Summary

• The AMD RX 6650 XT provides gaming performance similar to that of the PS5.
• A cheap 6-core CPU, motherboard, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD are ideal for a "console-killer" build.
• Despite various compromises, it's tough to stay within budget and beat a console for the same price.

PCs and consoles have always catered to different sets of gamers, by and large. While consoles from Sony and Microsoft target those who value convenience above all, gaming PCs have traditionally been the go-to choice of gamers who prefer superior performance and flexibility. Console manufacturers famously sell their hardware at a loss, making up the bulk of their money through games and other value-added services.

For this reason, it's tough to build a budget gaming PC for the price of a console with the same or greater performance. But, as PC builders, we can always give it another shot, especially now that some new cheap CPUs and budget GPUs are out.

Building a console-killer gaming PC

Taking on the impossible

Putting together a $500 gaming PC with all-new components isn't the problem — the issue is extracting the same performance as the PS5 or Xbox Series X. Due to the degree of optimization that consoles enjoy (and manufacturers selling them at a loss), they can do more with less. Even though the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are running a custom AMD Zen 2 CPU and AMD RDNA 2 GPU, they still compete with and even beat newer CPU and GPU hardware at the same price.

Let's attempt to configure a sub-$500 gaming PC while trying to give it the most performance we can.

CPU and GPU

Considering the cost constraints, we'll have to pick Zen 2 and RDNA 2 parts, specifically the Ryzen 5 3600 and RX 6650 XT. Unlike the custom 8-core CPU in the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, the Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor, but it shouldn't pose too much of an issue. The RX 6650 XT is an 8GB RDNA 2 GPU from AMD with a similar theoretical performance as the PS5 GPU.

Picking an 8-core CPU and a GPU with 12GB VRAM would have been ideal but we don't have that luxury in this case. The Ryzen 5 3600 frequently sells for around $85 while the RX 6650 XT is available for around $220, similarly priced to the slightly weaker RX 6600 XT. This brings our current total to around $305.

Motherboard, RAM, and storage

For the rest of the components, my goal was to get the bare minimum features necessary while keeping aesthetics in the backseat. Hence, I picked the cheap ASRock B550M-HDV for the PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot (not available on B450 boards), TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 3600MHz 16GB (2x8GB) kit, and Lexar NM790 1TB for its PS5-recommended speeds and bundled heatsink.

The B550 motherboard I picked will work with the Ryzen 5 3600 out of the box, so no need for any BIOS flashback. 16GB of fast DDR4 RAM is necessary to account for the shared 16GB memory of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Similarly, a 1TB Gen4 NVMe SSD is just right for a PC attempting to defeat a current-gen console. Adding the cost of these components to our previous tally brings the total to around $498.

Cooler, power supply, and case

For the cooler, the bundled Wraith Spire (or Wraith Stealth) cooler will be enough for the 65W TDP of the Ryzen 5 3600. As for the case, I picked the Zalman S2 for its affordable pricing, built-in intake and exhaust fans, and mesh front panel. Lastly, for the power supply, I chose the MSI MAG A550N 80+ Bronze unit, which is perfect for the power requirements of this system.

Considering you can buy the PS5 Slim Digital at $450, our PC costs $150 more for around the same performance.

This brings the final total of our "console-killer" gaming PC build to around $600. Even after making quite a few compromises and using affordable parts, we overshot the budget by $100. Considering you can buy the PS5 Slim Digital at $450, our PC costs $150 more for around the same performance. I've also assumed that you have a set of keyboard and mouse and a cheap Windows key at your disposal.

You could make the case that a PC can do a lot more than just gaming. Plus, the additional investment a console requires for online gaming will add to the cost. But, limiting ourselves just to the hardware discussion makes it clear that building a "decent" gaming PC with a performance level far exceeding that of a console for the same price is not possible, at least with all-new components.

Is PC gaming too expensive now?

It's true that desktop PC gaming is too expensive if you want to build an ultra 1440p gaming rig that's capable of delivering playable FPS in the latest ray tracing titles. But, not everyone is after that. If you simply want a capable gaming PC for some solid 1080p and 1440p performance and don't care about ray tracing, then this is finally the year you should build a PC. And for those who're after a simple, plug-and-play gaming console with ray tracing and blazing-fast loading times, the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are undoubtedly great machines for them.