Buying the PS5 is an expensive decision. You’re shelling out money for the console, and now you’re thinking you’ll need a 4k TV to go along with the system. Although the PS5 has 4k capabilities, it’s not required to play any of its games. Here’s the question: Is the PS5 worth it on a 1080p tv?
Yes, the PS5 is absolutely worth it on a 1080p TV. Regardless of your TV, the PS5 still has significantly faster load times than its predecessor. The PS5 also allows games to run at 60fps with visual techniques like Ray Tracing.
Ray Tracing renders incredibly convincing lighting effects. The PS5 will use Ray Tracing with a 1080p TV and size its effects down to the appropriate output. This helps keep some of the lighting effects that wouldn’t be possible if the original quality began at 1080p.
All the bonus add-ons come with the PS5 as well. It’s also backwards compatible with all PS4 games and its new dual sense controller works wonderfully regardless of video output . It’s a more quality experience playing games beyond your PS4’s strength, regardless of television.
Other Thoughts
This all being said, a lot of 4k TVs are going down in price. They’re becoming normalized. It’s like when HD TVs were normalized in the time between the PS2 and the PS3. The TCL 4K Smart LED TV is very cheap as far as 4K’s go, and you could even bump up a little bit to the Samsung Crystal Series if you want a 60 hertz refresh rate.
If you’re thinking of upgrading from a 720p TV to a 1080p, I’d recommend another TLC Smart TV.
The PS4 was quite the hefty machine for what it was. My launch edition of the PS4 is still chugging even if it sounds like a jet engine taking off when I touch the power button. Despite the system still technically working, you’ll notice it struggling with any title released for both the PS4 and PS5.
Of course some games like Cyberpunk 2077 are simply poorly optimized for the PS4, but even tolerably run next gen games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War push the PS4 to its limits. It doesn’t matter if you only have a 1080p TV, making the change to a PS5 will help your overall quality of life.
Overall, The PS5 is definitely worth it on a 1080p TV. The system simply runs smoother and faster than the PS4. The PS5 looks better than the PS4 on 1080p because effects like Ray Tracing are simply downsized. You can also take advantage of full backwards compatibility with all PS4 games, experiencing them with much faster load times.