Tuesday, December 12th 2023
Sony PlayStation 5 Pro Packs an Updated RDNA3 GPU with 60 CU
Sony is developing the PlayStation 5 Pro console that targets higher refresh-rate gaming at 4K Ultra HD, or higher in-game eye-candy, given its faster hardware. Details about the console are few and far between, given its late-2024 tentative release, but by now the company would have co-developed its semi-custom SoC, so it could spend the next year extensively testing and optimizing it, before mass production in the 2-3 quarters leading up to the launch. Kepler_L2 and Tom Henderson on Twitter are fairly reliable sources for PlayStation hardware leaks, and piecing their recent posts together, VideoCardz compiled the most probable specs of the SoC at the heart of the PlayStation 5 Pro.
The semi-custom SoC powering the PlayStation 5 Pro is co-developed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and AMD; and is codenamed "Viola." The monolithic chip is built on the TSMC N4P foundry node (4 nm EUV), which is a big upgrade from the 7 nm DUV node on which the "Oberon" SoC powering the original PlayStation 5, and 6 nm DUV node powering the "Oberon Plus" SoC of the refreshed PS5, are based on. Sony is leaving the CPU component largely untouched, it is an 8-core/16-thread unit based on the "Zen 2" microarchitecture, spread across two 4-core CCXs. The CPU has a maximum boost frequency of 4.40 GHz, dialed up from the 3.50 GHz maximum boost of "Oberon." The iGPU is where all the magic happens.
The iGPU is based on the latest RDNA 3 graphics architecture, which is a step up from the RDNA 2 powering "Oberon." It has 30 workgroup processors (WGPs), which amount to 60 compute units, or 3,840 stream processors, 120 AI accelerators, and 60 Ray accelerators. In comparison, Oberon's iGPU is based on RDNA 2, and has just 18 WGPs (36 CU, or 2,304 stream processors). The memory sub-system gets an upgrade, too. It is 16 GB in size, just like the original PS5, but with its memory clock slightly bumped up to 18 Gbps (vs 14 Gbps), resulting in 576 GB/s bandwidth. This memory uses a unified memory architecture, and is shared between the CPU (main memory), and iGPU (graphics memory).
The picture above is fan-art by Technizo Concept, Sony hasn't finalized a production design. The company is allegedly targeting a November 2024 launch for the PlayStation 5 Pro.
Sources:
Tom Henderson (Twitter), Kepler L2 (Twtitter), VideoCardz
The semi-custom SoC powering the PlayStation 5 Pro is co-developed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and AMD; and is codenamed "Viola." The monolithic chip is built on the TSMC N4P foundry node (4 nm EUV), which is a big upgrade from the 7 nm DUV node on which the "Oberon" SoC powering the original PlayStation 5, and 6 nm DUV node powering the "Oberon Plus" SoC of the refreshed PS5, are based on. Sony is leaving the CPU component largely untouched, it is an 8-core/16-thread unit based on the "Zen 2" microarchitecture, spread across two 4-core CCXs. The CPU has a maximum boost frequency of 4.40 GHz, dialed up from the 3.50 GHz maximum boost of "Oberon." The iGPU is where all the magic happens.
The picture above is fan-art by Technizo Concept, Sony hasn't finalized a production design. The company is allegedly targeting a November 2024 launch for the PlayStation 5 Pro.
101 Comments on Sony PlayStation 5 Pro Packs an Updated RDNA3 GPU with 60 CU
But maybe GTA VI will get native 4K30!
so ppl are getting forced to buy stuff now? right..
Last gen pretty much all games on PS4 ran at 1080p and people had 1080p TVs. Then 4K started becoming popular, so we got 4K consoles (PS4 Pro was almost always upscaling, but image quality was very good).
Now everyone has 4K TVs, but pretty much all current gen (not cross-gen) games upscale from 720p-1080p in performance mode, where image quality is between garbage and acceptable. It's almost impossible to even find a native 4K30 game.
Game development is very expensive now, so poor publishers, investors and shareholders can't afford to let devs optimize games. Instead it's easier to release a new console, which they wouldn't be able to sell if games were optimized, because this time there's no new spiel like 4K.
If you like capitalism and greed, it's fine, it's a free world. We're all entitled to our own opinions and values.
thanks for assuming stuff i never said.
except your post had nothing to do with values.
or do you think every single PS buyer is only playing UE engine games?
right.
and all pc games are properly optimized, right?
yeah..
i buy stuff to play certain games, not at a certain res/fps, but thats just me.
and just because im not willing/able to buy something/everything, doesnt mean im souring it for others (that can).
besides that, greed is greed, not unique to capitalism.
and the fact is, most of this planet is based on capitalism, and it wont matter, if i like or dont like it.
I buy stuff to play certain games too, but I expect them to look acceptable. To me running lower resolutions than PS4 is not acceptable. I don't find looking at a muddy image enjoyable.
A console used to be a long term investment. This time most people couldn't even buy a PS5 for almost two years because of scalping. I ended up buying one from a scalper myself last year, because I really wanted to play Forbidden West. So I paid a fortune, I played the game and I loved it, even though it had significant image quality issues that were resolved a few months after I completed it. If I had waited six months, I would've paid much less for the console and had an even better experience with the game.
But apart from all this, two years later there will be a better console available. I don't have to buy it, but I like to experience games in the best possible quality. I won't feel good playing a game on PS5 if I know there's a PS5 Pro out there. So I'll either have to get the Pro, or wait for the PS6.
Electronics is something I really don't mind spending money on, I get a lot of value from it. I just really don't like what game publishers/developers are doing. I feel they're treating us like idiots, who should be willing to pay full price for every new game, while they're exploiting every possible way of saving as much money as possible on development costs, which drastically impacts the quality of the product they're selling.
Stay on topic.
Take your side arguing to PMs.
By unifying it you make it alot of dev's so much more easier since everything is X86/X64 and not IBM Cell, X86 or Risc.
except you didnt get it for 599$.
ignoring playing with 2-6 players.
how many at the same time, over split screen, on your pc? right.
just because i have a 3K rig, doesnt mean i cant enjoy DOA/Tekken/Wipeout/AceCombat...
by turning on tv and a console with a couple of game pads.
But it definitely took a while for that console to really show its power, early games were mostly PS2 ports.
PCs were not power hungry back then. It was not difficult to make a console more powerful than a PC. Now we have graphics cards that consume 300-450 W, while a console draws less than 250 W from the wall. A console just can't compete in terms of raw power.
Even the PS5 Pro will be behind what we already have on PC. It will be an impressive machine, but the only thing it'll do is fix the image quality issues base consoles have.
We've seen a big graphical leap this year with games focusing on ray tracing (at the cost of image quality), but in my opinion we've already reached the limit of these consoles. I don't believe we'll see any significant progress in the next four years (2028 is when next consoles are expected).
It's what happened on the previous generation. The difference between exclusive games from the start and the end of that generation is so small, not just graphically, but also in terms of game design.
Because of the x86 simplicity and familiarity, devs are squeezing out all they can right from the start. There's no hidden power to discover like there used to be with "real" consoles.
yeah, would love to see those "faster than a console" stuff limited to 2-300w overall power use,
and see how much faster they will be then.
ppl always seem to forgot heat and power are the biggest limits to perf increase on consoles.
And the argument of "it's cheaper" "GPUs are expensive" just makes no sense, console prices are lower because they manufacture a lot of a precise configuration and often are sold at a loss if R&D is included
Consoles are trojan horses, companies then sell you overpriced accessories, online services(not required on PC), and the only way to get games is in their own digital store
Some advantages of consoles were:
-easy to use on a dedicated device
-powerful custom hardware
-unusual ways of playing(see Wii, Time Crisis)
Now games don't innovate (because money, so they can sell it on multiple platforms using the same controller configuration), the hardware is the same as PC, and Steam Deck has all the advantages of being easy to use and a dedicated device but you can do ANYTHING with it, which includes playing your games from other stores, emulators, or even use it as a PC, with the only limiting factor being it's performance due being a handheld device
Both Sony and Microsoft knew consoles were pointless the previous generation, Microsoft now is focusing more on games/Gamepass and Sony is porting games to PC
Even if don't own anything, you can just buy the better option. A steam deck is a console experience but not crippled by the manufacturer, you can do what you want with your property, that includes buying games on other stores, or download for free if you want it(seems fair to me if you already bought it on other platform)
The ecosystem lock in is being downgraded, heavily. And it goes both ways - consoles have gained access to more PC-first titles, and vice versa.That's pretty accurate I think. Yeah, consoles are definitely the starting point for gaming.
Tell me, what are the reasons to keep the closed consoles? Anyway, my point is pretty easy, if Microsoft released an Xbox Series X with SteamOS, it would be great, like a Steam Deck but powerful as a gaming PC. The biggest issue with the consoles is their policies.
There must be something to compensate for what you lose when you go the console route, but as you said, consoles "Lost many/most of their unique selling points"As a low-cost entry point, the consoles already have been replaced by smartphones and tablets, kids on many instances end up using apps like tiktok, bad free ripoff/assetflip games from the play store, or social games
Personal anecdote time. 'Round 2010, I'd determined that the PS3 was going to be the my last console. The only Sony exclusive that mattered to me was Gran Turismo, and I'd mostly lost interest. Anything else I cared about was either available on PC, or not compelling enough to spend $300+ on a device that would mostly collect dust. Then they announced Rock Band 4. So now there's a retired PS4 hanging out under my TV. Also, my wife and her fam got me a Switch and BotW for Xmas one year. Gotten a lot of mileage out of that thing, tbh.
Anyway, I still feel my 2010 logic was sound. I couldn't envision a scenario in which I didn't have a PC for other reasons, and the list of available games is enough to keep anyone busy for dozens of lifetimes.
Anyway^2, PS5 Pro. Probably gonna be pretty gud. *shrug*
It's about convenience and focus on gaming, on a dedicated device
If you had another computer and treated it just like a console, using steam big picture, or SteamOS, would be quite similar to having a console