PC World - USA (2020-12)

DECEMBER 2020 PCWorld 131

PS5 + XBOX SERIES X =?
Actually, this project aims to answer a second
question as well: What exactly goes into a PC
build designed to mimic the next-gen
consoles? After all, we as PC gamers, at the
time of this writing, can’t even buy an RDNA 2
GPU yet. (The Radeon RX 6800 and 6800XT
become available on
November 18 [go.pcworld.
com/18nv], with the 6900XT
following on December 8.)
Console gamers get to play on
one first.
So before we dive into the
PC build lists, let’s recap the
PS5 and Xbox Series X specs
we’re working off of:
Most of the hardware and
features are easy enough to
imitate. We are on PC, which
necessitates some
adjustments—for example,
the GDDR6 memory in the
PS5 and Xbox Series X gets
used for both gaming and
system tasks. On PC, we’ll
throw in 16GB of system
memory to match that
number, but we won’t
overthink the spec otherwise.
The amount of VRAM we end
up with will depend on which
graphics card has the closest
performance.

Which brings us to the stickiest part of

these builds: Which GPUs to use. The specific

performance we’re targeting is unclear right

now. Marketing teams for the PS5 and Series

X have thrown around terms like 4K/60,

4K/120(!), ray tracing, and 8K resolution...but

neither company has outlined how often we

PLAYSTATION 5 XBOX SERIES X

CPU 8x Zen 2 cores at 3.5GHz 8x Zen 2 cores at 3.6GHz

(3.8GHz single core)

GPU RDNA 2 (Navi) 36 CU at

2.23GHz

RDNA 2 (Navi) 52 CU at

1.825GHz

RAM 16GB DDR6 16GB DDR6

Storage 825GB custom SSD 1TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD

Storage Expansion M.2 PCIe 4.0, NVME SSD;

external USB

Custom SSD; external USB

Optical Drive 4K Blu-ray or None 4K Blu-ray

Ports HDMI 2.1, USB Type-A,

USB Type-C

HDMI 2.1, USB Type-A

Wired Connectivity Ethernet (Gigabit) Ethernet (Gigabit)

Wireless Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 Wi-Fi 5

Supported Solutions 1080p, 4K, 8K 1080p, 1440p, 4K, 8K

Refresh Rates Up to 120Hz Up to 120Hz

Variable Refresh Rate Ye s Ye s

HDR Ye s Ye s

Backward

Compatibility

PlayStation 4 games, PSVR Xbox One, Xbox360, Xbox

Performance Target Up to 120 fps Up to 120 fps

Subscription PlayStation Plus ($60/year) Xbox Live Gold ($60/year)

Price $500 (Standard), $400

(Digital edition)

$500

PLAYSTATION 5 & XBOX SERIES X SPECS