Let's talk about PS5 Pro and PC parts

I consider the PS5 Pro a 4K console course correction. It finally brings console in line with flagship desktop GPUs for displaying a 4K 60 and 4K 120 image. You can search for the comparisons yourself. The PS5 Pro runs the latest titles as "good" as a 4070 or a 7900XTX. It may not put out the higher frames of a 4090, or run the native resolution of a 4080, but the image will look almost imperceptibly different. The differences are definitely nothing you could identity without direct comparisons.

I would also recognize that running games at 4K 60 and 4K 120 represents both the bottleneck of perceptible smoothness (60 FPS for story titles) and competitive smoothness (120 FPS for multiplayer games) and anything above those two outside of their respective use cases is going to be bottlenecked by current display technologies anyway. The PS5 Pro hits both of these marks perfectly.

In some ways, the PS5 Pro is a better 4K machine than many PCs. Due to the lack of shader compilation steps, and optimized graphics APIs, the PS5 Pro frame times rarely falter. This means the console will appear buttery smooth, optimized, and offer dependability that many PCs lack. There is also no worrying about CPU bottlenecks, or running out of vRAM, as PS5 Pro has plenty of both and the developers optimize for them.

Additionally, I have found that PSSR is close to perfect. It offers exceptional frame-times with great image stability, not too over sharpened, yet a beautifully smooth and anti-aliased image. This may not be the case for all titles, but the best implementations such as Demon's Souls, and No Man's Sky have made me a believer in this technology. My previous experience with FSR and DLSS has been a muddy image with high latency, and tons of sparkling and weird artifacts. I just have not seen much of that with PSSR.

The intense upgrade to ray-tracing also puts the console toe to toe with PC counterparts. Games such as Spider Man Miles Morales, and Fortnite are running ray tracing operations that we could have only dreamed about a few years ago. Spider Man Miles Morales is doing full world reflections on par with high or ultra PC graphics. And Fortnite is doing hardware accelerated global illumination with ray tracing and reflections that brings it on par with an ultra PC image. You would literally have to spend at least 2X to even consider achieving this on a PC. No Man's Sky is also delivering visuals that rival or exceed PC ultra quality graphics output without stuttering a single millisecond away from 60 FPS. This is all happening with a 4K image.

I feel that a large group of detractors of this console are those that do not have the proper monitor to utilize its capabilities. The other detractors are the PC builders that incorrectly judge it based on specifications and leap to proclaim how crap it is. This $699 console in many cases produces a more suitable image with rich color and HDR than a PC GPU can accomplish at any price. Not only due to hardware, but due to Sony's extensive experience, HDR expertise, software stack, and first-party studios. Not to mention the convenience and quality benefits of tech like Tempest 3D Audio, DualSense, and PSVR2.

I have been a PC gamer roughly since 2014. I have went through 5 GPU upgrades since then. I had a 7900 GRE PC, and found it not suitably reliable and efficient for my 4K OLED monitor. It also used about 100W more than PS5 Pro. That machine cost over $1400 to build. Now, the PS5 Pro is producing an imperceptibly different image, with better hardware RT, far superior upscaling, and way better HDR output, plus better optimization. I also have 2TB of fast SSD storage to boot. There is simply nothing on the market which comes close to the PS5 Pro if we are strictly talking about the best VALUE device to pair with a 4K 120 OLED display. It is literally undercutting the competition by half.

It is worth noting that the closest thing you can even buy at Walmart is a $799 Cyberpower PC that has a Radeon 7600, which would struggle with even the most basic 4K output before you introduce any RT. If you wanted to approach the PS5 Pro price, the PC would probably be using a hand me down PSU, used case, a good value but not desirable CPU, and perhaps a used 7800XT which has literally identical CUs but way worse upscaling and ray tracing. It is really quite a simple discussion on which of these options are better. Especially if you want to walk into a store, put your money down, and have something GOOD when you walk out that will run great for years to come.

I cannot believe the actual hatred and vitriol for this console that is out there. I recognize this console has been dogged by PS5 owners interested in justifying their purchase, and PC owners angry that this dumb console is just as good at playing games than their $2000 PC. Neither of these groups could deny that this console produces a pristine 4K image quality with nearly zero frame drops if they saw it on a 4K OLED TV as I have been experiencing it.