Is the "Console Killer" budget even a feasible idea?

[Ceros_X]

He sounded a little weird but I took his post to mean that like we have a hobby of trying to make small form factor PCs, where we place an artificial limit on size, he does the same thing with budget, turning it into a hobby and a build limitation. In general, I avoid trying to say anyone owes someone an apology - if people are offended they will usually let you know!

Back on topic:
I think it is possible to utilize mass production in your favor by purchasing a premade and then tossing in a dedicated GPU. It won't be the fastest but it will often times be cheapest, especially if you go used. There are countless youtube videos on the subject of flipping cheap PCs off Craigslist utilizing this method.

 

[EdZ]

I think it is possible to utilize mass production in your favor by purchasing a premade and then tossing in a dedicated GPU

This can work out VERY cheap. Hunt down 'USFF' branded workstations from Dell an the like, which will be sold off cheap after office clearouts (enterprises will cycle out machines as they exit the normal 3-year warranty period) and those will still have Ivy Bridge or even Haswell-era CPUs (often Xeons). Pop in a half-height GPU (e.g. a 1050Ti) and you have a very potent little machine for the added outlay of the GPU and an SSD.

 

[bledha]

The only niche consoles fill is people who just want a plug and play solution, and can't do any research.

I appreciate your input - even so, given your clear derision (which I understand) - it is clearly a very large and very profitable niche

 

[zovc]

I definitely think @Ceros_X is on the right track for value, but it misses the value and 'ease' mark that a lot of people expect from a console. I also think it misses on the aesthetic mark, but all of this is preference.

The biggest practical downfall of that approach is, like @EdZ alluded to, you're often limited to low-profile GPUs or ones that don't need external power. (Without upgrading the PSU, which can be a pickle in some OEM cases.)

Though, for a up-and-coming modder that could be a really fun and cheap starter project.

 

[Biowarejak]

I definitely think @Ceros_X is on the right track for value, but it misses the value and 'ease' mark that a lot of people expect from a console. I also think it misses on the aesthetic mark, but all of this is preference.

The biggest practical downfall of that approach is, like @EdZ alluded to, you're often limited to low-profile GPUs or ones that don't need external power. (Without upgrading the PSU, which can be a pickle in some OEM cases.)

Though, for a up-and-coming modder that could be a really fun and cheap starter project.

*Cough* that's how I started out...*cough*

 

[XeaLouS]

$571.60 for the cheapest thing i could build on PCpartpicker Australia.

An Xbox 360 S with 3 games and a controller is $299AUD (with sale) or $399 (non sale)

Pretty hard to beat with a computer.

 

[SeñorDonut]

$571.60 for the cheapest thing i could build on PCpartpicker Australia.

An Xbox 360 S with 3 games and a controller is $299AUD (with sale) or $399 (non sale)

Pretty hard to beat with a computer.

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/ghQJ2R

Still not as cheap as a console but pretty close

 

[JosephEK]

Linus may be watching me...

 

[Biowarejak]

Do machines like that really count though?

 

[JosephEK]

Do machines like that really count though?

IDK to me it looks a lot like that S4 mini case I see a lot on this forum, although probably a bit bigger, from what I saw of that S4 case I like its more industrial look as opposed to this one's "gamer" physique.

 

[Biowarejak]

I mean the look is fine I guess, I just meant an OEM small box machine that gets touted as a console killer and costs like 3x more. Sorry for any confusion as I've not watched the video yet.

 

[Rysen]

IDK to me it looks a lot like that S4 mini case I see a lot on this forum, although probably a bit bigger, from what I saw of that S4 case I like its more industrial look as opposed to this one's "gamer" physique.

it's much more expensive so once again it goes back to what you define as console killer.

 

[JosephEK]

Not sure, but I felt like sharing my experience with a prebuilt I once got called the HP 6005 Compaq pro.

It had an Athlon X2 B28 with some unknown (to me) graphics built into the motherboard. The system costed 125 USD and out of the box was able to play stuff like Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley, Undertale and Bit Blaster XL aswell as my Pokemon Emerald Emulator.

I later added a Radeon HD 8350 which required a splitter VGA cable and it was able to play World of Tanks on minimum settings 30+ FPS.

If your games aren't demanding it's actually easy to create a console killer within budget, you just need to kill an older console

 

[talkion]

an xbox 360 s is on a platform that's 12 years old though

 

[zovc]

@SenorDonut, buying a new 750Ti is a straight-up mistake if you're paying MSRP. A 1050 is significantly faster and cheaper. There's also the 460 which can be a little cheaper. Then there's the 1050Ti if you want to pay similar to what you'd pay for a 750Ti.

 

[Biowarejak]

Maybe it's just me but I enjoy that basically anything new would be a step-up for my graphics

 

[JosephEK]

I haven't really kept up with consoles My last was the original Wii. What do people prefer these days? I heard the switch was successful and that PS VR on the PS4 Pro was topping sales in the VR sector. I've never been an X box fan.

 

[Biowarejak]

Xbox actually still has a pretty huge following for server reliability reasons, I believe.

 

[robbee]

The console vs. PC debate shouldn't only be a discussion about price as it's not really realistic to beat a mass produced console that's sold with practically no margin.

Consoles have less use-cases than PC's, but the things they can, they do better than PC's. They're cheap, easy to install and use, and make social gaming easy. PC's on the other hand, are more flexible, can do basically anything a console can, but it's always gonna be more expensive and more work to get it up and running.

Console's and pc's both have their use-cases and aren't necessarily 'concurrents'. That's what makes the discussion a bit moot imo.

PS: the only console I own is a Gameboy Color

 

[EdZ]

I haven't really kept up with consoles My last was the original Wii. What do people prefer these days? I heard the switch was successful and that PS VR on the PS4 Pro was topping sales in the VR sector. I've never been an X box fan.

PS4 has PSVR stuff, the Switch has the normal mix of Nintendo exclusives (though for now the selection is extremely limited). Beyond that a good number of games nowadaws are released as 'Exclusively on Console X (but also on PC)', and a decent number are on both PS4 and XB1.
Basically, look for stuff you can't get elsewhere, because everything else is much of a muchness.