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It boggles my mind how PC gamers justify spending over $1000 on a graphics card (A Hideo Kojima Rant)

Look, if you have the money to spend on something that expensive, then more power to you.

With that being said, spending over $1000 on a graphics card alone when a perfectly capable console that costs 2/3rd's less (~$449) does more than the sum of its parts is insane to me, personally.

I understand it's state of the art technology, but can someone honestly tell me which developer is producing games that take full advantage of such an expensive graphics card?

Crysis 2 was maybe the last PC game that justified such a purchase, but nowadays, consoles have reached mid-ranged PC rigs beautifully with the added caveat of the SSD.

So GAF, who's ready to post in this thread and give me the ultimate reality check as to why PC gaming is the ultimate form of gaming, insane pricing for an individual piece of dependable hardware aside?
 

Abriael_GN

RSI Employee of the Year
It's a hobby mate. People spend way more on their hobbies. Personally, I always buy the cheaper version each generation (normally the XX60 version, possibly ti or whatnot), which is still a significant upgrade over what I had, but I don't blame those who can and want to spend more.
 

Rikkori

Member
Weren't you the guy who spent $2K on a PC with a $150 GPU? Sorry for your loss.

Really, why don't you ask this same question about any electronic? Are $5K OLED TVs really that much better than $500 LED TVs? Is an Elite controller so much better than a standard X1 gamepad? Etc.
 

Silent Duck

Member
Can't do this on a console. :messenger_winking:

oMA3h8N.jpg
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
A tiny fraction of PC gamers ever really do this.

Been PC gaming for 30 years and never spent more than $500 on a graphics card.

It's expensive for sure either way though.. but you can sell your old cards and get quite a bit of savings on games if you try hard enough, people manage..

I don't personally PC game for 1337 graphics though.. I PC game because of mouse/keyboard and things like strategy games or ARPGs that might exist on consoles but play incredibly differently. Also to some extent mods, but I'm not a huge mod person.. just love that games at least often have huge "quality of life" improvements on PC. I can't imagine playing Skyrim without Sky-UI for instance.. completely changes the game for me.
 

Ellery

Member
Well it feels extremely good, but I would only recommend it to people that can genuinely afford a GPU that expensive without saving up for it or cutting back on more important things.

It gives certain people peace of mind and for some ( a good friend of mine e.g. ) that is worth a lot.
 

octiny

Banned
You want the best, you pay for it. Even the shittiest of shit ports give a huge improvement held back by consoles (looking at you HDZ).

Enthusiasts w/ hobbies in general can get expensive. What you could never fathom spending that much money on is 100% worth it for the next guy. Regardless of the hobby. Different tastes, different standards, different thresholds.
 

Saruhashi

Banned
For me, PC Gamers are the true hobbyists in the gaming community.
Like most hobbies the more you want to get involved the more it will cost.

It's not really for me though. I am fine just picking up a console and going with that.
 

TacosNSalsa

Member
A lot of games take on a different feel when playing on PC . Maxed out settings AND high framerates certainly can change the way a game is played. The Division 2 , for instance , runs at 30fps and is perfectly fine on console and I enjoy it quite a bit playing with my friends but on pc I'm getting over 100fps everything maxed at 1440p . Add in mouse and keyboard controls and the ability to tab over to jack off to po...I mean watch wholesome puppy youtube videos and I can't see myself going back to console anytime soon
 

MastaKiiLA

Member
It's a shiny thing. I used to love buying fancy shit for my PC, back in my desktop gaming days, but I don't game anymore. So instead, I bought fancy shit to throw in my laptop. LOL! I don't think it has to be rationalized more than that. Gaming isn't important enough for me to invest that kind of money anymore. But I did make a solid investment in SSD storage, as I should be able to use these drives in future computers, without feeling like I'm waiting on every single action.

If you can justify the investment to yourself, that's all that matters. And I'm someone who looks sideways at people paying the high price of these graphics cards. It's not my cup of tea, but I can't fault people for indulging in things they like.
 

Mohonky

Member
Look, if you have the money to spend on something that expensive, then more power to you.

With that being said, spending over $1000 on a graphics card alone when a perfectly capable console that costs 2/3rd's less (~$449) does more than the sum of its parts is insane to me, personally.

I understand it's state of the art technology, but can someone honestly tell me which developer is producing games that take full advantage of such an expensive graphics card?

Crysis 2 was maybe the last PC game that justified such a purchase, but nowadays, consoles have reached mid-ranged PC rigs beautifully with the added caveat of the SSD.

So GAF, who's ready to post in this thread and give me the ultimate reality check as to why PC gaming is the ultimate form of gaming, insane pricing for an individual piece of dependable hardware aside?


It's kind of insane to me but also not. I'm not the sort of person that buys the latest video card just because it's there or it's been superceded; I'm running a GTX970 I purchased back in 2013 I think it was. I typically go for more powerful than console, but not the absolute top percentile.

Why? I'll get better frame rates than console (typically) for the majority of a consoles lifespan and if not I can turn down the pretty stuff till I do, which I can't on console. Furthermore, 21:9. Sorry, it's just so much better than 16:9.

I still have a Switch, but I'm not getting either of the MS or Sony consoles, I'll be waiting till that generation hits and buying a new video card instead.
 

Bartski

Gold Member
it's totally fine, while at the same time everyone seems to be obsessed about the next-gen console price speculations within less than 10% of it.
 

GHG

Gold Member
The last time I bought the top end card at the time (980ti) it lasted me 5 years.

So yes, the initial investment is big but it will last you a while provided you don't always chase the latest and greatest.
 

Xenon

Member
Golly gee, PC gamers definitely have a right to be upset about people being judgmental on their purchases. It so unlike this forum otherwise, especially PC gamers.



It's a waste of cash I could never justify myself since the value of price vs performance tanks at that level.
 
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jigglet

Banned
I felt the same way too.

Then I experienced 144hz.

Now I'm a convert.

The ability to not have to put up with developers saying "nope 30fps is our artisitc vision, suck it up asshole" is the most liberating thing ever.
 
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ACESHIGH

Banned
I agree with your post but you are really biased against PC gaming since wasting money on that Alienware (LOL!) PC.

I don't understand how anyone would waste money buying 3 consoles or buying a console for an exclusive game. I don't understand how console gamers bend over and pay for online either.

No gaming PC will give you more value for money than your first build in a long time (8 to 10 years) my mid range PC from 2013 plays games just fine for now I added an RX 580 and I believe I'll be fine until 2022. Those are 9 years of quality gaming.
 
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If you have multiple hobbies, it seems like a tough pill as that card is competing with a new camera or headphone etc.

But if you have just one hobby, I wouldn't play any other way but to invest in cutting edge stuff.
 

pr0cs

Member
It becomes a LOT easier to spend money on a new GPU when neither console maker has anything worth biting the bullet for at launch.
I'll buy a new/used GPU now (after Ampere murders the current 2070/5700xt pricing structure) and play on PC until Microsoft and Sony learn how to make a software title that I actually want to play on a console.. if they do at all.
 
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SoraNoKuni

Member
Well I can't say to anyone how to spend their own money, but the prices for "Gaming" gpus are atrocious and we need AMD to do well so prices are lowered, else nvidia is going to sell them for as much as they can.
The rumours for the best Ampere are that its going to cost 13xx$.
That's ridiculous.
 
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nkarafo

Member
If you have the money, PC components allows you to go overboard with the graphics quality or high frame rates. It's an option. If i was rich, i would buy them.

I'm not though so i can't spend more than 300 euros for a card. Even so, that gets me well above what i could get on consoles so it's fine.
 
Considering my other hobbies that's less than what I would spend on just 1 set of tires for my crawler and pretty close to some of the woodworking/metalworking tools i have sitting in my shop.
 

Warnen

Don't pass gaas, it is your Destiny!
Just like with most hobbies there is a good middle ground. Don’t need the best shit to enjoy it.
 

onQ123

Member
I spent over $1000 for a Surface Pro 7 that isn't even for playing games , I say that to say this: Even if gaming is the reason they pay this money for the GPU it don't matter because there is so much more that can be done with a PC so that $1000 is more of an investment.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Weren't you the guy who spent $2K on a PC with a $150 GPU? Sorry for your loss.

Really, why don't you ask this same question about any electronic? Are $5K OLED TVs really that much better than $500 LED TVs? Is an Elite controller so much better than a standard X1 gamepad? Etc.
A few days ago, he claimed to buy an Alienware gaming laptop.
 

lock2k

Banned
I'm leaning towards PC again because it has many things I like in both Sony and MS consoles (gamepass, flightsim and fighting games that aren't available for Xbox) - also a crapton of console and arcade emulation makes it way more attractive than consoles for me now. Plus the prices of games and not having to pay for online are also really cool.
 
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