Despite PS5 Pro getting more expensive, gamers seemingly have no other option as pre-built gaming PCs cost over $1,000
For the first time ever, a Sony PlayStation console is more expensive after 6 years of launch than it was at release. A nice graphic by IGN shows that, where all prior PlayStation consoles became much cheaper after six years, the PS5 is now $150 more expensive. However, the PS5 Pro’s case is even worse, as the console is now $200 more expensive, less than two years after launch.
However, the PS5 Pro might still be the best value gaming system on the market.
A question posed to Digital Foundry on the latest DF Direct asked the DF crew for their opinion on the possibility of building a gaming PC for the price of a $899.99 PS5 Pro in the current market conditions. In response, the DF crew opined that, even with the recent price increase, it is really hard to beat the value of a PS5 Pro with a DIY gaming PC build.
DF showed a PS5 Pro-equivalent PC build from the YouTube channel My Life In Gaming. The build came out to be $963 with an RX 9060 XT 16 GB, a Ryzen 5 7600X3D, and 2 TB of storage. However, the gaming PC didn’t include the price of the 32 GB of DDR5-6400 memory that it used.
At the time of writing, a 16 GB DDR5-6000 kit costs over $200 on Amazon, often above $240. Even the slower DDR5-5200 is retailing above $200. So, the final price of the gaming PC would’ve touched $1,200.
Pre-built gaming PCs also can’t compete with the PS5 Pro
Before the latest plague of rising component prices, you could still hope to find a pre-built gaming PC with GPUs like the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB or the RX 9060 XT for around $1,000. Those days are over, as now gaming PCs with 16 GB GPUs are over $1,000. At the time of writing, we couldn’t find a single pre-built gaming desktop for $1,000 with either the RX 9060 XT 16 GB or the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB on Amazon. The PCs available at or around $1,000 feature 8 GB GPUs like the RTX 5060 or the 8 GB variant of the RTX 5060 Ti.
Keeping this in mind, the $899.99 PS5 Pro looks like a pretty good value for 1440p/4K gaming. Moreover, Sony is reportedly also scaling back their efforts to port PlayStation exclusives to PCs. So, you might not even be able to play future blockbuster PS exclusives on PC, which adds to the appeal of the PS5 Pro.
That said, a gaming PC is still better in terms of software costs. There is no denying the fact that games cost more on consoles. You are also at the mercy of Sony when it comes time to upgrade, as the PS6 might simply not play your PS5 library. Then there is the cost of playing multiplayer games, which is completely free on a desktop gaming PC.
So, from a purely hardware and price/performance perspective, the PS5 Pro is unbeaten. But spending more on a gaming PC makes sense in terms of getting access to much cheaper games and services.
Source(s)
Digital Foundry on YouTube, Amazon, IGN on X, Teaser image source: Roberto Vincenzo Minasi on Unsplash
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