PS5 Pro vs RX 7900 XT – how do they compare?

The PS5 Pro has now launched, and the community was eagerly waiting for it. It promised better performance by leveraging its beefier hardware and PSSR. However, unsurprisingly, many are also wondering how it would do against gaming PCs or, more specifically, how its graphics card compares to desktop GPUs. 

So, we’ll compare the PS5 Pro to the RX 7900 XT, which is second in AMD’s performance hierarchy. However, remember that comparing a gaming console to a standalone GPU is not linear, meaning you can’t do a direct one-to-one comparison. 

One is a complete system, and the other requires other components to bring out its potential. That said, we’ll do our best to paint a clear and accurate picture, but take these comparisons with a grain of salt.  

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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Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XT

GPU

Navi 31

Stream Processors

5,376

VRAM

20GB GDDR6

Memory bus

320-bit

Base clock speed

1,387 MHz

Game Clock speed

2.2025 MHz

Boost clock speed

2,500 MHz

Bandwidth

800 GB/sec

TDP

300 W

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How do they vary? 

The PS5 Pro has received significant buffs, which puts it in a different league from the PS5. However, since we don’t have the official specifications from Sony, we’ll look at the PS5 specifications and do some calculations. 

According to Sony, the PS5 Pro has 67% more Compute units and 28% faster memory. The PS5, according to Techpowerup, has 36 Compute units and 2,304 shading units. So, if we add 67% more to 36, the Compute units come around to 60 while the sharing units increase to 3,840. 

Another aspect to consider is the GPU architecture in the PS5 Pro. If they stick with RDNA-2, its GPU would perform like the RX 6800 since it has 3,840 Stream Processors. However, if they upgrade to the RDNA-3 architecture, it would be in the league of the RX 7800 XT, which we’ve reviewed. However, in recent gaming benchmarks, it seems like the PS5 Pro is trailing behind the RX 6800. 

However, compared to the RX 7900 XT, which is a level above the RX 7800 XT, it would fall short, at least on paper. The RX 7900 XT has 5,376 Stream Processors, an 800 GB/sec bandwidth, and 20GB GDDR6. So, let’s see who wins in this showdown. 

Performance expectations

Luckily for us, we’ve reviewed both of these GPUs in-house. This means we can compare their in-game performance at 4K in different titles, which should give us insight into how the PS5 Pro might perform. 

However, remember that the PS5 Pro GPU and CPU are optimized for PlayStation platform titles. Also, we test our GPUs natively, meaning we don’t enable DLSS or FSR to boost performance. This allows us to gauge their native real-world performance.

So, it isn’t surprising to see a performance difference between these two GPUs. The RX 7800 XT is a mid-range GPU, while the RX 7900 XT is a high-end GPU, only second to the RX 7900 XTX. 

So, if there is a gaming PC with the RX 7900 XT, it should outperform the PS5 Pro. However, both can use AI upscaling technologies, such as FSR and PSSR, to boost in-game performance. 

Final word

As I said in the beginning, comparing a GPU to a console isn’t straightforward, and while the PS5 Pro has significantly improved performance, it simply can’t match the raw performance of the RX 7900 XT. 

However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful, as both platforms cater to different people. The PS5 Pro has less clutter, doesn’t need to be assembled, and can be used right out of the box. You can build a PC that would rival a PS5 Pro and cost roughly the same, but that would require some hardware knowledge, time, and effort. If that is something you’re okay with, it will do more than just gaming – pros and cons.