Upgrade PC or (gasp) buy a PS4?

[george1979]

Hi all,

So I've just recently had a little bonus (PPI Claim ) and decided to treat myself. I'm considering upgrading my PC as its getting a bit long in the tooth - specs are in my sig. The PC still runs fine and I haven't had a problems playing any games on it at 1080p but I've been jonesing to upgrade for a while now - most notably the CPU (and GPU depending on cost). Not really wanting to OC my current CPU or potential new one tbh.

On the other hand, I am tempted to buy a PS4. Many times I'd have liked to just lay on the couch and play a game as I often can't be bothered to go into the study/office and play on the PC (not practical to put the PC in the living room). Also having a Blu Ray player in living room would a bonus. I've had both the previous Xboxs but the PS seems to have more interesting exclusives so, if I decide to buy a console, I'm going to jump ship.

What are your thoughts and, if going down the upgrade route, what would you recommend?

[Extinc]

Would you mind posting your specs because I can't seem to find them.

[george1979]

Would you mind posting your specs because I can't seem to find them.

On the left side of the post under 'thanked xx times in xx posts' there is a drop down that says 'george1979's system'. Just click it and you'll see the specs but I've pasted them here in case you're having problems with it.

Motherboard:Asus P7P55D-Pro
CPU:i5 760
Memory:16Gb Kingston Hyper X
Storage:128Gb Crucial M4 + 1Tb Samsung F3 + 1Tb WD Black
Graphics card(s):MSI GTX570 Twin Frozer 2
PSU:700W Coolermaster Silent M Pro
Case:CM 690 II Advanced
Operating System:Windows 7
Monitor(s):BenQ G2222HDL & Dell 2312HM
Internetlusnet

[Extinc]

On the left side of the post under 'thanked xx times in xx posts' there is a drop down that says 'george1979's system'. Just click it and you'll see the specs but I've pasted them here in case you're having problems with it.

Motherboard:Asus P7P55D-Pro
CPU:i5 760
Memory:16Gb Kingston Hyper X
Storage:128Gb Crucial M4 + 1Tb Samsung F3 + 1Tb WD Black
Graphics card(s):MSI GTX570 Twin Frozer 2
PSU:700W Coolermaster Silent M Pro
Case:CM 690 II Advanced
Operating System:Windows 7
Monitor(s):BenQ G2222HDL & Dell 2312HM
Internetlusnet

Sorry about that I'm new to the forums. What's your budget if you were going to upgrade?

[kalniel]

I'm considering upgrading my PC as its getting a bit long in the tooth - specs are in my sig. The PC still runs fine and I haven't had a problems playing any games on it at 1080p

Those two sentences are contradictory. If you're not having problems playing at your full resolution then it's not long in the tooth, and an upgrade won't get you anything new. A console on the other hand opens up a whole new range of games that you can't currently enjoy.

[george1979]

Sorry about that I'm new to the forums. What's your budget if you were going to upgrade?

No problem - sometimes it doesn't appear so I thought perhaps that was the problem.

Budget would be around £400.

[george1979]

Those two sentences are contradictory. If you're not having problems playing at your full resolution then it's not long in the tooth, and an upgrade won't get you anything new. A console on the other hand opens up a whole new range of games that you can't currently enjoy.

I mean long in the tooth in the literal sense of it being four years old now and I've got the upgrade bug - I don't have problems playing games as I game at 1080p and I also turn down or turn off some settings.

On the one hand a PS4 would be good for the living room but on the other hand upgrading the PC is probably sensible, I could sell the old parts etc. But I can't park my lazy ass on the couch and play games with it lol

[Extinc]

XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card £149.99

Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard £92.24

Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor £155.94

Came up with this quickly, the grand total is £398.17. All parts are from scan.

If you want to make this build cheaper or you want to add a better GPU, you can get a nice H81 chipset motherboard instead of the Z87 I included.

Disclaimer:
This is my own personal opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt.

[mynameissi]

XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card £149.99

Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard £92.24

Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor £155.94

Came up with this quickly, the grand total is £398.17. All parts are from scan.

If you want to make this build cheaper or you want to add a better GPU, you can get a nice H81 chipset motherboard instead of the Z87 I included.

Disclaimer:
This is my own personal opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt.

I agree, these choices are decent and in budget. if you were thinking of OC'ing, then you could get the i5-4690k for around £165, and some form of msi or gigabyte gaming mobo such as the MSI Z97 GAMING 3. both cost more than the above suggestion but not ludicrously more, the mobo costs around £95

[george1979]

Thanks for the input guys. I've been mulling it over this weekend, checking out what parts, prices and so on and I've decided to plump for the PS4. I miss being able to just veg on the couch and play a quick game when I feel like it. Also the BR drive and media centre features are a nice bonus.

I've been looking over the options in regards to whether to buy new, refurb, or off gumtree. Given its still a fairly new console, and taking into account the problems which cropped up after the last gen launch, I'm leaning towards buying new.

Does anyone have any experience buying these refurb or 2nd hand? Does the warranty transfer?

[Programming_Lif]

I have a friend who bought a 2nd hand PS4. Everything was fine, no scratches or damage. Usually, the warranty on these things don't transfer so if anything goes wrong, you have to ask the seller and if he/she refuses then... you just wasted £300. Because it is somewhat fairly new, there won't be much of a difference between 2nd hand and new prices, so to be safe rather than sorry, go with a new one with a guaranteed warranty.

[DanceswithUnix]

I expect you made the right choice if there are PS4 games you fancy playing.

You could drop £250 on a Wii-U Mario Kart 8 bundle leaving £150 towards a graphics card upgrade though

[Dooms]

I've had a PS4 since release and its been an expensive netflix box, everything I want to play and lots more is out on PC. In fact tomorrow I get the 1st exclusive game that's actually worth playing, Last of Us, but then most people played it on PS3 so can you even count that?

Maybe Destiny will be the decider?

[JackBeePee]

I have to agree w/ buying new. I just think it's a bit risky to buy second hand, unless you get the warranty. If it breaks, the money you spent is down the drain unless you can fix it yourself.

[george1979]

Well I went for the PS4 and got a preowned one from a store where I live and they've given me a 12 month warranty with it.

I specifically wanted it for games like TLOU as I haven't had a PS since the 1st one so I've never played it. Picking TLOU up today

[noreb001]

Just upgrade haha