The Sony Playstation 5 apparently has disappointed many fans in comparison to the Xbox Series X when it comes to the reveal and specifications of the console.
Lead System Architect of the PS4, Mark Cerny delivered a detailed presentation revealing the hardware nature and performance capabilities of the PS5. We already know both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will be powered by AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) RDNA 2 based APUs (accelerated processing unit). It seems like PS5 will ditch the AMD Jaguar which was capable in its generation.
We will now compare both the devices and highlight the differences between the two. The PS5’s Zen 2 APU will have 8 cores and 16 threads which is similar to the Series X. However, the PS5 will have lower boost clock of 3.5Ghz compared to the Series X’s 3.8GHz.
On the GPU side, we again see the PS5 lack. While both of them will pack RDNA 2 GPUs, The PS5’s GPU consists of only 36 CUs (Compute Units) and 10.28 Teraflops (Tflops). Here the Xbox Series X dominates again with its beefy 12 Tflops and 52 CUs. While the PS5’s GPU clock frequencies may appear higher, they are pretty much useless in terms of power when compared to the Xbox Series X Tflop count.
Now, I am not saying that Tflop is everything but since Sony is lagging behind in that parameter, doesn’t really mean that the extra Tflops are useless. The raw power of PS4 was hailed a lot last generation so we expect to have similar debates this generation too. And we aren’t including technologies like VRS (Variable Rate Shading) and DX related Ray Tracing from Microsoft.
Coming to the storage side, again Xbox Series X provides more with a 1TB custom NVMe SSD. Here the PS5 falls behind with its custom 825GB SSD. We already know the size is an issue on the current-gen titles like Red Dead Redemption (99GBs). The good part here is that Sony’s SSD is faster than Microsoft’s to load data faster.
However, for the time being, that sounds like the only marketing point for Sony when it comes to PlayStation 5. This for some, is dismissal and if Sony has something else up it sleeves, it should reveal it already. Let’s see, a price point may be?
Although we do know Sony is keener on relying on exclusive video game titles than performance and hardware. We are familiar with this case when we talk about previous games like Bloodborne where PS4 Pro was still not able to squeeze 60Fps out of the game
With both design and specifications being a disappointment as a whole. The only thing that awaits us now is the video game titles. There is still no news of backwards compatibility from Sony however this feature still may put it somewhat close to the Xbox Series X. We still have project Lockhart yet to unveil from Microsoft. For now, all we got is time in our hands is time.
