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PlayStation 4, 3, 2, and 1 GPU Equivalents? [We Found Out]

Are you looking to buy a new graphics card but unsure which one to get? Maybe you’re looking to match the performance of your favorite Playstation and want to know which graphics card is its equivalent.

Here’s a quick guide to help you figure out the answer to that question.

What Is the PS4 GPU Equivalent?

The Radeon 7850 is the closest you can get to the PS4’s GPU. It has 1,280 stream processors and 2GB of GDDR5 memory. It also supports AMD’s Mantle API, which was used to develop the PS4’s graphics architecture.

The Radeon 7850 is like the budget version of the PS4’s GPU. It’s not as powerful as the PS4’s GPU, but it’s much cheaper, and the performance difference isn’t too big.

For example, in most games, you can expect the Radeon 7850 to deliver around 30 frames per second at 1080p resolution with medium-quality settings.

The PS4, on the other hand, can hit 60 frames per second at the same resolution and quality settings.

That’s a pretty solid performance for a budget graphics card. If you’re looking to play most games at 1080p resolution with medium to high-quality settings, the Radeon 7850 is a great choice.

What Is Cheaper: the PS4 or the Radeon 7850?

The Radeon 7850 is cheaper than the PS4, but the PS4 is a lot more powerful. If you’re looking for value for money, then the Radeon 7850 is the better choice. However, if you’re just looking for the most powerful graphics card, the PS4 is the better choice.

Here’s the thing, you can find a Radeon 7850 for around $249. The PS4, on the other hand, costs $299. So, the Radeon 7850 is the better choice if you’re looking at price alone.

However, most game developers have optimized their games for the PS4. This means you’ll likely get better overall performance and visuals from the PS4 than the Radeon 7850.

For example, games like Witcher 3 and GTA V look and play better on the PS4 than on the Radeon 7850.

The advantage of the Radeon 7850 is that it’s used on a PC, so you can upgrade your graphics card in the future if you want to. The PS4, on the other hand, is a closed system, meaning you can’t upgrade the PS4’s GPU.

You also have a lot more freedom with the 7850. For example, you can overclock it to get even more performance.

You can also install a water-cooling system to keep the card cool and quiet. But you can’t do any of that on your PS4.

What Is the PS3 GPU Equivalent? 

The PS3 GPU is close to the GeForce 7950GT. It has 512MB of GDDR3 memory and 256 stream processors. The GeForce 7950GT is an old card, so you can’t find it new anymore. You can, however, find it used for around $100.

If you want to match the performance of the PS3, the GeForce 7950GT is the card you want to get.

Some might say the PS3 GPU is closer to the 7800GTX, and I can’t blame them. It has the same amount of stream processors and memory, but the 7800GTX is a DirectX 9 card. The PS3 GPU, on the other hand, does not support DirectX. 

The 7800GTX was also released in 2005, a year earlier than the PS3. This understandably makes the PS3 GPU a bit more powerful than the 7800GTX.

The GeForce 7950GT is a good card, but it’s not as powerful as the PS3 GPU. If you want to get the most out of your games, then the PS3 is the better choice.

What Is the PS2 GPU Equivalent? 

The closest equivalent to the PS2 GPU is the GeForce4 Ti 4600. It has 128MB of DDR memory and 256 stream processors. You can find this card used for around $50.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the PS2 is an old console. It came out in the year 2000, and the GeForce4 Ti 4600 was released in 2002. The PS2 GPU is, therefore, a bit more powerful than the GeForce4 Ti 4600.

The main issue with old graphics cards is that they don’t support new technologies.

For example, the GeForce4 Ti 4600 doesn’t support DirectX 9.0c or Shader Model 3.0. This means you won’t be able to play some of the newer games with this card.

You’ll need a newer graphics card if you want to play newer games, but if you just want to play PS2 games, the GeForce4 Ti 4600 is a good choice.

What Is the PS1 GPU Equivalent? 

The PS1 GPU is equivalent to the GeForce2 MX 400. It has 32MB of SDRAM memory and 4-pixel pipelines. You can easily find this card in an online marketplace used for around $20.

The PS1 is an old console, so the graphics aren’t great by today’s standards. If you just want to play PS1 games, the GeForce2 MX 400 is a good choice.

I think the GeForce2 MX 400 is an excellent option for a collector or someone who just wants to play some old games. Otherwise, I would recommend getting a newer graphics card.

I must admit that I don’t have hands-on experience with both options. I can, however, tell you that the PS1 was one of the most popular consoles of its time.

Sony sold over 100 million PS1 units. This speaks volumes about the console’s quality and performance at that time. The PS2 was even more successful, with over 155 million units sold.

People had already loved the idea of having a gaming console that outperformed most gaming PCs of that time, so the PS2’s success was almost guaranteed.

However, the same can’t be said about the PS3. The console was released in 2006, at the height of the HD era.

This meant that people were already used to playing games on HDTVs, so the fact that the PS3 could output games in 1080p wasn’t that impressive anymore.

Looking for the GPU equivalent of the PS5? Check out our article GPU Equivalent of PS5.



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👋 Hey There, I'm Eric!

Since 2018, I've been making streams come true.

I like gaming, streaming and watching other people stream. I created this website to help streamers, viewers, and gamers answer questions they have regarding live streaming, gaming, and PCs. I am a Twitch affiliate and currently stream on Twitch 3 days a week. I also have a Youtube channel where I make videos about streaming. I hope you find my content helpful. Feel free to stop by one of my streams to say hi.