Build this 4K-ready gaming PC instead of buying a $700 PS5 Pro

Building a console-killer PC at the same price (or at least trying) is one of the favorite pastimes of PC users. With the launch of the PS5 Pro, it’s time to indulge in this exercise again, as I hope to build a seriously powerful gaming PC for around $700 (the launch price of the PS5 Pro). The PS5 Pro comes with improved specs over its predecessor, including a beefier GPU (60 CUs instead of 36 CUs), 28% faster RAM, a 2TB SSD, and AI upscaling in the form of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution).

Hence, it will take some creative choices to achieve the same level of power as Sony’s latest console. I embarked on this mission back in April too, trying to beat the base PS5 for $500. While I mostly failed in that attempt, I think I’ve fared much better this time. It turns out that you can realistically build a 4K-capable gaming PC to rival the PS5 Pro’s capabilities for around $700 — or at least close to it.

7 CPU

PS5 Pro retains the 8-core Zen 2 CPU

Back when I was attempting to configure a PS5-beating gaming PC, I used a Ryzen 5 3600 as it belonged to the same Zen 2 family as the PS5’s CPU. I would have loved to swap it for an 8-core Zen 2 chip for a more apples-to-apples comparison, but I was limited by the budget. This time, however, I’m willing to upgrade the CPU to a more modern part — still not an 8-core CPU, but the mighty Ryzen 5 5600 (which is simply a downclocked 5600X).

This Zen 3 processor still comes with 6 cores and 12 threads, but it’s comfortably faster than, say, an 8-core Zen 2 CPU, such as the Ryzen 7 3700X. It’s another matter that the 3700X is hard to come by these days, save for an OEM variant that doesn’t come with a bundled cooler. And that’s a big plus for the Ryzen 5 5600 with its Wraith Stealth cooler in the box. We’ll need to save every penny we can, where we can.

I know swapping the Ryzen 5 3600 for the 5600 inflates the cost a bit, especially when we need to focus more on the GPU, but I’m aiming to squarely corner the PS5 Pro in the CPU department as well. Since the PS5 Pro relies heavily on AI-based PSSR upscaling, the role of the processor becomes more important, especially when targeting 4K resolution, which is what the PS5 Pro users will be using (non-native 4K, yes, but our PC will do the same thing with FSR).

Ryzen 5 5600

$115 $199 Save $84

The Ryzen 5 5600 is still a great 6-core, 12-thread CPU. It might be a previous-gen product, but it’s perfect for any DDR4-based gaming PC, considering its solid performance.

6 Motherboard

Pinching pennies yet retaining the essentials

The motherboard is usually one of the components where it’s easy to cut costs when building a budget gaming PC. Pick a micro-ATX board, eliminate bonuses like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and make do with 2 RAM slots — this is how it usually goes. However, my goal here is not only to go toe-to-toe with the PS5 Pro at the same price, but also to showcase the things you just can’t do on a console, which you can on a PC.

That’s why I decided to go with the Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC, which is one of the best B550 motherboards, featuring onboard Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, a fast Gen4 NVMe slot for our SSD, 4 RAM slots for future memory upgrades, and a mostly decent construction for this PC. I could have saved around $25 by picking a cheaper motherboard, but eliminating Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 2 RAM slots didn’t seem worth the cost savings — Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are expected on a console alternative, especially if Ethernet and keyboard/mouse aren’t preferable.

Moreover, I’m positioning this PC as a console alternative to be used with a TV, if needed. So, spending $25 more on onboard Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and RAM upgradability seemed like the natural choice.

Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC

$100 $130 Save $30

The Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC is a budget B550 micro-ATX motherboard with onboard WiFi & Bluetooth, a Gen4 M.2 slot, 4 RAM slots, and a pre-installed M.2 heatsink.

5 RAM

Nothing fancy, just DDR4 sweet spot memory

DDR4 RAM has become extremely affordable, so there’s no reason not to pick a fast 16GB kit. Choosing the G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3600MT/s CL16 kit, you’re hitting that sweet spot of DDR memory with high frequency and low latency. Plus, 16GB will be plenty for gaming, for the most part, and you can always choose to double the memory to 32GB later, thanks to the 4 RAM slots on the motherboard.

The PS5 Pro uses a shared 16GB GDDR6 memory pool between the CPU and GPU, which is much faster than our DDR4 memory, but in real-world performance, I don’t see this negatively affecting our gaming performance. Since our graphics card will have a generous amount of dedicated VRAM, we shouldn’t be worrying too much about picking a relatively slower 16GB kit.

G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4

$36 $38 Save $2

16GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V 3600MT/s CL16 memory is ideal for a budget DDR4 gaming PC. You can always upgrade to 32GB later, but 16GB won’t hold you back either.

4 SSD

Choosing speed over capacity

The PS5 Pro doubled the internal SSD from 1TB to 2TB, retaining the same speed. We could go with a 2TB Gen4 SSD for our build, but I decided in favor of one of the best 1TB Gen4 gaming SSDs on the market — WD Black SN850X. It makes full use of the PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot on our motherboard, and its 7,300MB/s read speed exceeds the PS5’s requirement of 5,500MB/s.

The storage capacity of this PC will be half that of the PS5 Pro, but I went with the 1TB SSD to maximize performance, and hence, the experience. You can later add another 1TB SSD to your motherboard when you find the existing capacity lacking. Of course, 1TB isn’t paltry by any standard, and you can easily make it last for the foreseeable future.

WD Black SN850X PCIe 4.0 SSD

$80 $115 Save $35

The WD Black SN850X is one of the best PCIe 4.0 gaming SSDs on the market, featuring blazing-fast read/write speeds. It’s right at home in a gaming PC as well as a PS5.

3 PSU

Par for the course

The power supply for a budget PC like this doesn’t need to be anything fancy. A modest 650W 80+ Bronze unit would be just fine, even for the graphics card I’m planning to use. That’s why I picked the Corsair CX650, an 80+ Bronze, non-modular unit that comes with a silent fan and a 5-year warranty. At this budget, picking a Gold-rated modular unit wasn’t possible.

650W is enough to adequately power this PC, but a future GPU upgrade might not be as simple as a RAM upgrade. You’ll have to pick a graphics card that doesn’t mandate anything more than a 650W PSU. However, the existing GPU I choose in this build is powerful enough to last for quite a few years, as it can easily compete with the PS5 Pro’s upgraded GPU, including the ability to power modern games at 4K 60+ FPS.

Corsair CX650

$65 $70 Save $5

The Corsair CX650 provides 650W of 80+ Bronze power, ideal for a budget to mid-range gaming PC. It’s a relatively reliable unit, comes with a 5-year warranty, and features a low-noise fan. It’s a non-modular unit, but that’s a minor downside at this price. 

2 Case

Both form and function

Picking a specced-out RGB case isn’t the priority here. However, I won’t look away from an ideal combination of necessary features and a sleek aesthetic at an attractive price. That’s exactly what the Gamdias Aura GC2 provides, thanks to a great white aesthetic, 4 pre-installed ARGB fans, front mesh panel, and a closed PSU shroud.

This case might not be as flashy as the PS5 Pro, but it comes close enough for its price. Plus, it’s adequate for the hardware we’ll install inside it. It can even fit ATX motherboards and accommodate additional fans should you require that in the future. The Gamdias Aura GC2 is one of the best budget PC cases you can find at this price, and it works perfectly for this gaming PC.

Gamdias Aura GC2

The Gamdias Aura GC2 is a feature-rich budget PC case that comes with four pre-installed ARGB fans, ATX motherboard support, front mesh panel, and a covered PSU shroud. It also has a nice white aesthetic that combines well with both black and white components. It’s one of the best cases if you’re on a strict budget, but still need a case with good airflow and looks.

1 Graphics card

The pièce de résistance

Finally, we’ve arrived at the heart of this budget gaming PC that hopes to rival the mighty PS5 Pro. I’ve picked a GPU that closely resembles that of the PS5 Pro, namely an RDNA 2 graphics card with the same number of compute units as on Sony’s upgraded console GPU. The RX 6800 was one of AMD’s most powerful GPUs back in 2020, and it remains so today, at least against the PS5 Pro.

Sony is likely leveraging AMD’s RDNA 4-powered upscaling in the PS5 Pro, backported to the RDNA 2 GPU inside it. This hardware-assisted AI upscaling will be much better than that available on the RX 6800 using FSR 3. However, I’m confident that, combined with the Zen 3 CPU we picked, the RX 6800 will be able to do anything the PS5 Pro can.

Sure, this pushes the price of our gaming PC to a total of $816, around $100 more than that of the PS5 Pro, but we managed to compete with and even beat the PS5 Pro on our limited budget. You also need to note that, similar to the PS5, not every title will support 60 FPS at 4K on the PS5 Pro. On this gaming PC, however, you can enjoy unlocked framerates on every title, leveraging upscaling to get 60+ FPS even at 4K (in the majority of titles).

XFX Speedster SWFT319 AMD Radeon RX 6800

The XFX Speedster SWFT319 AMD Radeon RX 6800 is a high-end graphics card that goes head-to-head with the PS5 Pro GPU. Being a previous-gen card, its price has fallen considerably, making this a fantastic deal for any budget or mid-range gaming PC. Thanks to AMD’s FSR upscaling tech, the RX 6800 can even provide playable framerates at 4K in many modern titles.

An $800 gaming PC vs. a $700 console

We exceeded the $700 target, but you need to remember that the PS5 Pro stand will cost $30 extra. Moreover, unlike on most PCs, a disc drive is still common on most consoles. If you want that, you’ll have to shell out another $80. Even if we disregard both of these things, the cost of the online subscription required on the PS5 Pro to play online doesn’t exist on the PC.

Our gaming PC doesn’t include the cost of peripherals or a Windows license, but you can always manage with an affordable Windows key and a budget keyboard and mouse. Plus, the value you can derive out of an $800 PC is far more than that of a $700 console. Your PC can do more than just gaming, and you can upgrade it as you go along, which isn’t possible on a console.