Learn all about the PS5 Specs below (click play). Prepare your inner Playstation Nerd. It is very detailed!
Welcome, one and all! We are here to for the first major PS5 event, this happened at 9AM pacific on March 18th, 2020. In this stream, titled “The Road to PS5,” Sony’s System Architect Mark Cerny gives a deep dive into the system’s architecture.
Major Highlights
Here are some quick highlights from the event!
- Less than a month for developers to get comfortable with PS5 hardware, compared to much longer times in the past
- SD was a major focus, developers wanted it as their top priority.
- 1GB can take anywhere from 10-20 seconds to load from a disc or hard drive. The new hardware can do 2GB in 0.2 seconds!
- Current hard drives hold back the vision of developers. The ability to stream in data hampers how fast players can move through the world.
- Current patches on a hard drive require us to create a new file with the new changes. The SSD removes the need for this, meaning no more long installs the way we know them.
- 16GB of GDDR6 RAM on PS5 is able to store the next second of gameplay at all times, and it’s far more utilized than the RAM on PS4.
- Fast booting, no load screens, high-speed streaming, and no more patch installs.
- Multiple priority levels for loading data, such as audio before textures. This is done through a custom flash controller.
- The new system utilizes a compression/decompression system called Kraken, with some custom changes, that can process up to 22GB per second.
- The goal is to address and remove any and all bottlenecks of data that could affect performance.
- Sony will support readily available SSDs in an internal port on the PS5 for expanding data.
- An external hard drive can be used to store and play your PS4 games on the new system.
- SSD M2 drives have differing heights and capability, so don’t go buying one yet. After launch Sony will share which models are okay for expanding your internal storage.
- GPU supports ray tracing, but it’s not required for every game. The same goes for other features, giving developers flexibility.
- The GPU is a custom AMD chip using RDNA 2 technology.
- Some features may find their way into PC GPUs as part of the collaboration with AMD, but the two cannot be compared due to the custom nature of Sony’s chips.
- PS4 backwards compatibility is confirmed, with at least the top 100 titles playable at launch, but it has to be done on a title-by-title basis.
- Ray tracing is optional, but can be used for audio, global illumination, shadows, reflections, etc.
- One PS5 title is already using ray tracing reflections in a complex scene without a major cost to the system’s power.
- Another focus is going to be power consumption and system heat. The idea is to minimize fan noise and heat overall.
- The new GPU has 36 RDNA 2 CUs which are larger in size.
- The new architecture maintains a consistent power level, and a cooling system will be featured in a future teardown.
- AMD smartshift technology also allows the CPU to send unused power to the GPU to push our more pixels.
- Higher quality audio and 3D audio are another major focus.
- Custom hardware called TEMPEST 3D AudioTech was created to assist with this.
- The process is ongoing, but they’ve already managed to make headphones work well with the technology.
- Virtual surround sound is also a goal for TVs and soundbars.
- Even just an ordinary pair of headphones showcases a major difference between PS4 stereo and PS5 3D Audio.
- At launch, several HRTF configurations will be available to customize your audio experience. Other things are being explored to give you the best audio. It will take several years.
A lot of technical details! Stay tuned to our PS5 Specs page for a deeper look into everything we learned in this stream!