Genuine question, could you make a PC that can perform as well as the PS5 Pro for $700?
I’ve built many computers for work over the years, but never my own gaming PC. I’m starting to plan one and I have no idea what I do and do not need, performance-wise. Like, I know I don’t need a 4090, but how cheap is too cheap to get good performance?
The real trick is to find a friend that’s a PC gamer and casually mention that you’re considering building a PC. It is out of your hands at that point. The call will go out and spread like the fires of Gondor to everyone they know on Discord. Slowly but surely, used parts will begin to trickle in from others who have recently upgraded their PCs and have pieces they no longer need. A case here. Some old RAM there. A 3-4 year old GPU. Peripherals.
Like hermit crabs changing shells, their old equipment will be passed down to you; the newest convert. Eventually you will have nearly all the pieces needed for a good mid-range gaming PC, to the point where you might as well just get the last few parts to finish it. And then your journey will be complete.
As the years go by and you slowly upgrade your PC like a modern day Ship of Thebes, make sure to save all your old equipment. For there will come a time when you will hear those fateful words, “Hey, my friend is thinking about building a computer…” And the cycle shall begin anew.
I built a PC with similar specs than a PS5 in the smallest case I could find. The size is similar to a modern console. I payed 1800€, had to make some custom parts and I still saved the money for an OS by installing Nobara Linux.
If you ask me: Nobody can build a PC, similar to a PS5 or XBOX Series, for a competitive price.
Still, I won’t change my PC for any console.
Its about price to performance value. With same value you can build an equivalent PC. Which won’t be banned and turned into a brick on their own whim. Many users very unjustly banned and were not able to connect to internet and game online. For the same price you could do more to with PC. Pros out weighs the cons
I want to see this equivalent PC. (A BOM would do.) Because I highly doubt someone can source the parts for this cheap.
Yep, a proper GPU would cost more than PS5. A second-hand market can come to rescue, but let’s not pretend that these two groups (console users and pc builders) overlap in a significant way. People buy consoles because they are cheap and easy to use.
Why build a PC when you can buy a laptop/steamdeck for way less than 700$ instead?
Steam deck is dope but it’s lower than PS4 quality visuals with faster loading times, not really comparable.
I’ve done laptops, they’re fine but you can’t really upgrade them. So they end up costing more in the long run. Also I don’t think I’ve ever spent less than $1000 on a laptop, if I’m being honest.
I like the Steam Deck, and may very well get one at some point, but it’s not what I’m after right now. A major reason I want the new PC is for Microsoft Flight Simulator. I currently play it on the Xbox Series X, and enjoy it very much, but the Xbox doesn’t have support for some of the mods I would like to use that require additional software. Also the XSX runs out of RAM for some of the avionics on newer large planes, which makes flying them nearly impossible. Some of this will be fixed with the optimization efforts in MSFS2024, but not the mod side.
I don’t really feel like trying to get MSFS and my flight stick and pedals running on the Steam Deck. I’m sure it’s doable, but the performance wouldn’t be what I want anyway.
The proper metric to plan around is longevity, unless you absolutely need performance now.
Performance and cost should be divided by time. Do you think that bit of hardware will be able to support software for the next two years, or five? That is one way to “compute” value, anyway.
A 4090 will eventually be outdated and unable to run new software, but that may not happen for a good number of years. If you want to get super deep, start crunching the numbers on power costs too. It may simply become too inefficient to run, eventually. (Hell, it’s probably super inefficient now, actually.)
I almost always buy top-tier “last-gen” tech, right after “new-gen” is released when I am saving money. When I have the extra cash and it makes sense, top-tier may also be a good investment.
Be honest with yourself and determine what matters most to you and put your money there.
It also depends on what games you play, I never play any big AAA action games with amazing graphics so I don’t need a crazy gpu
Consoles are actually not priced to make a profit, they sell at a loss. They do this because they have a premium on games, and games exclusive to them. On top of this they charge for a variety of services, things that are free for similar games on PC.
PCs’ cost is up front. The cost of a console continues fore the life time of that console. If you have a PS5 for the average cycle to produce a newer version, you will have paid 800 dollars just for the ability to play their games online. That makes it $1500 dollars at this point. This isn’t even including all the other little costs, and average of higher prices for games, the premium price on their devices/accessories, or the cost of the TV, etc.
On top of this you can’t also use your PS5 to work, like you can with a PC, or anything, really, other than gaming, and a select number of things, that you will be able to do with the things you need to have for the console, like a TV.
Thanks! I’m aware of all of that. I don’t need to be convinced that a PC is worth it, I’m just out of my comfort zone.
I was asking because the title was “I could make a great PC for that” and, like I said, I’m planning on building a PC. My usual instinct of “just get the more powerful one” will quickly lead me to financial ruin in the PC world. 😅
I mean, I have a PC that is roughly the same specs, while still being in the general price ballpark. I waited for specials, took advantage of vendor specific price reductions (such as company specific credit card discounts when I had the money to pay outright), bought a couple things second hand, bought two things that were ope box (returned but nothing wrong), and I already had a decent monitor. This, as you probably can tell, was a pain in the ass, but I have a PC that is a little more powerful, with a lot more storage, for just shy of 900 USD, after taxes. So not bad. However I don’t expect normal people to go through that, I kinda enjoy the process.
But the only way to really compare the two is in a holistic manner. Without including the costs of using the console, through its life, it just isn’t a fair comparison.
But the only way to really compare the two is in a holistic manner. Without including the costs of using the console, through its life, it just isn’t a fair comparison.
I totally agree. Part of the reason I’ve not made the leap yet is that gaming has become less and less important of a part of my life, and that initial cost has been enough to dissuade me generally speaking. Also if I’m being honest I really like the “plop down on the couch and use a controller” console experience. But I’m realizing more and more that I just need to bite the bullet and I’ll appreciate it in the long run.
I don’t know what your living space is like, but I have an HDMI cable running from my PC to my TV, and some wireless controllers, for when I feel like sinking into my recliner and just playing.
If you’re willing to buy at least some PC parts used (like the GPU and maybe CPU) you could probably build a very competitive machine for the same price. Maybe even something better. With new parts probably not yet, necessarily. But of course, that depends a little on your local market. Here in Germany for example, a new RX 6800 (the equivalent GPU, according to IGN) alone would be roughly ⅔ of a PS5 Pro, while a used one is a little less than half the price. You probably need to wait a generation or so for new PC parts to be price competitive (as you do with almost every new console release).
However, if you already have an existing PC that you could upgrade (For example you have an earlier generation Ryzen processor and could upgrade to Ryzen 5000 with just a BIOS update and you could sell your current CPU and GPU to get some of your money back when buying something more powerful), you could likely easily beat it. That’s the actual power of having a PC. You can stretch $700/800€ quite far, if you don’t have to buy a new case, RAM, PSU, storage and/or motherboard.
I think someone just did it in this thread, but something else to consider is that a PC usually enables you to buy games much more cheaply, multiplayer is not behind a subscription, the catalogue is basically infinite and it also enables so many other activities than just gaming.
28 Blåhajar + a Mini one.
Good sir, your Pikachu is too HD. See to it at once
It’s a Sony Picachu. You might be thinking of the Nintendo one.
Given that most games are multi-platform and that developers would need to optimize games for existing consoles, is there any real need for the pro version (not counting the Sony’s desire to earn money by selling PS5 twice)?
Did a quick one to mimic my current “console killer” pc that sits in my living room, runs Bazzite 6700 XT
This is new stuff, one of the benefits of PC gaming is that you can roll builds. So if you had a gaming pc in the last 5 years you’re looking at a £450 upgrade, not a £700 one if you’re a PS5 player. Or even hitting up used for things like cases etc
Using a bench of Horizon Zero Dawn for the GPU
2k bench taken from techspot
so doing what the PS5 pro will be and using an upscaller like FSR/DLSS to hit 4k
4K is in the 50s, but again scalers used brings it to 60.
Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 5 4600G 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor £87.70 @ NeoComputers Motherboard Biostar B450MHP Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard £50.99 @ Ebuyer Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory £16.48 @ Amazon UK Storage Western Digital Blue SA510 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive £99.98 @ Amazon UK Video Card ASRock Radeon RX6700XT PGD 12GO Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card £449.99 @ Amazon UK Case Thermaltake S100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case £34.99 @ Scan.co.uk Power Supply MSI MAG A550BN 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply £42.99 @ Amazon UK Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total £783.12 Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-09-12 08:02 BST+0100 I have played GOW as well as a ton of other games this year at a resolution of 2K 144fps HDR on my machine without any issues or stutters. Also don’t have to wait for a republish that I have to rebuy to enjoy older games at 4k 140hz currently playing AC4 and it looks amazing.
Please don’t overpay for a 6700xt, get a 7800xt if you want to spend 450
Good advice, my personal build was done a while ago
I’ve seen it mentioned that ryzen is more memory speed sensitive, seen Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 X 8GB) DDR4 3600 MHz CL16 kit for £35 on UK amazon, see a 32 GB kit for £60 for 3600, £52 for 3200. 32 is super overkill for most people still (shit I recall when 16GB was considered overkill), but it’s cheap enough that it’s harder to say it’s a waste imo.
Side note, GOW is what sold me on hdr and was the game that got me to upgrade from a 780ti and 3rd gen i5, literally couldn’t even run the game.
Personally I decided about 6 years ago that I wouldn’t buy another non-portable game console.
At this stage I just don’t see any reason to drop $600+ on a console when I could put that $600~ towards upgrading my PC and get vastly more value for my money.
So as far as I’m concerned, the only consoles worth looking at at all right now at the Nintendo Switch, which I have and love, and the Steam Deck, which would offer me my PC gaming experience with something it lacks: portability.
Aside from that, I personally couldn’t give 2 shits what’s happening in the world of XBox or Playstation these days.
Plus us patient gamers can enjoy those PS “exclusives” when they release on PC.
Yeah exactly. Crazy thing is a good game is just as good 3, 4 years later as it is on release day. What a novel idea, right?
There was a time where the fact that launch meant a high player count, big community energy, and lack of hyper-optimized strategies minmaxxing the fun out of a game was sufficient reason to get it at launch.
But given how often modern launches are bungled, even that is not always true
Yeah I should have clarified that for multiplayer games, especially lobby-style instead of persistent-world style, all of this changes because how active and engaged the playerbase is a HUGE component.
But I’m a solo player 90% of the time, so that particular aspect, while important, doesn’t really pertain to me.
My Steam Deck has been my primary gaming device for about 2 years now. I absolutely love it. I’ve put a lot of my switch games on it for the convenience. I love my OLED switch though and I wish I had the OLED deck.
Still, it’s amazing enough that everything else I have is collecting dust. Been going through all the MegaMan games recently. I’m on 8 at the moment, the only one I never played in the main series.
I love MM8. Definitely feels a bit like the black sheep of the bunch but I think it’s awesome. Plays a little slow compared to some of the others to me, but I like a lot of the ideas there
Oh me too, I’m absolutely loving it. They put so much work into it. Even the things I didn’t initially like about it have grown on me. It’s been nothing but fun for me.
Why would you need 3 switches when you could get a 1.5km line of loafs of bread with that money?
Found the eastern European! /s
I am not eastern European, i am southeastern European
Do you get cheaper bread meters going for the cheaper mass produced loaves or by going for the longer length but more artisan breads like baguettes? Or maybe bread sticks?
Also, does anyone make linked bread (like sausages), to increase the speed one can deploy it in a straight line?
Im pretty sure the extra lenght of baguettes is not enough to justify paying the extra price for them
To solve the time problem of placing all the bread in a line, you could try to start a cult. It takes a while to set up, but will save you time(and money) in the long run
A new bread worshipping cult to give an alternative food-based religion for those who are sick of spaghetti.
No love for celiacs in the food cult space yet.
They could have given us full backwards compatibility with that.
It would be an instant buy for me if it has full backwards compatibility, and I’d let them tack on another hundo for psp/vita games. That’s basically what my Steam deck is. Every console emulated and PC games.
I love how Sony learned nothing from the PS3 launch price.
FOVE HUNDRED NINETY NINE US DOLLARS
The launch PS3 was arguably Sony’s last great console (namely hardware backwards compatibility); I choose to die on this hill. 🫡
Miss using it as a SACD player. Tough to find one now that isn’t insanely priced.
The PS3, be it the early PHATs or even the super slims were technically amazing machines but, at least in the beginning, they still were way to expensive for the reduced quality in most cross party titles compared to the 360. Was probably a no-brainer upgrade though, if you could sell your PS2 to replace it with a brand spanking new PS3 without losing access to your games.
Also, the amazing first party titles Sony put out over the years (that actually took advantage of the PS3’s over-designed processor) make it worth buying even today, as you can get it for less than 50€ in good condition and it’s easily jailbreakable.
Just maybe don’t sell your first born for one that is backward compatible with PS2 today. Just buy a used PS2 as well (most of them are jailbreakable just as easily) or just emulate it.
This bad boy can run so many PS2 games
Runs 0 for most buyers.
I can confirm, PS2 emulation works mostly flawless on my CFW PS3 without native backwards compatibility. There is absolutely no point in buying an older energy-hungry hot-running PS3.
It’s not about whether or not it’s possible via emulation on CFW, but rather the precedent that hardware-level backwards compatibility was a key feature.
It’s a damned shame that such official support was dropped moving forward, and IMO should have been taken as an early sign that gaming as a hobby was going to go downhill.
At the time, backwards compatibility was attained by putting a miniature PlayStation 2 inside the console. It really wasn’t sustainable for the future.
It really wasn’t sustainable for
the futuremaximising shareholder profits.Maintaining PS3 backwards compatibility at launch was well within Sony’s operating profits. It was an international decision, which they proceeded to gaslight customers into believing want necessary or even wanted!
Speak for yourself, man. I am more than happy that my Playstation 5 doesn’t have a Playstation 3 and a Playstation 2 bolted into its insides. That would make for a gargantuan console with tons of electronics waste.
I specified one generation of hardware backwards compatibility; beyond that software emulation would be more than sufficient.
The PS5 is backwards compatible with all but ~6 PS4 titles. Sure that’s entirely because of the shared x86-64 architecture, but it makes the PS4 stand out like a sore thumb for its lack of direct generational backwards compatibility.
By the end of the PS3’s lifecycle the Cell processor has been die-shrunk multiple times, reducing power consumption, heat output and PCB space required. It could then share the rest of the PS4s existing IO chips and circuitry.
There was literally no reason for backwards compatibility to be removed beyond corporate greed. Blindly accepting it, and actually trying to justify that as a good thing is one of the key reasons this hobby has gone down the toilet.
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They don’t have it for the same reason Sony later removed it from the PS3: letting users run arbitrary code on your console provides a massive attack surface for piracy and jailbreaking exploits.
The primary reason was that sony wanted to take advantage of lower import taxes in the EU by classifying it as a general-purpose computer. Thats why they also abandoned OtherOS after the EU ruled that the PS3 was not a computer but a game console.
Yup, that was something Sony was already doing back with the PS2, you could have Linux for PS2
And XMB was their last good interface design. Each one since just gets progressively more wtf.
Hard to improve on perfection, but they had to keep their UI designers employed I suppose?
Honestly don’t know what they thought was going to happen. They’ve had some misfires lately with the PS5 Pro not being needed at all (the PS5 is a decent bit of kit, and certainly capable of handling everything this gen can throw at it), selling a remote access tablet/controller that doesn’t connect to their own cloud service, and even they’ve stopped talking about Concord.
Isn’t the Switch $300? 🤔
I should have clarified lite but for formatting of the meme it’s better to just put Switch.
They’re usually on woot for under 300
At $80/year for the online. You’d still be saving $40/year compared to 2 switch subscriptions. You’d save enough in 5 years to buy the 3rd and still be saving $20/year on subscriptions.
What if I’m not interested in playing online? Does the new console just require a subscription or something? I didn’t actually watch the announcement because I don’t need a hardware upgrade. I need more games that use what I already fuckin’ have.
No, none of the consoles require a subscription. You add it on if you want the extras and multiplayer.
Funnily enough, the Switch works perfectly fine without any subscription If all you want is plop your games and play without Multiplayer, you can go with a Switch just fine Even some games like Ninjala let’s you play online without the subscription
Free to Play games do not need the subscription to play online. This is true for the PlayStation too.
Realistically, how much VRAM can you obtain for $699 after all the other parts?
you can build a 7600XT setup for around $700, so I’d expect 16GB… which it has? I reckon you can build PS5 pro matching system now for 800 - 900 dollhairs, but that’ll change when the next gen gpus launch.
Since you’re too lazy to make your own argument, here.
Buying New (Because theres no true bottom to used PC Parts):
GPU - 7600XT Fighter - $330 USD
MB - ASRock B450 - $90
CPU - Ryzen 5 2400G - $135
SSD - Kingston NV2 - $60
PSU - MSI MAG A650BN (Bronze) - $65
Oops, only $19 for RAM, a case, and peripherals…
Time to get schwifty and shit on the floor.
newegg prices
XFX 7600XT $320
Ryzen 5 5600 $115
Asus B450 $70
MSI Gungnir case $90
EVGA 650w PSU $65
1TB nvme $57
cart total $696.78
RAM?
32 bucks for 16gb ddr4 3200 cl16, included in the cart total
The last straw with consoles for me was when they all started charging money regularly just to play online multiplayer games.
My Steam Deck makes for a better console-like experience than any of the major consoles, and more. I have zero interest in going back to Sony or especially Nintendo’s scams.
It blows my mind that the greatest trick Valve ever pulled was releasing a console that relies solely on backwards compatibility. There are zero games released for the steam deck.
To be fair, there was 1 game released directly for the Steam Deck; Aperture Desk Job.
Not only that, the Steam Deck actually has worse compatibility compared to a normal Windows PC, but the PC library is so extensive (and has so many emulators) that it doesn’t matter. You still have access to more games than anyone on a normal console ever could, and you can play most singleplayer console games for free. I played Mario Odyssey all the way through on my PC and it ran great.
It’s not quite strictly worse; some older games are easier to run in wine than natively. But your point still stands.
And even better: people not valve will actually go and work to make the games that aren’t compatible working. For free.
I really wish they would release a new Steam Controller with the Deck’s inputs.
Same, tired of replacing the bumpers on my Xbox controllers, and want the extensibility I’ve seen with the decks controller layout.
I’d happily pay for Steam because it provides a good service. Meanwhile, PSN and Nintendo Switch Online suck and are expensive (PSN is 70€ per year lmao).
Nah I’m not paying for steam either, they make enough money from game sales without double dipping
A PC, sure. A great PC? Er… em… $1,000, sure.
You pay a premium for sucky prebuilts when with bit of work and some research (assuming you’ve never done it before) you can build your own far better PC with decent specs for 700.
pcpartpicker.com is your friend
Where’s the list with the same or better raytracing, upscaling, 2TB nvme, DDR5, all of that without having to fuck around with settings and shit for <$700
Drop the method 🙏
When realistically do you make use of 100% of what the PS5 has to offer? Specially shit like Raytracing? Or can realistically feel the difference between DDR4 and DDR5?
Unless you’re some sort of developer that works on low level (or particularly lazy game developer that has to squeeze every bit of graphics to hide the fact the gameplay sucks), you won’t see the difference between any FPS above 240(even 120 depending on your monitor)
Not to mention, remove gaming from the list, what else can you do with the PS5? Because boy, the list for what you can do with a computer without gaming is absolute huge
