How to build a PS5 using PC components


It's Megazord time, folks! We know the full specs of the PS5, from its CPU to the storage, which means we can build one for ourselves!

That's right - you can scavenge together all the essential parts and make yourself a PC that runs like a PS5, without having to pay the full PS5 price or wait for the PS5 release date.

Read More: DualSense explained: PS5 controllerdesign, news, specs and more

Of course, it goes without saying that this won't be an easy task, but this is sure to be a fun way to kill some time while you're in Coronavirus-enforced lockdown.

Here's everything you'll need to fork out for if you want to build a PC that runs like a PS5...

PC CPU that can match the PS5

The PS5 has 8 x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz

You can buy: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X

The AMD Ryzen 7 3800X is as close as it could be to the PS5 CPU with its 8 x Zen 2 cores, except with the Ryzen 7, it’s at a higher clock-speed.

For £350, it’s the most expensive out of the hardware here, but you get a CPU with slightly faster speeds, with room to overclock if needed.

PC GPU that can match the PS5

The PS5 GPU renders colours into shapes

You can buy: Radeon 5700

This is a tricky one, as we simply haven’t seen much demonstrations of PS5 graphics, and even though much was spoken about the architecture, there wasn’t much said about just what the clock speed and the graphics memory was for the PS5.

So with that, we’re going for the Radeon 5700XT. It’s a fast number that, as of going to press, can handle the majority of games out there, and it will surely handle the remaster of Crysis when that’s released later this year.

A PC hard drive from Seagate.
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A PC hard drive from Seagate.

PC Memory that can match the PS5

The PS5 has: 16GB GDDR6

You can buy: Crucial Ballistix 16GB

With memory in a PC, it’s always recommended to have two lots of it. They always come in pairs; like shoes, like bacon and eggs, like Gin and Tonic.

As we know that the memory is at 16GB, it is strongly recommended to look at the Crucial Ballistix. These are two sticks at 8GB each, with a fantastic speed of 3GHz to handle the mutliple applications and games that will be thrown at it.

The Steam controller - one option for your PC peripherals!
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The Steam controller - one option for your PC peripherals!

PC SSD storage that can match the PS5

The PS5 has: 825GB SSD

You can buy: 1TB NVMe

When you’re looking for some storage to buy, you won’t be asking for a 137GB hard drive. It’s suspected that it is at 1TB, but some of it has been reserved for the PS5 system itself; from its operating system to the online component.

With that, here’s a very fast Sabrent 1TB NVMe drive. Sony has made a very big song, dance and moonwalk about how SSD is the future, so the PS5 SSD drive will most-probably be custom-made and tailored to the console; much like how Apple’s A13 chip powers some of their products.

Read more:PS5 games revealed: The full list of confirmed PlayStation 5 games, launch titles and exclusives

Which next-gen console will you choose?
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Which next-gen console will you choose?

Expandable Storage for PC that can match PS5

Slightly cheating here, but it makes sense. A PC needs a motherboard for it all to work concurrently, and what better than the MSI B450.

Sony has stated that in time, the storage in the PS5 will be able to be expanded upon, but when it comes to a PC, you can expand it to your heart's content.

We’ve already spoken about different hard drives to better expand your PC, and the same can apply here.

Have the 1TB NVMe for some games and the Operating System, and perhaps a 4TB Hard Drive for everything else.

The DualSense controller in all its glory!
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The DualSense controller in all its glory!

PC External Drive that can match the PS5

The PS5 has: 4K Bluray Drive

You can buy: Pioneer 4K Blu-Ray Drive

Apart from paying for a monthly Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime subscription concurrently, you will need to finish off the PS5-PC hybrid with an actual optical drive.

What better than the Pioneer 4K Blu-Ray drive. Able to read any Blu-Ray up to 4K, it can even burn some of your content to a blank Blu-Ray drive, to really drive home some nostalgia of backing up content to DVD discs from the Windows XP days.

Read more: PS5 technical specs: processing speeds, SSD details, backwards compatibility, 3D audio and more

It sounds like PS5 backwards compatibility will only go back so far.
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It sounds like PS5 backwards compatibility will only go back so far.

Final thoughts...

Once you’ve found the case and peripherals you want, you will then, for now anyway, have a PC that rivals the coming PlayStation 5.

And thanks to Steam and other vendors, you will be able to play games from previous generations that will seemingly not be possible to play on the coming console, if the news of backwards-compatibility rings true.

The next step will be to somehow have the DualSense controller work with your PC. But that’s a guide for another time…..

Read more: How to build a Nintendo Switch for cheaper than buying one

For more articles like this, take a look at our Buying Guides, Features, Gaming, Hardware, How To, Next-Gen, and PC Building pages.