Xbox One X as a Budget Gaming PC

dfitt10 on 15/07/2019 - 15:09

While the Xbox One X certainly can't compare to some high end gaming PC's, it still offers incredible value at it's ~$450 price point.

With all the hardware and software optimization it offers, most people think it provides a PC system equivalent just shy of a GTX1060. How effective would setting the One X up as budget gaming console/ PC be?

There is a limited amount of games that support keyboard and mouse, but the XIM Apex (~$170) seems to work effectively with most games. Effectively this means you could play any Xbox game as if it were a normal PC. This setup has the added benefit of being able to access console exclusives (Like RDR2) as well as Xbox exclusives (like Halo). The biggest perk is of course being able to play with Xbox friends (as most people lean towards console). I also like the idea of the Xbox gold games

For people like myself who have a laptop and don't want the hassle of switching between desktops or buying/ building a more expensive PC, this seems like a good option. Does anyone have thoughts on the effectiveness of this setup, or recommendations for better alternatives?

Thanks for any help

*Disclaimer: In no way do I support this setup to abuse competitive multi player, as I mainly play single player games.

Gaming Game Console Microsoft

Comments

  • Zazer on 15/07/2019 - 15:17
    +2

    Look mate if you want my honest opinion you couldn't pay me to go back to consoles, PC gaming is just so much better, more rewarding, customisable, fun and enjoyable. You're not locked into anything, you have your choice of whatever you want, in terms of hardware Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, MSI, Corsair, whatever you want. For software there's even more, it's incalculable, there's Steam, Origin, UPlay, and so so much more. The only reason I would say to go console is for PS4 exclusives. And even then the PS5 will be coming out next year so it's a waste imo. Xbox, especially with its PC Game Pass coming, doesn't make sense to buy unless your budget is strictly $450 for some reason. It is good value at that price, but if you can stretch your budget just a couple of hundred bucks to $600-700, you will have a much better experience by far as well as leave your upgrade options open for the future. If you don't want to build it yourself then I recommend Ozb's very own Techfast deals, with Luke who has been superb in helping people out. Luke's said he'll be back today, so looking forward to seeing the deals he posts, recently there was a $600 deal which gave better price to performance than the Xbox One X and with the new AMD CPU launch there will only be better deals today.

    • dfitt10 on 15/07/2019 - 15:39

      Good point about the hardware customization, and I think that's probably the biggest selling point of PC.

      The additional software options only matter in the sense they can provide more competitive pricing. Very few major publishers would choose a PC exclusive now days.

      I'm wanting to get an Xbox to play with console friends, use the game pass (as the PC version of the pass is currently s**t), access Xbox exclusives (already have PS4, and the pro isn't worth it) and play 360 games.

      More wondering if just get the One S, or I can justify getting the One X by also having it as budget gaming PC.

      • Zazer on 15/07/2019 - 15:42

        Look, see, I had the same issue. My mates were on Xbox. So I got an S, as the X wasn't out at the time. Couldn't justify the X at the time, but if you're already invested with your friends into Xbox then by all means the X is a decent value option. But only for the next year or two, and then it'll be outdated and you'll have to buy a whole new one. Alternatively, with a PC you can piecemeal upgrade parts as you like, plus use it for non-gaming productivity tasks and have fun tinkering.

        It's definitely justifiable if your friends are already on Xbox, that's going to be a major factor regardless. Go for it mate, if you enjoy playing on Xbox with your friends. But I would never go back.

        • dfitt10 on 15/07/2019 - 16:11

          That's a fair point. The only reason why I didn't immediately want to wait for next gen is the time delay for people to upgrade (there's no point of buying a new console if none of your friends have it). The first few years of next gen consoles always seem to have an extremely limited and painfully expensive selection of games.

          I hear PS5 is supposed to be far cheaper at launch then the PS4 was, so fingers crossed to that

  • jugsy on 15/07/2019 - 15:34

    For the same price you could build an entry level gaming pc that can be upgraded - the Xbox One X is a dead end in terms of upgradability, especially with nextgen consoles right around the corner.

    If you have a lot of friends playing Xbox, that may count in its favour - but universally the biggest communities are centred around PC gaming.

    The keyboard/mouse might not work as well as you expect for all games, I wouldn't trust any marketing material regarding this.

    • Zazer on 15/07/2019 - 15:43

      Looks like OP has friends already invested into the ecosystem - not much point them getting a system which they can't use to play with their friends. I'd say the X isn't too bad value either, but I would never get it instead of a PC.

    • dfitt10 on 15/07/2019 - 15:49
      +1

      Saying PC or console is more popular feels far too subjective. That really depends on what games you play; PC definitely has the MOBA/ strategy market, but most other genres have strong community's on each.

  • Cheapo Moose on 15/07/2019 - 15:49
    +1

    If you mainly play single player… stick with PC.

    If you play online with friends, consider the platform they're currently on.

    I have an Xbox One X and a mid-range gaming PC. I can play PUBG on PC at high/ultra settings at 60FPS (capped) or I can play on Xbox getting 30FPS if I'm lucky with the equivalent of low/medium settings.

    I find playing PUBG PC boring. I enjoy playing on PUBG Xbox so much more because I can have a laugh with mates.

    Plus i can lean back on a recliner and be a slob a lot easier with Xbox. :)

  • SydStrand on 15/07/2019 - 16:15

    It's not a gaming PC because it doesn't play PC games. It's a console that happens to have some KB/M support. Stop over-complicating it.

  • ShortyX on 15/07/2019 - 16:24
    +2

    Why not both?

  • FlipCrank on 15/07/2019 - 16:26

    I'm in the opposition, and say consoles are a good deal now. I don't own an Xbox or PS4 and can see it as a really good value (perhaps grass is always greener). In the 360/PS3 era games prices were super high and they didn't seem to compete on prices, Steam sales were amazing - it was so much cheaper to go PC. Now even less retailers stock PC games, physical sales never happen, Steam sales suck. For example just see any of the multi-platform games get a deal posted, ever see the PC version get included? This is even for recently and just released games. You'll have to wait a lot longer to get a sale on PC.

  • docmartin on 15/07/2019 - 18:44

    I personally prefer gaming on console myself.

    Have a gaming pc which I only ever use for racing games.

    Personally hate keyboard and mouse and prefer controller so can't speak to how effective it is. First party support seems to be coming to a lot of games including matchmaking based on input. Don't play rts tho which suck on controller.

    For the price you won't get a better deal esp if youd use it as a blu ray player as well.

    Dunno if the ultimate upgrade is still active (think it's expired) but it's a ripper deal. Game pass has heaps of games which are worth playing. Games with hold are generally average tho.

    Also need to factor in subscription cost which over a couple years will probably come out close to 150 or so. New release games are decently priced for consoles and then can be sold on to minimise cost.

  • Switchblade88 on 15/07/2019 - 22:51

    I think this is a very valid discussion to have, though I definitely think there's some caveats to both options. Personally, I've always been an Xbox man (yay Halo!) but I've definitely put about 90% of my last year's gaming time into PC.

    Points that I'll raise:

    • Halo MCC is coming to Steam, and Halo infinite will be on PC & Xbox on release day. (RDR2 is too, going by leaks)
    • Game Pass Ultimate has a very large overlap between Xbox and PC games available.
    • Steam games, especially using IsThereAnyDeal and waiting patiently will net the best deals compared to Xbox games. Especially for quality story-based gaming.
    • Exclusivity. Specifically, many games (and apps) are 'PC exclusive' and not available on Xbox, whereas most Xbox games are likely to be available on PC. This also includes things like Epic Store freebies, MS Office (although your laptop will mitigate this), emulators, and DOSbox for retro/legacy gaming.
    • Xbox controller support is much broader in PC games, than KB/M in Xbox games. The XIM is an expensive way to play!!

    For build costs: I've got an OzBargain favourite refurb Optiplex 9010 ($250), with a low profile 1050Ti ($150) which might not be quite up to a Xbox One X for grunt, but certainly wins for flexibility.

    There is still some games I've got only on Xbox - Doom 2016 and The Outer Wilds are both Game Pass & PC games, but only on Xbox within my collection.

  • Axelstrife on 16/07/2019 - 09:14

    Ive gamed with XIM 4 and now XIM Apex for years playing mostly COD and fortnite on the original PS4 and now PS4 Pro, i also have a mid/high end PC (9600k, Vega 64, 144hz monitor).

    but the XIM Apex (~$170) seems to work effectively with most games. Effectively this means you could play any Xbox game as if it were a normal PC

    While XIM allows to you use mouse it does not "effectively" mean it will play like a PC. Consoles have a turn cap as well as much more input lag combined with terrible aiming mechanics due to it being a console game vs the PC counterpart means it's far from a PC like experience. There are some games like COD and Battlefield that play and feel decent but those are still held back by the turn cap.

    Build a PC you will not regret it then, if you still want to play console exclusives buy a PS4, all Xbox exclusives will be released on PC but not PS4. PC/PS4 is the way to go to cover all exclusives (switch not included).

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