Since PS5 is finally here, there might be a lot of questions in your mind. Some of them will be about its visual output, including if the PS5 is worth it without 4K TV.
PS5 is worth it without a 4K TV the graphical capabilities are far more impressive than the PS4. games look better no matter what TV your playing on. PS5 features of haptic feedback, ray tracking, 3D sound can be enjoyed without a 4K TV but it’s worth playing in 4K for the best experience possible.
This is just one side of the story — To decide between buying a 4K TV only for a PS5 console, you should know what difference it makes.
Some people just get too excited by listening about the 4K visual feature of the PS5 console — I admit it’s like a dream come true but does it really make a big difference in your gaming experience?
In this article, I will discuss how PS5 will perform with and without 4K television and what you’ll be missing out on without a 4K TV. Read on to find out.
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3 Things to Know Before Buying a 4K TV for PS5
Since the question is subjective, it’ll depend on your circumstances to buy a 4K TV for the PS5 console. I’ll take you through the major factors that will impact your buying decision.
1.4K Greatly Improves The PS5 Visuals
This one is obvious and pretty much the reason why you’re thinking of buying a PS5. To get a detailed analysis of what visual improvements you’ll see with a 4K TV, I will share some key takeaways.
By playing PS5 games on a 4K television, you’ll witness a crisp sharpness; characters and objects will become more distinctive. The difference is subtle, I’ve played the Last Of US 2 on a PS4 Pro on both a 4K and 1080p and you really see in the detail and lines on the character models faces with a 4K TV.
One thing to note is that people often confuse sharpness with resolution while they are two different features of the screen. Resolution defines the number of pixels of a screen, while sharpness is the measure of edge contrast.
If you want to see the visuals at their full glory, you would need an HDMI cable 2.1(get one for a great price on Amazon) But the problem is that such TVs that support HDMI 2.1 are supremely high-end, meaning more burden on your budget.
Let’s say your TV supports 1080p resolution; you’re still good to go with playing PS5 games in high-quality resolution. But still, the visuals won’t be the best but you still benefit from the PS5s improved hardware.
Curious how outdated the PS4 Pro is to the PS5? See my article to know the facts.
2. Certain Games Get Enhanced By 4K
You might be aware of the fact that not every game is able to run at 4K visuals. This means that if you’re planning to play such games, you won’t need a 4K tv at all, as changing the screen for such games will be meaningless.
Games like FIFA 21 are extraordinarily competitive and support 4K resolution and 60 FPS — Ball and players’ movement is highly critical when you’re in the middle of an online football match. In such conditions, a 4K television can give you an advantage over the opponent.
Let’s consider Call of Duty Black Ops III; it’s a first-person shooter that circles around the war theme. Although a 4K screen will increase the game’s charm, it’s not essential and by no means gives an edge in the competition.
Last Of Us 2 is another example, it has some of the most beautiful and jaw-dropping environments and character models I’ve EVER seen in a game. Even with a PS4 Pro that doesn’t output true 4K(see my article), I’m constantly blown away by how good it looks.
You can see the full list of 4K supported games here.
Sony keeps updating the list as time passes — Maybe your favorite games aren’t on the list but keep an eye on it. They might pop up soon.
3. How Much Are You Willing To Spend?
The last thing that impacts the decision of buying a 4K TV for PS5 is the financial budget. I assume if you’re choosing to buy a 4K TV for playing PS5 games, you’ve already purchased or made a decision to purchase a PS5 console, which has a $499/$399 price tag.
It’s already a heavy investment towards gaming — This cost will be further accompanied by games that will be worth $49.99 to $69.99.
So the list of extra equipment will be:
- Gaming Discs ($49.99 to $69.99 each)
- Extra Controllers ($69.99 each)
- HD Camera ($59.99)
- DualSense Charging Station ($29.99)
- Media Remote ($29.99)
High-quality 4K TVs do not have to cost a lot, you get a bargain QLED such as the Samsung TV mentioned above, or pay a little over $200 for a 40-inch 4K TV from Hisense, for a great price on Amazon.
But to get the very BEST experience possible for your PS5 you need a TV that supports 4K with 120hz.
These 4K TVs aren’t very common in most householders, but Sony is keen to penetrate these televisions into the market and make 4K 120 Hz more accessible to every gamer.
Sony is here for us with the 4K HDR TVs they’re pricey but your paying for the best,they all have access to 120Hz and be the PERFECT match for your PS5, they’re made by the same company after all and have a special game mode custom-built for the PS5. Get one for a bargain on Amazon here.
Can You Play PS5 Without 4K TV?
You can play PS5 without a 4K TV and due to the PS5 far more impressive graphical capability than the PS4 ,1080p will look better than ever. But the PS5 displays native 4K at 60FPS so you need a 4K TV to experience the PS5 at its best performance.
4K & HDR television screens are designed to give you perfect sharpness and beautiful colourful visuals. I still remember seeing HDR gaming for the first time on Xbox One S and PS5 blows those visuals out of the water.
The next-gen consoles, PS5 and Xbox Series X have been using these technologies to the fullest. If you own a 4K television, you’ll be a fan of them by just looking at the graphics.
We also witnessed a similar technology in the PS4 Pro, but it was not true 4K as you can see in my article.
Now let’s say you don’t have a 4K television. Will your PS5 graphics still look good?
Will PS5 Still Look Good On a 1080p?
The PS5 eight-core CPU with 3.5GHz clock speed gives it superb graphical capability so 1080p will look better than ever due to the consoles increased power. The PS5 power allows PC features like Ray-Tracing that still work on a 1080p TV.
Your PS5 graphics will look absolutely awesome on a 1080p screen, advanced features like Ray tracing adding further levels of immersion to already stunningly looking games.
I still recommend buying a 4K TV when you get a PS5, but rest assured the eight-core CPU with 3.5GHz clock speed based on Zen2 architecture offers double the clock speed on the PS4 with more efficient architecture will make all your PS4 games look and play better than ever no matter what screen.
To understand how free PS4 game upgrades work for PS5 check out my article.
