Wednesday, September 7th 2016

Sony Launches AMD "Polaris" Powered PlayStation 4 Pro

Sony today announced an addition to its PlayStation family of entertainment systems, with the new PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro). The PS4 Pro isn't meant to succeed the PS4, and is still a "current generation" console, in that all of its games are compatible with the PS4, and there won't be PS4 Pro-exclusive games. What sets it apart is higher-resolution game rendering that looks best on 4K Ultra HD TVs. This doesn't necessarily mean that the games are being rendered at 3840 x 2160 pixels. They could be rendered at resolutions higher than 1080p, and using just the right upscaling algorithms, made to look significantly better than 1080p. Another key visual component is hardware HDR. The PS4 Pro falls in line with Sony's big push for 4K HDR TVs this holiday shopping season.

Under the hood, the PlayStation 4 Pro features an all new semi-custom SoC designed by Sony and AMD. The CPU component sticks to the "Jaguar/Puma" architecture, with 8 cores, but features higher CPU clock speeds. The 8 GB GDDR5 memory is said to run at higher clocks, too, and is bolstered by new lossless memory compression tech by AMD. The GPU component is where the action is. The GPU features over double the shading power of the PS4, and is based on the "Polaris" GPU architecture. The PS4 Pro also ships with a bigger 1 TB hard drive. There is seamless interplayability between PS4 and PS4 Pro. PS4 games you already own are being added with higher-resolution content meant for PS4 Pro. The console also has the muscle for PS-VR. For those still holding on to 1080p HDTVs, the PS4 Pro rewards with higher visual detail, more geometric complexity, and better effects, at that resolution. The PS4 Pro starts at $399.
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81 Comments on Sony Launches AMD "Polaris" Powered PlayStation 4 Pro

#1
nickbaldwin86
that price and no Solid State drive? pfft drink salt water!
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#2
RejZoR
I don't understand the point of consoles anymore. They are entirely missing the point of them...
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#3
R00kie
nickbaldwin86that price and no Solid State drive? pfft drink salt water!
Are you mad? a single 1TB drive is gonna cost as much as the console itself...
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#4
Effting
Impressive! At that price it's a steal.
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#5
R00kie
EfftingImpressive! At that price it's a steal.
Indeed, thinking of selling my ps4 and getting this one instead :P
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#6
Supercrit
gdallskAre you mad? a single 1TB drive is gonna cost as much as the console itself...
People will try to nitpick even if the new PS4 was given free.
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#7
SKD007
gdallskAre you mad? a single 1TB drive is gonna cost as much as the console itself...
Very true.. 1TB HDD AMD Polaris itself is 260$ and additional 8c processor.. if I can install windows, I would buy this as a decent gaming PC lol
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#8
evernessince
saikamaldossVery true.. 1TB HDD AMD Polaris itself is 260$ and additional 8c processor.. if I can install windows, I would buy this as a decent gaming PC lol
Considering the 1 TB HDD in this thing is going to be super low end it's not really worth much. Get an RX 470 plus a 1 TB HDD for an easy $230. Add a pentium G3258 + mobo and ram for $100, another $20 for the case plus $30 for the PSU and you just made a system that's all around better for less money.
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#9
theonedub
habe fidem
As of now it won't play Ultra HD Blurays- that's a huge oversight (and something you don't expect from Sony given their past with HQ content on physical media and their involvement with BR). How is the XB1S going to play them, but not the PS4Pro?! C'mon Sony.
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#10
Primey_
evernessinceConsidering the 1 TB HDD in this thing is going to be super low end it's not really worth much. Get an RX 470 plus a 1 TB HDD for an easy $230. Add a pentium G3258 + mobo and ram for $100, another $20 for the case plus $30 for the PSU and you just made a system that's all around better for less money.
Uh. How about you hold off until they release the specs of the PS4 Pro? We don't even know the clock of the gpu or cpu.

Your system doesn't even match what little info we have about the specs of the PS4 Pro. For starters you suggest a dual core compared to PS4 Pros 8 core. Good luck gaming on a dual core
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#11
G33k2Fr34k
Why is the CPU clock speed so low? They're fabricating these chips using 14nm silicon. They could have at least clocked the CPU at 3GHz.
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#12
hojnikb
G33k2Fr34kWhy is the CPU clock speed so low? They're fabricating these chips using 14nm silicon. They could have at least clocked the CPU at 3GHz.
there is no way you can efficiently clock a core like jaguar at 3ghz+
its designed to run at lower clock and power.
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#13
hojnikb
evernessinceConsidering the 1 TB HDD in this thing is going to be super low end it's not really worth much. Get an RX 470 plus a 1 TB HDD for an easy $230. Add a pentium G3258 + mobo and ram for $100, another $20 for the case plus $30 for the PSU and you just made a system that's all around better for less money.
you will have to replace or upgrade such setup long before ps4 pro becomes obsolete.
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#14
GhostRyder
G33k2Fr34kWhy is the CPU clock speed so low? They're fabricating these chips using 14nm silicon. They could have at least clocked the CPU at 3GHz.
For reliability and low power. They could put a higher clocked CPU inside, however doing so increases heat and increases chance of failure hence the choice for more cores over less higher clocked cores.

Seems alright, want to see every listed speed of this one for comparison to the old PS4.
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#15
alucasa
Well, I guess I will wait for PS4 Ultimate.

This ain't console.
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#16
nickbaldwin86
gdallskAre you mad? a single 1TB drive is gonna cost as much as the console itself...
Nope I could honestly care less... I have never owned a console in my life #PCGAMERMASTERRACE! but they could put in a 512GB for $100 or less at their cost and have a MUCH faster more reliable experience. I cant stand to even browse the internet on a PC with a HDD any more. maybe a 1TB drive is needed? those 1GB saved game files?

Even a Hybrid drive at 1TB would be better and those are cheap!
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#17
LAN_deRf_HA
Based on those specs I'm expecting a lot of upscaling to reach 4k. Double performance isn't going to cut it. There's a reason Microsoft went with more power than this for their 4k machine.
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#18
levizx
hojnikbthere is no way you can efficiently clock a core like jaguar at 3ghz+
its designed to run at lower clock and power.
Really? Puma can already be clocked at 2.4GHz (Turbo) on 28nm. What makes you think at 14LPP node, a mere 20% clock bump is not efficient?

In any case, 2.1GHz seems a bit too low all things considered. Somewhere around 2.5GHz, or even 4x2GHz+4x3.0GHz setup would've made more sense with the GPU improvements.
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#19
levizx
nickbaldwin86Nope I could honestly care less... I have never owned a console in my life #PCGAMERMASTERRACE! but they could put in a 512GB for $100 or less at their cost and have a MUCH faster more reliable experience. I cant stand to even browse the internet on a PC with a HDD any more. maybe a 1TB drive is needed? those 1GB saved game files?

Even a Hybrid drive at 1TB would be better and those are cheap!
Cheap as it may be, still a cost increase on MILLIONS of units with minimal benefit. 512GB is NOT AN OPTION, given ALL older games would need a patch for HiDef content on the HDD.
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#21
f22a4bandit
nickbaldwin86Nope I could honestly care less... I have never owned a console in my life #PCGAMERMASTERRACE! but they could put in a 512GB for $100 or less at their cost and have a MUCH faster more reliable experience. I cant stand to even browse the internet on a PC with a HDD any more. maybe a 1TB drive is needed? those 1GB saved game files?

Even a Hybrid drive at 1TB would be better and those are cheap!
A 1TB drive is necessary for console, especially with the move to downloadable games. I have a 500GB Xbone and still need an external drive for extra storage.
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#22
ShurikN
evernessinceAdd a pentium G3258 + mobo and ram for $100...
Awww damn... gonna get some sweet framerates in Half-Life 2 on that rig.
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#24
Loosenut
levizx"... 512GB is NOT AN OPTION, ..."
You can have any color you want, as long as it`s black. -Henry Ford
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#25
Recon-UK
LoosenutYou can have any color you want, as long as it`s black. -Henry Ford
So i can have a red one then? :toast:
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