Should I buy a PS5 or a PC? It's a tough question if you're eyeing up either of these amazing gaming options because there are pros and cons to both.
There are plenty of different things to consider on this, so if you're wondering if you should buy a PS5 or a PC then it's important to know all of the factors that could sway things one way or another.
We've gone ahead and balanced the two against each other to help you figure out which is the correct choice for you. So, let's jump into things.
PS5 vs PC price
The PS5 comes in two editions the Disc or Digital, each with a fixed price.
The PS5 Disc Edition comes in at $499 / £449, while the Digital version will set you back around $399 / £349, with a slim option available
While a PS5 will cost you a fair chunk of change, a PC at a similar price will not be able to offer the same performance when gaming, so you're going to need to spend more for a similar experience.
Although it is incredibly difficult to find the 'exact match' in terms of specs, we'd say a PC with similar specs to a PS5 is going to cost you upwards of $1200 / £1000.
However, PCs have higher potential, if you're willing to spend the money on building one, or buying one of the best gaming PCs around, you can get one that vastly outperforms the PS5, but you're looking at upwards of 3000 pounds or dollars.
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PS5 vs PC specs
When it comes to power, the PS5 has a 3.5 GHz 8-core AMD Zen 2 processor and AMD RDNA 2 GPU (10.28 teraflops) which combined with 16GB of RAM offer outstanding performance while gaming.
It's also got the highly attractive 4K at 120fps on select titles, which is great, and with 8K on the horizon with a future firmware update, there's a lot to look forward to.
So, if you grab yourself any of the best 4K TVs or HDMI 2.1 monitors to match your PS5, your games should look seriously impressive and feel incredibly smooth.
The PS5 also comes with 825GB of lightning-fast internal storage, with staggering load speeds of 5.5GB per second. While 825GB is a nice amount of storage space, if you need more you can grab yourself any of the best M.2 SSDs for PS5 and it can be expanded with up to an additional 4TB.
When it comes to PC specs, they are interchangeable and limited only by your budget, with the best processors and GPUs offering higher performance than PS5, though at more expense.
You aren't as limited by storage either with PCs, given that you can combine the use of a powerful external drive alongside your computer's internal SSD to get plenty of capacity.
Many of the best gaming PCs can make full use of devices that a PS5 can't such as standout 360hz monitors, and standalone graphics cards that can, if you get the right one, offer up a performance that's equal to or better than the PS5.
In addition, the titles that support ray tracing on PC are much larger than it is on the console, but the fact the PS5 supports ray tracing on some titles is still pretty cool.
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PS5 vs PC games
One of the other things to consider when facing the debate of PS5 or PC is the availability of games.
While there are many titles available on both devices, there are many which are exclusively on PC or only on PlayStation.
When it comes to the sheer volume of games, PC trumps the PlayStation by a long way with many of the most recent AAA games and PC-exclusive classics such as World Of Warcraft and League of Legends. However, some of the biggest and most sought-after games are exclusive to PlayStation, such as Spider-Man 2.
It is worth considering the types of games you like to play and looking into specifics before you make a decision and find your favourite game is missing from your platform when it's too late.
While the PS5 can, on select games, use both PS4 DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers and even mouse and keyboard for some, the PC is compatible with far more controller options.
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PS5 vs PC versatility
Another key thing to consider when deciding to go for either a PS5 or PC is simply the use case and versatility of each device.
If you're in the market for a powerful games console, then the PS5 is the way to go, especially given that 4K at 120fps capability thanks to the Zen 2 architecture, alongside blazing-fast load times.
Of course, you'll need to grab yourself one of the best PS5 monitors with HDMI 2.1 capabilities to take advantage of this.
A PC is arguably a more versatile device, especially if kitted out with the latest and most powerful hardware, as it can be used for more than playing games and be utilised for other tasks such as video editing or photo editing.
Although, this extra versatility that PCs offer does come at a higher cost than a PS5, so it's worth considering whether you want a do-it-all-device, or you just want the power and convenience of a console.
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PS5 vs PC: Which should you buy?
At $499 / £449, the PS5 (compared to gaming PCs) is relatively affordable, and you don't need to worry about swapping out parts to keep up to date. Plus, if you're not worried about peripherals like being able to play Blu-rays on PS5, you can save $100 / £100 and go for the Digital Edition over the Disc console.
The Sony exclusive games are also an important factor, however, if you're someone who prefers PC exclusives, then this can be a big factor.
Neither is necessarily the 'right' or 'wrong' choice but ultimately comes down to budget and the gaming experience you're looking for.
Many of us will opt for both. however, this isn't an option for many people and we'd say if you are solely looking to get the best gaming experience for the best price, go for the PS5.
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