PS5 Pro vs RTX 4080 Super – how do they compare?

After a long wait, the PS5 Pro has finally been launched, and now we can see how much the hardware and software improvements impact in-game performance. Console players are also hyped for this, but the PC gaming community is also keeping an eye on this release as the battle between console and PC rages on. 

Many ask which GPU compares to the PS5 Pro, and then different graphic cards are compared to see how the console stacks up against them. This time around, we’ll be comparing it to the RTX 4080 Super, a solid 4K gaming beast. 

However, since we only have certain percentages of how the PS5 Pro has improved over the PS5, the actual hardware used isn’t clear, but we can see the technical presentation to gauge how it might perform in the real world. 

PlayStation 5 Pro

CPU

8 core / 16 thread AMD Zen 2

GPU

RDNA-based graphics engine

Memory

16GB GDDR6

RAM

2GB DDR5

Storage

2TB SSD

TDP

390W

WiFi standard

WiFi 7

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Gigabyte RTX 4080 Super Windforce V2

GPU

AD103

CUDA Cores

10,240

VRAM

16GB GDDR6X

Bandwidth

736.3 GB/s

Memory bus width

256-bit

Base clock speed

2295 MHz

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Spec comparison

According to Sony, the PS5 Pro has 67% more Compute units and 28% faster memory than the PS5. Also, according to a recent leak, the PS5 Pro has 16GB GDDR6 VRAM and 2GB DDR5 RAM. So, if the PS5 Pro is using RDNA 2 graphics, its GPU would land somewhere around the RX 6800 range. However, if the upgrade for RDNA 3 and with the buffed-up hardware, its performance could rival that of the RX 7800 XT that we’ve reviewed. 

However, it isn’t a straightforward comparison as we don’t exactly know what is powering the PS5 Pro and are making an educated guess based on the PS5’s specifications and the improvement percentage that Sony has made public. 

That said, the PS5 has 2,305 sharing units, and if the PS5 Pro has 67% more and 28% faster memory, it should have around 3,840 shading units and 570GB/s memory. The RTX 4080 Super has 10,240 CUDA cores and a bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s. 

So, even at a glance, we can see that the 4080 Super is a much more powerful GPU than what the PS5 Pro is carrying, and if it is comparable to the RX 7800 XT, we can also draw a potential performance comparison. 

Performance expectations

We’ve tested these GPUs in-house for the respective reviews and on the same test bench, meaning we can draw a direct comparison. However, remember that this doesn’t accurately showcase how the PS5 Pro might perform, as we don’t have the full specifications right now.

Also, the GPU in the PS5 Pro would be more optimized for specific use cases than discrete graphics cards because they consume more power and require more space. With that said, we’ve made a table highlighting the performance of the RX 7800 XT and the RTX 4080 Super across various titles. 

These framerates are for 4K without enabling AI upscaling technologies like DLSS 3 or FSR 3. There is a clear difference in performance, which isn’t surprising given that the 4080 Super has better hardware powering it. 

However, you might experience better FPS with the PS5 Pro as console titles are more optimized, as is the hardware to push higher figures. Also, with the inclusion of PSSR, you should be able to play the latest releases even if they are more resource-intensive, as they can be rendered at a lower resolution and then upscaled to 4K.   

Final word

Overall, we expect the PS5 Pro to deliver better results than the PS5; however, the RTX 4080 Super performs significantly better. That isn’t surprising, as the GPU is almost as large as the console, and the PS5 Pro has to fit multiple working parts in a smaller space. This means they need to be optimized for performance and power, and if the power is being optimized, the performance takes a hit. It’s a vicious cycle, but slowly and surely, it is improving, and the PS5 Pro seems to be a step in the right direction.