One Week of PC Gaming

29th May, 2020 - Blog

How we all doing, folks? Approaching the end of another week in lockdown, and as busy as things are right now (you may have noticed from my socials that I’m lucky enough to be reviewing one of the biggest games of the year in The Last of Us Part II), I wanted to a do a fun piece on what it’s been like transitioning from macOS to Windows.

“It’s OK, baby girl” #PS4share pic.twitter.com/szRUmrGneL
— Lloyd Coombes, but indoors (@lloydcoombes) May 26, 2020

Let’s get to it!

One Week of Owning A Windows PC

Ok, so here’s the thing – I’ve always hated Windows. I understand the need for it, but for my sensibilities, it’s a cluttered mess and has been for a while. After spending a week on it? I still very much dislike it – although it’s growing on me.

I don’t know what it is, but I think the biggest part is compatibility. Being able to log into my Steam account and spot literally dozens of games that I couldn’t get running on a Mac was a big step for Windows ingratiating itself to me.

I’ve also traditionally found Windows PCs slow and full of bloat, but where this PC is a custom build running on M2 storage, it boots up in seconds. I guess it goes to show the importance of a machine’s specs.

In my first week, I’ve played a fair bit of Legends of Runeterra (my obsession), as well as Rainbow Six: Siege with some new friends and a bit of CS:GO, too (which I’m terrible at). I also picked up Overwatch last night, and am re-learning how to play which is fun.

That said, there are definitely a few things I miss from macOS (although I still run the business almost entirely from my MacBook Pro, so I always have both options available).

For one, I work entirely on iCloud documents and syncing those with Windows 10 looks to be spotty at best. That means I’m still primarily using the Mac for writing, invoicing, and working on another project I’m looking forward to revealing soon.

Another big miss is Messages, which is the epitome of the phrase “first-world problem”. Needing to grab my phone to text someone back is something I haven’t done while working in a while since I could always send it from my Mac. Similarly, not being able to use Sidecar to extend my display to a Mac is a big miss, which brings us to the final point.

Finally, I miss my iMac’s display. That 27-inch workspace was ideal for multiple windows, and I’m still using a 23-inch one for my PC until I upgrade. I’ve got my eye on one, so we’ll see what happens.

After (over) a week with a gaming PC, though, it’s so tough to go back to console gaming. Partially it’s the precision of mouse and keyboard, partially it’s the fluidity of higher frame-rates than even my Xbox One X can output. But mostly, I think it’s the comfort-factor – I have a swanky gaming chair from a review last year, and being sat with my headset on (once Jax is in bed!) while playing online with friends and shooting the breeze on Discord is something I wish I could’ve done sooner.

I’ll be doing a full desk rundown once I settle on a monitor, but once I have that the setup is complete – even including a hiding spot for my MacBook Pro! Full pics and run-through in the coming weeks, I’d imagine.

Thanks for reading, until next time!

Lloyd