I know that they are technically the same character, but Darkseid's feats/abilities were far superior in the pre-crisis era, then they are now imo. I mean, he made PC Superman look pathetic (strength-wise,) waved into creation powerhouses such as Validus, his omega powers seemed superior, etc, etc.
So when I see "PC" Darkseid in threads, i only consider his showings from that time period. Because, as I already stated, they were simply better.