This conversation has been had inside the Trojan community so many times that our members now have it for us. A new person arrives saying they’re thinking about a PS5 or an Xbox. Within hours someone in the community has walked them through the numbers and they’re ordering parts instead.
This article is that conversation written down permanently so nobody has to have it from scratch again.
If you’re a console gamer sitting on the fence — this is for you.
Let’s Kill the Myths First
“PCs are too expensive.”
A PlayStation 5 retails at $799 AUD. An Xbox Series X is $749 AUD. The budget PC build in this forum’s hardware section comes in under $600 AUD. The PC is cheaper. Before you’ve accounted for a single game.
“I need a $2,000 CPU to game properly.”
No. A 6-core, 12-thread CPU is still perfectly suited to modern gaming in 2026. Still will be in 2027. Still will be in 2028. If you spend more than 70% of your PC time gaming, Discord, and browsing — you are not the person who needs a $500 CPU. The Ryzen 5600 exists. It is the most widely regarded budget gamer CPU ever made. It costs under $130 AUD used. It doesn’t care that you think you need more.
“1080p on a console is the same as 1080p on a PC.”
It is not. Console 1080p is often upscaled, frame-limited, and running on fixed hardware that cannot be upgraded. A PC at 1080p on comparable hardware runs faster, smoother, at higher frame rates, with full settings control. And when you’re ready to step up — you upgrade a single component. The console goes in the bin.
“I just want to sit on the couch and play.”
Then sit on the couch and play. A PC connected to a TV with a controller is identical to a console experience. Windows recognised the Xbox controller the day it was invented. Steam Big Picture mode turns your PC into a console interface on your TV. The couch argument is not an argument.
The Real Cost Comparison
Let’s run the actual numbers side by side over two years.
Console Path
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | $799 |
| PlayStation Plus (2 years online play) | $199 |
| 3x games at full retail | $330 |
| Total | $1,328 |
And at the end of two years — you own a box that cannot be upgraded, is dependent on Sony’s servers staying online, and just had its game library held hostage behind a subscription.
PC Path — Sub $600 Build
| Item | Cost (AUD) |
|---|---|
| X99 Xeon bundle (AliExpress) | $150–$230 |
| CPU Cooler | $32 |
| Case | $50 |
| PSU 600W Gold | $99 |
| 1TB NVMe | $79 |
| Intel Arc B580 12GB GPU | ~$380 |
| Total | ~$590 |
Online play: free. No subscription. No PlayStation Plus. No Xbox Game Pass ransom.
Games: Steam. The biggest game library on the planet. Sales running constantly — 70–90% off on catalogue titles regularly. Games you pay $109 for on console release day cost $15–30 on Steam within 12 months.
Over two years the PC owner has spent significantly less and owns a machine that can be upgraded one component at a time indefinitely.
The console owner is already eyeing the next generation.
1080p PC vs Console — The Honest Comparison
Modern consoles target 4K with dynamic resolution scaling. What this means in practice: the game renders at a lower resolution and upscales. On a demanding title the PS5 is often running at 1440p or below and presenting it as 4K. Frame rates cap at 60fps on most titles. Some hit 120fps in performance mode at reduced visual quality.
A PC at 1080p with an Intel Arc B580 or AMD RX 9060 XT:
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Native resolution. Not upscaled. Not reconstructed.
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Uncapped frame rates — limited only by your monitor and GPU
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Full graphics settings control — turn up what matters to you, turn down what doesn’t
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Higher resolution textures in many titles than the console version ships with
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Modding. On most titles. Console has none.
The console is a closed box optimised for a single fixed hardware target. The PC is a platform. The games run better on it.
The TV Setup — Removing the Last Excuse
This is the one that finishes the conversation every time.
A PC connected to a TV via HDMI is a console. That’s it. That’s the whole setup.
Steam Big Picture mode — press a button, your TV gets a full console-style interface. Browse library, launch games, manage downloads. Controller-only navigation. It looks like a console dashboard because it was designed to be used exactly like one.
Xbox controller — plug in via USB or connect via Bluetooth. Windows has supported it natively for years. No drivers. No setup. It just works. PlayStation controllers work too with minimal configuration.
Distance from TV — Steam lets you set display scaling for large screens and couch distances. UI elements scale up. Text is readable from the couch.
The person who says “but I just want to sit on the couch” already has their solution. They just haven’t tried it yet.
The Upgrade Path — Where the Console Dies and the PC Lives
This is the long game argument and it’s the most important one.
A console generation lasts 6–8 years. At the end of it the hardware is obsolete and the platform moves on. Your games library may or may not transfer. Your saves may or may not transfer. Sony and Microsoft decide — not you.
A PC is modular. Every component is replaceable independently.
GPU getting old? Swap the GPU. $200–400 and the machine is current again. CPU bottlenecking? Swap the CPU — or on the X99 platform, upgrade within the same socket for almost nothing. Need more storage? Add a drive. RAM insufficient? Add a stick.
The sub-$600 machine built today is not a machine you throw away in 4 years. It’s a foundation. You upgrade what needs upgrading when you can afford to. Everything else stays. The money compounds into a better and better machine over time instead of getting sunk into a new console box every generation.
But I Don’t Know How to Build a PC
You don’t need to know. You need to follow a parts list and watch one YouTube video.
PC building in 2026 is:
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Slot the CPU into the board (one orientation, one way it fits)
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Clip in the RAM (push until it clicks)
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Mount the cooler (four screws)
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Drop the board into the case (six to eight screws)
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Plug in the cables (labelled, keyed so they only fit in the right place)
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Slot the GPU into the PCIe slot (one click)
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Boot and install Windows
The whole process takes 2–3 hours the first time. Most of that is cable management if you care about it. The actual assembly is an hour. There are thousands of YouTube videos walking through every step of every component combination.
If you can assemble flat pack furniture you can build a PC. It is genuinely less complex.
When You’re Ready to Step Up — The Console Ceiling Disappears
The sub-$600 build already beats the console. But if you’re willing to spend console money — or just a little more — the gap becomes a canyon.
The console ceiling is fixed. It doesn’t move. A PS5 will never be faster than a PS5. The hardware you bought day one is the hardware you’ll finish the generation with.
A PC at $800–950 AUD built around a Ryzen 5 3600X or 5600X with a used RX 6700 XT or RTX 3060 isn’t competing with a console anymore. It’s in a different conversation entirely. Native 1440p. High to ultra settings across modern titles. Frame rates the PS5 can’t touch in performance mode. And the whole thing still upgrades component by component whenever you choose.
| Tier | Build | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | X99 Xeon + Arc B580 (~$590) | Beats PS5/Xbox at 1080p. Cheaper than either console. |
| Step Up | Ryzen 5600 + RX 6700 XT (~$800) | 1080p ultra / solid 1440p. Console is a distant memory. |
| Serious | Ryzen 5600X + RX 9060 XT 16GB (~$950) | 1440p native. Laughing at the console ceiling from altitude. |
Every tier on this table costs the same as or less than buying a console and two years of online subscription. None of them stop upgrading. All of them play your Steam library, run emulators, and connect to your TV with a controller.
The entry build is where most people should start. The step up tier is where most people end up within 12 months once they see what the platform actually is.
The TrojanHQ Verdict
The console made sense when PCs were expensive, complicated, and required active maintenance to keep running games properly. That era is over.
In 2026:
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A budget PC build is cheaper than either current-gen console
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1080p PC gaming is visually and technically superior to console equivalents
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The couch/TV gaming experience is identical with a controller and HDMI
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Online play is free
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Games cost a fraction of console retail pricing
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The machine upgrades indefinitely instead of going obsolete on a corporate schedule
The community members who went through this conversation years ago now explain it to every newcomer without prompting. They don’t miss their consoles. Neither will you.
The builds are in this section. The GPU guides are in this section. Everything you need to make the switch is here.
King Frost — TrojanHQ
Already building? Check the 2026 Budget PC Build Guide for current component picks and GPU recommendations given the current market conditions.