/xbox one with a tv be cheaper than a pc?? they are priced at 40k minimum and are terrible compared to an entry level desktop imo
get a desktop and a tv instead
buy a tv tuner card for the desktop and use windows media centre or a linux based alernative
much better choice
plus xbox 360 controllers etc work fine on windows (need a dongle,available in stores)
as for split screen games,very few support it but titles such as left4dead,l4d2,dirt3 ,blur etc support splitscreen fully

hope i helped 

source for whatever i mentioned above- been there done that,have a similiar setup with a home server,media home setup so i can stream anywhere in the house from my nas drives etc
with airplay mirroring and accessible on all devices


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## shivakanth.sujit (Mar 15, 2014)

It all depends on your needs.

I personally prefer a PC attached to a TV, but that's my  this article can help u if you need itBuild a PC for the Price of a PS4-IGN

But there are a a lot of console users also. A better idea will be to fill out the questionnaire and depending on that u can decide if u need a PC or a console. Link-*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/pc-components-configurations/149943-asking-new-pc-help-answer-these-questions-first.html

Shiva


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## 007roh (Mar 15, 2014)

PS4 or Xbox One will cost you 38k and 50k+ respectively. You can't flash/mod the PS4 and Xbox One as of now.Which means you will need to buy original games which will cost you 3.5k-4k each even 2 year old games will cost you 1k or more. 
To play Multiplayer you will need subscription for both PS4 and Xbox One which can cost you as much as 3.5k a year.

Now some plus points for consoles. All games for consoles works without any problems or whatsoever. Consoles do get some pretty good exclusive games. 


P.S- PC will be cheaper in the long run (considering you do not plan to flash/mod you console) with better graphics in almost all games. Also games for PC are in the range of sub 2k and when get old they drop below 1k.


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## rixon.d9 (Mar 15, 2014)

> A better idea will be to fill out the questionnaire and depending on that u can decide if u need a PC or a console.



1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? 
Ans: Playing games such as  Call of Duty, GTA V , Fifa and others at high resolutions. Will be doing a lot of downloading and web browsing. Watchin HD movies and more importantly Will use to watch TV telecast.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans: Around 60K. Flexible 

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: well not yet decided bcz i feel there's no point in overclocking new PC. NO from my side unless someone can convince why should I need to Overclock.

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Windows8 

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans: 2TB . Considering the event of fatal breakdowns should I go for 2 1TB drives or a single 2TB drive. SSD depends on the additional cost. Dont want to compromise Gaming perfomance like a cheaper GPU

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans: Yes. 24inches or more . Question is can I buy a 32inch TV with HDMI and use as my PC monitor  and as TV?

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: Keyboard. 

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: April First week 2014

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: Haven't built one, with tutorials and help from this forum willing to do it myself.

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Buying in UAE

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: How much does a TV tuner cost ? Can I switch between TV and CPU several times? Like toggle or need to disconnect cabl


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## rijinpk1 (Mar 15, 2014)

i5 4570 - 13k
gigbyte ga b85m d3h- 5.5k
kingston hyperx blu / gskill ripjaws x / corsair vengeance 4gb -2.75k(whichever cheaper)
sapphire / asus/ HIS 280x - 24.5k
wd blue 1tb -3.8k / seagate 2tb - 5.8k
asus odd -1k
antec vp550p - 3.5k
cooler master n300 - 3.3k
dell s2240l - 8.6k / AOC i2369vm - 12k / HP 22FI - 11k
logitech k/b - 0.3k


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## harshilsharma63 (Mar 15, 2014)

@rijinpk1; don;t just go ahead and post configs, read all post first.

@OP; I'll ask you to self analyze your gaming requirements. These questions will help in the process:

1. Have you ever played games yourself on a console or PC at your friend's place or somewhere else? Remember those moments and see for yourself what you likes and disliked about both.

2. What type of games do you like the most: racing, sports, FPS or something else?

3. Do you have a another PC for work?


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## rijinpk1 (Mar 15, 2014)

harshilsharma63 said:


> @rijinpk1; don;t just go ahead and post configs, read all post first.
> 
> @OP; I'll ask you to self analyze your gaming requirements. These questions will help in the process:
> 
> ...



what is wrong in my post?
op should have got convinced that he will be getting a pc rather than a console and that is why he answered those questionnaire.


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## rixon.d9 (Mar 15, 2014)

harshilsharma63 said:


> @rijinpk1; don;t just go ahead and post configs, read all post first.
> 
> @OP; I'll ask you to self analyze your gaming requirements. These questions will help in the process:
> 
> ...



1. I have been playing games on low res with mediocre config for 2 years. Someone told me gaming on console is better than PC. Also recent cries of PC gamers that GTA 5 not releasing yet for PC, worried what if other devolopers follow the same strategy ! 
2. I play mostly FIFA and FPS games.  
3. I dont have a alternate PC. I need to browse , download stuff from the web. Is that possible with PS4 to download torrents to eternal HDD ?
The reason why i thought of buying PS4 is because I need a Big screen to watch football. So the Idea was TV + PS4, but since i can use my monitor as TV CPU sounds better.


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## harshilsharma63 (Mar 15, 2014)

If you don;t need to do much on PC other than gaming and downloading, a console + TV will be better. You can browse Internet on consoles too. For downloading torrents, there are special routers available which can download torrent themselves without any PC.


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## shivakanth.sujit (Mar 15, 2014)

But can't he get a more powerfull PC for the same price?? 

Shiva


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## kkn13 (Mar 15, 2014)

@harshilsharma63 sorry to say this, but that's terrible advice.consoles can't do anything properly except for games (which also run worse than pcs). The web browsers etc of consoles are the worst not to mention that they are limited in everything they do. 

 Want to play games- expensive compared to pc games, plays at lower settings , requires updates to system firmware to play most of the times.  

Want to browse the internet-web browser doesn't support flash properly , forget extensions and customisation ; doesn't support "regular" accessories or can't even use ur phone to control the system(keyboard mouse replacement). 

Want to watch a movie- doesn't support regular file systems such as NTFS so the blu ray rips can't be played off that external hdd of urs , ps4/xbox one don't even support attaching external hdds or pendrives and all need the controller/dualshock to control everything (the bd remotes are no longer sold for ps3).   

As for the "special" routers u are talking about, if ur talking about the ones with linux and open source stuff , they cost a lot of money and don't work as expected. If u mean DDWRT or tomato firmware based routers, they void warranty and are risky and worse than consoles forget a pc. 

Windows media center or other linux based alternatives such as XBMC which have a lot of customisation options and official and unoffiacial support to keep going for a loong time. U need to research properly harshil , consoles are known for being lower than pcs for gaming forget other functions.                                             

@OP don't worry, gta 5 for pc may come they are delaying as they are trying to squeeze every bit of money from the console versions imho. As for developers leaving pc, that's not gonna happen coz the ps4/xbox one have "dumbed down" x86 architecture running custom hardware and OS eg ps4 runs orbis OS , a freebsd port and xbox one runs a custom windows 8.1 kernel so developers will make games for all 3 easily and PCs may get the games first coz they create games on Pcs with the console SDKs so its easier to port either ways


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## harshilsharma63 (Mar 16, 2014)

Try breaking that into paragraphs.


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## shivakanth.sujit (Mar 16, 2014)

^^ it's hard to read that when it's all complied into one para.divide it into 5paras for easy readying.

Shiva


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## kkn13 (Mar 16, 2014)

shivakanth.sujit said:


> ^^ it's hard to read that when it's all complied into one para.divide it into 5paras for easy readying.
> 
> Shiva



yeah sorry, i typed that with my phone and it didnt divide,will edit now


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## rixon.d9 (Mar 16, 2014)

Well now I know what I want, Cheers guys PC gaming is still alive. Get me a config. Also the TV tuner ( not included in the budget ). Need a good GPU. In the mean time i'll search other threads.


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## ithehappy (Mar 17, 2014)

Lol, PC gaming was always alive, and I don't see it getting fainted any time near. That's actually gaming brother, again, no offence to anyone.
For the specs, fill out that form, with your budget, experienced member will definitely advice you something good and vfm. Best of luck.


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## puneet785 (Mar 17, 2014)

PC games comes in much cheaper rates compared to gaming consoles.
with tv tuner card and HDMI support can make your monitor working for dish TV.
properly configured PC can beat consoles in some cases like SNIPER GHOST games.
post your budget and specification.


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## anirbandd (Mar 17, 2014)

Both are good in there own way. In consoles you have the stability and peace of mind that a game will run no matter what, with the down side that new games are damn costly. But you wouldnt have to worry about hardware upgrade and all.. Also the games will be much smooth. 

In pc the games are cheap, have better control, and the PC itself is a world of never ending possibilities.. But you have to worry about costly hardware upgrades after every 2-3 years. 

But its all just how you want your games.


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## snap (Mar 17, 2014)

one ps4 game is 4k right?


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## harshilsharma63 (Mar 17, 2014)

The cost of console games can be revered by selling the disks.


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## anirbandd (Mar 19, 2014)

harshilsharma63 said:


> The cost of console games can be revered by selling the disks.



Thats correct. For ps3 and Xbox 360 theres a pretty big online market at Indianvideogamer for used games.


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## rixon.d9 (Mar 24, 2014)

was away for few days, planning to buy april first week.
Complete the config:

Intel or AMD. Better gaming performer.
MOBO-NO IDEA
4GBx2 RAM ( Suggest multiple brands and frequency, as some brands are not available in UAE )
2TB HDD or 1TB + SSD ? Does SSD improve gaming performance ? I want better gameplay than loading speed.
Graphics read about r9 280 series. There are multiple editions again confused
How much Watt PSU will be needed ? Again multiple brands.
Cabinet prefer cooler master as I see shops selling only CM here. Will I require addtional cooler?
Monitor Should I go for TN or IPS panel ? Dell ? Size should not to be a burden on my gpu,same time need to Watch Dish HD Sports channels on the monitor.

DONT NEED OPTICAL DRIVE AND KEYBOARD.Need Gaming mouse for Aprrox 2.5k( not included in budget,will purchase later )


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## shivakanth.sujit (Mar 24, 2014)

rijinpk1 said:


> i5 4570 - 13k
> gigbyte ga b85m d3h- 5.5k
> kingston hyperx blu / gskill ripjaws x / corsair vengeance 4gb -2.75k(whichever cheaper)
> sapphire / asus/ HIS 280x - 24.5k
> ...




Go with this. reg the mouse, get the g400 or razor deathadder.

Shiva


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## harshilsharma63 (Mar 24, 2014)

+1 for *rijinpk1's *suggestion.


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## rixon.d9 (Mar 24, 2014)

rijinpk1 said:


> i5 4570 - 13k
> gigbyte ga b85m d3h- 5.5k
> kingston hyperx blu / gskill ripjaws x / corsair vengeance 4gb -2.75k(whichever cheaper)
> sapphire / asus/ HIS 280x - 24.5k
> ...



Dont need a KB and ODD. 
Need alternative for PSU . corsair maybe ?
Does SSD improve gaming performance or just loading time ?


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## shivakanth.sujit (Mar 24, 2014)

Why do you want corsair??? Antec is very good .

Shiva


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## rijinpk1 (Mar 24, 2014)

rixon.d9 said:


> Dont need a KB and ODD.
> Need alternative for PSU . corsair maybe ?
> Does SSD improve gaming performance or just loading time ?




you can go for corsair gs 600 /seasonic s12 ii 520/620.
ssd does not bring much improvement on gaming. ssd will benefit when loading games and saving data onto hdd, but not game play. so i would advice you to skip ssd now.

- - - Updated - - -

for mouse, get  logitech g400*s*


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## shivakanth.sujit (Mar 24, 2014)

The g400s has a high fail rate. *www.google.co.in/search?q=g400s+pr...7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8

the g400 is good.

Shiva


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## anirbandd (Mar 26, 2014)

Save up more and get G500. You won't regret it. Its just pure awesome.


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## rixon.d9 (Mar 28, 2014)

shivakanth.sujit said:


> Why do you want corsair??? Antec is very good .
> 
> Shiva



Because last time i went to build a rig here in Dubai it was flooded with Corsair, not sure if they have Antec ! Although if u recommend first choice Antec subject to availability


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## rijinpk1 (Mar 29, 2014)

rixon.d9 said:


> Because last time i went to build a rig here in Dubai it was flooded with Corsair, not sure if they have Antec ! Although if u recommend first choice Antec subject to availability



you can consider corsair gs 600 if antec availability is a problem.


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## Sarath (Mar 29, 2014)

I would suggest you invest in a bigger monitor something like a 23-24". I prefer IPS panels because they are miles ahead of TN panels and also are good for gaming. But since they cost more, I suggest you go for the biggest monitor size your budget allows. 

IMO ditch any thoughts about SSDs. I see them as an unnecessary expense which can be skipped for a few years, this despite me owning one. Not that they are bad but that at 7k for a decent 256GB they simply do not feel justified. 

---

Also remember when choosing a PC over consoles: 

1. You will be missing out on a lot of good games which are exclusive to consoles. Heck even if you buy a console you will miss out on certain gems because then you have to choose between console exclusives.

2. The same games usually come out on PCs later than on Consoles. GTA for example. This is not usually a problem because PC has many games but particularly frustrating because games like GTA are really the biggest games that come out in a year. This happens to a few (good) games every year.

3. The convenience of console gaming can never be matched by a PC and the versatility of the other cannot be matched by the console.

4. Your PC will degrade over the year while the console will actually turn out better looking games as years go by. 

5. Console usually have a generation span of 10 years, which means the console you buy today will serve you for ten years although it might not last that long. But that it will continue to receive the latest games well into the future. A gaming PC might not run as well in six years, ten is a distant dream.

------

I am just stating the above points from my experience of owning both the gaming devices (not the PS4 yet, maybe next year). A lot of people are disillusioned into thinking that a gaming PC is the ultimate gaming device or that a console is so much better than the PC in every way but it is not. You will be sacrificing  a lot if you ditch one for other. This is why many buy a console even after putting together a gaming rig or vice versa. You will have to live with your choices and sacrifice some of the games.

Having said that in your case it does look like a gaming PC will be more useful to you than a console.


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## Arjun609 (Apr 13, 2014)

Console just for a slight show off and some consoles are slim and portable

If you want a portable pc go like alienware x51(If You assemble Comes Around 40K)

Final: PC is better and has many uses than console
         PC's Gaming is always the better than Console


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## topgear (Apr 15, 2014)

I think Op got over his dilemma and finally made some decision.


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