00:00So you've finally decided to buy a PS5 or a PS5 Pro only to learn that it's been hit with
00:05a price
00:05hike. Lucky for you, I'm here to break down the two consoles to see if they're still worth picking
00:10up at these newly increased prices, how they stack up to a gaming PC, or if you should just wait
00:16for
00:16a PS6, and how to pick them up at a lower price. Be sure to leave a like and subscribe
00:21if you don't
00:22want another price increase. Let's get into the video. When the PS5 first launched in November
00:282020, the digital model was 400 and the disc model was 500. Then the Slim released three years later
00:34for 450 digital, 500 disc. A few months ago, the Slim went up to 500 digital, 550 disc, and now
00:42it's up
00:42again at 600 digital, 650 disc. And to clarify, the original PS5 is no longer sold new, so these are
00:50the best prices you're working with. The most painful price hike however comes to the PS5 Pro,
00:55which launched at 700, got raised a few months ago to 750, and is now 900 dollars. But it can
01:03sometimes be picked up open box for around 750 to 850, so keep an eye out for those deals. With
01:09these
01:10increased prices in mind, you might be wondering which console is right for you, or perhaps whether
01:14the base PS5 is good enough, because there really are only two differences that I, an avid PlayStation
01:20gamer, think actually matter. First, storage. The PS5 has 1TB of storage, and the Pro doubles that to
01:272TB. On my PS5 Pro, I have about a dozen AAA games downloaded, with some room for a couple more,
01:34but storage size per game will vary, so keep that in mind. Secondly, and the bigger deal, is that the
01:40PS5 Pro
01:40exclusively offers PSSR, which, released recently via a firmware update in March 2026, got improved to
01:47PSSR 2.0. For context, the PS5 usually offers a choice between strong visuals at 30 frames per second,
01:54or weaker visuals but you get 60 frames per second. With the PS5 Pro, you can get the best of
02:00both worlds.
02:01PSSR upscales games using AI for better resolution, even when settings like ray tracing are enabled,
02:07so that the game still looks like it's 4K. And PSSR 2's 2.0 update from March further improved these
02:14capabilities. And if you want to know more about PSSR, check out my tech translated video as I break
02:20down what PSSR does and how it compares to things like DLSS. PSSR 2 is the PS5 Pro's secret weapon.
02:27Games like Cyberpunk 2077 can use higher ray tracing settings to give games a more lifelike experience.
02:33Just look at the difference. Most of the PS5 Pro games I've played are dramatically improved,
02:39both performance and graphics wise, over their PS5 versions with the PSSR 2 update. Which, by the way,
02:46you can enable in settings and it applies to all games that run the original PSSR. We also have a
02:51short on our channel that breaks down my three favorite PSSR games for PS5 Pro, so be sure to check
02:57those out. But is PSSR 2 enough to justify spending $900? For the $300 difference in price, there is a
03:04pretty big difference in performance compared to PS5. But if the price doesn't scare you, you'll be
03:09happy with what the Pro can deliver. However, there are two more things you should keep in mind before
03:14investing. The first and most common question I see is for that price, should I just build a gaming PC?
03:20Just hear me out, okay? For $900, the PS5 Pro will offer the better performance for the money compared
03:29to a similarly priced PC counterpart. And before you get mad at me in the comments, one example of proof
03:35is this Digital Foundry video that put together a similar cost equivalent gaming PC. The price you see
03:41on screen doesn't even include the cost of RAM and it's still not going to perform as well as the
03:46PS5 Pro.
03:47Consoles and PCs are different experiences, yes. But when we strictly look at price to performance,
03:54the PS5 Pro is better value than a gaming PC. PlayStation 6 might be something else you're
03:59considering. I know I am. Should you buy a PS5 now or wait for PS6? We've only heard of rumors
04:06at the
04:07moment, but they point to a potential fall 2027 release date, so still at least over a year out at
04:12time I'm recording this video. And still, lots of things could change this release date. RAM prices
04:18are still going haywire and depending on what Microsoft does with their next Xbox, Sony might
04:23decide to revise its plans. Even though I think the PS5 Pro is a better value than a gaming PC,
04:29my advice is that if you're shopping between just a PS5 and a PS5 Pro, go for the PS5. For
04:35$600,
04:35a digital PS5 Slim offers a wonderful lineup of first and third party games. And compared to the
04:40alternatives out there, I think it's a better pickup than a Series X and still cheaper than a PC
04:45equivalent. As for the PS5 Pro, guys, I love that console and I have zero regrets buying it for $700
04:51back in 2024. But with a PS6 potentially a year and a half away, I think it makes a lot
04:57of sense for
04:58most of you to hold off and wait for that. I hope this video helped you with your decision making
05:02and
05:03if you have any other questions or angry remarks, leave them in the comments. Just be nice to each other,
05:08okay? Leave a like and subscribe if you hate price hikes. And as always, I'm Phil Rodriguez,
05:14this is Tom's Guy, and I will see you in the next video.
05:25With the PS5 Bro...
05:31There's our end credits scene.
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