Sony PlayStation 5
Here it is
The wait is finally over Sony fans! It’s been a whopping 7 years since the Playstation 4 was released and the highly anticipated sequel to the eighth generation console is now out in the wild. If you’re weighing up whether it’s worth putting on your Christmas list we’ve compile a handy guide of all the info that you should take into account when you’re deciding if it’s worth your hard earned cash.
PS5 Vs PS4 Performance
Let’s be honest, besides the exclusive titles this is what we all want to know right? Take a look at the full specs list below and we’ll tell you what all those facts and figures are actually going to mean for your next generation gameplay.
PS5 Specs
| Component | Specification |
| CPU | x86-64-AMD Ryzen Zen 8 Cores / 16 Threads at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) |
| GPU | Ray Tracing Acceleration Up to 2.23 GHz (10.3 TFLOPS) |
| GPU Architecture | AMD Radeon RDNA 2-based graphics engine |
| Memory/Interface | 16GB GDDR6/256-bit |
| Memory Bandwidth | 448GB/s |
| Internal Storage | Custom 825GB SSD |
| IO Throughput | 5.5GB/s (Raw), Typical 8-9GB/s (Compressed) |
| Expandable Storage | NVMe SSD Slot |
| External Storage | USB HDD Support |
| Optical Drive (optional) | Ultra HD Blu-ray (66G/100G) ~10xCAV BD-ROM (25G/50G) ~8xCAVBD-R/RE (25G/50G) ~8x CAVDVD ~3.2xCLV |
| PS5 Game Disc | Ultra HD Blu-ray, up to 100GB/disc |
| Audio | “Tempest” 3D AudioTech |
| Video Out | HDMI Out port Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver 2.1) |
| Dimensions | PS5 – 390mm x 104mm x 260mm (width x height x depth) PS5 Digital Edition – 390mm x 92mm x 260mm (width x height x depth) |
| Weight | PS5 – 4.5kg PS5 Digital Edition – 3.9kg |
| Power | PS5 – 350W PS5 Digital Edition – 340W |
| Input / Output | USB Type-A port (Hi-Speed USB) USB Type-A port (Super Speed USB 10Gbps) x2USB Type-C port (Super Speed USB 10Gbps) |
| Networking | Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/axBluetooth 5.1 |
That’s certainly a lot to take in, but it’s the choice of GPU that had us most surprised. Sony have gone for a less overall powerful GPU in favour of a more more one allowing it perform far past it’s overall TFLOP figure suggests. It’s custom 825gb SSD drive will certainly improve it’s performance and especially at the moment while we’re in the earlier days of the console, it’s the area that is making the most difference to your moment to moment gameplay. For example with it being able to load 2GB of data in just a quarter of a second, you can effectively load the PS5’s full 16GB memory in just 2 seconds!
What do those figures look like in reality? Well as an avid Destiny player the bane of my life is load times, but they’re been largely addressed by this new generation of console. Take a look at this comparison video of the load times between the generations of platform running the same titles:
That’s going to mean a lot less time staring at load screens and more time spent in the action.
Particle effects will see a major update which will make a massive difference to things like rain drops, leaves moving on trees, and basically anything that there’s a lot of, but all require slightly different movements. The PS4 managed to work around this with some clever gameplay and visuals but this technical upgrade is going to open a new world for video game developers.
Plus the big phrase that’s on everyone’s lips – ray tracing. This is going to revolutionise lighting to give a much more immersed feeling to titles. We’ve already seen glimpses of this in the Horizon Forbidden West trailer which is likely featuring a larger focus on underwater segments just to show off how lighting will be affected by varying textures. Still not convinced? Take a look at this video of the Unreal Engine 5 making the most of the upgrades to stunning effect.
Digital Edition or Standard?
The big question this year isn’t Sonic or Mario, Marvel or DC, Tekken or Mortal Kombat, Assassins Creed or Ghost of Tsushima, or even Democrat or Republican – it’s clearly the digital or standard version of the PS5.
The differences between the two are pretty simple, the Standard Edition of the PS5 is more expensive at £449.99/$499.99/ €499.99 but includes a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc drive.
The Digital Edition (below) does not include a disc drive and comes in at £359.99/ $399.99/€399.99.
Personally we’ve gone for the Standard Edition just because we’re a sucker for a collectors edition but we say the merits to both.
How do they look?
One of the biggest areas of debate around the PS5 is the sheer size of it! Whether you purchase the digital or standard editions of the PS5 both are *ahem* damn thicc bois. Here’s the whopping measurements and weights for both versions:
PS5 Standard Edition size:
Approximately 390mm x 104mm x 260mm, or 15.4″ x 4.1″ x 10.2″ (width x height x depth)
PS5 Standard Edition weight:
4.5kg or 9.9lbs
PS5 Digital Edition size:
Approximately 390mm x 92mm x 260mm, or 15.4″ x 3.6″ x 10.2″ (width x height x depth)
PS5 Digital Edition weight:
3.9 kg or 8.6 lbs
To help you visualise just how massive that is here’s the PS4 Pro:
PS4 Pro size:
Approximately 295mm × 55mm × 327mm, or 11.6″ by 2.1″ by 12.9″ (width x height x depth)
PS4 Pro weight: 3.3 kg or 7.3 lbs
There’s 5 big titles that you’ll need to purchase a PS5 to experience currently which are:
- Marvels Spiderman – Miles Morales
- Sackboy: A Big adventure
- Astros Playroom
- Demon Souls
- Destruction All Stars
Plus plenty of cross console next gen titles like Assassins Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion (Ubisoft really cornered this end of the year with their big titles). You can take a look at the full list of currently available next gen titles here:
It’s unlikely there’ll be a set date when all titles will move from the PS4 to the PS5 but as with previous generations – it’s coming!
The PS Plus Collection
If you’re weighing up whether a PS Plus subscription might be a good purchase to make the most out of your PS5 this should certainly convince you. PSPlus is the online subscription service for the Playstation 4 and 5, but when used on the PS5 it will give you access to a selection of classic PS4 titles at no extra cost. Currently the list includes:
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Battlefield 1
- Bloodborne
- Days Gone
- Detroit: Become Human
- Fallout 4
- Final Fantasy XV
- God of War
- inFAMOUS: Second Son
- The Last Guardian
- The Last of Us Remastered
- Monster Hunter: World
- Mortal Kombat X
- Persona 5
- Ratchet & Clank
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Until Dawn
Dualsense Controller
Designed to build on the success of Dualshock 4 and focused on creating ‘a sense of touch within gameplay’ through adaptive L2 and R2 triggers.
“we want gamers to feel like the controller is an extension of themselves when they’re playing, so much so they forget it’s even in their hands”
– Playstation’s Hideaki Nishino.
To explain that a little more now that we’ve actually gotten our hands on them – it means that the tension you feel when you pull back the trigger can be changed depending on gameplay. For example game developers can set the right trigger to be tougher to pull back when drawing an arrow to a bow, or perhaps making pulling back the trigger more difficult when injured to simulate more realistic in game damage. The possibilities are endless and we can’t wait to see what developers are going to use it for.
There’s also been big upgrades to the vibrations you feel from your controller in the form of their haptic feedback upgrades, which much more effectively give you a sense of the meaning of the vibrations – for example driving down a bumpy road can have your controller vibrate in a particular distinct way to help simulate that terrain, where as being shot from the left or right can be responded to in vibrations that help you determine the direction the shots came from. It’s not the most flashy of upgrades, but it makes a real difference.
Backwards Compatibility
Yes we’ve finally had confirmation that more than 95% of PS4 titles will be playable on PS5. All titles confirmed to run on the next gen hardware will be able to take advantage of the platforms faster load times and higher frame rates, plus in some special cases titles are being given a PS5 upgrade, with almost all developers offering them free of charge, with some cool additions in a number of cases like Borderlands 3 adding 4 player couch coop for no extra cost on PS5.
PS5 Accessories
There’s also plenty of the usual additional peripherals, tech and products specifically built to be integrated into the PS5 including:
