If you are on the edge over whether to buy a PS5 or to build a gaming PC centered around the NVIDIA RTX 3070, then this PS5 vs RTX 3070 comparison should help you decide.
One thing that you have to understand, then when comparing PS5 with a GPU, it is not just about the raw GPU power, you also have to compare the overall value or cost per performance ratio that each gives.
PS5 is a complete entertainment package. RTX 3070, on the other hand, is just one standalone device that goes into a PC that needs to be built separately.
So with that said, let us compare the two giants and see which one stands on top. But first, let us draw a baseline for comparison.
The Graphics Card in PS5
For starters, at the heart of PS5’s graphic engine lies the AMD custom-built Oberon graphics card based on the RDNA 2 architecture.
This is the same architecture that the high-end AMD 6000 series GPUs such as the RX 6600XT, 6700XT, etc use.
As such, since this is a custom-built GPU, you cannot measure where it stands in the performance hierarchy against PC graphics cards using traditional benchmarks.
Using Teraflops for Comparison
Traditionally, when you compare two PC GPUs, you use popular benchmarks such as the G3DMark, GeekBench, etc.
However, since PS5 is not a traditional PC and since there is no way to install the benchmarking software on a PS5 to measure the GPU’s performance, we cannot use these benchmarks.
Instead, we rely on a metric known as TERAFLOPS.
While not the most definitive metric, it can give you a fairly accurate measure of the RAW GPU performance of a certain graphics card.
You can think of Teraflops as the GPU equivalent to the horsepower in cars. A higher number of Teraflops equates to support for higher graphics, higher resolution, and higher frame rate.
Teraflops has three sub-metrics depending upon the level of precision.
- Half (FP16) – Fastest
- Single (FP32)
- Double (FP64) – Slowest
For measuring a GPU’s prowess in gaming, we use the SINGLE or FP32 Teraflops measurement.
PS5 vs RTX 3070 – Which is Better?
So the following table shows you the Teraflops of PS5, RTX 3070, and also of some other popular NVIDIA graphics cards.
| Device | Teraflops |
| 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 3070 | 20.3 |
| NVIDIA RTX 4060 | 24 |
| NVIDIA RTX 3080 | 29.8 |
| NVIDIA RTX 4090 | 100 Power Overwhelming |
- RTX 3070 Teraflops taken from.
So PS5 has a Teraflops of 10.28 (lower than that of Xbox Series X btw) and the NVIDIA RTX 3070 has Teraflops of almost twice as that at 20.3.
As such, when comparing the raw GPU power, there is literally no comparison to be made.
NVIDIA RTX is far ahead in terms of graphics prowess as compared to PS5.
Not All RTX 3070 Are Created Equally Though (Especially for Laptops)!
It should be noted that not all NVIDIA RTX 3070 graphics cards are created equally and this is particularly true when you compare desktop vs laptop-based variants.
The comparison above was for the standard desktop-based RTX 3070 card.
The laptop-based variants of NVIDIA RTX 3070 are classified in terms of the TGP (Total Graphics Power) they conform to. This is represented in terms of Wattage.
The higher the TGP wattage, the better would be its performance. The lower the wattage, the lower would be the performance.
Laptop-based RTX 3070 can have TGP ranging from 85W – 145W. Acer Nitro 5 AN515-45-R1JH, for instance, features RTX 3070 with TGP 85W. MSI GP76 Leopard 10UG-291, on the other hand, features TGP of 140W.
The TGP levels can mean a world of difference in terms of performance. So much so that an 85W RTX 3070 is almost the same in performance as RTX 3060.
But even so, even the weakest NVIDIA RTX 3070 is better in performance compared to PS5.
The Overall Value Comparison
A PS5 has an MSRP of $499 for the Standard Edition and $399 for the Digital Edition.
A PS5 is a complete package. It includes the motherboard, storage, RAM, ports, and in the case of Standard Edition, a Blu-Ray Disc Drive.
Not to mention, it also includes a state-of-the-art DualSense controller, and various cables to go along with it.
NVIDIA RTX 3070, on the other hand, just the graphics card alone can EASILY COST $499.
If you were to buy your RTX 3070 from a respectable it can easily cost you anywhere between $449 to $570.
Now building an entire PC on top of this would easily cost you an additional $500-$600 given that you go for entry – mid-range components.
So, in the end, you can end up looking at a cost of about $1200-$1300 considering that you will also need to buy a decent keyboard and a mouse.
Comparing Teralops / USD, we can deduce:
- PS5 Standard: 10.28 Teraflops / $499 = 0.0206 Teraflops Per Dollar
- PS5 Digital: 10.28 Teraflops / $ 399 = 0.025 Teraflops Per Dollar
- RTX 3070 PC: 20.3 Teraflops / $1200 (typical) = 0.0169 Teraflops Per Dollar
As such, PS5 obviously has a better value overall.
In fact, judging by the number above, PS5 Standard and Digital offer a 21% and 48% better value for money respectively as compared to a PC built around the RTX 3070.
Final Words
There is absolutely no doubt that when it comes to PS5 vs RTX 3070, the latter offers much better performance.
RTX 3070 is an overall much better GPU as compared to that in a PS5. The things that you can do with it are simply phenomenal. From 4K gaming at very high graphics to gaming on ultra and super ultrawide monitors.
However, comparing the overall value, RTX 3070 does fall a bit short. PS5 has a better overall value ESPECIALLY if you choose to go for the Digital Edition.
Whether you prefer value over performance ALL depends upon you overall budget.
