Sony's next-generation console, likely to be named the PlayStation 5, is far from gracing store shelves, but the company has revealed a few of its specs to give fans a taste of just how powerful it will be. While we don't know the exact specs of what Microsoft is cooking up with the next Xbox consoles, the PS5 certainly puts the Xbox One X to shame, as it should.
How does it compare to the PS4 Pro?
It should go without saying, but the PS5 is drastically more powerful than any model in the PS4 family, including the PS4 Pro.
| Category | PlayStation 4 Pro | PlayStation 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $399 | Unknown |
| Dimensions | 11.61in x 12.87in x 2.17in | Unknown |
| CPU | AMD Jaguar 8-core (x86-64) | Based on AMD Ryzen 8-core |
| GPU | AMD Radeon (4.2 TFLOP) | Custom Radeon Navi (Unknown TFLOP) |
| Memory | 8GB GDDR5 + 1GB | Unknown |
| Storage | 1TB / 2TB | Unknown |
| Storage type | HDD | SSD |
| Optical out | Yes | Unknown |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz + 5GHz) | Unknown |
| AV out | HDMI 2.0 | Unknown |
| Power consumption | 310w max | Unknown |
| Resolution support | 4K | 8K |
| USB | USB 3.0 (x3 ) | Unknown |
| PSVR support | Yes | Yes |
What GPU and CPU will it have?
As stated above, it will feature a custom GPU based on the Radeon Navi and a CPU based on AMD's third generation Ryzen line, with 8-cores of the new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. According to Mark Cerny, the GPU will also support ray tracing, which is a visual technique that models how light interacts with 3D environments. Usually only big budget Hollywood movies have the technology and money to utilize such technology, and it's not found in any current video game console.
What resolution and frame rates will it support?
Sony looks to be future-proofing the PS5 as it will be able to support up to 8K resolution. While most televisions on the market don't support such resolutions and 4K is still being widely adopted, this should increase the upcoming console's longevity as 8K starts to pop up more frequently, even if it takes several years to do so.
As for frame rates we don't yet know what it will support, but it's safe to assume that 60FPS will be the minimum standard.
What kind of storage will it have?
Here's where it gets interesting. Instead of coming with an internal HDD, the PS5 will sport an internal SSD. Though players can already hook up an SSD to their PS4, it's something that they need to buy separately and install themselves. What's the difference between an HDD and SSD, though?
SSDs and HDDs are hardware components that deal with storage. The biggest difference between them is that an SSD has no moving parts and data is stored on flash-memory chips. HDDs use moving mechanical parts to read/write information, thus making the process slower than that of an SSD. This is why games like Anthem run better while playing on an SSD.
What about everything else?
That's all that Sony has officially revealed so far. Much of its specs are still in the dark, so we'll need to wait until further information is provided. Until then, have fun speculating.
