Can a portable PC trump bleeding-edge console tech? We find out.
Well, we’re here.
The next-gen consoles are finally current-gen kings, with the Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 both available, albeit in decidedly scarce numbers.
Which one is right for you? Should you opt for the horsepower of Microsoft’s effort, a new way to feel via Sony’s new Dualsense controller…or the curveball of a monster gaming laptop?
We’ve got you covered – pitting the latest and greatest consoles against Acer’s finest in the Predator Triton 500, to see which one is best to take you through a new generation of gaming delights.
First things first, the specs:
Acer Predator Triton 500
It says a lot about the value of these new consoles that we had to put them against a worthy opponent in the Triton 500 – a demon laptop packed with a solid graphics card in the RTX 2080 Super Max-Q (tailored for portables in both power and consumption).
Able to handle the new hotness that is ray-tracing (a visual technique for applying ultra-realistic shadows, reflections and surfaces), the GPU is paired with a lower resolution 1080p 15.6-inch IPS display – albeit one with a snappy 300Hz refresh rate.
So it can offer both the faster frame rates and ray-tracing trickery promised in the Series X and Playstation 5, with resolution sacrificed for speed – the correct trade-off on a laptop every time and a disappointing aspect of the ROG Zephyrus.
With an array of ports for everything from Thunderbolt 3 to USB-C and 3.1, it’s easy to forget in a match-up like this that it’s a fully-fledged top-end PC which can support a wealth of professional tasks as well as handily kick butt when it comes to the gaming stakes.
Xbox Series X
Touted by Microsoft as the most powerful console ever made, this impressive monolith launch with huge fanfare, but a lack of new titles…
With Halo Infinite stalling from a launch title into 2021 (despite Master Chief being literally on the outer packaging), the absence of a technical showcase to demonstrate why this was the time for a new console is keenly felt.
However, a clever ‘Smart Delivery’ system meant a number of games both available on current and last-gen systems – Codemasters Dirt 5 and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion – were seamlessly updated to their shiny new versions with zero hassle and at no additional cost.
Same goes for legacy highlights like Forza Horizon 4 – for which a brisk update delivers native 4K visuals at 60fps – and Halo: The Master Chief Collection which can now run at a frankly ridiculous 120Hz frame rate during both single-player and split-screen co-op.
This console felt much like upgrading a graphics card or to a new iPhone – all familiar, no new interface to learn, your things (mostly) where you left them…but it all feels that much nippier than before.
Add to that backward compatibility for three generations of console titles (even the OG Xbox games run beautifully), and the bargain of the century that is Xbox Game Pass (think Netflix for games) Series X is a great place to play.
Loading games takes mere seconds thanks to the onboard SSD replacing a standard hard drive, effectively eradicating that chance to stare at your phone whilst your game boots…
Playstation 5
Just look at it!
Created and designed as almost a statement piece in itself, the Playstation 5 peacocks where the Xbox Series X’s brutally utilitarian design attempts to fade into the background.
Sony has – despite leaning hard into the ‘new console, new experience’ feel of old, enabled support for many key Playstation 4 titles, with a number getting bespoke upgrades – Days Gone and Ghost of Tsushima to name two – making them feel brand new and running at 60 frames per second in 4K for the first time.
This imposing PS5 tower may lack specs on paper – albeit marginally – versus the Series X and Triton, it also has an ace in the Dualsense Controller.
Playing games feels new – the haptic feedback and force of the adaptive triggers on this unique controller literally have to be felt to be believed.
Whether it’s the shuddering recoil of firing a barrage of shots in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, or navigating tiny clattering robot feet across a metal floor in Astro’s Playroom (lowkey the PS5’s best launch title and a technical showcase for the DualSense), the ultra-refined vibrations, resistance and response of the new controller makes even the most familiar of in-game tasks feel fresh and exciting.
The jury’s out on whether third party support remains strong for these features as we go into the consoles’ lifespan, but right now it’s a definite USP that they were right to keep under wraps – it has the potential to be transformational.
Add to that a strong line-up of new (albeit many also on PS4) titles including a Spider-Man sequel focussing on Mile Morales and a lavish remaster of a cult classic and birth of an entire genre in Demon’s Souls – and the Playstation 5 is more than holding its own in the next-gen stakes.
Test 1: Forza Horizon 4 – Predator Triton 500 vs. Xbox Series X
Thought we’d start off with a simple one here – both the Predator and Series X have support for Game Pass, so seminal racing game Forza Horizon 4 is a great point to compare and contrast.
At first glance, the Xbox Series X – fresh off a next-gen update of Horizon 4 – looks immense. Finally not having to choose between resolution and frame rate means a silky 60 frames per second and 4K Forza for the first time. So far, so amazing!
However, booting this up and wading through the array of customisation options on PC, you see just how much this game can sing. With everything on either ‘ultra’ or ‘extreme’ settings, the Triton was truly next level.
Car detail and reflections – both in races and the open world – are phenomenal. There are little bits of detail – birds flying over ice-laden lakes, disc brakes heating – which are just so crisp and crystal clear on the display.
Frame rate and detail on shadows are surprisingly lower on the Series X when playing between the two.
There’s an amazing effect where headlamps enable rival racers to cast shadows which makes night races really moody and atmospheric (below), and this is simply absent on the Series X.
Easily one of the most atmospheric parts of the game, it’s surprising how conspicuous the added detail is on the Triton, then paired with running at 90 – 120fps on ultra settings, the laptop handily shows up the next-gen console in this first comparison.
Winner: PC
Test 2: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Predator Triton 500 vs. Playstation 5
Activision takes the fight back to the 80s in this latest installment of the long-running franchise, and delivers a version of Call of Duty entirely taking advantage of new hardware in the PS5.
Not only are we seeing more realistic ray-traced reflections throughout, but also an option for both campaign and multiplayer at 120 frames per second, making motion fluid and responsive.
Both impressive points, but the area which surprisingly put an entirely capable PC version to bed, was the DualSense controller.
The implementation in this game is simply incredible, with each gun creating a different sense of tension on the R2 button to fire, and when paired with the new haptic feedback, it’s not an exaggeration to call it a transformative experience for the title.
It’s visceral and immersive to really feel an approximation and kick-back of a gun on the Playstation 5, so much so that the incessant rumbling can be a bit tiring after a while!
Thankfully, this installment delivers a number of missions where subterfuge and going in quiet are the order of the day, so your wrists get a rest.
But still, a worthy – and surprising victory for the console here.
Winner: Playstation 5
Test 3: Watch Dogs: Legion – Predator Triton 500 vs. Xbox Series X
This dystopic title proves to be a perfect showcase for ray-tracing – the art of accurately reflective surfaces – shimmering across the miles of neon, metal and glass that make up a future London where Brexit goes bad…
Shimmering is unfortunately the right word here, as whilst the Xbox Series X does have these new features in the literal sense, they make for a very distracting ‘shimmering’ effect across car surfaces and buildings.
It seems like the resolution of the reflections on vehicles and the like are simply too low to make for an immersive experience, so despite the 4K and 30 frames per second visuals, they don’t have the visual flourish one would expect.
A typical rainy night makes for the best conditions – glistening wet cars and puddles abound – and the game can look beautiful at times. However, the game simply doesn’t seem capable enough to run these effects at a decent clip, with the whole effect looking a bit poorer as a consequence.
That’s not to say the Triton gets away scot-free however, as this game is an absolute beast.
Even this computer’s RTX 2080 graphics card found running the game at 1080p and 60 frames a struggle with ray-tracing doing its stuff…needing to pull down a few of the anti-aliasing settings to make the title a bit more spritely.
So it’s a close-run thing, but the PC takes it simply as powering Legion’s open world with ray-tracing enabled (without an option to disable on console) is more of a success on the laptop.
Winner: PC
Test 4: The Falconeer – Predator Triton 500 vs. Xbox Series X
The last test is an impressive indie effort, mostly the work of a single man named Tomas Sala.
This flight combat game – albeit on huge birds – delivers beautiful stylised vistas, engaging gameplay, and a pleasant surprise in running at a faster frame rate on the Xbox Series X.
Ironically, it’s not the impressive frame rate – which the PC more than matches – that takes it for the Xbox, it was the simplicity and stability of playing the title.
We found numerous occasions where the PC version would hitch up occasionally making combat an unforeseen challenge, whereas the Xbox ran nearly flawlessly through the game’s 12 or so hour runtime.
It’s hard to overstate just how easy it is to run a game on the Xbox – a lot more installing and system updates than there used to be – but this beautiful title just ran more nicely.
Winner: Xbox Series X
Verdict
Hype is a cruel mistress…particularly when reality can’t quite catch up.
On the one hand, it’s amazing that we’re seeing features that were once the preserve of high-end gaming rigs out of the box arriving on consoles costing under £450, on the other, there is still a gulf between what the Xbox and Playstation are doing when pitted against a top-spec PC from day one.
There’s no longer that early generational lead that consoles enjoyed – as recently as the Xbox 360 era – eventually being eclipsed by computers and kickstarting a new generation…these ones are on the back foot out of the gate.
All the more exciting when we see what developers can do once familiar with the architecture and tools (and aren’t creating games in a pandemic), and there’s some impressive differentiation with Sony’s DualSense controller, but the impressive output from PCs and the latest graphics cards to suggest they will continue to rule the next-gen roost.
Yes, the huge elephant in the room is undeniably the price tag of a Triton 500 (this one is currently north of £2,000) – so we’re seeing the best-in-class of portable gaming handily outperform the latest consoles, but a similar desktop with these specs could easily shave off a grand.
On the flipside, the convenience and ease of a plug and play console is still there, but they seem to be inheriting PC’s worst habits like constant patches and downloading 100s of gigs of updates alongside perks like ray-tracing.
That gap between the best in PC gaming and the off-the-shelf console competition is no doubt narrowing, with more cross-platform battles to come!
However, as it stands, the Predator Triton proved more than a match for the dynamic duo of Xbox Series X and Playstation 5.
