Can't decide: PS4 Pro pre-owned or 500gb New?

carazeb

Hi, so my 7 year old has asked for a PS4 for Christmas. This will be his first console (other than his Nintendo switch), so he's not particularly fussy about which one he gets. My budget (at current prices) will stretch to either a 500gb new or a boxed Pro from CEX. I have no experience buying consoles, so would really appreciate any opinions - which one would you go for? Is there anything I need to be wary of if buying pre-owned (noise, overheating??)

Should I think about getting him PS now or PS plus subscriptions? I don't mind him playing online, but would want to be able to disable chat & older age games. Any advice would be great, thanks.

Eduard Khil

If you are using a 4k TV to play the PS4 go with the Pro CeX offer a 24 month warranty so that's a plus.

Terminator

I'd go with a new regular PS4. Chances are a second hand PS4 (especially a Pro) will sound like a Jet Engine when playing some graphics intensive games.

breeno

I'd go with the new 500gb and maybe get someone to gift him a 500gb usb hard drive for extra game storage. They can be picked up for next to nothing these days. Make sure its usb 3.0 for quicker loading speeds.

Homelander

Eduard Khil wrote: »

If you are using a 4k TV to play the PS4 go with the Pro CeX offer a 24 month warranty so that's a plus.

This often gets said but makes no sense. The PS4 Pro is much better than the base PS4 at 1080p or 720P even.

The vast majority of games run at 720P-1080P anyway on the Pro, it is not a 4K capable console from a games POV, only for display purposes.

It would make sense to get the PS4 Pro if you can get a good deal somewhere. It is the more powerful console and will give a better experience no matter what TV you use.

However a 7 year old probably won't mind so much.

The only thing is that by Christmas, the PS5 Digital edition will be out and it'll be similar price to the PS4 Pro while being infinitely newer and better.

It seems a bit mad to drop such high prices on the PS4 when it's on the cusp of being a "last gen" console.

carazeb

Thanks for the advice folks. I'm going to keep an eye on prices to see if they come down any with the PS5 coming out soon. I had been leaning towards a pre-owned Pro, but if it's likely to be noisy I think that would drive me mad before long so it's probably gonna have to be a new 500gb. I wasn't on the ball enough to think about pre-ordering a PS5 so I'm assuming it wouldn't even be an option to try to get hold of one for Christmas.

Any opinions on PS plus or PS now - would he be able to get decent enough usage out of the console without either of these subscriptions?

corcaigh07

Homelander wrote: »

This often gets said but makes no sense. The PS4 Pro is much better than the base PS4 at 1080p or 720P even.

The vast majority of games run at 720P-1080P anyway on the Pro, it is not a 4K capable console from a games POV, only for display purposes.

It would make sense to get the PS4 Pro if you can get a good deal somewhere. It is the more powerful console and will give a better experience no matter what TV you use.

However a 7 year old probably won't mind so much.

The only thing is that by Christmas, the PS5 Digital edition will be out and it'll be similar price to the PS4 Pro while being infinitely newer and better.

It seems a bit mad to drop such high prices on the PS4 when it's on the cusp of being a "last gen" console.

Have you owned a regular PS4 and PS4 pro?

Homelander

Yep, I had the PS4 + Xbox One, upgraded to Pro and One X.

It doesn't matter if you are only using a 1080P, the latter two are much improved on their predecessors with improved visual quality, draw distance, and other factors like that for games that have enhanced support.

Even base games that don't have a specific PS4 Pro/One X patch generally run better as the resolution is more stable and framerates are improved.

Probably 95% of games on the Pro are upscaled, not true 4K - or have dynamic resolution scaling that can swap from anything from 720p to 1440p or 1800p with varying framerate depending on what's happening on screen.

Can have a look here. As I said, vast, vast majority of games are 1080p/1440p with dynamic resolution (meaning it is not even a stable native resolution, in order to avoid big frame drops)

There is a tiny handful of games that are actual true, native 4K and most are older/less intensive games like Fortnite, Fifa, remastered older games, or whatever.

PS4 Pro makes huge sense on a non 4K TV for that reason. Games will still run and look better than they do on the base machine, as enhanced games have other visual upgrades, resolution is only one aspect of visual quality.

In non-enhanced games, the resolution will be more stable with less need for dynamic resolution changes or as noticable frame-drops.

Some games will also still output at 1440P or 1200P or whatever it is on a 1080P set, resulting in a sharpened image versus on the base PS4.

Edit: Fallout is a good example, this is base PS4 compared to PS4 Pro at 1080p.

Sharper image, much improved lightning, and critically in an open world game, huge difference in draw distances.

Anyway, all that and more is why it makes no sense to tell people that you need a 4K TV for a One X or PS4 Pro. You don't. You can see massive advantages on a 1080P TV.

Another piece of good news: if you're using a regular 1080p TV, Bethesda still has you covered. With this PS4 Pro patch installed, the game renders at 1440p regardless of the screen you have connected, with full HD screens displaying a super-sampled image. The result is much cleaner, and you also get the other visual upgrades bundled in this Pro patch. This isn't a feature to be taken for granted, and many games (such as The Last of Us or The Last Guardian) frustratingly forgo this benefit entirely to only deliver a native 1080p on these displays.

Chief among the graphical upgrades is a boost in the quality of god rays. Both the regular PS4 and Xbox One use a toned down version of this taxing effect, with pixellation visible on edges overlapping with light. PS4 Pro's new patch pushes the quality of this effect closer to PC's high setting; not a perfect implementation by any means, but the higher resolution of the lighting buffer now produces crisper outlines. Edge detail is sharper in spots where light shafts fall in the background, and it's a big enhancement over the regular PS4 rendition.

Just as impressive is the draw distance increase. The best way to show this is in a comparison video (which we've provided below) but a view from the top of the Corvega factory makes for a noticeable bump on the Pro version. Swathes of trees, vehicles, shadows - even distant terrain - are missing entirely on a regular PS4 at this range, but with update 1.14 installed, PS4 Pro fills in the gaps. The end result is a close match for PC's top settings for draw distances. To be clear, the base PS4 still renders all these details when up-close, but PS4 Pro realises these elements at a greater range.

lertsnim

As it's for a 7 year old the 500GB one would be my choice.

salamiii

the playstation 5 is coming out November for 400 euro

salamiii

Ps 5 specs

https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/ps5-release-date-specs-price-news/

carazeb

salamiii wrote: »

the playstation 5 is coming out November for 400 euro

Is the PS5 likely to be available to buy anywhere before Christmas though if I haven't already pre-ordered?

corcaigh07

I would agree with Terminator, the regular PS4 is quieter. The first model of the Pro is the loudest console of all time (yep, imo louder than the Dreamcast disk drive and the 360).

Considering its backwards compatible, I'd consider the PS5 if budget isn't too much of an issue.

rob808

corcaigh07 wrote: »

I would agree with Terminator, the regular PS4 is quieter. The first model of the Pro is the loudest console of all time (yep, imo louder than the Dreamcast disk drive and the 360).

Considering its backwards compatible, I'd consider the PS5 if budget isn't too much of an issue.

it not that bad unless your up really close to the ps4 pro.it also depends on the game your playing the Xbox x can get loud under load as well.

quokula

carazeb wrote: »

Is the PS5 likely to be available to buy anywhere before Christmas though if I haven't already pre-ordered?

Preorders are sold out but new batches will come in between the November launch and Xmas. It won’t be straightforward but my past experience of console launches is that if you keep checking in the consoles often turn up with no fanfare in places like Argos and Curry’s and you can often pick one up much more easily than dedicated games shops.

Plus PS4s should be very easy to come by and are only going to go down in price, so you always have a fallback if you don’t find one. As others have said, the Pro will give you higher frame rates and better looking games, but probably not something a 7 year old will notice and it is a louder console especially if comparing second hand to new.

If you do go for a PS5 bare in mind that a second controller and new PS5 games to go with it will be a lot more expensive than PS4 equivalents. But it is fully backwards compatible so you can just get PS4 games with it while knowing it’s future proofed for a long time to come. And you should get all the Pro benefits on those games with none of the noise.

pinktoe

carazeb wrote: »

Any opinions on PS plus or PS now - would he be able to get decent enough usage out of the console without either of these subscriptions?

Ps Now has a lot of good games in its library. What games does he want or like? Some games are downloadable and some are streamed, if your Internet is weak, the streaming will be poor. Ps Now may save you money as you won't be buying as many games.

Ps plus is required to play online with most games. Both subscriptions can be bought monthly but there can be great deals on yearly subscriptions sometimes.