PC Gamer though I am, I have always loved PlayStation. I even manage to play it just enough to keep it from getting dusty. I preordered the thing in 2020, which I would never recommend doing. I don't regret that decision. Sony announced today the price of its new PS5 Pro and I'm left wondering who it is for.
At $700 you get a lot of graphic power. This is due to three major factors, namely a larger GPU and AI-driven scaling. The GPU and RAM are reportedly faster, allowing for up to 45% faster renders. All this means that your games will run much faster and better, even though you pay a significant fee for it.
The PS5 launched at $500. However, it is now available on Amazon for $50 less. Some bundles include games. The jump from $500 to $750 is the price at which you can invest in a fully-built PC. Here at PC Gamer, I am absolutely going to recommend this option. Around $500, you'd have to be really lucky or want to build a base rig for a graphics card. Newegg, for example, offers a capable RTX-4060-equipped rig that includes 1TB of SSD at $770. It's worth noting that the PS5 Pro has no disk, so the best upgrade path would be to go from the diskless model to this one, which is a difference of $300.
It's true that you won't get 60 CUs AMD GPUs in a $700 system, but it is worth noting that we are not even at the beginning of a new generation. The Pro PlayStation has always been a midgen refresh that allows users to get more out of their game before the world moves onto what's next. According to the current PC hardware and the progress of previous console generations, the PS6 is expected by 2027. You're paying $350 per year to be outclassed in two years by the PS6, give or take.
It's an impressive architecture and I'm looking forward to seeing more, but the money is a lot to spend on a game that will run better for a short time.
I think the convenience of a console is its main selling point. You don't need to go into BIOS to troubleshoot a problem. You don't need to unplug everything and reconnect it again, hoping this will solve your problem. In this sense, I could understand the upfront cost if you have a lot money and only want the best. With that price, the PS5 is moving into the PC's realm and I'm not sure if it can compete with the PC's bespoke experiences.
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