Sony Announces PS5 Pro
Sony has confirmed that it's releasing a more powerful version of its PlayStation 5 console called the PS5 Pro. The upgrade will add 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory for improved graphics rendering.
It'll also offer advanced features like ray tracing and AI upscaling for better visuals without sacrificing frame rates. It's available now for $699 without a disc drive or vertical stand.
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Enhanced Graphics
As its name suggests, the PS5 Pro is an upgraded version of the PlayStation 5, and while it may look the same on the outside with only a few pronounced racing stripes down the side, the console has "advanced hardware designed for super-sharp image clarity and high frame rate gameplay" with advanced graphics features like ray tracing. It has a GPU with 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory than the standard PS5 model, enabling it to render games at up to 45% faster. It also has an AI-assisted upscaling feature called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution that upscales in-game visuals, as well as an advanced ray tracing mode that simulates how light bounces off reflective surfaces.
The PS5 Pro will support up to 4K resolution and a 60fps frame rate, as well as HDR and Dolby Atmos audio. Sony has already started promoting a selection of games that will take advantage of the PS5 Pro's enhanced visuals, including Alan Wake 2, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Demon's Souls, Dragon's Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Gran Turismo 7, Hogwarts Legacy, Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and The Crew Motorfest. CNET's own Dave Meikleham got a chance to try out Gran Turismo 7 with the PS5 Pro's improved graphical capabilities, and he found that it was indeed more detailed and looked better than the original PlayStation 5 at its best.
But will this be enough to justify a $700 upgrade for most gamers? Cerny and Nishino both acknowledged that previous console upgrades have been a big draw for new customers, and the PS5 Pro is expected to be no exception. A significant percentage of PS4 Pro buyers were new to the franchise, and a similar proportion of PS5 Pro buyers will be newcomers as well.
The PS5 Pro launches November 7. It will be a stand-alone product, not a replacement for the base PlayStation 5, and all PS5 games will work on the new hardware. The PS5 Pro has a 2-terabyte solid-state drive, an increase from the 1TB SSD found on the standard PS5. It also comes with Sony's DualSense wireless controller and a copy of Astro Bot: The Great Unknown.
Ray Tracing
PlayStation 5 Pro will bring a number of visual enhancements to games on the console, including ray tracing. This technology helps developers to create more realistic lighting and reflections in game environments. It also enables more accurate shadows, so players will be able to see more of their own characters in the games they play on PS5 Pro. The PS5 Pro will have a GPU that is capable of rendering game video up to 45% faster than the standard PlayStation 5, Hideaki Nishino, Sony’s CEO for the platform business group, said in a statement on the company website.
The system will have a new graphics processing unit with 67% more Compute Units baked onto the silicon and 28% faster memory, Nishino added. That should result in a better gaming experience for the most dedicated gamers. In addition to the enhanced video rendering on the PS5 Pro, it will also support a feature called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution that uses AI-driven upscaling to provide a sharper image quality without sacrificing frame rate.
A more powerful CPU will be part of the PS5 Pro, as well. Nishino noted that the processor will be clocked up to 3.85GHz, which should help games run smoother than before. The system will also be able to render higher resolution images at a 60 frames per second frame rate, and it will have the ability to support both HDR and a 4K output on connected TVs.
It's not clear how many of the existing PS5 games will be compatible with the upgraded GPU on the PS5 Pro. In the past, midcycle upgrades like this have been a big draw for players who already own the original consoles but want to take advantage of new features.
The $699 price tag for the PS5 Pro is a big hurdle, though. Most gamers aren't going to be willing to drop that much money on a system that offers only marginal improvements over the previous generation. And the lack of a disc drive is sure to sting those who have large physical game libraries, as Sony has confirmed that the PS5 Pro will be a digital-only machine at launch.
AI-Driven Upscaling
Sony’s PS5 Pro is a souped-up PlayStation 5 console with a larger GPU that promises 4K gaming at 60 frames per second, advanced ray tracing, and automatic AI upscaling of older games. It also supports HDR and variable refresh rate TVs, as well as 8K gaming for those who have the hardware to do so.
A big feature of the PS5 Pro is that it can automatically upscaling games based on an algorithm that looks at things like "pixel detail, clarity, and sharpness" to make them appear better on TV. This is a machine learning algorithm and will work with games that have been designed to support it. The PS5 Pro’s upscaling is also enhanced with the addition of PSSR, which will improve image quality by enhancing images pixel-by-pixel based on an analysis of their structure and color.
In terms of graphical performance, the PS5 Pro features a much larger GPU than the standard PlayStation 5, with 67 percent more computing cores and 28 percent faster memory. It can render graphics 45 percent faster than the current PlayStation 5 and also offer advanced ray tracing, which will mimic how light behaves in real life to give games a more realistic look.
The PS5 Pro’s other big features include a two-terabyte hard drive, which is twice the capacity of the base PlayStation 5 and will let you install more 100GB AAA titles without having to buy them on multiple formats. It will also feature a high CPU frequency mode that will run the processor at 3.85GHz, which should allow it to perform power-intensive tasks more quickly.
A dedicated 120 fps mode will be available for games that get Pro upgraded, as will support for variable refresh rate TVs. The console will also be able to play games at eight-k resolution, though that will only be possible for a small number of players. It will also support Wi-Fi 7 and PlayStation VR 2.
Enhanced Performance
Despite its lofty price tag, Sony's PS5 Pro is very clearly a console designed for the most deeply engaged players. The big three upgrades include a GPU with 67% more compute units, 28% faster memory and up to 45% faster gameplay rendering compared to the standard PlayStation 5, according to Sony.
The new PlayStation will also support ray tracing, a technology that brings dynamic lighting and reflections to games, such as adding windows and mirrors in buildings to give the player a view of the world. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be one of the first games to support ray tracing and it should offer a more realistic and immersive experience for players, says Sony.
It will also come with PS5 Pro Game Boost, which uses AI and machine learning to upscale onscreen images, bringing in an extraordinary amount of detail. This is similar to AMD's FSSR and Nvidia's DLSS upscaling technologies, but is built directly into the GPU of the PS5 Pro. This feature can be used with both the 4K and HD modes of the console and will work on up to 8,500 backward compatible PS4 games, including older releases that could use a visual boost.
Finally, the upgraded CPU will be able to handle more power-hungry tasks thanks to an overclocking mode that will increase the clock speed of the PlayStation's X86 CPU to 3.85GHz. This is a substantial upgrade over the regular PlayStation's 3.5GHz CPU and will provide more performance for gamers who like to compete online in high-profile titles.
The PS5 Pro will also launch with Wi-Fi 7 capability, a technology that supports 5 Gbps speeds and offers up to twice the performance of previous generations of wireless gaming networks. This should be a boon for competitive gamers who want to climb the rankings in online battle royale titles. The PS5 Pro will also support 8K video streaming on services such as Twitch and YouTube. The console will be available for preorder starting on September 26 and will ship worldwide in November. It will include a 2TB SSD (an increase on the 1TB that came with the PS5), a DualSense wireless controller and a copy of Astro's Playroom preinstalled. It will also be compatible with current PS5 accessories, such as the PlayStation VR2, PlayStation Portal and DualSense Edge wireless headsets, Access controller and Pulse Elite wireless earbuds.