I know I'm going to be one of those people, but I feel like I have to have an argument with you about that. You'll need to define 'good' if you mean 1080p mid settings 60hz as an example would be good for me, you would probably be surprised at how little it costs if you get the components yourself.
My 90's era brain can't understand people who bitch about the graphics when I grew up with the nintendo 64 and gameboy. If however you're going for one of those fancy 4k 60hz ultra wide setups or anything else then yes it's going to cost a lot compared to a console. There's also the fact that consoles are closed source trash and you can't access the indie market the way you can on PC. If you own a console it's essentially a brick the second you're done playing the games you have on it and your only option is to buy more games. I'm aware though they operate as multimedia platforms kind of these days, haven't looked at consoles in ears but PCs can do all that and more.
The one exception to the rule I've seen is the steam deck, which isn't closed source and you can treat it almost like a laptop if you want to which is very interesting but functions just fine as a portable gaming device.
TLDR: PCs can be the same price as consoles or cheaper and still run games well, just don't expect them to run max settings, also pre-builts are always way more expensive because you're paying for a service.
I did a quick search for $500 gaming PC and they all were running 2060s, a card so bad I wouldn't use it for my mom to play solitaire on. You could probably use it to play Fortnite or CoD on potato level but you're not getting the same performance with games like Cyberpunk or Dragon's Dogma 2 as you would with a console.
Again define 'gaming PC' if you're looking at pre-builts or used PCs of course your findings are going to be sub-par for that money. I'm mainly writing about building a PC from scratch which these days even for a total beginner isn't that impossible Benchmark videos by the way are one of the ways I've looked at components to buy in the past.
caveat: As long as you stick to Windows from personal experience lol :P
I shouldn't have to explain this but buying a console, plugging it in, and playing a game is obviously a lower bar of entry than buying a bunch of parts and doing your own build. Apples to apples, we have to compare prebuilt PCs to consoles for that reason.
This is an example of Special Pleading. You want to arrange the scenario in such a way that your argument makes sense, but that's not how the world works. Mom and dad go to the store and buy and Xbox for their kids, not a CPU, RAM, Motherboard, GPU, Case, fans, etc. etc.
I can completely agree with the user friendliness aspect, there is that, I do maintain though that overall the learning curve for building a PC isn't that high these days and provides better value for money overall. As an example I often confuse the hell out of normies because I don't even have a television in the house and it's because I can do anything I want on my PC.
I know I'm going to be one of those people, but I feel like I have to have an argument with you about that. You'll need to define 'good' if you mean 1080p mid settings 60hz as an example would be good for me, you would probably be surprised at how little it costs if you get the components yourself.
My 90's era brain can't understand people who bitch about the graphics when I grew up with the nintendo 64 and gameboy. If however you're going for one of those fancy 4k 60hz ultra wide setups or anything else then yes it's going to cost a lot compared to a console. There's also the fact that consoles are closed source trash and you can't access the indie market the way you can on PC. If you own a console it's essentially a brick the second you're done playing the games you have on it and your only option is to buy more games. I'm aware though they operate as multimedia platforms kind of these days, haven't looked at consoles in ears but PCs can do all that and more.
The one exception to the rule I've seen is the steam deck, which isn't closed source and you can treat it almost like a laptop if you want to which is very interesting but functions just fine as a portable gaming device.
TLDR: PCs can be the same price as consoles or cheaper and still run games well, just don't expect them to run max settings, also pre-builts are always way more expensive because you're paying for a service.
I paied the equivalent of ~570 USD for a laptop that runs more good games than time I have to live to play them.
If I bought a console, I'd need to buy a TV, to play games that will cost more. And I'd still need a ( cheaper ) computer.
Given my tiny budget, picking a modest PC was evident.
And when I replace my laptop in a few years, the new one will run alot more games because of tech improvements and relatively decreasing costs.
Someone who has the patience to learn and built their own PC will do even better on a budget.
I did a quick search for $500 gaming PC and they all were running 2060s, a card so bad I wouldn't use it for my mom to play solitaire on. You could probably use it to play Fortnite or CoD on potato level but you're not getting the same performance with games like Cyberpunk or Dragon's Dogma 2 as you would with a console.
Again define 'gaming PC' if you're looking at pre-builts or used PCs of course your findings are going to be sub-par for that money. I'm mainly writing about building a PC from scratch which these days even for a total beginner isn't that impossible Benchmark videos by the way are one of the ways I've looked at components to buy in the past.
caveat: As long as you stick to Windows from personal experience lol :P
I shouldn't have to explain this but buying a console, plugging it in, and playing a game is obviously a lower bar of entry than buying a bunch of parts and doing your own build. Apples to apples, we have to compare prebuilt PCs to consoles for that reason.
This is an example of Special Pleading. You want to arrange the scenario in such a way that your argument makes sense, but that's not how the world works. Mom and dad go to the store and buy and Xbox for their kids, not a CPU, RAM, Motherboard, GPU, Case, fans, etc. etc.
I can completely agree with the user friendliness aspect, there is that, I do maintain though that overall the learning curve for building a PC isn't that high these days and provides better value for money overall. As an example I often confuse the hell out of normies because I don't even have a television in the house and it's because I can do anything I want on my PC.