Sony and the PS5
18.3.2020
Translation: machine translated
Sony is following in Microsoft's footsteps by revealing a few details about the PS5, but nothing about the look of the console or the controller.
For the average person, the presentation was undoubtedly difficult to digest, not because the news was so exciting, but because it was so technical. Sony's live video, broadcast on Wednesday evening, was originally intended for professionals at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), which was cancelled due to the coronavirus. Those who watched it were rewarded with some captivating details.
The hardware is very similar to Microsoft's Xbox series. Sony, as we already know, relies on AMD for the processor and graphics card. The eight-core Ryzen clocks in at 3.5GHz, slightly slower than the Xbox's 3.8GHz. The graphics card also bears the RDNA 2 designation, with 36 CU (the Xbox has 52) and a clock frequency of up to 2.23 GHz (1.825 GHz for the Xbox). This corresponds to a theoretical performance of 10.3 teraFLOPS, compared with 12 teraFLOPS for the Xbox X series. These data do not allow us to determine the performance winner.
System architect Marc Cerny also commented on the SSD in this live video. It will be an 825GB PCIe 4.0 model. The memory can be expanded via an NVMe SSD - 100 times faster than the PS4's hard drive at 5.5GB/s - the feature most requested by developers, explained Marc Cerny. Loading screens or superimposed animations to mask loading times should no longer exist.
The PS5, also equipped with 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, is capable of 448GB/s. By comparison, the new Xbox has 10GB of RAM at 560GB/s and 6GB at 336GB/s. As for the futuristic side of things, that's not going to happen, given the presence of a UHD player. Support for 8K and ray tracing were also mentioned.
The cooling system has been improved to spare the fan during gameplay, as was the case with 'God of War'. Speaking of which, Sony has promised backwards compatibility with the PS4. However, only the 100 most popular titles will be up and running at launch.
Finally, Marc Cerny talked about the new 3D sound. Sony has actually developed its own chip for this purpose. Called Tempest 3D Audio Tech, it is set to support many more formats than the PS4. The advantage over Dolby Atmos? No need for a compatible device. For perfect surround sound emulation, Sony uses the Head-related Transfer Function (HRTF), a response that characterises the way an ear receives sound from a point in space. Initially, there will be five different profiles, covering most ear shapes. Marc Cerny joked that he would eventually later send a photo of his ears so Sony could create a personal profile.
Unfortunately, nothing has been specified, either about a release date or what the console will look like.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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