…or a gaming laptop. The Patreon money is beginning to accumulate a little, you see; but once it hits a certain level per month it stops being “Moe’s money” and starts becoming “household money that must be spent on responsible, adult things.” So I had better come up with something that’s fun AND …elaborate? Spectacular? Flashy? Sparkly? You know what I mean.
Anyhoo: Ps4 is easier to save up for, gaming laptop I can take with me places. People have opinions/recommendations?
Moe Lane
PS: I already have an Xbox 360 which needs to be brought downstairs and hooked up to the TV once, and for all. Kids got LEGO Dimensions for Christmas, so I kind of have to. They’re eventually gonna remember that they got it…
NOOOOOOOOOOO!! You might as well get a Xbox One and save yourself a lot of trouble. My nephew, somehow, got a Xbox One and PS4. The Xbox One we still have. The PS4 collected dust and then was sold.
Consider that the XB1 is now backwards compatible. To me, that’s a huge selling point. (And cheaper than the PS4, which is as well.)
Are you serious? That’s great news. When those things rolled out, I could have sworn I heard both companies say no backwards compatibility was in the cards. When did they change?
They started rolling it out last November or so – it’s limited, probably less than 200 games so far, but they claim they’re going to do monthly updates adding them.
They swore up and down that it just wasn’t possible.
Then they realized that people weren’t moving to the new system…
And Microsoft suddenly remembered how to code an emulator.
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The limited number of games is due to license agreements, not the emulator. They’re working on it, but games that are already available on the XB1 (like Dishonored) aren’t likely to get a new agreement signed.
Conventional wisdom is generally that an N+1-gen console that’s using a different architecture doesn’t have enough horsepower to emulate an N-gen console in software (the PS2 had key PS1 chips in it; the GC/Wii/Wii U and various Nintendo handhelds were just faster versions of the previous gen). MS has gotten around that to some degree, but that’s probably because there was such a long break from the 360 launch to the XB1 launch.
It’s not going to change for Sony, because the PS3 was a really oddball architecture that’s hard to emulate.
The big question is why PS4 over XB1? Is there a particular game you are looking at? BTW the menu system of the XB1 is so much easier than the one on the 360.
Because I have an Xbox already? Sure, it’s a 360, but I should, you know, use it more, or have my kids use it more.
I have a question that is apparently relevant. If I purchase and XB1 (or PS4) for a particular game (Rock Band 4 if you care, because they didn’t release it for the Wii like my RB3). RB4 has DLC and thus I would need to connect to said MS or PS stores to buy said DLC songs. Do I have to pay a monthly fee to MS or Sony just to be able to connect?
No.
But if you’re going to play multiplayer games on the service, you pretty much* have to.
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*There are exceptions, but they’re limited.
No, not play online, just download the DLC.
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Thank you 🙂
Yeah, both Sony and Microsoft will happily take your money without you needing XBL or PSN.
Thanks as well 🙂
IMO investing in a multi purpose tool is usually a better use of resources, and since you already have an Xbox, I’d go with a gaming laptop.
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Check out the Acer Predator 15.
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I recently bought one and it’s a gaming beast with an impressive cooling system, a terrific display w/ support for G-Sync monitors, fantastic speakers and a rugged military style build.
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There are some nice design elements too…one of the best that I never knew I wanted is a button to disable the trackpad and windows key…nothing worse than touching either in an intense session.
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The Predator also has keyboard WASD configuration lights and six macro buttons directly above the function keys, up to three sets of five macros can be assigned and a small, mirrored strip of plastic on the hinge houses the hard drive, battery, and power lights…they show through even when the laptop is closed. It almost looks like the row of lights below the viewscreen on the Enterprise.
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With 32GB of RAM and programs loading from the SSD, and a Core i7 CPU it produces high frame rates without any jitter and tearing. Even when I plug it into my big screen TV and run two screen config (with a bunch of web stuff open) it never struggles or lags on battery.
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Thus far I am really pleased…although it is heavy, if you’re used to thin, lightweight notebooks this will feel like a throwback @ 7.5 lbs but the performance is worth every ounce. I took it on vacation last month and it wasn’t a problem but I wouldn’t want to haul it around all day in a backpack either. Another minor drawback is fan noise, it cools like a boss, especially with the extra cooling pack inserted. I use headphones so fan noise is mostly moot…however if you were playing while someone was sleeping next to you it might be an issue…but who does that?!
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Oh…the rugged build and anti-smear case is pretty much kid-proof too…with the usual spilled liquids & bouncing down stairs caveat, of course.
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The others I considered in the same price range were the Origin EON17-X but it reviewed/bench tested as a battery hog and a less than stellar display. In all fairness, I did not actually get my hands on one and displays can be very subjective. I test drove the HP Omen and meh…less $$$ but kind of middle of the road. I also considered the Alienware 17 but I’d want to get the GPU and then I’m docked.
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Anyhoo…there is a good selection of $1200-$1500 gaming laptops from which to choose….maybe too many. Another first world problem, eh?
A few notes.
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One, keep in mind that Lego Dimensions also has a next gen version. The good news- the figures are cross platform. The bad news- the Stargate part and software aren’t. Because your kids will ask.
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Two, speaking as someone with both a PS4 and XB1, you’re probably better off with a laptop. I’ve deleted the “Wall of text” I had written and I’ll just condense it. If there’s an exclusive title that you’re itching to play (Bloodborne, maybe?) then you might look into a console, but I spend about 100 hours gaming on the PC to every 1 I spend on my consoles. There’s just not a lot on them that I can’t play on the computer.
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If you just want something that you can play on the couch, so you can get away from your work computer, you might want to look into a Steam box type dealee that allows you to stream stuff from the work PC to the big TV. But right now, I wouldn’t really recommend either console. Maybe after E3 that’ll change, but that’s months off.