Anyone with outdated hardware using Xbox Cloud Gaming?

[HangarPilot]

There's no way my PC will run Starfield. The obvious solution is that it's time to buy/build a new PC, but I'm considering two other options:

1) Xbox Series X (or S) would be cheaper than a whole new PC (yes, I would need a whole new PC).

2) Xbox cloud gaming. For the cost of a new PC I could pay for Game Pass Ultimate for over 5 years and stream the game to my old but lovable PC. And there's the additional value of being able to play anything else in the Game Pass library. This seems like an attractive option but my research is coming up very mixed.

Some talking heads on YT bash it because you can't play at 4k (only 1080p) or they are using WIFI on an iPad or phone or TV and complaining about latency, etc. Others suggest that it's a completely viable option.

I would be streaming it to a PC with a 50Mbps ethernet connection so I'm inclined to think it would work well but I would like some advice from some "average joe" gamers. Some YouTuber that plays shooters competitively at 4K / 200fps telling me the quality is "unacceptable" doesn't carry a lot of weight. I already play everything at 1080p / 60fps because I find that more than sufficient on our 60" TV.

Any cloud gamers out there happy with (or unhappy with) Xbox cloud gaming?

[GoodSmith]

I am in Canada and tried cloud gaming for the first time 2 months ago and was surprised how well it worked, much better than I expected. Response was smooth and any controller lag was so unnoticeable you don't even think about it while playing.

Tried cloud gaming both on my Samsung TV built-in Xbox app and on my desktop PC. Both were connected via an ethernet cable. My internet speed is 100Mbps and there is a router between my devices and the modem. Image quality was slightly better on the PC than on the TV, but gets a bit blurry in many games on scenes with quick movement.

Overall I was still happy with the service. Loved how you can just launch any game immediately without download or installation, and the library is huge with over 370 titles! Discovered few games I really loved which I wouldn't have thought of playing otherwise.

[GoodSmith]

Also cloud gaming is certainly not suitable for competitive shooters, due to the fast-paced image that suffers from compression in streaming, and also the quicker-than-average controller response which those players require. But for anything else I think cloud gaming offers really a good value.

By the way, what are the specs of your PC?

[HiImTony]

Depends on how your internet speed obviously but I'd go with the Xbox Series X. even if you have awesome internet, I'm pretty sure there will still be slow-downs here and there because of their servers. get the console, and that sh*t won't happen.

You also don't need to spend the money up-front and can apply for their whole monthly thing. $40 a month for 24 months and during that entire time you get Game Pass Ultimate. that's in CAD so... $30 US a month. not too shabby.

[JinxTheWorld]

I recommend you just get a series X. The series S is pure trash.

[andi.b91]

Ordered a new pc yesterday after using my rig for 7 years. Without updating. Starfield was the perfect excuse to get a new one:D

[enderbeta]

Originally posted by HangarPilot:

There's no way my PC will run Starfield. The obvious solution is that it's time to buy/build a new PC, but I'm considering two other options:

1) Xbox Series X (or S) would be cheaper than a whole new PC (yes, I would need a whole new PC).

2) Xbox cloud gaming. For the cost of a new PC I could pay for Game Pass Ultimate for over 5 years and stream the game to my old but lovable PC. And there's the additional value of being able to play anything else in the Game Pass library. This seems like an attractive option but my research is coming up very mixed.

Some talking heads on YT bash it because you can't play at 4k (only 1080p) or they are using WIFI on an iPad or phone or TV and complaining about latency, etc. Others suggest that it's a completely viable option.

I would be streaming it to a PC with a 50Mbps ethernet connection so I'm inclined to think it would work well but I would like some advice from some "average joe" gamers. Some YouTuber that plays shooters competitively at 4K / 200fps telling me the quality is "unacceptable" doesn't carry a lot of weight. I already play everything at 1080p / 60fps because I find that more than sufficient on our 60" TV.

Any cloud gamers out there happy with (or unhappy with) Xbox cloud gaming?

I wouldn't cloud game. You don't know when it is going to be down. If you interested is slow the gaming could be blurry and inconsistent. I would rather play 1080P with older hardware and know it will always be there then stream a game.

If you play online games over time a PC will pay for itself with free online play. If you play single player games then the Xbox Series X is a cost effective option. However keep in mind that Starfield will run at 30 FPS on it.

You really only need the cream of the crop parts for 4K gaming. If you are playing at 2K AKA 1440P you can get away with mid range parts and even parts that a generation or two old. A 12900K, 5950X or 5800X3D would probably be plenty on the CPU end. A good set of fast B die DDR4 memory would be perfectly fine o either platform and DDR5 has gotten fast enough and cheap enough to make DDR5 on the 12900K better then the DDR4 option. I'm pretty sure a RX 6950 XT would do well with Starfied so that or a 7900 XT would probably be fine depending on which is cheapest for you.

You're still looking at more then a Xbox Series X but it would do 4K with FSR2 or whatever Starfield ends up supporting. The trade off is you will likely be able to hit the 60+ FPS mark. You have to decide if the extra image quality and faster frame rate is worth more money for you.

[Curdle]

My old PC was a 16gb RAM, intel 7700k, GTX1080 with a small pre-nvme SSD. I played quite a few games using the cloud gaming beta app before upgrading to my current rig specifically for Diablo4, Starfield and BG3.

With that said most Single Player Games were playable. The exception was Tiny Tina's Wonderland where there was simply too much lag and other graphical sheering or refresh rate type issues. I'm not technical enough to tell you if this was internet related (Aussie Regional City getting sub 50mb/s), the cheap and very old monitor I was using at the time or the PC not able to cope.

Hope this helps.

[Trec]

In that case I would recommend to buy a Xbox X if your TV isn´t outdated too. If your current display only supports 1080P, a Xbox S will be sufficient.
Then pick up the Windows/Xbox Version of the game (with play anywhere and cross save function) and as soon as you`ve saved enough money, get a new PC, play on seamless and resell your Xbox.

[HangarPilot]

Originally posted by GoodSmith:

By the way, what are the specs of your PC?

I think she's pushing about 10 years old...

I5-4570 (so, need new CPU/motherboard)
8GB Ram (could easily upgrade but never found a real need)
GTX 970 (love this card, has run everything well since I play at 1080p)
Spinner HDD with a bazillion hours on it (mirroring it and upgrading to an SSD always seemed like too much work for little gain).
New CPU and GPU will need more power and better cooling so new case and power supply needed as well.

I'm considering an I5-13400 with probably a RTX 3060 to 3080 (not hearing good things about the 4000 series cards).

Granted, a new PC may well last me 10 more years ... it's just a big pill to swallow for ONE game. This is the first AAA game I've seen in several years that I'm excited about. If I was confident more good PC games were coming I'd already have a better PC. But for years now it's just been Steam indies and my GTX 970!

[aandaie]

The Series X is pretty great and works nicely for games.

I have a PC about as old as yours(older, actually, with only a dual-core CPU) and I went to Xbox for my gaming instead; it just makes more sense. Meanwhile, a PC that old is fine for everything else. My PC is now just my OpenSuse Linux box and I stream media to my Xbox Series X with it.

I moved away from upgrading a computer constantly using the Xbox One for gaming and the Xbox Series X has solidified that. It just works and costs far less. Then when the life cycle of it has ended I'll move on to whatever the next premium Xbox is, still saving insane amounts of money.

You can game really well on a console, out of the box, and they cost about the same(or less) as a good graphics card for a computer.

It is just really nice to know that I'm completely ready for a game like Starfield, unlike all of the PC posters who constantly post "Will I be able to run it?" The 30 FPS thing, on the Xbox Series X, doesn't matter to me since I honestly can't tell the difference.