Have you ever wondered what graphics card best compares to the GPU inside Sony‘s PlayStation 4 console? When the PS4 launched back in 2013, its AMD-powered graphics processor represented a massive leap over previous consoles. Delivering up to 1.84 TFLOPS of power, it rivaled top-end PC GPUs of the era.
Naturally, PC gamers wondered – what card can match next-gen PlayStation performance? At the time, two now-discontinued GPUs promised equivalent power: the NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti and AMD Radeon HD 6950. But how do these decade-old cards hold up today? And what modern graphics card options actually surpass PS4 graphics for less money?
In this history deep dive, we’ll discover those PlayStation 4 equivalents and see how newer graphics tech blows them away!
Understanding Graphics Card Power
First, what actually makes one GPU faster than another? Key factors determine a graphics card‘s prowess:
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| Shading Units | Specialized processors that handle graphical operations like vertex transformations, texture mapping, lighting and shading. Simply put, more shaders = faster processing. |
| Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) | Dedicated units that apply textures to surfaces and objects in 3D environments. Higher TMU counts allow applying richer, more complex textures smoothly. |
| Render Output Pipelines (ROPs) | Perform final image output operations including scaling, antialiasing, depth tests, pixel blending and assembling output frames. Throughput directly impacts resolution and effects capability. |
| Video Memory (VRAM) | Onboard memory stores rendered textures, geometry data and frames before outputting to displays. Larger VRAM capacity enables higher resolutions and assets. |
| Memory Bandwidth | Memory speed, measured in gigabytes per second (GB/s). Determines asset loading/streaming pace and display output bandwidth. Higher is faster! |
| Core/Memory Clock Speed | Rate shader cores and memory operate at, in gigahertz (GHz). Higher clocks increase number of operations possible per second. Think cycles per second! |
| Theoretical Compute (TFLOPS) | Total rated shader operations. Peak indicator for maximum potential performance, though real-world varies based on optimizations and thermals. |
Now those are the key ingredients – understanding those will help appreciate why some GPUs outperform others, and how the PS4‘s graphics silicon compared.
Inside PlayStation 4‘s Graphics Processor
See, the PlayStation 4 was built around a semi-custom AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) codenamed "Liverpool." This combined a central CPU based on AMD‘s Jaguar architecture with a beefy integrated GPU.
That graphics processor utilized AMD‘s GCN architecture, found in many Radeon graphics cards between 2012 and 2015. Paired with speedy GDDR5 memory, it massively outclassed the PS3‘s GPU. Let‘s examine the PlayStation 4 GPU‘s capabilities:
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Codename | Liverpool |
| Manufacturer | AMD |
| Architecture | GCN 1st Gen |
| Shading Units | 1152 stream processors |
| Texture Units | 72 |
| Render Output Pipelines | 32 |
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 176 GB/s |
| GPU Clock Speed | 800 MHz |
| FLOPS (SP) | 1.84 TFLOPS |
With over twice the shaders of Xbox One‘s GPU, PS4 enjoyed a healthy hardware advantage. Paired with speedy GDDR5 memory, it achieved console graphics never before seen!
No wonder enthusiasts sought equivalent graphics cards for PC. Finding GPUs matching such specs would realize PlayStation-rivaling power for their desktop rigs.
The PlayStation 4 GPU Equivalents Emerge
Hot on the heels of the PS4‘s late 2013 launch, major graphics chip makers rallied to produce equivalents. Power seekers quickly determined two affordable graphics cards that promised performance rivalling Sony‘s console:
NVIDIA‘s GTX 750 Ti and AMD‘s Radeon HD 6950 each matched the computational might of PlayStation 4, thanks to recent architecture advances not reflected in their specs. Let‘s see how they stacked up:
NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti
With 640 CUDA cores built using NVIDIA‘s new Maxwell architecture plus 2GB of speedy GDDR5 memory, the GTX 750 Ti punched above its weight class. Launch MSRP was just $149 – far cheaper than contemporary cards with similar computational specs.
Thanks to Maxwell‘s optimizations for power efficiency, performance doubled over the prior generation. The 750 Ti realized 1.3 TFLOPS of power, nearing PS4‘s capabilities. It became a beloved budget card that turned some heads.
AMD Radeon HD 6950
AMD offered the aging but still very capable HD 6950 graphics card as their counter to NVIDIA‘s new hotness. At 3 years old in 2014, AMD dropped its price to $180. That bought you a muscular 1408 stream processors and 2GB GDDR5 RAM.
Despite the older VLIW5 architecture, the 6950 delivered around 1.3 TFLOPS too – still enough to trade blows with Sony‘s box. It served AMD fans well as a value GPU with the horsepower to game like a PlayStation 4.
But here we are nearly 10 years later. How do these PlayStation 4 equivalents stack up today?
In short – not great. While still capable of smooth gaming at 1080p medium settings in many titles, their age shows in demanding modern games. Architectural limitations hamper performance versus high frames rates that Game Pass subscribers and die-hard gamers demand.
Plus, availability suffers. These were manufactured in limited quantities years ago. Trying to buy one means dealing with sketchy used eBay listings at absurd prices not merited by their performance.
Luckily, continual rapid innovation in graphics technology means better options exist – often at equal or lower cost!
Newer GPUs Do More for Less
Let‘s compare those old PS4 equivalents to a few modern graphics cards that handily outpace the PlayStation‘s capabilities while costing around the same or less:
| GPU | Launch Year | Architecture | Shaders | VRAM | TFLOPS | Typical Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti | 2014 | Maxwell Gen 1 | 640 cores | 2GB GDDR5 | 1.3 | $140 used |
| NVIDIA GTX 1650 | 2019 | Turing | 896 cores | 4GB GDDR5 | 3.0 | $150 |
| AMD RX 6500 XT | 2022 | RDNA 2 | 1024 cores | 4GB GDDR6 | 3.2 | $180 |
| NVIDIA RTX 3050 | 2022 | Ampere | 2560 cores | 8GB GDDR6 | 6.6 | $250 |
That‘s right – a modern $150 GPU offers over twice the performance thanks to Moore‘s Law and fierce competition driving graphics innovation!
The GeForce GTX 1650 and Radeon RX 6500 XT deliver smooth 60 FPS gameplay at High to Ultra settings in most popular titles at 1080p. Their improved architecture, smaller transistors, and extra VRAM add up to a night-and-day experience improvement over outdated PS4-era tech.
And for just $100 more, the RTX 3050 adds ray tracing capability and DLSS frame rate boosting. Combined with over 6 TFLOPS of power, it provides a next-generation experience handily exceeding the PlayStation 5!
Closing Thoughts
I hope this tech history lesson helped explain PlayStation 4 graphics equivalents – and why newer GPUs are much faster for the money today. It‘s incredible seeing how Moore‘s Law has grown graphics performance over a decade.
Those forgotten heroes like the GTX 750 Ti and Radeon HD 6950 did their best matching next-gen PlayStation performance years ago. But don‘t spend more than their worth today!
Instead, enjoy built-in ray tracing, DLSS support, and buttery frame rates on modern GPUs. Today‘s graphics tech lets PC gamers surpass consoles for an equal price – you just have to know where to look.
What GPU are you running currently? Maybe it‘s time for an upgrade! Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions.
