What Happens When You Build A PC To Rival Xbox Series X?
The PC vs. console debate has come to a boil in a recent video from Linus Tech Tips. The YouTube channel is most known for offering helpful guides on computers, gaming consoles, and other various pieces of tech. Linus Tech Tips' most recent attempt at building a PC that would outdo the Xbox Series X was truly impressive.
The channel took on the challenge to see whether or not a gaming PC could actually match the power of Microsoft's next-gen console. To make things fair, Linus Sebastian, the channel's host, also kept the same budget as the Xbox Series X, meaning that they would spend no more than $500 on parts for the PC. Even before the challenge began, Linus admitted that the task would be an uphill battle considering the console's excellent performance and specs.
Throughout the video, Linus listed all of the various components that would make up the PC. With a handful of parts averaging at just above $50 dollars, it goes without saying that the cost to build this gaming PC started to rack up. Eventually the channel was able to complete the project, and the PC was actually pretty impressive. However, despite his efforts, the Xbox Series X still came out on top, since Linus' PC didn't have any of the main features that the console promises.
"It would be irresponsible of me to declare this some kind of 'PC master race' victory," Linus admitted. "[W]e cheated on the price [and] we made all kinds of compromises to the config, like the single-channel memory ... a quarter of the amount of storage, the lack of a Blu-ray drive ... the crummy controller, and the numerous other compromises."
In addition to these lackluster features, Linus also said that the budget PC did also go slightly over budget, simply due to the absurd number of shipping costs for the parts. He also mentioned that while the PC did play well, it still didn't have any ray-tracing or HDMI 2.1 support, both of which are Xbox Series X features. The games themselves looked good during the comparison portion of the video, especially in the case of a round of Rocket League, but the Series X definitely has the upperhand when it comes to graphical output due to these aforementioned mechanics.
Since its release in November 2020, the Xbox Series X has made quite an impression on critics. While there have been a few mishaps with the system, the games that are set to release on the console are looking sharp. If anything, this latest video proves that the Xbox Series X is a worthy contender in the war between gaming consoles and PCs.