PCGH recommends Battlefield 4 on PS4 over PC

29 October 2013

The renown German website PC GamesHardware just posted an exceedingly honest and open minded article about Battlefield 4 and the differences between the PC and PS4 releases.

Essentially, they praise the PS4 version as it is pretty much locked at 60FPS and, unless you have a 1000€ PC, chances are you won’t be able to get the same quality and performance available on the PlayStation 4 for merely 399€.

I have to say that my experience with the PS4 at Gamescom seemed to indicate somewhat inferior graphics in comparison to the maxed PC version, but then again it’s quite possible that it’s been improved since. I played a few matches on the final game with my PC and the graphics is simply breathtaking; I honestly doubt that Battlefield 4 on PS4 will look as good, but I also have to concur with the fact that my configuration is worth more than double the price of the PlayStation 4.

What do you think? Are you getting Battlefield 4 at all and if so, for which platform? Let us know below!

Chris

I’m pretty sure my i7 4770k, 16gb of 2100mhz RAM, 500/550 mbs SSD and GTX 780 super clocked running at ultra with 8xAA at 1920×1200 will beat a PS4 running at 900p.
- / Alessio Palumbo
  
  Of course. Even my i5 2500k, 8GB RAM and GTX 680 does it. But both of our configurations cost a lot more than a PlayStation 4, which is their point.
  
  If someone can’t afford a 1000€ + PC, then the PS4 is the version to go.
  - beepboop
    
    But gaming isn’t just about the hardware purchase, which everyone seems to forget. “Oh, PS4 is $400 and PC is $1000? That’s a no-brainer.” Except it isn’t.
    
    PC may be more expensive hardware-wise, but they are FAR cheaper in the software/services department. Free multiplayer means no $50-60 a year, which adds up to $400-480 over an 8-year cycle, and cheaper games means that if you buy a decent amount of games, you’ll save additional hundreds over the years as well. Games both new and old get sales that consoles generally just can’t compete with. You can easily get almost any game for $10-15 cheaper on PC than console, and with some searching and a little patience $20-30 cheaper isn’t uncommon either.
    
    In exchange for paying a bit more upfront, you get all of the power and features of PC, far fewer restrictions than console, and over time the cost evens out if you buy a decent amount of games (remember, this is an 8 year cycle we’re talking about) and you don’t think that $2000 PCs are a necessity.
    
    A PC is a much smarter buy because spending more on hardware actually improves your gaming experience. Spending more on console services like multiplayer that PC gets for free, and spending more on console games that often look best on PC, is just a waste of money.
    - Axe99
      
      On Playstation at least, that 50-60 a year gets you a bunch of games to play for nothing extra. It’s deffo the case that PC games are still cheaper and get better sales though.
      
      That said, while I game on both, I prefer console over PC not for price, nor moddability, but because it’s orders-of-magnitude more reliable. It took me the length of BF4′s SP campaign (4 hours) just to get the first Mass Effect to run, Victoria 2 didn’t run at all for a couple of weeks (I wasn’t comfortable making the tweaks apparently required) and Jade Empire was another pain-in-the-arse to get rolling. On console, _every_ game I’ve played in the last three generations has just worked, from the get-go, optimised (more or less) for the platform. Until PC can match that, it’s at a disadvantage for gamers that are just into gaming, and aren’t interested in keeping their machines running well.
      
      I’d compare it with auto enthusiasts and drivers. PC gamers are auto enthusiasts, they tune their own cars, building bits up from scratch, while most drivers are happy just driving. There will always be more ‘just drivers’ than auto enthusiasts until it’s reliably easy to switch gearboxes and transmissions in and out, but both groups are of value and equally worthy, they’ve just got different priorities.
      
      I’m stuck in the spot were I love strategy games, so while I dislike the issues with PC gaming, I’m forced to tinker a little to get the damn things to run :/.
    - Junoh315
      
      Not only that but PC monitors cost less than TVs.
    - Iramohs
      
      I got bf4 premium and the game itself for 68 dollars.
SirSensible

What they seem to forget is that the PS4 version runs (and drops below 60fps now and again, on essentially “High” settings) at 900p, much lower than the 1080p standard. I wonder what kind of hardware would be needed to match it on PC, and what price.
- Dakan45
  
  Whats that? games on consoles drop fps? No sir, that is impossible, tis not like far cry 3 run on 24 fps most of the time on consoles.
  
  If the game doesnt maintain 60 fps nor on ps4/xbox one, the lower resollution for constant 60 fps argument is rather weak.
  - SirSensible
    
    But I’m not making any argument? I’m simply saying that I wonder how much it would cost to build a PC that would match or only just better the PS4′s performance at the same graphical details and resolution settings.
    
    So, they’re currently comparing PC (1080p, Ultra) to PS4 (900p, High), so no shit that it’ll cost more for hardware to run it on PC. I’m saying the fairer price/performance comparison would be to run the PC version at 900p on High settings.
    - Iramohs
      
      The ps4 won’t be able to put out what a pc gamer considers ‘high’ settings.
    - Dakan45
      
      If you are a pc gamer, you already have a pc that if upgraded with as much cash or less it can run it just as well or superior.
      
      Now if you for some reason dont own a gaming pc and you decided to build one now, yeah then its more expensive.
Jack Slater

For the 80-97% of PC gamers that don’t have an expensive 27 or 30″, capable of a 2560*1600, they will all be playing ‘only’at full HD, at medium-high quality, on their modest computers. At that resolution, even if they have 400 fps, I doubt there will be a big difference between a ps4 and their systems.
And at that precise moment and situation, getting a ps4 will be a much better choice, if it’s all about games and exclusive games.

To all the guys that list their water-cooled systems, or their tight timing on ram, or the 1000MHZ they gain with over clocking, and their 1000$ sli cards, take 1 second to think that maybe 1 PC gamer over 1000 can play games at ultra with 100 fps and 2560*1400/1600p.
- derpmaster
  
  get a job peasant
  - Jack Slater
    
    Get a girl, no-life gay.
    On one of my computers, I have 3x 3tb western red and 2x 128ssd.
    Give me your PayPal address, I will send you 100$ so you can pay yourself an ‘escort-boy’(that must exist, I think), so you can have your asshole look as pitiful as your face, you wanker.or save those 100 bucks, call your neighbor instead, and you can finally offer something to mum and dad, at Christmas.
    
    Ah, you don’t have PayPal, you’re too young for having a visa, kiddo.
    
    Miserable useless piece of shit.now, go play your crysis 3 on your triple 4k setup, rich, powerful and smart city boy.
    - Biggie
      
      Calm Down filthy Peasant, just because you don’t know what you’re talking about doesn’t mean you have to get so angry
    - derpmaster
      
      hahah “gay”… what are you, 12?
- Junoh315
  
  If that person can afford a $400 PS4 then they can upgrade their PC with a Radeon HD 7870 and a decent AMD CPU that fits their slot. If they have neither then the money they’ll save from a $500 TV can be spent on upgrading their PC a bit more. That’s now a $900 budget for their PC. I could build a really nice PC for $900 and still have money left over for a monitor.
- Iramohs
  
  You must be 14 cause anyone with a job wouldn’t be bitching about price this much.
Dakan45

You say 1000$ pc but in reallity if you spend 400-500 upgrading cpu and gpu you got yourself a version that beats the ps4 version.

Obviously ps4 is a good bargain but what about xbox one having inferior graphics and a higher price, does that mean the xbox one version should be banned?

Id rather play the game 1080p with 50 fps than 960p with 60 fps, nuff said.

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