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How to build a PS5 Pro PC-equivalent gaming rig

Nice console games September 12, 2024 Consoles & PC, Gaming, PC Gaming

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The


PS5
Pro
is
here,
and
as
someone
who
never
got
around
to
buying
the
original
model,
I’m
very
excited.
Wait,
it
costs

how
much?
Actually,
never
mind,
I’m
going
to
build
a
new
PC
instead.

Yes,


building
a
custom
gaming
PC
has
plenty
of
advantages
over
getting
a
home
console
like

Sony’s
latest
$699.99
/
£699.99
/
AU$1,200
machine,
and
it
shouldn’t
cost
you

that
much
more;
there’s
no
denying
it’ll
be
more
expensive,
since
consoles
have
the
advantage
of
fixed-spec
configurations
that
help
cut
down
manufacturing
costs,
but
the


best
gaming
PCs
(whether
custom-assembled
or
prebuilt)
can
be
upgraded
over
time,
and
offers
limitless
backward
compatibility
for
all
your
favorite
games.

Besides,
I
already
own
so
many
PC
games
that
I
need
a
spreadsheet
to
keep
track
of
them
(503
titles
and
counting).
I’m
not
about
to
abandon
all
of
those
just
so
that
I
can
pay
$70
per
game;
sorry,
Sony.

Matching
the
PS5
Pro

I’ve
done
my
best
to
keep
costs
low
wherever
I
can,
and
many
of
the
prices
here
are
pre-discount;
with


Black
Friday
looming,
chances
are
you’ll
be
able
to
snag
most
of
these
components
for
less
than
the
standard
retail
price.

I’ve
only
listed
retailer
links
for
the
US
below,
as
otherwise
this
article
would
become
unwieldy.
If
you’re
in
the
UK,
Australia,
or
elsewhere,
most
of
these
components
will
be
readily
available
from

Amazon
or
online
component
stores,
and
a
quick
conversion
from
the
dollar
prices
listed
to
your
local
currency
should
give
you
a
rough
idea
of
what
they’ll
cost.

While
we’re
looking
to
keep
costs
down,
there
are
some
areas
where
we
can’t
afford
to
cut
corners
if
we
want
to
keep
pace
with
the
PS5
Pro’s
newly
boosted
capabilities
in
our
equivalent
PC
build.

Chief
among
these
is
the
graphics
card,
and
although
we
don’t
know
the
exact
specs
of
the
PS5
Pro,
there
are
some
key
extrapolations
we
can
make
right
now.
Based
on
Sony’s
claim
that
the
Pro’s
rendering
speed
is
“up
to
45%
faster”
than
the
original
PS5,
we
can
assume
that
its
integrated
GPU
is
roughly
equivalent
to
an

Nvidia
RTX
4060
or

AMD
RX
7700
XT.

There’s
an
important
caveat
here,
though:
PS5
games
are
better
optimized
thanks
to
the
fixed
specs
of
the
console,
meaning
that
despite
mirroring
the
internal
specs
as
closely
as
possible,
those
GPUs
won’t
give
us
the
same
level
of
performance
in-game.
With
that
in
mind,
I’ve
upgraded
to
an


RTX
4070,
which
we
noted
in
our
review
was
great
for

4K
gaming
with

Nvidia‘s
DLSS
upscaling
tech
–
something
Sony
is
currently
aping
with
PSSR
for
the
PS5
Pro.

We
also
can’t
skimp
on
our
processor,
and
since

AMD
makes
the
custom
chip
that
powers
the
PS5
Pro,
I’m
opting
for
a
CPU
from
Team
Red.
The
chip
in
question
is
the


Ryzen
7
5800X
–
one
of
the


best
processors
for
gaming
without
breaking
the
bank.
Opting
for
a
5000-series
Ryzen
chip
also
allows
us
to
stick
with
a
slightly
more
affordable
AM4
chipset
motherboard.

Beyond
that,
I’ve
settled
on
a
healthy
16GB
of
RAM
(the
same
amount
of
unified
memory
in
the
PS5
Pro,
and
generally
the
minimum
recommended
amount
for
running
modern
PC
games),
a
mid-range
X570
motherboard,
and
of
course
2TB
of
high-speed
SSD
storage.
For
the
power
supply,
case,
and
cooler,
I’ve
opted
for
fairly
affordable,
though
not
bargain-basement,
products
to
keep
the
total
price
down.

PS5
Pro
PC
equivalent:
The
parts

Conclusion:
how
did
I
do?

Tallying
it
all
up
here,
this
system
would
cost
$1,218.84
to
build
at
the
time
of
writing,
which
is
a
fair
bit
more
than
the
$699.99
/
£699.99
/
AU$1,200
base
price
of
the
PS5
Pro;
if
you’re
not
in
the
US
that’s
around
£900
or
AU$1,800,
although
of
course
you
could
end
up
paying
a
bit
more
or
bit
less
depending
on
what
components
you
go
for
and
what
deals
you
can
find.

We’re
also
missing
one
key
feature,
Wi-Fi
7
–
but
frankly,
you
should
be
using
any
gaming
PC
or
console
plugged
into
a
wired
Ethernet
connection
for
the
best
service.
In
any
case,
I
still
think
I’ve
come
out
on
top
here.
Hear
me
out…

If
you
want
the
‘full’
PS5
Pro
experience,
it’ll
actually
cost
you
closer
to
$825
in
the
US.
That’s
because
that
$699.99
model
doesn’t
include
a
disk
drive
–
something
that,
frankly,
home
consoles

should
have
as
standard
given
the
current
game
sales
ecosystem
–
and
Sony
couldn’t
even
be
bothered
to
include
the
stand,
which
costs
an
extra
$25.
Finally,
in
order
to
play
your
games
online
(and
access
other
free-on-PC
features
like
cloud
saves),
you’ll
need
to
fork
out
$80
a
year
for

PS
Plus,
assuming
you
opt
for
the
lowest
‘Essential’
subscription
tier.
And
if
you
want
more
than
one

DualSense
controller?
That’ll
be
another
$70.

In
other
words,
buying
a
PS5
Pro
today
will
cost
you
more
over
the
next
five
years
than
building
and
using
this
PC
for
the
same
amount
of
time.
Oh,
and
this
system
has
no
issues
with
generational
backwards
compatibility,
has
access
to
a
far
wider
variety
of
games
with
better
sales
than
the
PS
Store
ever
sees,
and
can
even
be
upgraded
at
any
point
should
you
have
the
extra
cash.

Plus,
with
the
occasional
injection
of
some
new
components
at
a
lower
cost
than
the
complete
system,
it’ll
also
last
forever
–
while
Sony
is
almost
certainly
going
to
insist
that
you
buy
a
PlayStation
6
at
some
point
in
the
next
decade,
and
that
one
will
probably
be
even
more
expensive.
Oh,
and
I
guess
you
can
use
it
for
stuff
other
than
gaming,
too.
There’s
this
‘work’
thing
I’ve
heard
a
lot
about.

While
I’ve
gone
with
dollar
pricing
for
the
components,
some
quick
online
research
showed
me
that
it’s

even
better
value
for
gamers
in
most
other
territories
to
build
a
gaming
PC
rather
than
buy
a
PS5
Pro
–
the
new
console
is
almost
universally
more
expensive
outside
the
US,
particularly
in
the
UK,
where
its
£699
base
price
equals
to
more
than
nine
hundred
bucks!

If
that
$1,219
asking
price
is
too
high
(and
that’s
before
even
factoring
in
any
better
deals
that
might
crop
up
later
in
the
year),
I’d
be
perfectly
comfortable
recommending
an
RTX
4060
or
4060
Ti
–
or
a
Radeon
RX
7700
XT,
if
you
prefer
AMD
over
Nvidia
–
for
the
GPU
in
this
system,
which
would
shave
a
decent
chunk
off
the
price
without
causing
too
much
of
a
performance
drop.
After
all,
that
RTX
4070
at
full
price
accounts
for
almost
half
the
cost
of
the
entire
PC
–
not
that
you
should
cheap
out
on
your
graphics
card
for
a
gaming
PC,
mind
you.

So
yes,
I’m
happy
with
this
setup,
and
I
won’t
be
spending
my
own
hard-earned
money
on
a
PS5
Pro.
PC
gaming
is
king,
and
that’s
never
going
to
change
as
long
as
I’m
around.
Oh,
and
one
last
thing
–
don’t
forget,
you
can
nab
free
games
from
the

Epic
Games
Store
every
single
week
just
by
making
an
account.
What
do
you
think
of
that,
Sony?

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