This GPU May Be The Closest To The PlayStation 5 Pro That Exists

By the time Sony officially announced the PlayStation 5 Pro on September 10th, 2024, the gaming world already knew a lot about it. Through leaks, rumors, and speculation, information about the PS5 Pro had many people wondering well in advance whether an upgrade over the original PS5 would be worth it. However, the eventual official announcement dispelled any doubts about the new console's improvements over its predecessor. The PS5 Pro's new GPU had enhanced specs that could deliver up to 45% faster rendering speeds.

The PS5 Pro's GPU, sometimes referred to as "Viola," is exclusive to the console and, therefore, not available for custom PCs. Instead, it's a child of collaboration between Sony and AMD. Consequently, it's considered part of AMD's RDNA 2 generation. However, it also borrows features from RDNA 3.0 and 4.0 architecture. That places it in the same family as the RX 6000 and 7000 series cards. Unsurprisingly, many graphics cards from those series are comparable to the PS5 Pro's GPU.

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the closest equivalent GPU to the PS5 Pro's GPU. Now, that's a bold claim to make, considering the intensity of the debate. Console fans and PC fans alike have been debating this topic ever since IGN asserted that the RTX 4070 was the closest equivalent following an interview with Richard Leadbetter from Digital Foundry. Since then, however, performance ratings, official specs, and even analyses from Leadbetter himself have revealed that the RTX 4070 is more powerful than the PS5 Pro and, therefore, not an accurate equivalent. Other strong contenders include the RTX 4060 Ti and the RX 6800, but the RX 7700 XT is ultimately the best fit.

Before getting into the weeds of technical specs, first consider the similarity of the architecture used for the PS5 Pro's GPU and the RX 7700 XT. The "architecture" of a GPU refers to the organizational layout of its computing components, like processing cores. When companies like AMD design a new series of graphics cards, they re-engineer the previous generation's architecture to meet modern graphics demands. For example, the best AMD gaming graphics cards feature optimized architecture that enables smooth operation with AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), which uses AI to upscale resolutions. 

The PS5 Pro uses AMD architecture, but it's not a specific generation. Instead, it builds upon the RDNA 2.0 architecture of the original PS5 by adding newer features from RDNA 3.0 and 4.0, giving it the nickname "RDNA 2.x." Comparatively, the RX 7700 XT uses RDNA 3.0 architecture. Because of this difference, you might think that the PS5 Pro isn't as optimized as the RX 7700 XT. However, the PS5 Pro makes up for its slightly outdated architecture by incorporating dedicated hardware to run its own AI-powered upscaler, called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). As a result, the two GPUs perform similarly when running their respective upscaling technology. 

The RX 7700 XT and PS5 Pro also share similar specs. For example, their boost clock speeds are close, with the 7700 XT maxing out at 2544 MHz and the PS5 Pro maxing out at 2350 MHz. And while the 7700 XT has 12GB of VRAM, the PS5 Pro has 16GB; their hardware differences balance out their performances. That's because the 7700 XT has second-generation ray-tracing cores, while the PS5 Pro requires that extra 4GB of VRAM to handle its less-efficient first-generation ray-tracing cores.

Perhaps the most widely cited equivalent to the PS5 Pro is the GeForce RTX 4070. Its proponents point to the similarities of the console's ray tracing technology and machine-learning block with the feature set of NVIDIA GPUs. However, now that the PS5 Pro has been released, many testers have placed its GPU in lower benchmarks than were originally predicted. 

In an analysis by tech reviewer Jacob Terkelsen, the PS5 Pro would need a 65% speed improvement over the original PS5 to match the performance of the RTX 4070, but it achieves speeds only 45% faster at most. Indeed, many user tests confirm that the PS5 Pro is slower than the RTX 4070. For instance, in 4K tests of Elden Ring, the PS5 Pro achieves frame rates in the mid-50s, while the RTX 4070 consistently maintains the game's 60fps cap. Meanwhile, the RX 7700 XT performs just as well as the PS5 Pro, hitting an average frame rate of 54 fps. 

Another commonly cited PS5 Pro equivalent is the RTX 4060 Ti. It has several comparable specs to those of the PS5 Pro, including the same 16GB of VRAM and similar clock speeds. However, when comparing performance, the RTX 4060 Ti falls short of the PS5 Pro. Again, when running Elden Ring at 4K, the PS5 Pro achieves frame rates in the mid–50s, as does the RX 7700 XT. At the same settings, the RTX 4060 Ti achieves frame rates in the high 40s. Of course, Elden Ring is just one game, and such comparisons depend on numerous factors, including differences in ray-tracing technologies, graphics settings, and upscaling modes. But if you want the closest match in terms of performance, the RX 7700 XT is your best bet.