Even with DLSS or FSR, you'd have to be at a decent resolution for upscaling to 4K not to look bad.
"play older games" basically what Sony has atm
I don't really get what you mean. Almost all new games that come out will have a PS5 version? Am I being dumb here and misinterpreting you?
E: I checked BestBuy (the only US PC retailer I know of, I'm not from the US), and the best GPU in a $700 laptop is a RTX 4050 laptop edition, power-limited to 45W. Looking at benchmarks, this often struggles to reach 60FPS in GTA V at high settings - a game that released 11 years ago! And remember that's 1080P!
Not only that, the SSD in it is only 500GB. So just 3-6 modern games once you factor in the Windows install.
You're looking at a significant price if you want to use a laptop as a 4K console. Even with DLSS, which will render the game at 66% of the display resolution, you'd still need a capable 1440p gaming laptop. And 1440p is ~80% more pixels to push than 1080p.
The PS5 pro is using similar scaling tech, but both my Bazztie “consoles” can play some games native 4k, and using DLSS/FSR with a 2k signal like the pro will be doing obviously gains more titles.
The older games are referring to the PS5 pro line up, it's all older games that most pc builds around this price can compete with.
List taken from Polygon:
Gran Turismo 7 (supports ray traced reflections between cars in gameplay at 4K 60fps, and a dedicated 8K mode, according to CNET)
Horizon Forbidden West (as well as an overall “detail boost,” there are “improvements to lighting and visual effects” and to “hair and the skin in cinematics,” according to Mark Cerny)
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (high resolutions and detail at a distance, including the trees and procedural cars)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (distant details will be more clear, such as during the opening parade scene)
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (offers greater visual detail at 60 frames per second, including sharper details at a distance)
Demon’s Souls (no specific enhancements outlined)
I used laptops as an example for someone who does not want to build, but my living room one is a mid AM4 from 2019 build that I put an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in. So about £800 build the cost of the upper end PS5 pro and not far off the base. My Nitro 5 was £700.
My comment was more about the irrelevancy of consoles once they start getting past the £500 mark, used to be that you'd have a good advantage over a mid-tier PC for about 2 years. Now it's basically on par for the same money short of wanting to play exclusives, which Sony hasn't really been pumping out this gen. Where the PC library is huge, add in Emulation and it's even bigger.
You can't scale $700 laptop performance up to 4K 60fps without it being an absolute mess.
You mention the tech being similar, that is true, but upscaling from a, say, 1700p signal to a 4K one is an entirely different beast to 1080p > 4K.
Those "old" games would utterly destroy a $700 gaming laptop. You'd be very lucky indeed to get 60FPS even at low 1080p.
My comment was more about the irrelevancy of consoles once they start getting past the £500 mark, used to be that you'd have a good advantage over a mid-tier PC for about 2 years.
Consoles being vastly better price/perf at the start of the generation and then getting overtaken by PC towards the end has always been the case. Every generation at the start there's alarmism about consoles killing PC gaming, then mid-to-late gen people act as if console gaming is dead. Neither end up happening.
That said, you'd still struggle to build a $700 PC that outperforms a PS5 Pro. You could get reasonably close maybe if you're clever with the budget, though.
Where the PC library is huge, add in Emulation and it's even bigger.
I'm not arguing against PC. I think PC is the better and better value platform. I play on PC exclusively (well my kids have a switch, and I play with them, I guess, but just for me personally it's all PC or Steam Deck).
I'm just saying there is zero chance of you getting a 4K gaming laptop for $700. $1250+ seems a lot more likely.
Even with DLSS or FSR, you'd have to be at a decent resolution for upscaling to 4K not to look bad.
I don't really get what you mean. Almost all new games that come out will have a PS5 version? Am I being dumb here and misinterpreting you?
E: I checked BestBuy (the only US PC retailer I know of, I'm not from the US), and the best GPU in a $700 laptop is a RTX 4050 laptop edition, power-limited to 45W. Looking at benchmarks, this often struggles to reach 60FPS in GTA V at high settings - a game that released 11 years ago! And remember that's 1080P!
Not only that, the SSD in it is only 500GB. So just 3-6 modern games once you factor in the Windows install.
You're looking at a significant price if you want to use a laptop as a 4K console. Even with DLSS, which will render the game at 66% of the display resolution, you'd still need a capable 1440p gaming laptop. And 1440p is ~80% more pixels to push than 1080p.
The PS5 pro is using similar scaling tech, but both my Bazztie “consoles” can play some games native 4k, and using DLSS/FSR with a 2k signal like the pro will be doing obviously gains more titles.
The older games are referring to the PS5 pro line up, it's all older games that most pc builds around this price can compete with. List taken from Polygon:
I used laptops as an example for someone who does not want to build, but my living room one is a mid AM4 from 2019 build that I put an AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT in. So about £800 build the cost of the upper end PS5 pro and not far off the base. My Nitro 5 was £700.
My comment was more about the irrelevancy of consoles once they start getting past the £500 mark, used to be that you'd have a good advantage over a mid-tier PC for about 2 years. Now it's basically on par for the same money short of wanting to play exclusives, which Sony hasn't really been pumping out this gen. Where the PC library is huge, add in Emulation and it's even bigger.
You can't scale $700 laptop performance up to 4K 60fps without it being an absolute mess.
You mention the tech being similar, that is true, but upscaling from a, say, 1700p signal to a 4K one is an entirely different beast to 1080p > 4K.
Those "old" games would utterly destroy a $700 gaming laptop. You'd be very lucky indeed to get 60FPS even at low 1080p.
Consoles being vastly better price/perf at the start of the generation and then getting overtaken by PC towards the end has always been the case. Every generation at the start there's alarmism about consoles killing PC gaming, then mid-to-late gen people act as if console gaming is dead. Neither end up happening.
That said, you'd still struggle to build a $700 PC that outperforms a PS5 Pro. You could get reasonably close maybe if you're clever with the budget, though.
I'm not arguing against PC. I think PC is the better and better value platform. I play on PC exclusively (well my kids have a switch, and I play with them, I guess, but just for me personally it's all PC or Steam Deck).
I'm just saying there is zero chance of you getting a 4K gaming laptop for $700. $1250+ seems a lot more likely.