PCWorld have tried, and apparently the answer is a big NO.



In an attempt to create a custom built computer with specifications matching exactly those of the newly revealed Xbox One X (which I personally decided to refer to as XB1X but feel to come up with your own acronym), PCWorld concludes that, apparently, for the first time in the history of gaming, a console may be more powerful than a custom built computer of the same price tag at the time of its release!

XB1X specs:
CPU: Custom AMD 8-core @ 2.3 GHz
GPU: Custom AMD chip @ 6.0 teraflops
RAM: 12 GB GDDR5
HDD: 1 TB
OPT: 4K Blu-ray drive

PCWorld's attempt #1
With 8GB DDR3 for a total cost of $652

PCWorld's attempt #2
With 8GB DDR4, for a total cost of $944

So... can you do better than PCWorld? Let us know what you think. PC master race!
Read more at PCWorld

 

[Deboog]

Interesting article! I was curious about this. People who are complaining about the price tag really need a reality check.

 

[x65943]

Wow. I wonder if they are taking a big loss on every console that gets sold.

Of course economy of scale will help them get each one for a little less, but I still find it hard to believe they will be making any profit off of these systems.

 

[VinsCool]

Safe option to assume is that they sell consoles at loss, getting profits from games. That's a pretty good marketing way to sell, and get profits.

 

[x65943]

Safe option to assume is that they sell consoles at loss, getting profits from games. That's a pretty good marketing way to sell, and get profits.

It's not a very good strategy to make profit, they will lose a lot of money on this for months/years. It will only pay off if they manage to take a foothold in the market again. I see this as their last ditch effort to catch up with Sony.

The PS3 was sold at a loss, and was very expensive at launch - they tried to make money on selling the games, but in the end the cheaper and less suped up console won. The XB1X reminds me a lot of the PS3, and that doesn't bode well for M$.

 

[RustInPeace]

That's incredible. Acronym by the way, it's XBOX. X Box One X. If you separate X and Box, there you go, I didn't realize that until seeing a Facebook post that featured a picture pointing this out. Blew my mind. My PC in total cost $3600, including mouse and keyboard, I guess the specs on that are better, save for the 4K Blu-Ray drive, I just have a BD-RW. This is going to be a case of Microsoft needing to pump out games as potential system sellers. PS4 Pro showed that mid-generation upgrades are extremely rocky. I guess Switch can count, but it wins out on an improved concept and being different from its predecessor, whereas XBOX and PS4 Pro are not different save from better hardware, it's the same overall presentation and package. As someone who hasn't owned an Xbox One, I'm more likely to bite than the people that currently own one, so they'd need some heavy duty marketing, heavy duty titles, and more console exclusives to push themselves over Sony, who are undoubtedly better in the exclusive title department. 4K blu-ray alone wouldn't make me buy this.

 

[guisadop]

Isn't selling at a loss illegal in Europe?

 

[x65943]

Isn't selling at a loss illegal in Europe?

Predatory pricing is illegal in many places, but you would probably need to prove intent, AND someone would probably need to have been demonstrably hurt by the practice.

 

[Stephano]

Wow.....
I was not expecting this.
I don't know what to believe any more.

 

[DeoNaught]

Wew lad...

If this can run Windows10 I'm sold.

 

[rileysrjay]

Can't wait to see the PC Master race group's excuse for this is going to be. It's gonna be gold.

 

[ov3rkill]

Safe option to assume is that they sell consoles at loss, getting profits from games. That's a pretty good marketing way to sell, and get profits.

plus their subscription or what they call game pass if I'm mistaken. There is also the gold subscription. No idea if it's the same.

 

[x65943]

Can't wait to see the PC Master race group's excuse for this is going to be. It's gonna be gold.

Well, the obvious answer to that is this. The console is still much weaker than your average PC gamer's PC, and has much less utility.

This thing is still completely locked down, and games will never drop in price like PC games do.

 

[Benja81]

Doesn't mean they sell at a loss though, remember they get parts way closer to cost than just buying random parts on Amazon lol, due to the very large amount they will be buying. They certainly wont be making their money on the consoles though.

 

[Stephano]

@rileysrjay
The artical also made a very interesting point that the cost of these parts might decrease as we approach the release date of the Xbox One X. So it may be a little early to name a victor. But regardless of the outcome.... A war is coming and boy will it be a fun one to watch.

 

[rileysrjay]

Well, the obvious answer to that is this. The console is still much weaker than your average PC gamer's PC, and has much less utility.

This thing is still completely locked down, and games will never drop in price like PC games do.

True, but this is the PC Master racers that we're talking about. The majority of them wouldn't figure out the obvious. They're just gonna make fun of not being able to run games in 1000 frames or whatever lame excuse they come up with.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I figured that would be the case when I saw the price and the "specs". They're definitely selling the XBonerX at a loss, whether or not it'll pan out though I'm not sure.

Although you could easily cut the price of their "lower end" PC build enough to make it cost just less than an Xbox One X. Get rid of the bluray drive (literally no PC game uses it these days), use a HDD from a PC they already have, getting rid of the Windows 10 license fee by using the assistive technology, using an old PC case.

 

[Benja81]

Well, the obvious answer to that is this. The console is still much weaker than your average PC gamer's PC, and has much less utility.

This thing is still completely locked down, and games will never drop in price like PC games do.

Right, plus when you want to upgrade usually you can stick a new GPU in there and add another 5-10 yrs of life to your rig, instead of needing another whole new console.

 

[linuxares]

Pff Amatures! I got a better system for rougly 530$, (OEM license from a REDDIT place) I could have choosen another CPU, for 30$ more and got an 8 core instead of a 6 core. However the speed on the 6 core was a lot faster than the 8 core so it would have evened out.
Then again, these people aren't selling at a loose profit. So yeah, it's perfectly possible to build a system close to the specs of the Xbox One. Of course I don't know how much the parts will cost around the release of the Xbox One X.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XXQNwV

PCWorld is as trustful as Kotaku, so I wouldn't even try to listen to their advices

 

[Lightyose]

Well, I don't care about Xbox anyway.