A PC to Match Xbox Series X and PS5

Table of Contents

• A PC to Match Xbox Series X and PS5
• You don't want to buy a PlayStation 5? Invest in these components

You don't want to buy a PlayStation 5? Invest in these components

GPU

What graphics card for a gaming computer? The graphics card is the most important aspect in a computer designed for video games. It mostly determines the performance of the entire hardware, the resolution you can play at, and the number of frames per second. The latter is particularly important because both Sony and Microsoft want to continue the path of playing in 4K resolution. If the PS5 delivers 4K and 60fps in a given game, you can be sure that the same 1080p 60fps production will work even on a mid-range GPU. The RTX 2080 Ti ($1,400) works well in 4K, and the GTX 1660 Super ($350) in 1080p.

In order not to worry about PC performance after the PS5 and Xbox Series X launch, you need to invest in an expensive card like the GeForce RTX 2080 Super or RTX 2080 Ti. But it will all depend on how game manufacturers approach the video memory aspect and the resolution itself. We should also not forget about the technological innovation called real time ray tracing. It looks like it will be the focal point of the next GPUs.

RTX 2080 Super is enough for even the most demanding players.

CPU and motherboard

The CPU is probably the easiest choice of all the components, given the specifications of the new consoles. The AMD Ryzen 7 3700x is a unit almost identical to the one that will be installed in the PS5 and Xbox Series X, so we bet on this one. Eight cores and sixteen threads are enough for a long period of time. By pairing the CPU with the motherboard with the X570 chipset (for example, ASUS TUF X570 Gaming Plus), you can use the NVMe SSD on the PCIe 4.0 interface, and as we know from the Sony showcases – SSD is the most important component!

You don't really know how data drives will affect the creation of games, and it's hard to predict anything here. Currently, no game I know fully uses 1GB/s drives, so buying a motherboard for one 300 bucks (ASUS TUF X570), just because it has support for PCIe 4.0, is questionable. If you want to save a few hundred bucks, it's worth looking for the B450 chipset (for example, the MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX). We also don't know how PCIe 4.0 will affect the performance of subsequent graphics cards. It is theoretically possible to use such a large bandwidth, but for now only in synthetic tests. You also have to consider that even Intel's newest processors, the Core 10. generation (Comet Lake), do not support this solution.

Ryzen 7 3700X performs well in games.

RAM and SSD

How much RAM in 2020? For the 2020 Games it is useful to have at least 8 GB of operating memory, but the optimal amount is 16 GB. You can't compare it to what you'll find in consoles, but because the computer is equipped with the Ryzen 7 3700x, it's worth looking for 3200-3600 MHz RAM. Such "souvenirs" could be, for example, the Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200 MHZ CL 16 2x 8 GB costing less than $150 or the G. Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB 3600 MHz CL 16 for $120.

What SSD for a gaming computer? The data drive for our computer will be the Silicon Power A80 NVMe SSD with a capacity of 1 TB. It's completely enough for the system and games and there will be no problems with long loading screens. The cost of the carrier is less than $180. SOme of you probably noticed that this SSD has a PCIe 3.0 interface and a performance of 3.4 GB/s (read). It is therefore much slower than the drive installed in the PS5. Unfortunately, the SSD on PCIe 4.0 costs just over $300 zlotys for 1 TB (for example, Gigabyte Aorus 1 TB with 5 GB/s performance), and it's still slower than the PS5.

We are not in a position at this point to purchase a consumer SSD with better performance or compare the best available matrix to the drive installed in the PS5. One reason for this is that the PS5 has hardware support for on-the-fly file decompression, which is the responsibility of the PCB.

Whether one will be able to build a PC with the performance and price of the new consoles will probably not be known until the end of the year.

PS5 and Xbox Series X performance gaming computer

Let's start by saying that buying a gaming PC right before the launch of next-generation consoles is a mistake if you don't need one immediately. Not only did the worldwide coronavirus pandemic send prices for individual components skyrocketing, we still have the launch of new graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia.

As you can see, a computer with which you won't have to worry too much about performance in games after the launch of next-generation consoles is not among the cheapest. For many, 2000 bucks is too much. Fortunately, you don't have to spend that much money if you don't need a computer ASAP. The PS5 and Xbox Series X will not hit the market (reportedly) until the Christmas period, which means there is still plenty of time for a potential price drop and the launch of new components.

So watch the market and watch the launch of new graphics cards and processors with us. In December we return to the topic and start recommending more efficient and cost-effective components.