The PlayStation 5, is a gaming powerhouse, but, how does it fare against the so-called “PC Master Race”? More importantly what is the PS5 graphics card equivalent NVIDIA GPU?
Those who use NVIDIA graphics cards as the benchmark for graphics processing in a given generation would love to know if PS5 can stack up well against the popular current-gen NVIDIA graphics.
The purpose of this discussion is twofold. Firstly, it is to identify an NVIDIA graphics card equivalent to the PS5 for someone who wants to mimic PS5’s performance on a PC.
If you take the current gen of NVIDIA RTX Series, the most equivalent GPU is the RTX 3050. If you take the NVIDIA GPUs at the time when PS5 was released, then PS5 is equivalent to RTX 2080 in terms of overall power.
Secondly, we want to see how well the PS5 compares against the high-end NVIDIA GPUs of today and whether the PS5 really is equipped with a GPU that can hold on its own for the current generation of gaming.
Understanding PS5’s GPU in Terms of Teraflops
The PS5’s GPU is a custom GPU crafted by AMD, based on its RDNA 2 architecture. It’s like a bespoke suit tailored to fit the console’s needs perfectly, providing a seamless and optimized gaming experience.
As such, it is not available in the market as a standalone GPU that you can buy on your own and slap it into your PC.
Measuring the Prowess Through Teraflops
Since a PS5’s GPU cannot be interfaced with a PC, we cannot use the traditional GPU benchmarks such as G3DMark or Geekbench to measure its performance.
Instead, we will need to rely on a nifty (and a not-so-perfect) metric known as Teraflops.
Teraflops basically measures the RAW GPU power. The higher the Teraflops, the more powerful a GPU is.
Teraflops measurement is divided into three varying levels of precision:
- Half (FP16) – Fastest
- Single (FP32)
- Double (FP64) – Slowest
For gaming, we take SINGLE precision.
The following table compares PS5’s Teraflops with the latest and most relevant graphics cards today:
Device | Teraflops |
PS4 / PS4 Slim | 1.84 |
Xbox Series S | 4 |
PS4 Pro | 4.2 |
NVIDIA GTX 1660Ti | 5.4 |
NVIDIA RTX 3050 | 9.1 |
PS5 | 10.28 |
NVIDIA RTX 2080 | 10.6 |
NVIDIA GTX 1080Ti | 11.3 |
Xbox Series X | 12 |
NVIDIA RTX 3060 | 12.7 |
NVIDIA RTX 2080Ti | 14.2 |
NVIDIA RTX 4060 | 24 |
NVIDIA RTX 3080 | 29.8 |
NVIDIA RTX 4090 | 100Power Overwhelming |
So What Is PS5 Graphics Card Equivalent NVIDIA GPU?
Taking into account the current generation of NVIDIA graphics cards, PS5 has a similar performance to RTX 3050 – which is a mid-range graphics card at best with an MSRP of $249 judging by the current NVIDIA standards.
PS5 Was Comparable to High-End NVIDIA GPUs At the Time of Release
PS5 has comparable performance to the older popular flagship NVIDIA GPUs, the GTX 1080Ti and RTX 2080Ti, released in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Hence, the fact that PS5 was released in 2020 with a price tag of $499 made it quite the bargain for a gaming powerhouse.
To put this into perspective, RTX 2080Ti had an MSRP of $699 at the time of its release in 2019 and this was ONLY the cost of the GPU itself. A PC featuring this would have cost you at least double the price of a PS5.
Going Forward PS5 GPU Shows Its Age
As impressive as the PS5’s GPU may be, it’s important to remember that time waits for no one – not even for the state-of-the-art gaming consoles
When the NVIDIA GPU will surpass the performance and value compared to PS5 was not a matter of if but a question of one.
You can see that when you take the current generation of high-end NVIDIA graphics cards into consideration, then things do not look quite well for the PS5 moving forward.
A good high mid-range NVIDIA graphics card, RTX 4060, has twice the teraflops of the PS5. Don’t even get me started on the likes of high-end 4090.
In all honesty, we cannot draw a comparison of PS5 with high-end GPU anyways since they cost a fortune. RTX 4090 has an MSRP of $1599, more than thrice as much as the PS5.
PS5 Maybe Getting Old But It’s Optimized for the Consoles
As mentioned earlier, PS5’s GPU is like a bespoke suit made for the console. It is highly optimized and the simple metric of a Teraflop does not do full justice to how it compares with NVIDIA GPU.
This means it can still deliver a fantastic gaming experience despite the relentless march of progress. So, while it might not be the newest kid on the block, the PS5’s GPU can still hold its own and provide plenty of memorable gaming moments.
PS5 Pro is Around the Horizon
In the high-stakes world of gaming, the GPU wars can sometimes feel like an epic game of chess, with each side plotting their moves and countermoves to stay ahead of the competition.
As newer Nvidia GPUs have threatened or even outshined the PS5’s GPU, rumors of a secret weapon have begun to circulate: PS5 Pro is around the horizon.
If we take any inspiration from the PS4 Pro parallel, we can then Imagine a beefed-up version of the PS5, complete with an even more powerful GPU, capable of trading blows with the newest Nvidia GPUs and emerging victorious – or at least, with its pride intact.
PS4 Pro introduced a GPU that was MORE THAN TWICE as powerful as the one found on PS4 (see the table above).
Hence, we can safely assume that the beefier PS5 Pro sibling should be able to significantly stack up on the teraflops. We are hoping for AT LEAST 25 Teraflops to trade equal blows to the high mid-range NVIDIA GPUs of today.
As far as the release date goes, no one knows, but according to a trusted source.
There is a Difference between PC and Console Gaming Environment
When comparing the PS5 to Nvidia graphics cards, it’s important to remember that there are key differences between console and PC gaming environments.
Consoles like the PS5 benefit from the fact that game developers can optimize their games specifically for the console’s hardware, squeezing every last drop of performance from the system.
It’s like having a tailor-made suit that fits you perfectly, while PC gaming is more like wearing an adjustable one.
Another factor to consider is the impact of operating systems and driver support on performance. The PS5 runs on a custom operating system designed to streamline gaming and make the most of the hardware.
On the other hand, PCs run on more general-purpose operating systems like Windows aim to serve all NOT just the gamers.