It has become virtually impossible to build a PC that matches the specs of the PlayStation 5 Pro for a similar price.
This is due to rapidly rising RAM and SSD prices across the world, with the costs of both components more than doubling since 2025.
The PlayStation 5 Pro currently retails for around R20,999 from Amazon South Africa, which includes one controller.
The PlayStation 5 Pro supports 4K gaming at 60 FPS – and even at up to 120 FPS on some titles.
Sony does not officially list all of the specs of its console, but it has 16GB GDDR6 RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a custom AMD CPU.
We attempted to build a PC with two main objectives in mind: similar pricing and similar components (and therefore comparative performance) to the PlayStation 5 Pro.
A rough PC equivalent of these specs would be an AMD Radeon 9060 XT 16GB, AMD Radeon RX 7700XT 12GB, Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, or Nvidia RTX 4070 12GB for the GPU, according to TechRadar.
For the CPU, the equivalent would be an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X or Ryzen 5 7600.
The PlayStation 5 Pro is built on a unified architecture where the CPU and GPU can share memory. It is therefore important to have at least 16GB RAM in the PC, though more would be a fairer comparison.
Using Wootware’s PCBuilder tool, we constructed a desktop PC that had many similarities to the PlayStation 5 Pro.
We were unable to replicate all the specs while staying within the price constraints. So we aimed to keep as close to the PlayStation 5 Pro price as possible, but this meant compromising on a few components.
While we got somewhat close, we could not beat the price and performance of the PlayStation 5 Pro.
Here is our build:
| Component | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i3-14100 4-Core 4.70GHz Raptor Lake-S Socket LGA1700 | R3,299 |
| CPU Cooler | ID-Cooling FROZN A410 SE 120mm Single-Tower Black PWM | R379 |
| GPU | XFX Radeon RX 9060 XT Swift Triple Fan Gaming OC Edition RX 16GB GDDR6 128-bit PCI-E 5.0 | R9,199 |
| Motherboard | MSI PRO H610M-S DDR4 Intel H610 Raptor Lake LGA 1700 Micro-ATX | R1,499 |
| RAM | HIKSEMI Hiker DDR4 16GB DDR4-3200 CL22 1.35V Black | R2,299 |
| Storage | Western Digital Blue 1TB 2.5″ SATA 3.0 | R2,799 |
| PSU | FSP VITA-750BD VITA BD 750W PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Bronze Non-Modular ATX 3.1 Black | R999 |
| Chassis | Antec VX310 ARGB Clear Tempered Glass Black Steel ATX Mid-Tower | R499 |
Costs and compromises
In our build, we aimed to have at least a 16GB GPU and 16GB RAM in order to come close to the PlayStation 5 Pro’s setup.
However, this meant a few compromises had to be made. We could only get a 1TB SSD for this price, and it wasn’t an M.2 either – it was a slower, 2.5-inch SATA.
The rising RAM prices have made the jump in price from DDR4 to DDR5 significant. We therefore had to use older and slower 3,200MHz DDR4 to get anywhere near the PlayStation 5 Pro pricing.
The CPU we chose was also not quite as good as the PlayStation 5 Pro’s CPU, offering only four cores. It did, however, offer a generous 4.70GHz clock speed.
There are also a few things missing. You might need a Wi-Fi adapter if you don’t have an Ethernet connection. These start at around R525 for a PCIe Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless adapter.
You also need Windows 11 (R2,249) and a few peripherals like a mouse and keyboard.
So, although our base build was a comparative price (R20,972), once you add the final touches, you’re looking at around R25,000 for a still arguably worse build.
It is also worth noting that this price does not include assembly. You would need to assemble your desktop yourself, or pay an additional R800 for assembly and stress testing.
The caveat
However, this total cost of ownership depends on other factors, too. For example, if you want to play games online on a PlayStation 5 Pro (or any PlayStation 5 or Xbox), you will need to pay for an online subscription.
This is not required on PC. You can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass on PC, but it is not a requirement to be able to play games online.
PlayStation Plus starts at R149 per month for a 1-month subscription, or R1,109 per year for the base subscription.
On the higher end of the scale, you’re looking at R279 per month or R2,199 for a full year.
This means that if your goal is to play online, your subscription costs could wipe out any savings you made by choosing a PlayStation 5 Pro within 2-4 years.
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