Why can gaming PCs run hundreds of FPS (Frames Per Second) but no matter what console you have, you can never get an FPS number as high as that?
In: Technology
Because the gaming.experience will suck when there are major changes in fps. So console devs purposely lock the fps to 30 in most cases. And since gaming pcs can cost thousands and a console only costs a few hundred, you’re not gonna get the top of the line hardware in a console. With a similarly specced PC, you’ll likely get about the same gaming fps as a console as long as you match the graphics settings and lock fps.
Power. Consoles are relatively cheap AND the companies apparently make little/no profit on them. Hence the whole exclusive deal.
Consoles are built to a certain spec to keep them cheaper. PCs don’t have this limitation, and you can spend a lot more money to put much more powerful hardware in one. More powerful (better processors, better video cards) equal more fps.
Expensive, high performance parts.
Think of the cost of a console. It’s around the £300-400 mark, thereabouts. You’re not going to build a gaming PC that can play the latest releases at 144FPS for that price. The same goes for a console. Concessions have to be made to keep the cost at a price point consumers want.
The second problem is that a console’s hardware is set long before it’s released. It could be a couple of years between the hardware specs being finalised and the console hitting the markets. By which point it’s inevitable that the hardware is already outdated.
A third problem is cooling. If you have a console near you, take a look at it. There’s probably not too many vents, and the ones that are there are small. It’s a small form factor, and it’s hard to keep cool. Your average gaming PC has much more space for large fans, heatsinks etc and as such is able to handle the heat of more powerful components better.
High end gaming PCs are many times as powerful as consoles. This has been the case for decades and isn’t going to change.
This is because nobody is going to spend more than $500 or so for a console, but gamers will spend thousands.
Consoles are often specifically configured to be limited to a certain number of frames per second, to ensure a consistent experience. For instance, a Call of Duty game running at 60fps might actually be capable of running into the 80’s or 90’s, but instead of letting the framerate wander around depending on what’s onscreen, the developer picks a number they can use as a guaranteed minimum.
Some games do have unlocked framerates on consoles, showing exactly this. God of War on PS4 can either be limited to 30, or set to a framerate mode where it will wander from the 40’s to the 50’s, depending on what’s onscreen. I believe the Hitman games have a similar option. Some people prefer the consistency, and some people prefer the refresh rate.
An example of console games going even higher than that:
A console has known set of hardware and the developer knows exactly what it can do.
The developer will then make the game to run at acceptable framerate on this hardware (30 fps, 60 fps or something else).
If the console can run the game at 300 fps the developer will just add more effects, longer draw distance or some other effect that eats performance.
PC can have almost any kind of hardware. The developer will make sure that the game runs on some low end system at acceptable framerate.
But if low end system can get 60 fps then high end system can get 300 fps at same quality level.
Usually games also have v-sync so you don’t get tearing. This will also limit the framerate to the screen refresh rate. On PC you can turn this off if you want to. (“pro” gamers do this to reduce input latency. For casual gamers uncapped framerate causes more problems than it is worth).
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