Which is Better? A Gaming Desktop or Xbox One?

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Im trying to decide which should I buy and which is more beneficial in the long run: a gaming desktop or a console like an Xbox One.

A gaming desktop will cost me $995. An Xbox One will cost $300 and a cheap notebook will cost $350 for a total of $650. Don't you think its cheaper and more beneficial to buy an Xbox One with a cheap notebook than a gaming desktop?
 
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Regedit32

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Hi Adam,

I'm not a gamer so this is just an opinion here and possibly not too informed at that.

My gut feeling though is a cheap notebook will have a onboard graphics chipset that simply won't be that great for the power hungry games that love a tonne of memory and hardware acceleration. Then there is the cooling of the system hardware which will in theory be under a load from any modern games.

Yes it will work, but if you are a serious gamer perhaps the Desktop which you can later add a more powerful graphics card and possibly a better sound card, plus a larger monitor in the long run will be better.

As I said though, this is just an opinion and there may well be some good notebooks designed for gaming purposes.

I'll leave it there and hopefully the gamers on this forum will comment for you too.
 
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The Grandkids have a PC c/w good graphics card and 12 GB of RAM.
They are both avid gamers but definitely prefer the Xbox for gaming. That's what Xbox is designed for. You have greater control, faster response, bluetooth capability wireless controllers, stereo surround sound headphones/speakers and no worries about compatible software. If you are going to buy Xbox, I would highly recommend Xbox 1. Microsoft recently announced that they will not be supporting X box 360 for much longer, it will go the way of Windows 7. Moving forward, Xbox 1 will be MS flagship.
 
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As a PC gamer I am biased. A gaming PC is way better than an xbox one. A lot of games are still restricted to 720p and 30 fps on the xbox. But be very very careful buying a gaming PC. Most off the shelf "gaming PC's" under $1000 skimp on graphics cards. Building one from scratch, which takes a bit of planning and hunting down bargains, is the best way to go. The building process is relatively easy. The planning is the tricky part. Even though mines a couple years old, I built mine for under $800. It still runs Battlefield 4 on high settings, at well over 60 fps.
 
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This is a build I was going to put together a few months ago, but I ran a little short of cash. This would play every game out there, at high settings, at very good frame rates. It's not high end, but a solid budget build. This is assuming you have a keyboard, mouse and monitor. Also this is without the OS or a dvd burner.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/cc9qqk
 
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As a PC gamer I am biased. A gaming PC is way better than an xbox one. A lot of games are still restricted to 720p and 30 fps on the xbox. But be very very careful buying a gaming PC. Most off the shelf "gaming PC's" under $1000 skimp on graphics cards. Building one from scratch, which takes a bit of planning and hunting down bargains, is the best way to go. The building process is relatively easy. The planning is the tricky part. Even though mines a couple years old, I built mine for under $800. It still runs Battlefield 4 on high settings, at well over 60 fps.


Microsoft expects Xbox to operate in full HD by the time it launches publicly later this year. Their target is to run the system at full 1080p resolution and 60 frames-per-second. That will be the ultimate experience for avid gamers.
 
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Adam,
Read the discussion on Cheap Laptops in the General category.
 
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Microsoft expects Xbox to operate in full HD by the time it launches publicly later this year. Their target is to run the system at full 1080p resolution and 60 frames-per-second. That will be the ultimate experience for avid gamers.
That's fine, but the graphics are still severely gimped on the xbox. Also, you haven't lived until you've gamed at 120 or 144 hz. Xbox One won't see 120 fps+. Even my lowly budget PC averages over 80 fps on Battlefield 4. Consoles are fine for those who would rather have hassle free gaming at the expense of graphics quality, modding, dedicated servers, real mouse and keyboard support, 1440p - 4k support, the ability to upgrade hardware, etc. I'm not anti console gaming, but it's just not for me. I just sold my last console a couple weeks ago, a Sega Genesis/CD, lol.
 
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I think we are going off topic.
Adam asked if he should go the expensive gaming PC route, budget laptop or Xbox One. I suggest Xbox One if he wants to experience gaming.
Adam appears to be budget minded and not an avid gamer.
 

Trouble

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A gaming desktop will cost me $995. An Xbox One will cost $300 and a cheap notebook will cost $350 for a total of $650. Don't you think its cheaper and more beneficial to buy an Xbox One with a cheap notebook than a gaming desktop?
Your own math would support that it is in fact "cheaper" in total, to combine a budget laptop and an xBox by approximately $345. So I think you answered your own question in that regard, but......
You added "beneficial" to your question, so I would ask.... beneficial to who?
I suppose a serious (whatever that might mean) gamer, would opt for a high end desktop but your quote of $995 is going to fall short. A new 1080 will eat most of that immediately.
The laptop though gives you some flexibility, you're not going to head out the door with your desktop under your arm or your xBox either for that matter, so you get the portability but sacrifice performance.
Bottom line is.... what best fits what you intend to do coupled with what you can best afford.
I think the xBox with the laptop is a fine option, just don't expect to be doing any highend wireframe cad work
 

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