Which GPU is in the PS5 Pro, and how to build an equivalent gaming PC in 2025?

The PS5 Pro is the fastest home video gaming console in the market today. It serves as a mid-cycle refresh to the original PlayStation 5, which is almost five years old today. While PC gaming was targeted and made nearly "obsolete" when these consoles launched, the community has caught up quickly. You can put together a machine that outperforms the consoles for relatively less these days.

So, how is PC gaming vs. PS5 Pro faring in mid-2025? Let's try to put together a gaming system that matches the console and find out.

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What GPU is in the PS5 Pro?

The PlayStation 5 Pro represents the pinnacle of console gaming in 2025 (Image via Amazon)

The PS5 Pro features a custom AMD GPU called "Viola" built on a 4nm process with 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GPU operates at a frequency of 2170 MHz (boosting to 2350 MHz) with 16GB GDDR6 memory running at 18 Gbps. Multiple desktop-grade graphics have matched and exceeded this spec, making it easy to build an equivalent rig in 2025.

The graphics chip features 16.7 TFLOPs of compute performance (67% more compute units than the base PS5). While that's impressive performance, high-end desktop GPUs like the 5080 ship with 56.3 TFLOPs of gaming performance.

The PS5 also ships with a total of 18 GB of RAM, 2 GB of which is DDR5 and is explicitly reserved for OS functions. You also get a 2 TB internal SSD and Wi-Fi 7 support.

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How to build a gaming PC similar to the PS5 Pro in 2025?

PS5 Pro equivalent gaming PCs can be built on a budget (Image via Asus ROG)

With last-gen hardware now sufficiently discounted, you can easily put together a cost-efficient gaming rig that matches or even supersedes the performance of the pro-grade console. Here's a sample build that tries to match the PS5 Pro's $700 pricing:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (~$123) - 8 cores/16 threads
• GPU: RTX 4070 ($520) or RX 7800 XT ($500)
• Memory: 16GB DDR4-3200 (~$50-60)
• Storage: 2TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (~$150-200)
• Motherboard: B550 chipset (~$100-150)
• Power Supply: 550W 80+ Bronze (~$80)
• Case & Cooling: ~$100-150

The overall cost of this build still easily exceeds $1,100 (excluding Windows license). We have opted for a Zen 3 eight-core chip that's roughly four years old. Newer alternatives like the Ryzen 7 7700 and 9700X are selling for over $250, which would rack up the cost even more.

We also opt for the last-gen RTX 4070 as it's faster than the RTX 5060 Ti at a similar price. The RX 7800 XT pulls ahead of the new-gen alternatives, making it an alternative that's more faithful to the all-AMD design of the console.

It's worth noting that matching the PS5 Pro's power efficiency is quite difficult, too. Our choice of components easily draws close to 400W under full load, much more than the console's 220-240W operating power budget.

PC builds offer flexibility, support for higher refresh rates (120 FPS+), frame generation technology, and the ability to customize graphics settings. Star Wars Outlaws can run 60% faster with better image quality than the base PS5. Modding is exclusive to PC, too. You also get games from both PS5 and Xbox on this platform.

Moreover, native 4K gaming is only possible on PC. The console frequently resorts to extreme upscaling to hit playable numbers. While the PS5 Pro brings excellent value to the table, the high $700 asking price makes PC gaming more relevant than ever.