High-end PC Gaming: surprisingly disappointing?

[reaganadalynn]

Long story short, I built a mid-range gaming PC in 2011 and was somewhat satisfied with it until it started to age. I had no money to keep it up-to-date, so it gradually became old and obsolete, and by 2017, it could not run any new games I wanted to play. I bought a used Xbox One for cheap and thoroughly enjoyed the frictionless experience after having spent 5 years constantly fighting against my PC to get games to run smoothly. I eventually upgraded it to a One X by taking advantage of some GameStop trade-in deals when Red Dead Redemption 2 came out. Last year, I was finally making decent money and bought myself an Xbox Series X, and it was wonderful. An absolute joy to use and a very solid upgrade over my One X.

Now, I have a friend who has a very high-end PC. 3080ti, i9 CPU, 144p 144hz monitor, the works. I had never played on a high-end PC before, so one day I went to his house and was thoroughly impressed with Doom Eternal running at max settings at silky smooth framerates. A few weeks later, I had the opportunity to buy a 3080 of my own, so after my experience with his PC, I dipped into my savings and bought a dream PC. After meticulously building it (one of my absolute favorite activities, I must admit) and installing some games like real bike racing mod apk, I was again very impressed and satisfied with the performance. However, I couldn't help but feel that, though it was technically better than my Series X, is it really $2,500 better (my PC was roughly $3k)?

I can certainly see the difference between 60fps and 144fps, but the improvement isn't substantial enough for me to really justify the extra hardware cost. After a minute or two of gameplay, I forget I'm playing at more than double the usual frame rate, and that makes it feel less valuable. I've also met some of my old PC demons with the random crashes, odd performance hiccups, and hours of tinkering and troubleshooting that I thought for sure would be all but eliminated with a top-shelf rig. These issues frustrate me and have me running back to my Xbox so that I can actually enjoy what little time I have for games these days.

So, while this PC is the absolute best, most powerful piece of hardware I've ever owned, I find myself going back to my Series X for the friction-less experience, ease of use, and comfort in knowing my games will work with no hassle or fuss. I can't help but feel I wasted my money on a PC that I thought I wanted, but in reality, had no need for. Has anyone else had a similar experience with PC gaming, or am I just a crazy fool who can't appreciate what he has?

[Anonymous]

I would say, never regret the purchase. You found a need for it and though it sounds like it has some teething issues maybe once you work through those you'll be able to enjoy the games you do play.
Maybe just pick one or two titles and focus on getting them to work properly. Reach out to their tech support people if you have to.

Alternatively, if you just aren't satisfied, well, it is a good time to sell good gear. My stepson sold some of his game equipment and made some decent profit by doing so.

[rommel222]

Greetings reaganadalynn,
I used to routinely purchase custom built mid & high end pcs from Falcon Northwest (Talon,Fragbox & Mach 5->now discontinued).
https://www.falcon-nw.com/

I needed the processing power for Physics & Astronomy simulation software for teaching my college courses.
Never really needed it for games, since Combat Mission series, John Tiller software games, Matrixgame titles & Trainz 2012 did not require it.
However, my 12 year old nephew liked playing all the newer Stars Wars games, Battlefield series and ARMA series games which did need it.

Now, at almost age 70, I no longer bother with Falcon Northwest. I just check Best Buy, Microsoft store or Walmart for low to mid end laptop.

You got what you paid for so enjoy it. Don't second guess yourself.

I bought my wife a fully loaded Dodge Charger in 2019 (she won't let me drive it but I am allowed to be a passenger and wear a Dodge Charger cap).
Did she need it to drive 3 miles a day to watch grandsons? No, but she Wanted it and loves it! Her only regret is I could not afford the Hellcat!!

[Kuokkanen]

At end of 2017, I spent a significant chunk of my bank account on a new desktop PC, peripherals, and HTC Vive VR set. GTX 1080 Ti alone cost some 800 € and HD monitor was around 500 € (including 24% VAT). I'd place that rig at 9 out of 10 of the time, as I didn't go for double graphic adapters, terabyte SSD is cheaper SATA model instead m.2 (150 € cheaper), and stereo speakers cost around modest 100 € (good stereos go well over 500 € you know). And ~100 € for silent cooling. Runs Doom (from 2016) steadily at 144 frame per second all maxed out at HD, but Crysis is still a tough one often falling under 100 fps.

VR was good fun for a while. Virtual climbing of Mount Everest in Everest VR game was highly impressive (pun), Dreadhalls felt scary, Space Pirate Trainer looks like a fun game to play with friends around (who'll score highest?), and my brother really liked Superhot VR knocking out a straw bowl from top of the fridge in the corner and scattering contents all over the floor (clothespins). Racing/sim games are very impressive too (got used race wheel & peripherals from neighbour for 50 € only), though you don't want to rely on keyboard with VR set covering your eyes. So that is something for you to consider. Then I got back to war games on my older desktop PC (new one with VR set is in my brother's place as he got a mostly empty room for it). Try VR, and if you like it, buy a set. After a while you could start feeling the same about it as with your computer, and there can be a case of motion sickness (not as bad with racing/sims while sitting down), so be warned.

I'd like to have some VR action after a year. If brother don't get the broken ground source heat pump out of the way anytime soon, I'll spread some planks on the floor and push/drag it out myself [:@]

[wodin]

Well my recent upgrade was the best I've ever had. SO very happy.

[Greybriar]

I went from buying cheap DOS Clones back in the late '80s and early '90s to IBM Aptiva Windows 95 and Windows 98. Then a mix of store-bought Windows PCs until I purchased my Falcon Northwest Mach V in 2016 for a bit over $4,000 which has been my ultimate gaming machine.

Now I'm old, my tastes and interest in games is not as demanding as it used to be, and I think my Falcon will last me for quite a few more years although (hopefully [;)]) not the rest of my life.

[rommel222]

Greetings Greybriar,
I was buying a new Falcon Northwest about every 6 years. Had 4 Talons, 1 fragbox and 1 Mach V. All were superlative computers. Passed them on to my step children.
I love that there was never any "crapware" installed on them like most computers have.
Hope your Mach V likes a long time since it is easy, but not cheap, to upgrade.

I will retire from college teaching in a year, so maybe I will treat myself to a "last post" Talon, Tiki or fragbox afterwards.

[Greybriar]

It was because of a friend whose taste in computers mirrored your own that I was convinced to cut lose of that $4,000 (my previous PC had cost me $2,000 and most of my other PC purchases had been around $1,000) for my first Talon Mach V from Falcon Northwest. It has proven itself to be a fine machine, free of the bloatware that comes pre-installed on most new computers.

Thanks for your well-wishes, rommel222. I hope your retirement will be an enjoyable one.