DF: PlayStation 5 Pro Specs Confirmed, Analysis + New Information

[--R]

View: https://youtu.be/U5h4bvudvX8

In a brand new DF Direct Special we find Alex, Rich and Oliver confirming the leaked technical specifications for Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro console, we talk you through what the various spec points mean in terms of the gameplay experience, we go deep on ray tracing and machine learning-based upscaling and we reveal some new information about the new console based on recent developer disclosures.

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0:00:36 Introduction
0:01:43 The CPU: What's Changed?
0:16:01 GPU Performance Boosts and Architecture
0:27:45 Ray Tracing: Really 2x to 4x Faster?
0:36:38 PSSR Upscaling and Machine Learning Performance
0:46:53 Additional Memory for Games
0:50:16 Closing Thoughts: What Do We Make of PS5 Pro So Far?

 

[Super]

Finally, some fucking food.

 

[cursed knowledge]

can't watch until tomorrow, would appreciate a summary if anyone does it

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Here we go!

It still feels like we've barely entered this generation... and I say that as someone that buys every console and every mid-gen refresh and has a 4090. I'm not clamoring for a new PS5... but... BUT... Rebirth runs like shit, so...

 

[lobdale]

This upgrade seems less justified than the barely justified PS4 Pro (which I bought anyway), and that's saying something... plenty of games are still cross-gen with PS4!!

 

[--R]

For those who'd rather read an article:

Spec Analysis: PlayStation 5 Pro - the most powerful console yet

Tech specs for PlayStation 5 Pro have leaked - Digital Foundry verifies them and delivers analysis and further information.

www.eurogamer.net

 

[Playboi Carti]

13.7GB of available memory for games vs 12.5GB on the base PS5

 

[Dead Man Typing]

An hour!? Settling in.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

Sony says that PSSR has a 250MB memory footprint, but interestingly, developer disclosures reveal that the technique can be backported to any existing PlayStation game. This is at odds with 'back compat plus' features bolted on to PS4 games running on PS5, which required games to run on modern development environments (SDKs). This could be of crucial importance in upgrading existing PS5 games that suffer from image quality problems - and we're seeing a lot of those thanks to low internal resolutions and FSR2 upscaling. The Pro could deliver vastly improved results via its extra GPU power and PSSR upscaling.

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[Ada]

Sony has already launched an investigation to find the leaker(s).

 

[The Lord of Cereal]

13.7GB of available memory for games vs 12.5GB on the base PS5

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Damn, that's basically no difference at all… was really hoping for a significant improvement in power because of the super strong GPU but doesn't seem like it's gonna be the case…

 

[Liquidsnake]

Hmmmm a little disappointed and underwhelmed.

 

[zombiejames]

Over an hour, nice.

 

[modiz]

PSSR sounds like the most important part here. You can also backport PSSR to games without updating the SDK, which is pretty surprising. That should make it easier for developers to add that in to already released games.

 

[ElNerdo]

So people shouldn't expect any sort of meaningful boost in FPS in any game due to the tiny CPU clock increase.

 

[NewDust]

Damn, that's basically no difference at all… was really hoping for a significant improvement in power because of the super strong GPU but doesn't seem like it's gonna be the case…

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576GBps vs 448GBps in bandwidth though.

 

[cardboardboxer]

"Free" ray tracing compared to base, better upscaling, but no real progress on keeping 60 fps as a standard with that mild CPU bump.

Get ready for a lot of 4K plus ray tracing 30 fps "Pro enhanced" games.

 

[LCGeek]

Here we go!

It still feels like we've barely entered this generation... and I say that as someone that buys every console and every mid-gen refresh and has a 4090. I'm not clamoring for a new PS5... but... BUT... Rebirth runs like shit, so...

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There are some asterisks that need to be noted now that specs are locked in.

we haven't moved the needle much in gaming the last 2 to 3 gens because we are starving otherwise very capable gpus with crap cpus in terms of single threading.

While console consumers are happy to be free of jaguar and are enjoying the zen2 gains. Most of us with capable 3rd to 8th gen intels saw almost no increases for participating in the generation. Devs barely got any gains either and to be frank sony or ms shouldn't make a single another console unless that cpu is strong in this area it's gimping all of us. I won't buy one due to this factor. Not all games can be gpu bound. it's becoming ridiculous we have been in purgatory from last decade almost 15 years and people who are suppose to lead the industry won't be serious. I wont touch the next xbox or PS5 unless overall gains are above any decent mid range intel or ryzen.

Devs should not have the onus of making up for a lack of pure hardware or OS gains.

Gpu and memory are nice, especially memory for post processing.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

576GBps vs 448GBps in bandwidth though.

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Bandwidth really does mean a lot more. Yeah, it's a gig more in size, but improving the bandwidth this much is important.

If it's $600 for the Pro and $500 for the regular, and the performance increase for the Pro is about 45%, then technically it's a bigger bang for the buck at the Pro.

 

[Convasse]

So people shouldn't expect any sort of meaningful boost in FPS in any game due to the tiny CPU clock increase.

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If the precedent of the PS4 Pro was to hold true (and here it seemingly has), no meaningful boost was to be expected from any CPU changes. Anything meaningful would have to come from how the developer chose to utilize the additional power budget over the standard PS5.

 

[modiz]

Damn, that's basically no difference at all… was really hoping for a significant improvement in power because of the super strong GPU but doesn't seem like it's gonna be the case…

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This increase isnt there to improve textures, it is to add PSSR and make RT BVH construction more feasible.

So people shouldn't expect any sort of meaningful boost in FPS in any game due to the tiny CPU clock increase.

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At the end of the day the amount of games that are significantly CPU bound and are hit in framerate vs games that are GPU bound and are hit in framerate/lower the resolution way too low, is very low comparatively. They added what would help more games shine.

 

[arrado]

Will be interesting to watch and hear their opinion now.

When the first rumors from Tom Henderson came out, DF were some of the first to say that a PS5 Pro was unnecessary and rather unlikely to happen.

 

[Temperance]

I'm not clamoring for a new PS5... but... BUT... Rebirth runs like shit, so...

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PSSR (Sony DLSS) for Rebirth Performance mode will be a make it or break it case for the Pro

 

[JohnnyToonami]

"Free" ray tracing compared to base, better upscaling, but no real progress on keeping 60 fps as a standard with that mild CPU bump.

Get ready for a lot of 4K plus ray tracing 30 fps "Pro enhanced" games.

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Can't wait, far better than 1080p/60 anyday

 

[El_Dabrah]

I think I need to see an official Pro trailer or presentation that SHOWS me the benefits. Right now, on paper and listening them talk I'm thinking ehhhh. It is at a point where would it make more sense to for me to invest that money into my PC.

 

[LCGeek]

If the precedent of the PS4 Pro was to hold true (and here it seemingly has), no meaningful boost was to be expected from any CPU changes. Anything meaningful would have to come from how the developer chose to utilize the additional power budget over the standard PS5.

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PS4 pro isn't the first time this has happened. I mention to users as of late nintendo did this with Wii, and WIIU for barely an increases. The industry needs to stop doing mild single threaded increases gen to gen period.

 

[Sabin]

Here we go!

It still feels like we've barely entered this generation... and I say that as someone that buys every console and every mid-gen refresh and has a 4090. I'm not clamoring for a new PS5... but... BUT... Rebirth runs like shit, so...

Click to shrink...

You could have just waited for the PC version then.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

You could have just waited for the PC version then.

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I could. For sure. But I'll double-dip. I wasn't gonna try to avoid spoilers for 3, 6... 12+ months.

 

[SilentEagle]

As long as base PS5 has 60FPS option, I'll stick with it. But if base PS5 will be 30FPS and Pro will be 60FPS, I might consider an update.

 

[WinFonda]

i don't get the concern over framerates, most games have performance modes at this point

these enhancements seem to target and uplift current pain points, which is that performance modes are often driving down lower internal resolutions, which will now be dramatically improved by PSSR. and ray tracing, or lackthereof, which will now be fully implementable and have a substantial effect on visuals.

 

[BrickArts295]

So people shouldn't expect any sort of meaningful boost in FPS in any game due to the tiny CPU clock increase.

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If anything it could at least convince developers to add an unlocked frame rate option, which is what happened with some PS4 Pro games, some of which can now reach higher frame rates on PS5.

 

[Asklepios]

Hmmmm a little disappointed and underwhelmed.

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Sony has no qualms releasing underwhelming hardware and then abandoning them if sales aren't great. Unless PSSR brings in unexpected gains, this pro version ain't doing a universal 4k 60fps that everyone was hoping for.

 

[modiz]

As long as base PS5 has 60FPS option, I'll stick with it. But if base PS5 will be 30FPS and Pro will be 60FPS, I might consider an update.

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From the documents it seemed like sony was trying to encourage developers to keep targeting 60, and Pro exists to make the 60fps mode look much cleaner/feature Ray Tracing.

 

[PumpkinPieAddict]

I'm a boomer at this point but chasing the highest tier of graphics to look good in marketing materials but run poorly for the bulk of consumers keeps trucking in regards to 8k. I think the novelty of it existing for promotional materials (8k ready console) is ... fine. But I hope Sony isn't dedicating significant resources to it.

The CPU OC is fine. How many games are truly CPU bound in 2024 after all? The GPU boost hits a nice spot being close to a 7800/7900xt. Sony's ML algorithm will have to come out strong as Intel/nvidia are moving towards a more matured development at least on the PC side. Not sure how much we're leaning on Sony to develop internally that component all things considered feels like something AMD should be doing with Sony paying to outlet.

All that being said as long as we can comfortably target 60 frames 1440P minimum I'll be happy. Playing FF7 Rebirth and seeing the compromises made to keep the frame rate high is disappointing (although waiting on a patch).

Creative usage on the RAM front of moving lower usage programs to a second pool. Always curious how they work against buffer overflow.

 

[LCGeek]

i don't get the concern over framerates, most games have performance modes at this point

these enhancements seem to target and uplift current pain points, which is that performance modes are often driving down lower internal resolutions, which will now be dramatically improved by PSSR. and ray tracing, or lackthereof, which will now be fully implementable and have a substantial effect on visuals.

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You don't get the concern of some games not being stable or being able to reach 60fps. If you don't care that's one thing to say you don't get the notion is another.

You can only drop res in gpu bound game same for lightening post processing. Not all engines can use the same cuts to get to 60fps. They would need to be redone or get a hardware spec increase which for pc or console isn't something you can just do and go voila. Intel and amd cpus even top end are stretched in the right engines.

The CPU OC is fine. How many games are truly CPU bound in 2024 after all? The GPU boost hits a nice spot being close to a 7800/7900xt. Sony's ML algorithm will have to come out strong as Intel/nvidia are moving towards a more matured development at least on the PC side. Not sure how much we're leaning on Sony to develop internally that component all things considered feels like something AMD should be doing with Sony paying to outlet.

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Its not the amount its the releases. You wouldn't say GTA6, alan wake 2 or cyber punk are all games you want to slouch on. A bad cpu also hurts your RT performance if it's comprehensive. Some of sony's own titles say spiderman and R&C do not scale well on architecture that lacks in cpu or gpu compared to if you have either in spades with a decent featureset. The weaker your cpu is the more you gimp a decent RDNA/AMPERE/Lovelace/Blackwell arechitecture. I get limits through thermals and watts anything else is self inflicted.

 

[Schmitz]

Seems like games with 60 performance modes already could be amazing with better image quality and RT.

 

[SilentEagle]

From the documents it seemed like sony was trying to encourage developers to keep targeting 60, and Pro exists to make the 60fps mode look much cleaner/feature Ray Tracing.

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Great. I don't see a reason to upgrade for higher resolution or ray tracing performance.

 

[Super]

They seem very excited by PSSR.

 

[Clay]

This upgrade seems less justified than the barely justified PS4 Pro (which I bought anyway), and that's saying something... plenty of games are still cross-gen with PS4!!

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Yeah, I'm a sucker for new hardware and I really don't have any interest in this at all.

I'll probably still buy one for GTA6, unless there's somehow no discernible difference between base and Pro. But yeah, the PS4/X1 generation felt so long, the PS4 Pro was actually exciting. I can't even really think of a single PS5 game I'd be excited to replay, or even briefly check out, to see the improvement.

 

[asd202]

It's all about PSSR and how good it will be.

 

[Fabs]

Sounds like higher res GTA6 definitely isn't gonna make it a 60fps game.

 

[nexus]

Yessssss, I can't wait to listen to this. I'm guessing the addition to the PSSR (is that the "official" name?) is really what's going to make the biggest difference. With games like FF7 Rebirth and Dragon's Dogma 2 having some performance issues I'd hope this would smooth that out.

 

[JBoogieG]

Man, I *knew* there wasn't going to be a cpu or gpu generation upgrade. I kept arguing against it because it made no sense just on the basis of them not wanting to rock the boat with compatibility.

 

[Menchi]

This is an utterly pointless upgrade. I'm surprised they even bothered when it's such a minimal increase

 

[NinjaScooter]

if it can help the resolution/fidelity of current games in performance mode look better then sign me up.

 

[Kaiser Swayze]

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath for any meaningful improvements for current PS5 owners. This seems aimed at pixel-counters and people who can't bear not having the most superlative version of whatever things they own.

 

[FriendlyNPC]

Why even bother with a miniscule CPU clock uplift like that?

Disappointment all throughout shining through from DF in this vid. And you know what? I tend to agree. I wanted this to be my 60fps couch machine but it seems Sony has different idea with this...

 

[LCGeek]

This is an utterly pointless upgrade. I'm surprised they even bothered when it's such a minimal increase

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'
Not on gpu bound games. There's no point to try but you do you.

Since when is going from raw power 6600/6700 amd to nearly 7800 with decent ML upscaling tech bad? I've heard some stuff in my day but if you got a take on how this is minimal please proceed govenor.

I'm right there with if you play stuff that's cpu bound.

Why even bother with a miniscule CPU clock uplift like that?

Disappointment all throughout shining through from DF in this vid. And you know what? I tend to agree. I wanted this to be my couch 60fps machine but it seems Sony has different ideas about this...

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They didn't want to complicate development or compatibility swinging on 5600/5700/5800 apu. I tolerate when devs say this but it's sus as fuck for a maker to say this when the onus is on them to make firmware/os/sdk/api palpable for the people they want on their platform. Nintendo did it on WiiU and it wasn't requried I'm not being convinced sony can't.

 

[Astandahl]

This upgrade will be massive for some games which already have a performance mode like Alan Wake 2, but extremely limited in terms of fidelity (low internal res + FSR 2 and other stuff).

Of course, it won't make some 30 FPS cpu limited games playable at 60, just like the PS4 Pro.

 

[JBoogieG]

Why even bother with a miniscule CPU clock uplift like that?

Disappointment all throughout shining through from DF in this vid. And you know what? I tend to agree. I wanted this to be my couch 60fps machine but it seems Sony has different ideas about this...

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It's only one part of the package, though. The boost to the GPU as well as CPU and Sony creating their own DLSS analog for their hardware has to be looked at together.