Rocksmith 2014 Xbox vs PC

[The Sergeminator]

I have the first Rocksmith on Xbox and I love it. But now that the new consoles are around the corner I'm thinking about getting Rocksmith 2014 on PC instead since I won't be playing my Xbox much longer. Does anyone has any experience with the diferences? is the lag better or worse on the PC version?

[Princess Fuzzy]

I played the first Rocksmith on both 360 and PC. I found that I had better loading times on PC, but that was about the only difference.
Since 2014 has basically eliminated loading times I can't see there being much difference this time around.

One thing to consider is DLC compatibility.
If you bought DLC for the 360 version of the first Rocksmith then it should be transferable to 2014 edition on 360, but it obviously won't transfer to the PC version.

[Some noob you know]

Loading times were MUCH better on pc. Even though the console loading times are said to have been dramatically improved, the pc version will probably still be quicker.
In terms of requirements it doesn't ask for much at all. I have a gt520 gpu (really crappy) and the first rocksmith runs way better than it does on console

As fuzzy mentioned, dlc won't transfer but there are custom songs available for pc. I presume you'll still be able to add customs in rocksmith 2014 anyway.
At the moment there's over 2600 custom songs available from http://forums.smithyanvil.com/index.php

[The Sergeminator]

Thanks guys, I'm glad to hear that. I think I'm going to switch to PC, it sounds very promosing!

[MadDogE134]

first off the 360 edition for the first RS had horrid latency problems. the fix came down to run seperate sound like a stereo... becasue playing it through the system then to the tv then to speakers took forever. so i would not hold stock in the 2014 version on the 360 will be any different. they claim they have improved it... but how can they? it was hardware latency.

so if you get it... go PC or wait on the xbox one version.

just my opinion :)

[Landozelig]

I say go for the PC version. I played hundreds of hours on the Xbox version but switched to PC as soon as it came out. Even rebought $250+ of DLC, and it was totally worth it. PC version is way faster.

MadDog does have a good point about latency. I had no problem on the Xbox but when I switched to PC, I had latency. The trick for me was bypassing my expensive sound card and using the on-board PC sound. Just something to think about.

[MadDogE134]

it takes time to go through all the different components in line. that is why support said to run the old version's sound directly to home theatre or stereo and not through the tv speakers. same way with your addon sound card... another device in line. i borrowed a PC version of the old RS and it had a bit of latency but it was tolerable. but you are right Land... best to use onboard sound of PC... it is part of the motherboard. :)

[Vas Rayya]

This should be a no brainer. There is already a data base for custom songs on rocksmith 1 that is only available on PC (also if your xbox is modded which i garuntee it isnt) so why not get the better version of the game AND participate in the modding community.

[Gloomski]

I have both - got the Xbox first and then the PC and never looked back. Apart from being faster and being able to change the PC settings to be more adapted to the game (look it up if you haven't yet - I'm playing with no lag at all) you have different user created content, if you're into that kind of thing. I am definately only buying for the PC this time.

[nukularbombination]

Echoing what others said. PC all the way.

My only speaker setup for my x360 is my tv speakers, so I could never get rid of latency. Not an issue on PC, plus it looks better. The custom song thing is a huge bonus too.

[Coldshadow]

I bought Rocksmith 1 when it came out on PS3 and after a while the crashes and stalling drove me absolutely nuts. It made me so mad when it crashed after an 8 song set I did really well at that I turned it off and bought the PC version. I've never had a problem since. It looks better, sounds better, feels better. It's faster and there's custom songs the community has come up with. Not to mention the bass expansion is still 30 bucks on the PS3 and it comes with the game on PC now.
So yeah, Even though I have just about every dlc song on the PS3 I'll pay for it again on here simply because the console version was so bogged down with bugs. I don't want to take the chance with it again.
PC all the way.

[lordkaos]

Honestly there's really no comparison here.

It just runs faster and smoother on a PC, and even better on a high-end rig.

There is zero lag if you have a good CPU, use RCA cables with onboard audio, and adjust a couple settings in the ini file. Also, as mentioned, the PC has a few thousand custom songs and the consoles have none.

That's for the original Rocksmith of course. I suspect 2014 will be even better on the PC.

[Game Appreciation]

FOR SURE download the demo 2013 on your PC and try it. I've got top notch gaming PC and have 2013 full versions on both Xbox and PC. Despite what you may think, the Xbox seems to play more tight in terms of lag and stability. Gamebooster helps quite a bit, but even with it... let's face it... Windows 7 has more complexity and USB throughput is simply doing "more" i/o wise unless you take time to fine tune things. I think it maybe possible that Rocksmith's driver for the PC is just more flakey and not as well tested. Fact is the driver has to be very generic to work on every PC out there. With the Xbox they can optimize it just for that hardware.

I'm curious if some of the people using the PC version have spent hours and hours (and hours) on the Xbox version.

I have and even with much pain optimizing I could never get the PC quite as tight and it seems to crash more frequently. I'm also a professional musician... don't get rich at it but easily make a grand or more a month playing gigs. So I really notice when time gets off. I have a 670GTX (shouldn't matter really about video card), i7 3820 at 3.8ghz, 16gb ram, SSD drives... Everything runs like lighnting. But I get lag on rocksmith compared to the 360.

For sure turn off any 3d stereo sound or effects in your sound card. That will KILL you in lag. I also had better luck by taking out the other microphones. Fortunately you can download the demo of 2013 and try it on your PC and see. On your setup it maybe just fine. Or perhaps it could be worse than mine. When I had my 3d 7.1 sound enabled forget it... the lag was probably 200ms. So I wouldn't just 'buy' the PC version when you can get the demo and know 100% for sure it isn't going to be too painful. A lot could depend on your drivers, sound card , and stuff you have in the background... don't run through a hub on either xbox or PC.

I'm still up in the air. I get more practice time on the PC because I don't have to take up the TV. But i definitely feel the lag pain for the first few songs when I switch. Will probably get both.

[Jim Lahey]

Every game is better on PC.... better hardware.. more control... consoles are for kids that don't know any better or lack purchasing power

[Azwethinkweiz]

DD, you have a 670GTX which is not a junk card. Why arent you using its potential? Get an HDMI monitor or TV and hook it up that way. I play on my 65 inch TV from my computer through the HDMI and USB 3.0 and have 0 lag issues.

I also load up the laptop which isnt top notch when i go to friends. Just an I7 with 640 GFX card and still dont have any issues. Besides the fact they have said the lag issues are gone in the 2014 version, you may want to upgrade your bios and USB drivers(and whatever else is out of date).

HDMI is your friend along with disableing everything you arent using on your pc (sound wise) when you are playing. Hotkey it to the desktop and spend the extra 5 seconds before starting the game to disable the mic and whatever else you have hooked up.

[Game Appreciation]

Just spent about 3 hours messing with the PC version... well I don't know if I need to reinstall or if it is just the way it is. It will play fine (except for quite a bit of lag), about half way through a song it just stops picking up stuff. I can quit the song and then go back in to another song and everything retunes fine, start playing... then it stops picking notes up somewhere in the first few minutes. Then crash "program has stopped working"... reboot and it works for a while. Then same issues.

It seems worse than it was when last I used the PC version so clearly it may entirely be my PC. That is why I would always suggest to people to try the demo first. Depending on your system you could be 100% ok. But if not... well you can pull your hair out for sure.

I'm using DVI duel link with a 120mhz monitor... far better than HDMI for gaming. That can't be disputed. But is it messing up Rocksmith? Could be possible.

For the record I'm a PC gamer at the core... my steam profile with well over 100 games (133 to be exact) and literally thousands of hours of playtime can confirm that. I'm not really a consoel guy and I wish the PC version of this was more stable and didn't have the lag. But it is what it is. Sooooooo as I said, just download the demo and see how it works on your system. On mine it crashes, hangs and plays pretty poorly at the moment. But no problems with any of my other games.

Here is hoping 2014 has a demo to try and that it is more stable on more systems with less fuss.