Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro console refresh specs have been confirmed and feature a much faster GPU. The new graphics unit should deliver performance close to AMD’s Radeon RX 7700 XT discrete GPU.
The Verge has obtained the full spec list of Sony’s upcoming console codenamed Trinity. According to its source, the console-maker plans to release the PlayStation 5 Pro before the end of this year. Inside this upgraded machine we should find a much faster and larger GPU – about 45% quicker compared to the original PS5. The GPU is also better at ray-traced tasks – up to three times faster – thanks to the upgraded architecture and improved memory system.
Thanks to this extra performance, Sony is pushing developers to implement more ray-traced effects. For my part, I’d rather have higher fps than ray tracing, and the same goes for some friends I asked. That said, one doesn’t stop the other, as developers can implement RT while adding a rasterised mode for those preferring a smoother experience.
Zen 2 lives on
Unfortunately, though understandable, the CPU hasn’t changed from the aging Zen 2 chip from AMD, but with a mode that clocks it higher to 3.85GHz. Sony says the faster mode only reduces GPU performance by 1% due to power budget constraints. While we would have preferred a much faster processor, swapping for a newer architecture may have caused more headaches to developers as games would need to be optimised for both the original and newer Pro consoles.
The original PS5 will still be available alongside the refreshed Pro version with games patched to take advantage of the faster GPU on the Pro models, and this could come in the form of higher fps or resolution. Developers are already able to order dev kits with Sony expecting submitted games to be certified as compatible with the PS5 Pro in August.
Sony is also working on PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) which is an upscaling technology similar to DLSS, FSR, and XeSS. This solution is designed to replace the games’ existing anti-aliasing implementations. Furthermore, Sony says that PSSR adds around 2ms of latency when upscaling from 1080p to 4K, adding that higher resolutions and lower latency could be implemented in the future. Seeing how DLSS can improve aliasing in some games, I am eager to see how Sony’s take fares.
Sony is planning to release the PlayStation 5 Pro around the holiday season this year, and you can expect new games to launch alongside it. Hopefully, pricing will be adequate too. Now where is my PS Vita 2 at?
