I'm writing this after my friend told me about his woes with his PS4 Pro and he isn't the first. The more I think about it I get the feeling that the PS4 Pro was rushed and not exactly what it claims to be and in my opinion one of the poorest standards of console releases since the original PS3 tech-wise and what it claims to do.
The difference isn't there
I think the main gripe is that the difference isn't there between he base model and the PS4 Pro, even in 1080p boost model only delivers a 50% increase in frame rates, while that sounds good it can often cause frame stuttering or torn frames. The problem is more apparent at 4k where you start to see the limitations of the hardware. The machine doesn't really help with 1080p not can it truly be called a 4k machine. It would have made much more sense to support 1440p mode as a native resolution mode for gaming monitors for the best experience.
Checker board rendering isn't great
The PS4 uses a technique called check-board rederning to get to 4K ro close enough. The effects often leads to situations of un-refined edges in games that look very jagged, here is one comparison of the technique used vs 4k and you can see it's not a great visual experience:
It's interesting to see that 3rd party developers are moving away from checkboard implementation once the XBOX One was released. – most likely due to development time spent on making a checkboard implementation due to development time in the game engine.
No FreeSynce support
The fact that the PS4 is using an AMD APU with no FreesSync support is really puzzling, especially gamers who utilise a monitor rather than a TV for best picture clarity and response time. This feature would have help with the stuttering caused by games that can't reach 60fps on the Pro, games like God of War would have been benefited by this. As gamers this would jhave made a night and day difference for the PS4 Pro in playing games without have to face the stuttering. This video shows you why FreeSync is so important.
Pricing and timing are wrong
The 3 year gap between the base model PS4 and the Pro still angers many people who bought the model expecting it to last a lot longer, with Sony releasing ½ step upgrade it torn many consumers on whenever it was worth being a 1st time buyer if this was going to be a norm for future generation of consoles If you don't have a PS4 then it's not really a problem but for original customers it's infuriating choice of waiting for the PS5 or biting the bullet and getting the PS4 Pro and having to get the PS5 a few years later. Also for a 4K device and with Sony being the innovators of BluRay you would expected that they would have implemented Ultra HD Blu-ray
There are a ton of other minuscule issues with TV compatibility, HDCP handshakes and what it means to be "Pro" but overall I like my PS4 slim, I bought it last year and was conclited between the Pro and the Slim and by good I am happy with my decisions, a machine that is on par with it's "powerful" sibling without any of problems on the PS4 Pro.
The difference isn't there
I think the main gripe is that the difference isn't there between he base model and the PS4 Pro, even in 1080p boost model only delivers a 50% increase in frame rates, while that sounds good it can often cause frame stuttering or torn frames. The problem is more apparent at 4k where you start to see the limitations of the hardware. The machine doesn't really help with 1080p not can it truly be called a 4k machine. It would have made much more sense to support 1440p mode as a native resolution mode for gaming monitors for the best experience.
Checker board rendering isn't great
The PS4 uses a technique called check-board rederning to get to 4K ro close enough. The effects often leads to situations of un-refined edges in games that look very jagged, here is one comparison of the technique used vs 4k and you can see it's not a great visual experience:
It's interesting to see that 3rd party developers are moving away from checkboard implementation once the XBOX One was released. – most likely due to development time spent on making a checkboard implementation due to development time in the game engine.
No FreeSynce support
The fact that the PS4 is using an AMD APU with no FreesSync support is really puzzling, especially gamers who utilise a monitor rather than a TV for best picture clarity and response time. This feature would have help with the stuttering caused by games that can't reach 60fps on the Pro, games like God of War would have been benefited by this. As gamers this would jhave made a night and day difference for the PS4 Pro in playing games without have to face the stuttering. This video shows you why FreeSync is so important.
Pricing and timing are wrong
The 3 year gap between the base model PS4 and the Pro still angers many people who bought the model expecting it to last a lot longer, with Sony releasing ½ step upgrade it torn many consumers on whenever it was worth being a 1st time buyer if this was going to be a norm for future generation of consoles If you don't have a PS4 then it's not really a problem but for original customers it's infuriating choice of waiting for the PS5 or biting the bullet and getting the PS4 Pro and having to get the PS5 a few years later. Also for a 4K device and with Sony being the innovators of BluRay you would expected that they would have implemented Ultra HD Blu-ray
There are a ton of other minuscule issues with TV compatibility, HDCP handshakes and what it means to be "Pro" but overall I like my PS4 slim, I bought it last year and was conclited between the Pro and the Slim and by good I am happy with my decisions, a machine that is on par with it's "powerful" sibling without any of problems on the PS4 Pro.
