The Xbox Series X looks like the most powerful home console ever made — and it's still not as powerful as a high-end gaming PC With Holiday 2020 and the release of new consoles approaching, many gamers may want to start making money for the next big hi-tech toy, but at the beginning of the console generation, it's worth asking: Does the console500 (give or take) invest in a console or PC? What is the best way to do this?

The simple answer is that both the console and the Pc have pros and cons, and the situation for all users is a bit different But on Xbox Series X, calculus is a bit different than before Xbox Series X is not sold with dedicated games or custom-made hardwareIt's just 1 way to access the entire game ecosystem And, perhaps for the first time in the history of the console, you can access the exact same ecosystem on the PC

The story is not about comparing Xbox Series X and gaming PCs directly, but rather how real it is when there are thousands of different gaming PCs and even with the Xbox Series X specs in hand, here's how to buy a console when everything it offers works equally and perhaps better on the PC

I've recently written a piece comparing the ps5 to a gaming pc, saying that PlayStation's powerful library of exclusive games is a good reason to buy the PS4, and that PS5 also has a strong incentive

However, on Xbox Series X, there's basically nothing like an "exclusive" title All first-party Microsoft games will be available on both Xbox Series X and PC As such, if you already have a reasonably good gaming PC, there is not much incentive to get the Xbox Series X (many will also be available on Xbox One, but at least next year or two years will be available, but the current generation consoles are not a big investment at the moment) The reset data will be synchronized between PC and Xbox versions of the game thanks to smart delivery, so it is one argument in favor of buying a new console

But there is still one large area where the PC can not match the Xbox Series X 1 and it is backward compatible Xbox Series X is backward compatible with all Xbox One games, as well as the massive Xbox360 and original Xbox games You can already get most Xbox One games on PC, but the Xbox360 and the original Xbox had more than a fair share of the beloved monopoly "Buying a new console specifically for playing an old game" is certainly a strange pitch, but if the game is excellent and you've never played it before, it's a compelling argument

It is worth pointing out that PC owners can also take full advantage of their Xbox Game Pass subscription or download PC-only titles such as Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Not all Xbox One games on the game path will work on a PC, but many of them will work and all Xbox Series X games will work The Xbox Series X controller is fully compatible with PCs, streaming boxes, and mobile phones, just like the Xbox One controller

Microsoft seems to be building an entire gaming ecosystem around the Xbox Series X, not just a console My colleague Roland Moore-Colyer wrote an article on the subject, but the bottom line is that between Smart Delivery, Game Pass, and Project xCloud (which allows Xbox games to be streamed to mobile platforms), Xbox Series X is more of a central hub for games than a single, comprehensive machine In essence, you can get a full Xbox Series X experience on Xbox Series X

Of course, there is one area where the Xbox Series X still has a big advantage over the PC, and that's the price My colleague Adam Ismail and I discussed this at length in an article on next-generation consoles, but custom-built gaming PCs are always the same as mass-produced consoles I don't know what the Xbox Series X costs, butド500 seems like a reasonable assumption You can build a very bare-bones gaming PC for that price, but it almost definitely matches the power of the Xbox Series X CPU, GPU or SSD

Out of curiosity, I went to Newegg and tried to create a PC with Xbox Series X specifications Even the cheapest parts I could find, my total was almost11,500 — and that doesn't count cases or copies of windows10 It's easy to say that gaming PCs can do whatever Xbox Series X can do However, to play the same game with (probably) slightly better graphics and frame rates, you might want to make 2x or 3x what you spend on the Xbox Series X

Indeed, PC parts will drop in price over time, and by 11 months this setup could cost you hundreds of dollars less It will be But the console will always be cheaper to buy and easier to set up with a wide margin Building a PC can be fun, but it's also a complex, time-consuming process And when something goes wrong (if not), being your own technical support is absolutely, not positively fun Buying a pre-built system is even more expensive

Therefore, Xbox Series X vsThe PC is not that much a specification issue You can always build a PC with better specs The question is whether the PC is really worth the money So if you want to do video editing or graphic design, gaming PC is a smart investment because it can pull double duty But if you really want to play games, watch movies or listen to music, the Xbox Series X will get the job done at 3/1 of the price

xbox Series X vsThere are no all-around recommendations on the PC - especially since the Xbox Series X doesn't come out for months, so there's no direct experience of how it works But I can make some extensive, intuitive suggestions:

If you already have a good gaming PC, you probably need an Xbox Series X and it's great, hopefully If not, consider spending hundreds of dollars on a new console or a substantial upgrade to your PC

If you don't have a powerful PC, the Xbox Series X is a good choice, but a gaming rig is also a good choice Consider how much money you want to spend and whether you can also use the PC for productivity purposes If you just want a gaming or multimedia machine, the Xbox Series X would probably fit the bill So does the PS5, but that's a different story