Is It Worth Building a Gamer PC in 2025 or Buying a Console?

If you are wanting to start in the gamer world probably already wondered: Is it better to invest in a PC gamer or a new generation console? With the advancement of technology and the launch of consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, as well as the constant evolution of the hardware market for PCs, the decision is not so simple.

We will be today showing the cost-effectiveness of both platforms.

The Current Scenario: Consoles vs PCs

Next-gen consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X continue to offer high performance at a relatively affordable price. On the other hand, gaming PCs offer flexibility, superior performance (in many cases), and access to a wide range of games and features such as mods and cross-platform support. Let's first analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each platform:

Consoles

• Advantages:

  • More affordable starting price.

  • Simplicity: Just call and play.

  • Exclusive games (The Last of Us, Halo, etc.).

  • Compatibility Guarantee: Games are optimized for hardware.

• Disadvantages:

  • Fixed and limited hardware.

  • Lack of flexibility for upgrades.

  • Additional costs with games and signatures (PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass)

PC Gamer

• Advantages:

  • Customizable hardware and possibility of upgrades.

  • Higher charts and support to the latest technologies (Ray Tracing, DLSS).

  • Cheaper games on platforms like Steam and Epic Games.

  • Versatility for other tasks, such as video editing or graphic design.

• Disadvantages:

  • High initial cost.

  • Learning curve to configure and optimize.

  • Need for maintenance and periodic upgrades.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Gamer PC in 2025?

Building a gaming PC can vary greatly depending on the type of experience you are looking for. Below we present three categories of settings for different player profiles:

1. Entry-level Gamer PC (Runs everything in Full HD at 60 FPS)

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-12400.

Graphic Card: NVIDIA RTX 3050 or AMD RX 6600.

RAM memory: 16 GB DDR4.

Storage: 500 GB NVMe SSD.

Motherboard: Gigabyte A520M

Monitor: Acer Nitro KG241Y Sbiip 23,8", Full HD

Peripherals: Ultimate Gaming Bundle

Cabinet: Zalman I3 NEO ATX

Average price: US$ 700 to US$ 800

2.PC Advanced Gamer (High Performance Framework)

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or Intel Core I5-13600K.

Graphic Card: Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti or AMD RX 7700 XT.

RAM Memory: 16 GB DDR5.

Storage: SSD NVME of 1 tb.

Motherboard: gigabyte b650m

Monitor: Samsung ViewFinity S7

Cabinet: NZXT H6 Flow

Average price: US$ 1,300 to US$ 1,800

3. PC High-End Gamer (4K Ultra, 120 FPS or more)

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or Intel Core I9-14900K.

Graphic Card: Nvidia RTX 4090 or AMD RX 7900 XTX.

RAM Memory: 32 GB DDR5.

Storage: SSD NVME 2 tb.

Motherboard: Asus Tuf Gaming X870-Plus

Monitor: Samsung Odyssey NEO G8 4k UHD 240Hz, 32"

Cabinet: HYTE Y70 Touch Infinite Dual Chamber

Average price: US$ 3,000 to US$ 4,500

(These values ​​may vary depending on the region, promotions and availability of components.)

Consoles: What do you take for a lower price?

The new generation consoles have a very attractive proposal for those looking to play without complications. See current prices (estimated for 2025):

• PlayStation 5 (disc edition): US$ 500

• PlayStation 5 Pro: US$ 700

• Xbox Series X: US$ 500

• Xbox Series S: US$ 300

For that price, the consoles offer enough performance to run 4K games, support for modern technologies like ray tracing, and incredibly fast load times thanks to integrated SSDs. However, we cannot forget the additional costs, such as:

• Monthly subscriptions: PS Plus (from US$ 9.99/month) and Xbox Game Pass (from US$ 9.99/month).

• Exclusive games: Although Game Pass offers good value for money, exclusive PS5 games still cost around US$ 70 at launch.

Performance and Longevity: Who gets ahead?

Consoles

Consoles offer fixed hardware, which means developers can better optimize games to run on a specific platform. However, this also means that, as time goes by, their performance lags behind advances in the PC hardware market, making you need to buy another new generation console.

PC Gamer

A gaming PC has the advantage of being updated over time. Want more performance? Just change the graphics card or add more RAM. Furthermore, With a PC you can adjust graphics settings to balance performance and visual quality, something that is not so flexible on consoles.

What about the games library?

• Consoles: Exclusive such as Uncharted, Bloodborne, The Last of Us and Forza Horizon are great attractions for gamers because they are games that have the most worked and focused mechanics more to show the performance and power of the console itself, however, currently not many games have been released that are exclusive only to Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Consoles are also ideal for playing new release games as they are released first for them and then get a PC version.

• PC Gamer: In addition to having practically all multiplatform games, the PC offers access to mods, emulators and independent games that often don't reach consoles, and they also have access to some games that were exclusive to consoles, such as God of War Ragnarök.

Conclusion: What is more worthwhile in 2025?

The choice between a PC gamer and a console depends mainly on your player profile and how much you are willing to invest:

• Consoles:

They are ideal for those seeking simplicity and a high quality experience for a lower initial cost. Recommended for those who don't want to waste time with settings, data and more complicated configurations, the famous plug and play. Without a doubt, if you are a person who doesn't have much time or patience to study processors, video cards, which is the best and so on, a console is recommended to get you started in the gaming world as it delivers good performance and a simplified layout for better understanding, but understand that it will not be possible to make upgrades to it and you will only have the official store to buy the digital media games, may have a higher price. Nonetheless, physical media games can be a workaround for this problem as they are cheaper than digital media and can be sold after you finish the game.

• PC Gamer:

It's the perfect option for those who want flexibility, superior performance and access to a vast library of games at more affordable prices in the long term. I.e, If you want to have the true gamer experience, it is recommended to have a PC because of the high performance and quality it is able to deliver, and is also suitable for those who have a lot of money to invest and a lot of time to research the best components and configure The games. PCs also contain several stores that sell digital games, thus not having a monopoly of digital games and that cheaper their price, and have the ability to play older games on emulators and add mods that complement the player experience.

In short, Both have their space in the market and meet different needs. If you're looking for something simpler, a console is the right choice. But if you want the best performance and like customization, the gaming PC is the best platform.

Information about prices taken from the following sites: Amazon, Nvidia, HYTE, Playstation and Xbox