Just Cause Dev Claims PS4 Will Out-Power Most PCs For Years

[Colt47]

The PS4 will outpower more than 50% of PCs, regardless of specs. A PC with similar specs to the PS4 will be easily outpowered by it. Yes, a mid-high end gaming PC will be able to run games much better, with more graphical flourishes, but out of the huge numbers of PC's in the world, I reckon these gaming PC's will be a fairly low percentage of them. Therefore the PS4 WILL outpower most PC's.

That was a true statement back a few years ago, but given the architecture and the power difference between the intel and AMD processors this isn't going to be the case with the current generation of consoles, at least in regards to gaming rigs. What will be the case is that the the PS4 will run smoothly and be able to handle games at much better level than the previous generation ps3. There likely will be a 60 fps standard on games for the next five or six years on the ps4 post release.

 

[Weaver]

Didn't Crytek state the complete opposite? That the PS4 simply can't match a gaming PC?

 

[Stavros Dimou]

He's a clown.
Because of his position,he can't really believe the bull he says,so he know he is wrong but outright lies.
If there is one feature that is most characteristic of Personal Computers,is that they are limitless.
That you can combine the latest advancements of technology in a single machine,by the time the tech becomes available.
The most powerful computer might cost a fortune,but it is WAY more powerful than a console, or any other product trying to appeal to the mainstream average Joe.

Let's see what's the current most powerful computer setup someone can get NOW:

A motherboard that can take 2 distinct CPUs.
two Core i7 3960 processors,with 6 cores each,totaling an amount of 12 cores running at 3.5ghz.
128gb ddr3 system ram
Solid State drive with a max bandwidth of 2.5gb/s
dual crossfired AMD HD 7990 GHZs with 7gb GDDR5 memory each,equaling to a total of 14gb GDDR5 memory 14.4 terraflops of compute power.


Now let's see once more PS4's specs

a motherboard with 1 cpu.
a single APU with 8 cores running at 1.6ghz
8gb gddr5 memory for both system ram and graphics card
typical hard disc. hard discs have a maximum bandwidth of 60mb/s
a single graphics card with 1.86 terraflops of compute power.


Of course the aforementioned Computer costs thousands of dollars. But price is not the point here. The point is what is the maximum of performance you can get from specific types of machines.

Consoles are good for what they are,but you can't compare consoles and computers like that. It's not that it's unfair,its because it is not reasonable. One thing is a dedicated piece for specific purposes that its power has to be limited in accordance to achieving a specific price and size,the other one is an open standard,a machine that can transform to be the best possible thing to use for a list of unlimited possible specializations,without any factor limiting the amount of power you can make it have,other than what science has found yet.

 

[Snotnarok]

I think we're all forgetting even a lower powered PC does more than a PS3, you can install anything you want and use anything you want and aren't limited by what the creator says is okay for it. Games, art, music, you can do anything on a computer.

 

[Magic Pancake]

The PS4 will outpower more than 50% of PCs, regardless of specs. A PC with similar specs to the PS4 will be easily outpowered by it. Yes, a mid-high end gaming PC will be able to run games much better, with more graphical flourishes, but out of the huge numbers of PC's in the world, I reckon these gaming PC's will be a fairly low percentage of them. Therefore the PS4 WILL outpower most PC's.

That was a true statement back a few years ago, but given the architecture and the power difference between the intel and AMD processors this isn't going to be the case with the current generation of consoles, at least in regards to gaming rigs. What will be the case is that the the PS4 will run smoothly and be able to handle games at much better level than the previous generation ps3. There likely will be a 60 fps standard on games for the next five or six years on the ps4 post release.

Every generation people say that finally developers will forgo effects for IQ and FPS, but we already have the Killzone devs saying that an exclusive launch title will be running at 30 FPS [http://www.vg247.com/2013/02/25/killzone-shadow-fall-demo-runs-at-30fps-digital-foundry-tests-suggest/]. To be honest, that's why I don't take stock of the fact that consoles will be superior because devs can target the specs exactly; it's technically true, but they'll end up targeting pretty explosions instead of the boring parts of visuals like resolution, framerate, and AA.

 

[bafrali]

snip

Is...is that Gabe Newell there? How did I miss that one? All I can say is well done internet. BTW does the glorious PC gaming master race phrase belong to Yathzee or was he just referencing somebody?

OT: I wonder how much he got for that commercial plug?

 

[Azaraxzealot]

I think the reason why your 16 gigs of RAM won't compete with the PS4's 8 is because all 8 gigs of the PS4's ram is GDDR5. So ALL of that memory is dedicated to graphics, unlike your RAM which is just dedicated to allocating memory for the executable.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Average PC? Yes. Average gaming PC? Possibly. Real gaming PC? Don't make me laugh.

But still, I admit that I'd rather buy PS4 when it's out and wait a while before more powerful PC components become cheaper than buy a $2000 PC just to be able to play a few new games.

I think the reason why your 16 gigs of RAM won't compete with the PS4's 8 is because all 8 gigs of the PS4's ram is GDDR5. So ALL of that memory is dedicated to graphics, unlike your RAM which is just dedicated to allocating memory for the executable.

No, it isn't. They're just using the memory that PC GPU's use. It doesn't mean that all of it is dedicated to graphics. It's shared memory. And even if it were only for the GPU, it doesn't matter. VRAM =/= power.

 

[Buizel91]

The title made me laugh so hard...

Now to watch the impending flood of PC gamers to this thread...anyone want popcorn and Dorito's? *munches*

I find this video VERY fitting for this thread...


If only i could find Knockout's (The red robot) line on it's own, would be so much more fitting...

 

[Kipiru]

I think we're all forgetting even a lower powered PC does more than a PS3, you can install anything you want and use anything you want and aren't limited by what the creator says is okay for it. Games, art, music, you can do anything on a computer.

We are talking strictly gaming here. PCs are more versatile, but as far as games go, they really have one greater advantage over consoles and that is raw power- no question there! So the statement that the PS4 will be more powerful than even an average gaming PC is laughable at best.

 

[asinann]

I threw together a new pc last month for 1000 that beats the PS4 by leaps and bounds in every way so I doubt that the PS4 will even beat budget pcs by the time it hits the market.

 

[sindremaster]

...Even my laptop has 12 GB RAM.

 

[Anathrax]

I have 3 GBs of DDR2 Ram and my computer can handle nearly any game I throw at it.(Planetside 2 at 65+ FPS on medium during beta). Either I'm blessed or my beloved "dinosaur" is a beast and I don't know it. While the PS4 is looking strong, these claims are obviously lies.

 

[newwiseman]

I think he was specifically talking about the RAM being all GDDR5. That isn't going to be available in all but the highest end PCs for quite a few years, and should give a slight advantage in tasks like gaming even if the processor doesn't crunch numbers the fastest.

For my two cents the PS4 should push for more multi-core coding of games, which is better going forward, as many devs still write code that is focused on single core.

edit* left out the G in GDDR5, GDDR5 being faster DDR3 with a larger prefetch cache

 

[Jyrik]

The PCs he is referring to being overpowered by PS4 are the ones that were bought without any intentions towards gaming, so they aren't even in the same market. It's a dishonest comparison.

If a person DID want to do gaming, it is much cheaper for them to just spend a little more on the PC they were already planning to buy, and it's hard not to end up with a machine equal or better than the PS4.

PC Gamer has already built a PC comparable to the PS4 for $600 a month ago.
That price will keep going down, and the available hardware for PC will only improve.
Again, consoles stagnate, or they force users into upgrades, completely nullifying the biggest reasons for getting a console.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

There is also another thing to consider that makes PC a better choice. PS4 can only play PS4 games. PC can play every PC game ever released. You don't lose the ability to play your old titles when you buy a new gaming rig. In fact, you can only gain the ability to play games at higher graphics settings.

 

[Magic Pancake]

I think he was specifically talking about the RAM being all DDR5. That isn't going to be available in all but the highest end PCs for quite a few years, and should give a slight advantage in tasks like gaming even if the processor doesn't crunch numbers the fastest.

For my two cents the PS4 should push for more multi-core coding of games, which is better going forward, as many devs still write code that is focused on single core.

GDDR5, GDDR5! DDR5 does not exist yet, it will probably not be until next year that DDR 4 is available for consumers.

GDDR is different then regular DDR, they are not strictly comparable.

 

[itsthesheppy]

snip

Is...is that Gabe Newell there? How did I miss that one? All I can say is well done internet. BTW does the glorious PC gaming master race phrase belong to Yathzee or was he just referencing somebody?

OT: I wonder how much he got for that commercial plug?

It may have existed before Yahtzee, but he's undoubtedly the one that cemented it in our hive mind.

 

[Covarr]

Took me only two comments before I saw someone calling 8 GB of RAM underpowered. As is to be expected I guess.

I was kinda concerned that my own computer could only manage 4 GB, due to how often PC gamers seem to scoff at such a "small" ammount... And yet I've had no problems with it at all. The only game I can think of that would actually require me to have more RAM is Rome Total War 2, which I'm undecided on.

Keep in mind that's 8GB shared; the GPU does not have dedicated RAM the way a standard computer GPU does. Even so, 8GB is plenty for today... but it might not be so much by the end of the console's cycle. How long do they expect it'll be until the PS5? Six, maybe seven years? By that point, 8GB will almost certainly seem underpowered, in much the same way the PS3's 512MB does today.

But anyone who says it's already underpowered is full of it.

P.S. Thanks