seventynine
Member
They could make it clearer, certainly.
Digital Foundry Tech Analysis: Watch Dogs on PlayStation 4
- Thread starter j0hnny_385
- Start date
Do to the fact that the console is smaller than a PC, the PC likely runs hotter, and the PC likely runs louder, the console does much better in the living room. The console's UI is also infinitely easier to use on a television display from distance versus a media center PC. Then you have things like the eye or kinect, and the console does all the video chat features that you can get from your PC, but does it a comfortable living room setting as well. Also, exclusive gaming content.
I love my PC rig, which is similar to yours except I just upgraded to a GTX670; however my initial build seems to match yours except with Nvidia instead of AMD GPU's. My gaming PC is great sitting on desk chair in my office. Still prefer console in the Living Room though.
Chinpoko_Master
Member
To be honest, this game doesn't even look that good to begin with. The only next gen game I can think of that looks worse is Titanfall, but at least that is 60 fps.
All those games are likely coming out on PC, beside maybe Kingdom Hearts 3.
Why are PC guys championing this article as some kind of win? This is Ubisoft open world programing at work, nothing else. If it runs like ass on consoles, it'll probably run like ass on PC as well. I like a lot of Ubi's games but the technical side of things is a mess.
Manmademan
Member
nope.
given the ease of development, I expect everything except maybe fighters and JP games to show up on PC. The selling point for console is going to be first party efforts + ease of use more than anything.
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
They sure sell a lot of ass
TGO
Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Not sure what you mean by console devs catching up?
Most console devs are the most talented devs in the world, they optimise and work around things to deliver their vision, working on PC from scratch would be a walk in the park for most console developers, but the market on PC is way too small to do that.
I can see more PC devs on consoles this gen thou because of the X86
Glorified G
Member
Wait until the games come out? Who cares about a tech breakdown of a dev build months before launch of the actual game?
1 out of 9. Not bad. I bolded the correct one.
it'll be interesting to see the difference between what they show now and what comes out in the fall, also telling that code from a year ago runs better on pc than an updated console demo
the final months are polish and performance optimization so obviously it'll run better, nobody's questioning that
M_A_C
Member
Well to be fair, it it probably smaller. Not that it matters at all.
alexandros
Banned
More or less, with some modifications.
It's not a win for the PC, it's a win for common sense. So many people have been saying that the hardware in these consoles is lacklustre, yet they had to suffer through endless drivel about "GDDR5" and "coding to the metal". These articles are starting to show what we've known all along, that these consoles are technologically outdated before they even come out.
Now, everyone can deal with this in their own way. They can either enter the Console Reality Distortion Field and believe that these machines are monsters, setting themselves up for disappointment. Or they can come to terms with the fact, adjust their expectations accordingly and be happy with their purchase, whichever it may be.
Man, you think console guys are deluded...
shinobi602
Member
If outdated consoles are giving me games that look as good as the ones on PS4/X1, and being launch titles to boot, I'm more than happy buying an outdated console.
alexandros
Banned
I'm open to criticism on my opinion, if you think I'm wrong then please, do explain.
Fantastic, more power to you then. I don't care which machine you choose to play your games on, I'm just commenting on the technical side of things.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
this is what i think too. that area could have also been a small slice of the city with nothing else going on in the background. the PS4 demo is loading up a current build of the game itself, with more than just the small area the player is in to deal with. we also don't know if they're using all 7GB of RAM either, or if they're still on a build from before Sony increased it.
either way im not worried. the draw distance looked good, the lighting and particles looked good to me, and the animations and NPC density are what i expected. i'll have fun with it even if DF doesn't.
Personally i'm completely okay with the consoles going by all the information we have today, i will get a ps4 and enjoy it just as much as my current consoles, only thing stopping me from pre-ordering would be the failure rate and stuff that plague launch units, i might even wait till a revision.
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
If I buy a Ferrari, I know I'm getting a Ferrari, and I'Ve paid the cost of a Ferrari.
When I buy an lower priced vehicle, I do not expect a Ferrari.
It haven't heard many, if any, people on here delusional enough to think that a next gen console will be as or more powerful than a above mid-range PC.
I have consistently heard PC owners happy to tell people excites for the new consoles just how much they are not as good as a high end PC. The point has been value for price. Can you build a better PC than PS4 or Xbox One for the same cost as either console from scratch?
Or perhaps developers can't get the maximum performance out of next gen consoles because they haven't got a few years of experience under their belt. The dev kit, their programming environment, libraries, engine, etc, it's all brand new. It's silly to expect the PS4 to outclass high spec PC hardware, but on the other hand it's also silly to think that the games that are currently demoed are the high water mark of what's possible on the PS4.
Glorified G
Member
Some people are really sensitive about their rigs.
To determine how powerful the PS4 is by comparing a very controlled PC demo from a year ago vs a PS4 demo that's wholly unoptimized and unfinished seems a little bit like jumping the gun to me.
alexandros
Banned
Then you are one of the logical ones, congrats! You'd be surprised how many people expect to pay for a Ford and think they'll get a Ferrari. As for your question about building a PC of similar performance to the PS4, we'll know in a few months.
I think they have plenty of experience to tackle an x86 CPU and an AMD GPU. Regardless, lack of experience didn't stop developers from achieving high performance on the 360 right from the start. The 360 could compete with high-end PCs of the time right off the bat, because it had great hardware.
Well, if Digital Foundry think they can reach a conclusion through that demo, who am I to argue?
Just like Digital Foundry is jumping the gun. It's nonsense to write all these articles based on videos of unfinished games that are months away from being released.
jonscrambler
Member
Paying $50 a year to play online adds to the cost of gaming on ps4, pay that for 8 years and ps4 gaming costs $800. The gpu used in this pc demo is a gtx 680, a $400 card today. You can certainly build a pc with gtx 680 for $800. We're not talking about high end PCs with SLI Titans here
DF is wholly in the wrong here. I think it's neat to break down the tech, but to compare it to old demos and assume things about the hardware that's running the game? Pure sillyness.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
It's possible that Ubi scaled back FC3 because they're not the type of company to cater to PC gamers, who would be the only ones who would have been able to enjoy all the extra shiny. With Watch_Dogs, it makes more financial sense to upgrade the graphics in order to differentiate it from a current gen game, and to be competitive with next gen games.
alexandros
Banned
Maybe. Doesn't change the fact that they have the technical knowledge and expertise to understand whether the demo will be representative of the final product or not.
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
That service has nothing to do with the cost of the hardware. That is cost of ownership. I'm talking about the cost of building a running system.
I'm saying, I don't expect my $400 PS4 to compete with a higher end PC. I expect a good value for price
alexandros
Banned
That is a weird distinction to make. So if I sell you a gaming PC for 200$ upfront and another $1000 in monthly payments over 5 years, you'll consider the cost of the hardware as $200? Because that's basically what Sony and Microsoft are doing.
maplelord93
Banned
You're ignoring all the free games that come with PS+ which more than make up the amount of money spent on it...
You don't need any kind of knowledge to know it's not representative of the final product. The UBI guys said at E3 that they hadn't gotten the final drivers to put in special PS4 optimizations yet. At the very, very least, we'll get a slightly better performance this holiday.
maplelord93
Banned
Keep the sub, keep getting even more games, which more than offset the price you're paying for the sub.
alexandros
Banned
Indeed. DF even says so in the article. But these optimizations are not going to be enough to cover the difference, that's all I'm saying. And it's probably why DF went ahead with the article in the first place.
You can upgrade for less if it was built from 2008- onwards.
Hearing people talk about "GDDR5" and "coding to the metal" is absolutely hilarious though.
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
Yes, because cost of ownership is different than cost to buy.
Cost of PS+ is $50 a year, over 10 years, that's $500. That, + games is its of ownership.
On a separate note:
Total cost for console + PS+ is about $900 over 10 years. Would you say the PS4 can compete with a PC at $900 today? I don't know if we know that.
I think a $400 PC cannot.
maplelord93
Banned
The difference which was described as "slightly less refined".
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
That was not the question. I said from scratch.
I myself do not have a PC to upgrade. Can I build one from scratch for $400 which will perform as well as a PS4?
Not sure i would be happy with that later in the console's life when i want to revisit a somewhat older games and yet i've chosen at that point to not pay for plus anymore, i know not a situation that will be widespread but it's one i could definitely see happening to other people besides myself.
That's a definite possibility later on this year. Any i5/i7 even the older ones blow Jaguar away already, the main question is how big of a price drop will the 78/79 AMD cards will face when 9xxx comes out. Incidentally, any PC you build will deliver superior value anyway.
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
OK, if that is the case, meaning, the case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, and OS software at $400 can outperform a PS4 by the systems release, then I can certainly accept that. I'm not saying a PS4 over its life is the best gaming option. I'm saying its a good gaming value or the money.
maplelord93
Banned
A gaming focused device that has dedicated hardware (DSPs etc) to offload CPU functions onto doesn't need a powerful CPU.
But we do know that a 'mid range' PC from 2005 can't run 2013 Games like a 2005 Console can.
The question people should be asking themselves is will you be using the same PC now as you will be in 2020?
We will probably see 2 operating systems alone during that time, both of which with time will be required to run some games.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
BRUTALBOWN
Banned
Suspicions confirmed. Will play superior version on my Titan-equipped PC. lol
Windom Earle
Member
Even though some people have no clue what they are talking about, it's not completely wrong. The PS4 OS will indeed allow devs to access the GPU on a more hardware level.
And unified GDDR5 ram pool is great, there's no way around it.
I love my PC as much as the next guy, but this thread is quite sad. How dare the console only guys be excited for their new toy!!!
Darklor01
Might need to stop sniffing glue
I think the idea there was, without further investment, will a PC continue to be able to play new titles as a console can.
I don't know the answer. I know my $1400 3-4 year old gaming laptop has trouble running some newer games fluidly.