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I think that with the new consoles we'll see a new push in graphics performance over the next few years which will drive upgrades in PC gamers. The optimisatio

I think that with the new consoles we'll see a new push in graphics performance over the next few years which will drive upgrades in PC gamers. The optimisation tricks which can be achieved on console mean that spec-for-spec, a much more powerful PC will be required to run current gen console games in the next few years (just like this generation). The money is going to be in the gamers, and I would expect to see Intel make a push there (AMD is already in the market with their ATI purchase). But I agree, for every other computer user, a PC they bough 5 years ago is most likely still completely fine, unlike those from the 90s and early 2000s, where after 3 years they frequently became near-unusable. A great development as a result of the slowdown of the spec race is the push for smaller/lighter/better battery life which is occurring - new laptops have near hassle-free portability while still being fully functional PCs.

stephengillie 13y ago
I think that with the new consoles we'll see a new push in graphics performance over the next few years which will drive upgrades in PC gamers. This has been true for the past several generations, but this round is somewhat different. Next generation's consoles aren't even using the best graphics hardware currently available. Video games aren't pushing the cutting-edge of hardware anymore, CUDA is. The money isn't in gamers anymore, it's in coinfarmers.
- batiudrami 13y ago
  I'm not sure any generation of console has used the best video hardware available, though. For at least the current generation and the one before it, there have been video cards which cost more than the console hardware at launch, and even this generation which is, by all measures, a damn long way behind PC hardware still looks good. Not as good as PC, but you could mistake them at a glance. I think there'll still be a big push as raw hardware performance on the PC keeps up with clever optimisation on consoles.
  - stephengillie 13y ago
    I'm just not seeing it. My 5-year old gaming PC, which has to use legacy video drivers, can play brand-new games which were just released at maximum settings. I don't believe advancements in videogame technology are being held back by processor technology anymore.
bane 13y ago
I think you are correct. This soon-to-be-past console generation was particularly protracted and I think that reflected in the PC gaming market. The PS3 is 7 years old The 360 is 8 years old The Wii is 7 years old Games written for these platforms and then ported to PCs (or written with cross portability in-mind) just aren't stressing modern PCs at all. I built my system to be as-good as or better than any of those consoles and it's more than kept up. UberMouse (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6023957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6023957) mentions "For gaming that will change with the new console releases. The Xbox One is >4x more powerful than the Xbox 360 and the PS4 is >6x. It might take a few years, but the slump in increasing processing needs will probably die off." Which is also true. Ports from those consoles will definitely urge me to get a better machine. Not only are the CPUs and GPUs better, but the games will be written assuming more RAM is in place. glogla (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6024693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6024693) is also correct that dropping in an SSD would ramp up my system speed noticeably (my rMBP is twice the computer my desktop is without SSDs, with SSDs it chews it up and spits it out...it's almost absurd using my desktop these days to be honest). At this point I'm also noticing that my primary computer use (web browsing) is eating up more and more memory. I'd also need more RAM, which in my case means a new motherboard, which implies new CPU etc. The truth is my machine is so old now that it's kind of reached the point where I can't really just upgrade 1 part, or add a bit more of this or that. And I definitely want my next system to have at least a 5 year lifespan. Things I was waiting for: - SSDs to drop below $1/GB @ 500GB or more sizes - A selection of sub $150 motherboards to support 16-32GB of RAM - Waiting for the CPU core wars to stabilize (It looks like we're good there) - Some of the AMD/ATI merger stuff to shake out. I was an old AMD fan, so I wanted to see what if anything they'd end up offering - The PhysX, CUDA, whatever world to mature a bit and see how it all gets pushed down into consumer-level video cards I think it's time and I'm starting to price out parts and research stuff. But like I said, I'm not feeling any particular pressure to do it today and the beauty of technology is waiting a while just makes things cheaper.

stephengillie 13y ago

I think that with the new consoles we'll see a new push in graphics performance over the next few years which will drive upgrades in PC gamers. This has been true for the past several generations, but this round is somewhat different. Next generation's consoles aren't even using the best graphics hardware currently available. Video games aren't pushing the cutting-edge of hardware anymore, CUDA is. The money isn't in gamers anymore, it's in coinfarmers.

batiudrami 13y ago
I'm not sure any generation of console has used the best video hardware available, though. For at least the current generation and the one before it, there have been video cards which cost more than the console hardware at launch, and even this generation which is, by all measures, a damn long way behind PC hardware still looks good. Not as good as PC, but you could mistake them at a glance. I think there'll still be a big push as raw hardware performance on the PC keeps up with clever optimisation on consoles.
- stephengillie 13y ago
  I'm just not seeing it. My 5-year old gaming PC, which has to use legacy video drivers, can play brand-new games which were just released at maximum settings. I don't believe advancements in videogame technology are being held back by processor technology anymore.

bane 13y ago

I think you are correct. This soon-to-be-past console generation was particularly protracted and I think that reflected in the PC gaming market. The PS3 is 7 years old The 360 is 8 years old The Wii is 7 years old Games written for these platforms and then ported to PCs (or written with cross portability in-mind) just aren't stressing modern PCs at all. I built my system to be as-good as or better than any of those consoles and it's more than kept up. UberMouse (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6023957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6023957) mentions "For gaming that will change with the new console releases. The Xbox One is >4x more powerful than the Xbox 360 and the PS4 is >6x. It might take a few years, but the slump in increasing processing needs will probably die off." Which is also true. Ports from those consoles will definitely urge me to get a better machine. Not only are the CPUs and GPUs better, but the games will be written assuming more RAM is in place. glogla (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6024693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6024693) is also correct that dropping in an SSD would ramp up my system speed noticeably (my rMBP is twice the computer my desktop is without SSDs, with SSDs it chews it up and spits it out...it's almost absurd using my desktop these days to be honest). At this point I'm also noticing that my primary computer use (web browsing) is eating up more and more memory. I'd also need more RAM, which in my case means a new motherboard, which implies new CPU etc. The truth is my machine is so old now that it's kind of reached the point where I can't really just upgrade 1 part, or add a bit more of this or that. And I definitely want my next system to have at least a 5 year lifespan. Things I was waiting for: - SSDs to drop below $1/GB @ 500GB or more sizes - A selection of sub $150 motherboards to support 16-32GB of RAM - Waiting for the CPU core wars to stabilize (It looks like we're good there) - Some of the AMD/ATI merger stuff to shake out. I was an old AMD fan, so I wanted to see what if anything they'd end up offering - The PhysX, CUDA, whatever world to mature a bit and see how it all gets pushed down into consumer-level video cards I think it's time and I'm starting to price out parts and research stuff. But like I said, I'm not feeling any particular pressure to do it today and the beauty of technology is waiting a while just makes things cheaper.