How to build a PS5 Pro equivalent PC

Sony released the PS5 Pro earlier this year, bringing a significant graphical boost to the four-year-old console. The mid-gen update costs $700, with the main selling point being an AI-based scaler and a bigger GPU. The news was not received well by many gamers and most wondered if it would make more sense to build a PC.

PS5 Pro equivalent PC specs

Here’s where things get tricky: The PS5 Pro uses an AMD GPU based on the RDNA 3 architecture, but some features are derived from the upcoming RDNA 4 GPUs, which aren’t in the PC space. While plenty of graphics cards can match or even exceed the raw GPU power of the PS5 Pro, none currently support these next-gen features or come in under a competitive price.

Of course, throwing more hardware at it can solve the problem to some extent, and we already have DLSS/XeSS as an alternative to Sony’s PSSR upscaling. Another advantage in the PC space is the availability of more advanced CPUs. The PS5 Pro uses the same 5-year-old Zen 2-based AMD CPU with eight cores and sixteen threads. On PC, if you’re using AMD, we’re already at Zen 5, and Intel’s latest generation CPUs also offer similar performance.

That’s why we can’t just look at the raw teraflop count of the GPUs, as upscaling and driver support will vary between GPU vendors. It will be difficult, but we will use one main metric to compare the hardware: image quality and performance measures.

PS5 Pro is built to run games at or close to a native 4K resolution at 60 fps with image reconstruction. Some settings will undoubtedly be pushed higher than on the original console, so let’s say it runs games on the “Ultra” graphics preset found on PC ports.

Another tricky thing to figure out will be whether to use the latest generation of parts or older ones. New PC builders can save quite a bit by using older parts, especially on motherboards and memory. We have taken into account the former to save costs.

We have selected the following parts to match the PS5 Pro on our PC. Note: We used PCPartPicker to build this system and you can save more if you find these parts offline. You can also replace certain components and build an even better PC for a similar price. The following build is based on market prices at the time of writing ie. the last week of December 2024.

If you’re comparing prices, here’s what we ended up with (based on US prices):

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X ($112)
• CPU Cooler: Wraith Stealth Cooler (supplied with CPU)
• Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX ($84.99)
• GPU: Gigabyte GAMING OC RX 7700 XT ($399.99) OR MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC RTX 4060 Ti ($449.99)
• RAM: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz ($29.99)
• Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 2TB ($119.99)
• PSU: Cooler Master MWE Gold 750 V3 ($84.99)
• Case: Thermaltake Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower ($54.99)

The total cost of the PC, excluding the OS, crosses $700 by a decent margin, coming in at $887 if you use the AMD RX 7700 XT GPU. With the Nvidia GPU, it shoots up to $937. If you buy Windows 11 on top, add another $100, and adding peripherals, monitor, etc. for a brand new build can easily take the price over $1000.

PC vs PS5 Pro – What are the advantages?

After going through the trouble of finding all the parts, building the PC, installing all the drivers, and tying up loose ends with some neat cable management, what do you get out of it?

Well, firstly, flexibility. Like the PS5 Pro, modern GPUs can use upscaling technologies to render games at lower resolutions, increasing frame rates. Both Nvidia and AMD GPUs also support frame generation, so you can play at 120fps or more. This makes a dramatic difference in smoothness, and of course you can still tinker with the settings to your liking.

As a comparison, let’s look at a recent game like Star Wars Outlaws. By using console equivalent settingsyou can increase the frame rate by over 60% and get better image quality than the base PS5. With frame generation, we were able to run Black Myth: Wukong close to 120fps, and that’s with a weaker CPU than the one we’ve included in this build! Even Final Fantasy 16 can run at over 200fps when you use the right settings, and it will look better than it does on the base PS5 and presumably the PS5 Pro.

We also tested Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with optimized settings, and our included GPUs easily beat the 60fps target for the Xbox Series X with full ray tracing. The game’s upcoming PS5 version will also target the same frame rate, while the PS5 Pro may switch the advanced ray-tracing features.

PlayStation has also started porting its games to PC and they scale much higher on that platform. As seen in the PC ports of Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon: Forbidden West, it’s not that hard to max out the settings and run the game at or above 60fps with better quality. The best PC games will always include more graphical options compared to the console counterpart, so you can play Cyberpunk 2077 with ray-traced reflections, shadows and global lighting all turned on, while the PlayStation version only includes RT shadows at 30fps.

And then of course there are the cheaper games. Steam includes thousands of games with many multi-platform games that are cheaper on PC compared to the PlayStation Store. We have frequent offers, and if you’re looking to build a library for free, look no further than the Epic Games Store.

We have yet to see how well PS5 Pro-enhanced games will use the console, and how much of the PC-exclusive features will make it to the console ports.

All that costs. You pay a bit more to build the PC and it’s not as easy to use as a console. Therefore, there will always be room for consoles in the market, with most gamers who want convenience choosing the plastic box over the overkill computer on their desk.

If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that it’s hard to build a $700 PC that can match the PS5 Pro. The value proposition that a console provides will always be better, which is why it’s a mass market device even when it’s aimed at enthusiasts.