Console to a Gaming PC
So there has been a change in the Browncoat gaming landscpe, a gaming PC has arrived. But this is not happened on a whim! If one was to go back and look at the body of reviews and articles I have written for KC in recent years, there would be one common trend of note. My lamenting of the promise of the PS4 and PS5 generations being the “4K gaming generation”, and in reality, it never really eventuating.
Console gaming has had an ongoing compromise for the last couple of generations. 30fps at upscaled 4K-ish… with maybe Ray Tracing…or, a very distinct “OR“…60fps with some weird resolution of 1100p-ish if ya lucky. My default turn of phrase in my articles was often akin too: “Its 2025, we should be able to have 60fps with something close to 4K graphics!” But, thanks to a wee windfall and my unwavering desire for 4K/60, I have finally taken the leap to find this illusive benchmark, and have just bought and built a custom Gaming PC.
What I will do is give a quick rundown on the specs of my new Gaming Rig, and how my experience of using a dedicated Gaming PC with a “100% Controller and Couch” focus has turned out. Specs wise, I have gone for an upper-mid-tier system, with some futureproofing, particularly with the motherboard and the processor.
Key Specs:
- NVIDIA RTX5070 12GB DDR7
- AMD Ryzen 5 9600X AM5 5.4GHz
- ASRock B850M-X Gen4 motherboard
- Adata Legend 1TB M.2 6000MB/s Drive
- G.SKILL Ripjaw 32GB DDR5 6000Mhz RAM
A conservative yet powerful system, especially when paired with NIVIDIAs excellent DLSS technology. I have also gone for a PC case that has room for expansion, and importantly with no RGB or silly lights. It has wood grain frontage and can sit happily next to the TV in the lounge and not be an over-powering eyesore.
I will happily admit, a streamlined “Console Experience” this has not been. But I expected that and frankly after sorting various teething problems, the end result is still pretty close. The important thing was to create a Windows install that skips any “log-in” and crucially, to adopt Steam Big Picture mode from the get-go. This has allowed for 95% of the time, a Controller+Console-Like user interface. All manageable from power-on to power-off with just a xbox or dualsense controller.
It will never be as seamless as Console, certainly not “out-of-the-box”. I think after the initial boot up, updates, account creation, app install, fan tuning, startup program selection which took all day…. it still took another week of tinkering and faffing, to get it all the controllers, audio outputs and apps to run as I wanted. (But to be fair, I’m a nerd and loved all the mucking about.)
A few on-going “pinch-points” of note though…
Steam Big Picture works extremely well as a console-like interface. But there is some mucking about if you have bought PC games via other storefronts AND they require the use of other launchers. Not only to get the games to appear in the Steam Games Library, but to also launch without doing weird things with window vs fullscreen modes.
I use a wireless Steel Series headset and experianced some static through the wireless transmitter. This needed much Reddit cruising and turned out to be so simple to fix. Interference from the other 2.4Ghz wireless devices (Keyboard, Mouse and Wifi) on the PC was the cause. This was sorted with a short USB extension cable to get the headset transmitter clear of the PC itself. A small price to pay though, to finally get access to the full suite of Audio Tuning and surround sound profile settings available for my headset, but only on PC. Features which were never available on the PS5.
The last and only real ongoing U.I issue, is the odd Pop-up or impromptu windows-based interface thing that hits the TV, usually when starting games for the first time. These issues cannot be dealt with by Controller and need a mouse and keyboard. So, having access to these while crashed out on the couch is a must on a games first boot-up.
Minor U.I pain aside, the overall experience is great.
First and foremost, as per the original mission brief. My system smashes my 60fps/4K requirement. New games look great and I find myself replaying titles first explored on PS5 and PS4 and the quality on offer via this new PC is breathtaking. Even some 360 games have had a look in, with Splinter Cell: Blacklist (which cost $6) looking great on PC at max settings. Especially with an easy mod called “Reshade” fixing much of the old lighting models to look make it look great on a HDR TV.
I have a 120Hz Hisense 4K TV with G-sync and as a result my games run at a silky 120fps at native 4K on high settings. Even on Cyberpunk, with some lifting from DLSS, I am playing at 100/4K Native with Ray Tracing, with most graphical setting set to High. Not Path-Tracing though, my graphics card is not up to that!
The difference in the world and graphics in Cyberpunk between my PS5 vs my PC is stark. The reflections, the crowd density, character models and even the sound quality with the full suite of Steel Series features being used. All blew me away!
Sure, on booting a game for the first time, there is some faffing to get the right graphical balance…but only if one wants that level of “faff”. The Nvidia App has a magic “Optimise” button. Which uses your systems specs and your present “preferred global option” to automatically set each game to the best settings, usually with plenty of headroom.
The other massive bonus is no online multiplayer and subscriptions fees like PS Plus or Xbox Gold. Not to mention the array of games available on PC… and the amazing prices which put console store fronts to shame. Steam/GOG/Humble etc… are constantly on sale and not just by a few dollars or cents.
I find myself buying games from 10 years ago for prices like $3!! But when I play them, the upscaling, max graphical settings and high frame rates make them look like a current gen PS5 game. I bought the entire Destiny Collection with all its expansions for $30 and the quality of the graphics and framerates when compared to my last 10 years on Console is jaw dropping.
I recently replayed Shadow of Mordor which cost $4! On my PC it was running at 120fps with max settings at 4K and it looked stunning. A game that is basically unplayable to any decerning gamer on PS5, as it is the PS4 version, locked at 30fps at an upscaled 720p. On a new PC… it looked a million bucks! It honestly looked like a current generation game!
Then there is the massive library of games that never hit Console, particularly from the Sim and Strategy genres. I’m a massive Company of Heroes fan, and even though they are old games, the grunt of a 50 series card and the clever AI witchcraft held within, makes them look like great.
My current review title, Borderlands 4 has been plagued by technical issues according to online chatter, but I for one have not seen anything of the sort. I am running with the Nvidia App “Optimised” settings and am locked at 120fps at 1440p with High or Ultra settings and it looks great. And for a current generation game, the load times on my 6000MB/s M.2 drive is the same if not a few seconds faster than the PS5.The Nvidia App combined with Steam Big Picture mode and the M.2 solid state drive, means for those wanting no mucking about, it’s all fast and smooth.
So overall, I love the new Rig. Sure, the cost was bit of a shock and the lack of a true resume “fast boot up”, pick up where you left off option, like the consoles offer, is a real gripe. But I cannot dismiss how much better games look, how great the extra features around audio quality are and just how much cheaper games are on PC.
I really enjoyed the whole process. The research, the buying, the building and fine tuning of it to run how I want. How this rig will shape up in 3 years’ time when the inevitable PS6 arrives? Who would know. Hopefully I’m already pretty close with my system happily running games already at 120fps/4K often with Ray Tracing. But either way, I’m in the eco-system now….so maybe with a new graphics card for Xmas 2028, I think I should be able to keep up just fine. Nerds gotta nerd, am I right?
