For decades, video games were defined by console wars. Sega vs Nintendo. Sony vs Xbox. Ouya vs everyone. However, there has been something of a ceasefire over the last few years as Nintendo has settled into serving the handheld/less-intensive console market with the Switch, Sony has dominated the graphics intensive AAA space with its first party offerings, and Xbox has adopted the blue ocean strategy (which Nintendo used to great success with the Wii) with Game Pass and its future plans for Xcloud.
This means that most third party games are multiplatform, and combined with Xbox’s foray into the PC market with PC Game Pass and Play Anywhere, you can play most of the same games whether you have a PS4, an Xbox One, or a gaming PC. In fact, if you have a gaming PC, you can play most Xbox first party offerings (and any that come in the future), meaning that you’re really only missing out on first party games from Sony and Nintendo.
In other words, the ultimate gaming setup is a gaming PC for large, multiplatform releases (as well as first party Xbox games) and a Nintendo Switch for first party Nintendo games and handheld games.
Gaming PC
Since you’re gonna have a Nintendo Switch for all of your portable gaming needs, you don’t need to settle for a laptop and can instead go all out for a desktop. You should make sure to get a powerhouse with a graphics card that’s at least comparable to what Sony and Microsoft are using in their current consoles. One solid option is this Dell Inspiron gaming desktop, which is an upgraded version of the exact computer I’m typing on right now (yes, at a little over $600 it’s slightly more expensive than a PS4 Pro or an Xbox One X would be, but remember it’s also a full desktop computer on top of a gaming console):
For $629.99 (at the time of this writing), you get:
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700 Processor
- 16GB DRAM
- 1 TB HDD
- AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
You can pick up this Dell Inspiron desktop from Amazon for $629.99.
Nintendo Switch
Now that you have your gaming PC ready, you just need the portable side of things with a Switch. Since you’ll have a desktop computer for premium, widescreen experiences, you can go for the Switch Lite, but you can also go for the normal Switch if you don’t want to deal with joycon drift on non-detachable joycons. I’d also recommend that anyone who gets a Switch should also get at least one Pro Controller, but it’s definitely optional.
Buy a Nintendo Switch from Amazon for $299.99
Buy a Nintendo Switch Lite from Amazon for $199.99
With a Switch and a gaming PC, you’ll be able to play any current-generation game aside from first party Sony releases and games that are exclusive to consoles (PlayStation/Xbox) without being available on PC through Play Anywhere. That’s it. If you love games, there’s no better two-console setup than a gaming PC and a Nintendo Switch.
