PC gamers - any made the jump to console?

[tenohfive]

I'm a casual PC gamer and debating making the jump to an X-Box One X for a couple of reasons - firstly, my PC needs an upgrade as it's crashing when running games on medium settings and secondly I've got a new and fairly capable TV, and the idea of HDR in 65" whilst gaming appeals.
I'm not totally averse to upgrading the PC - it's self built with a decent case, decent (albeit 8 year old) air cooling and the peripherals and monitor have been upgraded. But I suspect to get it up to spec is going to cost me a lot more than an X-Box.
(AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE@3.6ghz, 16GB RAM, GTX 570, Samsung SSD.)

Has anyone made the jump over to console? Mostly I play a mix of Battlefield and other FPS (albeit without the insta-death twitch reactions of some), Total War games and whatever Steam stuff pops up in their frequent sales. Was it an easy jump, and was it the right call?

There is a big part of me that would be happy sticking with the PC - but even to just game on the existing monitor with BF5 on high settings I'm guessing I'd be looking at north of £600, and that's without considering a 4K HDR capable GPU to run games on the big screen (which is logistically, but not financially, practical.)

[Hoink]

Yes...

I'm 39 and considered myself decent at games but quickly realised I am terrible on a controller since "the switch". Give me a mouse and keyboard over my Xbox. I still enjoy it but have accepted I'm now rubbish.

[Shuvi McTupya]

I am not really a gamer anymore but once upon a time I was really into my first person shooters on a PC.

I have tried playing on consoles but i just cant be at all competitive with a joy pad / controller thingy so it just frustrates me.

Unless I just play skateboarding / snowboarding / arcady type stuff..

Edited by Shuvi McTupya on Sunday 3rd June 13:13

[Steven_RW]

I made it years ago and like said above realised I was rubbish with the controller. SOOOO... all you do is stay away from competitive online shooting games. I played Skyrim and GTA and Dark Souls and so on. Enjoyed the games but didn't need to be a natural aimer.

The console hardware is without doubt cheaper. Especially if you say buy a second hand xbone. I did for £100. I also have a Ps4 Pro and a top spec gaming PC. But the Ram upgrade alone the other day was way more than double the price of the mint second hand boxed xbox one. So completely incomparable.

[Hoofy]

Just picked up a PS3. Racing games are fine. No difference, gameplay aside.

FPS is completely different. In a fire fight when the guy is running to one side, I'm dead. Forget wading into a squad and taking them out. I once took out a squad and an extra guy in BF2 single handedly. In BF4 on PS3, I'd be lucky to take out one guy if I accidentally stumbled into a squad. I've got some of those thumb controller extenders on order. Will report back.

These things: https://amzn.to/2sBbAGi

[paul99]

It took me ages to get vaguely competent with a controller on FPS games but now I actually prefer the ability to sit back into a comfy seat to play. You can still use a mouse/keyboard on a console using a XIM4 but I gather they don't work so great with games with a lot of aim assist.

[HRL]

PC and PS4 here. Play both with a PS4 controller, only use the keyboard and mouse to navigate Windows.

[Bullett]

Controller is the biggest difference as stated. I manage in single player but forget I'm just not good enough in multiplayer to survive very long.

Other differences is that there is a more limited choice of games that are much more expensive on console, you have to pay for online in most cases and if someone wants to watch TV you can't game on the 'big telly'.

[Jasandjules]

I did it years ago when the PS3 came out.

For many months I was hopeless with the controller . Eventually got the hang of it enough to not die in 10 seconds flat in online gaming.

I am considering getting another PC though for flight sims etc which I still can't get on with on a PS4, not enough "controls" etc

[Hoofy]

Hoofy said:

Just picked up a PS3. Racing games are fine. No difference, gameplay aside.

FPS is completely different. In a fire fight when the guy is running to one side, I'm dead. Forget wading into a squad and taking them out. I once took out a squad and an extra guy in BF2 single handedly. In BF4 on PS3, I'd be lucky to take out one guy if I accidentally stumbled into a squad. I've got some of those thumb controller extenders on order. Will report back.

These things: https://amzn.to/2sBbAGi

Report: get these! I just had a quick play and within one game, adapted to using them. I was always trying to be sneaky as I would end up getting raped by the better players. And even then when holding back, I'd have a KDR of 1.0. Now I'm rushing in with the others and getting a KDR of about 1.0!!

What I'm finding is that it's magnified the sensitivity in a logarithmic fashion so previously it was really twitchy and if someone ran past you, you'd be wildly swinging side to side. With these things, the central bit is far slower (as if you have a sensitivity of 10%) so you can more easily track people and the wider angles are for big turns like before (sensitivity set to 30%).

[M5MarkM]

Wouldn't consider it myself. But I get why people do, the constant upgrade cost of high end PC versus cost of a console that lasts years. That being said I find I only need to upgrade my PC in parts every 2 or 3 years and not the whole thing. The real issue being if you're used to high end PCs in high quality and big resolution it's difficult to go to a console

[BIRMA]

I changed from a high end gaming PC to a PS3 ages ago. At the time I was playing Oblivion, noticeable on the change over were the graphics, on the PS3 they were absolute crap compared to a decent gaming PC the smoke and fire in the cauldrons to name one of hundreds. But the PS3 never crashed and lost my progress so that was a big plus despite the graphics.
Fast forward to now and I have a PS4 Pro and just recently an X Box One X going into a 4K LG OLED I felt that the gaming consoles have just about caught up with a decent high end gaming PC of years ago.

[Jinx]

Both is the best option - but then I also work from home sometimes so having a decent PC is necessary for this. I have a PS4 Pro with the VR headset and whilst it isn't useful for a quick game of anything (long gone are the days of chucking a cartridge in and you are ready to go) it is a great experience. Effectively consoles are just small from factor PCs from a hardware point of view with dedicated gaming focused software - you could build a SFF PC and use steam big picture mode for a similar experience to a modern console.
Given the above the real question is "Gaming - Desk or Sofa"?

[Some Guy]

I originally gamed on PS1 and then PS2. Changed over to PC when the PS2 got a bit long in the tooth. I always build my own PCs, so they were fit for purpose, without being "too extreme". Current machine is about 7 years old, but had a recent GPU upgrade. Will probably build another new machine next year. I do use a game pad as opposed to a mouse though.