Consolidated List of Why You Should Build a Gaming PC with Your Kids Instead of Buying Gaming Consoles

List of key points taken from my article on Building a Gaming PC with Your Kids Instead of Buying Gaming Consoles.

1. Configurability
   • You can configure your PC to be as powerful as you want
     • Unlimited configurations
       • Access to unlimited hardware
       • Access to unlimited software
     • Gaming consoles generally only have one or two configuration options
2. Upgradability 
   • Hardware, like extra RAM, can be added to a PC to improve performance
     • Hardware items like the motherboard are usually designed for future accommodations in mind, which means you can spend less money when initially configuring your PC
       • Example: Initial PC configuration has two 8GB sticks of RAM for an initial total of 16GB of RAM. The motherboard can accommodate up to 128GB of RAM and has 4 RAM slots. User later purchases a 16GB stick of RAM, to have a total of 32GB of RAM. Motherboard can still accommodate one more stick of RAM, but can still be configured with up to 128GB of RAM across 4 slots.
     • Only within the last few years can gaming consoles be upgraded with things like increased hard drive space 
       • Still unable to provide any significant performance upgrades to any console in terms of processing power for computing and graphics rendering
3. Technological availability
   • PCs are usually years ahead of the gaming console industry
     • Console market can’t keep up with the PC component market, hence why PCs are generally always higher performers than the latest gaming consoles
       • VR was available on PC years before consoles could ever support
       • Access to latest and greatest processors (CPUs)
       • Access to latest and greatest graphics cards (GPUs)
     • Latest gaming consoles will probably not have latest CPUs or GPUs
4. More than just gaming device
   • Access to all corners of the internet
   • Email
   • Word, spreadsheet, presentation, etc. processing and editing
   • Computer programming
   • Sound and video editing
5. Wider game selection when compared to consoles
   • Most of the popular console games are available on PC, Xbox, and Playstation
     • Not many Nintendo games available on PC
6. Skills learned
   • Gets parents and kids interested in technology and teaches lifelong skills