Right now we’re probably about 10 months away from the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett. The two brands are in lockstep, zeroing in on a holiday 2020 launch for Sony and Microsoft respectively.
For PC-only gamers, this may not seem a particularly big deal. History tells us it is a big deal, though. Like it or not, the arrival of a new generation of consoles means a big push forward in terms of system specs. It’s easiest to think of the consoles as the AAA baseline. All multi-platform titles need to work on the weakest dedicated home console and then performance and visuals are scaled from there.
Right now, AAA titles are still coming to the base Xbox One, some six years after it launched. Provided you’re willing to take a resolution hit, most modern games will still run on 5-year-old PC hardware. That 8800 GT you had since before the current-gen consoles came out though? That hasn’t been able to run AAA games for years.
Excluding the Nintendo Switch, which is whole thing unto itself, either the PS5 or the Scarlett is going to become the new baseline for console performance. Details are still sketchy but it looks as if the hardware in both consoles is going to be fairly similar. We’re looking at a 7nm AMD Navi GPU along with an 8C/16T Zen 2 processor and an indeterminate quantity of VRAM. They’re going to be fast, very fast, and all the big games from the likes of EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Activision, Square Enix, Capcom, etc, will be geared toward taking advantage of this level of hardware.
It also looks as if they’re going to ship with SSDs as standard, a move which could forever change both how games are developed and what we’re required to install them on. It’s perfectly feasible following these console launches that a game comes along which specially requires it to be installed on an SSD in order to maintain high asset streaming speeds. A ton of you no doubt already have SSDs, but what about a scenario in which all new AAA titles need to be installed on. AAA titles which will ship on 100GB PS5 discs, no less.
All of this should probably at least be on your mind when considering hardware purchases for the next 12 months, even if it’s stuck right at the back. Minimum system specs for games are surely going to bump up significantly, that is unless cross-generation titles are a huge focus.
With that in mind, is the arrival of the next-gen consoles causing you to think twice about a hardware upgrade right now? Are you happy to ride this gen out and wait for new consoles before you upgrade your rig? Let us know your upgrade plans for the coming year blow!
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PC Specs
EXACTLY that is my strategy. I've been waiting to change for years, but I want to see what the new consoles bring. What minimums will be necessary for the next 6 years. In the end I will delay the purchase until March 2021 (my initial plan was March 2020), if the old fx 6300 + rx460 continues to throw the games in high or medium. Seven Years!
My current situation is going to allow me to buy an enthusiastic PC, but I'm going to make a PC top or gamer PC, I prefer to know what news and minimums the new generations will have.
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If anything, I'm just weathering out the Intel/AMD battle for a good CPU. I wanna see what happens. For now my 2080Ti SLI + 5960X OC rig works fine :)
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yes and no upgraded everything except gpu...still good enough for a year or two
got a corsair mp510 960gb, 16gb corsair 3200, asus tuf x570, ryzen 2 3600x and a fractal design r6 case.
all that for about 1300$ canadian.
best bang for the buck i've seen in a long time.
it would've cost me another 600$ for a 2070 super or a 5700xt
PC Specs
This is the only reason why i skipped the 20 series
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I am delaying all major upgrades until DDR5 memory becomes a thing. Next year I may upgrade my GPU, but probably no full platform upgrade until 2021/2022 when DDR5 is out.
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Clever
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I will upgrade once I see a decent enough upgrade to my GPU. Processor upgrade might be closer though as gf's PC needs a better CPU.
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nope, im upgrading to ryzen 2700 in a few weeks.
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I'll upgrade when I need to, or when I find a good deal on a weaker component in my PC.
I'd rather upgrade to play games I'm interested in playing, rather than upgrading to match the PS5.
I'm happy to play a great game with less impressive graphics, which is probably why my PS4 is collecting dust, unlike my Switch.
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I expect a console to have at least the power of a 2080 rtx. I am looking forward to a 3070 rtx or better.
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lmao
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Expect the consoles to have a GPU as good as the RX 5700(XT) and with the superior optimizations consoles tend to get when they are out for a couple of years, that will be great for a 4-6 years life cycle.
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I'm just waiting for my CPU and GPU to get outdated. Until I get to the point where I can't play games on medium settings I won't upgrade.
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This
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Except for rt, I have the consoles covered. Just upgrade the big 3. My CPU is of the same gen but will be faster and I have more ram than both consoles will have together. I'm going to wait at least another gen before I upgrade my gpus.
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Here's hoping I they release the xxxxti right away again and not pull the crap they did when I bought these two. Intergenerational upgrades are not my thing.
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I would say no, I mean consoles won't really have hardware that would be miles ahead of things we have. Like yes, they might have 8c 16t CPU, but it will likely be clocked lower than desktop counterparts, for easier thermal management in less ideal environment, since console users aren't exactly concerned with airflow. Hence why it likely will be equivalent of high core count Athlon,...
PC Specs
... meaning R5 3600 would be more than enough as PC counterpart. But other than that, it is as usual, just ask yourself if your PC can do what you need it to do with sufficient performance? If yes, there is no point in upgrading. If not, then it is time to upgrade. It is as simple as that. So if I will feel the need to upgrade, I will. If not, I will keep rolling with what I have.
PC Specs
Not particularly concerned over console releases, my setup usually outshines them anyway. I have recently swapped out a GTX 770 in favor of a 1660, but that's only a temporary upgrade. I'll be trying to hold off on the big 3 (mobo/cpu/ram) for awhile. My hardware is more than capable as it is, and I suspect it should remain acceptable for a another few years at least, so I'll be trying to wait for DDR5 to get here.
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xbox & ps5 is just last gen pc hardware but optimized
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Ryzen 2 is current gen and rdna/Navi is current gen. 7nm fabrication is also the latest.
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That's exactly what I'm doing rn, after jayztwocents suggested to do this
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I just finished upgrading my machine for the next couple of years at least, only additions ill make would be to maybe add water cooling or possibly higher RAM speeds.
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Yes and no. I don't really pay attention to the console generations but, with a 1080ti, I'm good for now and will wait for at least another video card gen or two.
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Once that RTX 2070 Super goes below $500.
PC Specs
That's a horrible upgrade from your gtx 1070Ti, it's a 25-30% improvement in performance, for around 500$.
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No, I'm waiting until I can actually afford an upgrade. Mostly just Motherboard, cpu and RAM.
PC Specs
I will wait until the new consoles are on the shelves before getting a laptop with an RTX GPU. I'd like an RTX 2070 model.