PS4 Pro Specs Reveal More Than Twice the GPU Speed, Better Wifi

Unfortunately the GPU wasn't the issue in the base model. It was CPU. It was holding the GPU back in some aspects. So...in what way is the CPU improved to remedy this problem?

Its a two fold thing, whether you like it or not. It might be able to make the game look better, but the CPU handles all the stuff going on in terms of physics and the game bit of a game, so if one cant keep up, the other is held back. For instance the GPU might be capable of amazing graphics, but the CPU struggles with Havok, so when a lot goes on the CPU chugs, and there isn't as much processing available to pass to the GPU so the FPS drops.

CPU was/is definitely a problem area on the PS4 so disappointed its not upgraded yo a more powerful version. Still not sure if it will do 4k HDR blurays...

Might have held back cpu to keep games more compatible to meet the needs of all ps4 types.

@BLPs

You couldn't be more wrong though. I mean, sure, some games does utilize the CPU for physics, but most developers offloads the calculations of physics to the GPU because it's significantly more efficient at doing it. The eight cores, even at low clocks, is more than sufficient because developers offloads as much as possible to the GPU. In fact, they could triple the performance of the GPU and the CPU still wouldn't be a bottleneck for developers who actually knows what they're doing though. An Intel i3 (2c/4t) with GTX 1080 performs roughly the same as an Intel i7 (4c/8t or 8c/12t) in a lot of games that offloads as much as possible to the GPU. The only issue I can think of with the CPU is in huge MMORPGs with a lot of players as the game becomes significantly more CPU intensive at that point as you can't simply offload this workload to the GPU.

Edit: PS4's API can feed info to the GPU through all the threads. DirectX on PC can only feed info to the GPU using one thread at a time (it's changing with DX12). It's important to remember this though.

it's been mentioned a few times on the stream that there's a boost to CPU, but no mention of how much. it's still a jaguar processor so no issues with compatibility of old PS4 games, but if it's 2.1GHz as was indicated on previous leaks, that's not really enough. would want 2.8GHz or better, but AMD don't have anything that capable in the console form factor, and probably won't til its zen generation due late next year.

Yeah yeah yeah I don't care for any of that, question is: Will all games play at higher frames per second or are we still stuck at 30 with slightly better textures?

AI is heavily CPU bound.. so if there's a large number of on-screen characters and objects, they all need to be tracked. it's why most open world games struggle to maintain stable framerates.. games like fallout 4, just cause 3, witcher 3, absolutely hammer the jaguar cores on PS4/XB1
.

if this doesn't improve framerates then what's the point releasing this when MS scorpio around the corner.

@AlexKidd you will always be stuck at 30 fps on most games on a console. No matter how powerful it is. The truth is that AAA game developers are going to push the envelope of what the hardware can do. In doing so, they inevitability end up having to sacrifice frame rate.

Look at all of the consoles since Atari, each new console is leaps and bounds more powerful than the last, yet the frame rate has not gotten much better. Instead, tell everyone to stop clamouring for the latest and greatest particle effects and shaders and realistic hair simulation, and buy a game because its fun. Lets get to 60 fps before we push new visual ground.

This has 3 usb 3 ports, does that mean it will have ext hdd support?

on the tomb raider interview, the guy said that if you don't have a 4K set, for regular 1080p sets, there will be two modes - performance mode which has an unlocked frame rate (and would be play around 45fps), or a graphics mode which basically throws the kitchen sink at graphics settings but lock the frame rate at 30fps.

why would an extra usb port mean ext hdd support?. i can think of a couple of reasons why sony don't support installing games onto an HDD drive..

scorpio will also focus on 4K displays, and graphical fidelity in my opinion. it will most likely stick with the same jaguar CPU that's in PS4 pro. and games which are heavily CPU bound won't see great improvements. it might see more stable 30fps than some games manage, but it's not going to make 30fps into 60fps ones. AMDs next generation of APUs which might provide the power for that will probably be too late for scorpio if it's coming oct/nov 2017, and it's design is radically different from the jaguar based CPUs, comptability might be an issue.

@leucocyte

Which is not a problem because PS4's API can feed the info from the CPU to the GPU using all the threads available in the system. With higher level APIs such as DirectX (as of DX11, not DX12) you're limited to a single thread at a time, so... It's safe to say that Fallout 4 and Just Cause 3 on PS4 is simply badly optimized. This shouldn't be a surprise because Bethesda is notorious for being bad at optimizing their games (especially on consoles). The Witcher 3 runs stable at 30fps on PS4 with no issues (with all the latest patches). I never experienced a single drop in framerate when playing it. I played it several months after launch though.

Edit: Higher level API means further away from the hardware. Good for compatibility, bad for performance. Just to clarify.

@N4LIFE

Winter 2017 isn't "right around the corner" though. Sony can release another console by then or short time after it, so...

These specs, tho better, don't justify me buying one unless I somehow get a 4K tv to utilize it. I've had the same tv since 07, so that's not happening any time soon. I'd get one if they had a trade-in offer...

@Devotion

If sony releases another consoles next year, that will be 3 consoles released within a year, that's overkill.

@N4LIFE

Possibly. If Scorpio is a lot more powerful than PS4 Pro at a reasonable price then that alone could force Sony's hand though. It's a race at this point. Sony moves forward a bit, then Microsoft moves forward a bit, and so on.

@SanderEvers Yeah, based on the specification it looks like it doesn't support 4K blu-ray. I'd like to see an official press release confirming this, because leaving that out seems like a dumb move.

The PS3 sold well on the premise that it was a cheaper entry point into blu-ray than stand-alone players. This in turn helped bolster the blu-ray market. To think that Sony would not put a 4K player in the Pro when they've known Microsoft were using it in the slim? Crazy.

they won't next year.. but they could in say mid 2019 which is way more powerful than scorpio, and 6 years is about average for a generation. would MS then release another console just 18 months after scorpio?. i doubt it.. the "more powerful" argument is one neither can win in the long run. i don't think we're even close to seeing the best that vanilla PS4/XB1 can offer, so the pro/scorpio refresh seems unnecessary to me.

@Scubafinch

I can think of several reason why they didn't include it. It would increase the price further which would make it less attractive. It's primarily a gaming console, isn't it? The sales of 4K Blu-Rays, as it in general isn't a widespread format, is too weak to justify it. Sounds like good reasons to me.

i don't know about elsewhere, but here in the UK, sales of 4K blu-ray are incredibly small. in fact, regular blu-ray is still massively outsold by dvd. (8:1 in 2014 - couldn't find 2015's figures). even the 4K content we do have available is mostly glorified cgi rubbish. i don't think a single tv show is available on 4K physical version.. the no-4k blu-ray is probably a gamble based on the weak market share of the format, and lowering PS4 production costs.

@leucocyte

i agree with your statement but you got to remember Sony is pushing 4K TVs/Blurays to make it mainstream and not having a 4K player is gone to kill it.

@leucocyte aside from the 4K content on netflix and Amazon prime, the 4K content in the UK is abysmal. Sky and BT sport have started showing footy matches in 4k, but physical copies, as you said, it's just poor content.

Already preordered and excited! I do like that the HD is will still be upgradable. Ive also tried the PSVR at my local Best Buy, I hoped they would have the same launch date but its only a few weeks...

It really just a "s" upgrade like iphone, compared to full new generation like scorpio, it's okay to wait for ps5 if you want more meaningfull upgrade. I'll still chose this over scorpio though since the game I want is all on ps4 (I'll play gear 4 on pc).

I just spent $350 on a ps4 six months ago, it looks nice but I'm going to pass, i don't have a 4k TV anyways.

No 4k drive is a ludicrous decision. I thought it wouldn't have one a few months ago ask they weren't shouting about it but I was hoping that they'd put one in because it was a logical progression and the fact that the xbox one S has one shouldve reiterated this. Very silly. I'm not impressed tbh.

@BLPs Can you post a side-by-side video link of this please? Showing a ps4 vs ps4 pro game. I'd like to see evidence for myself thanks!

@bbq_boy It currently doesn't exist buy the ps4 cpu wasn't good for what devs were building and as @Devotion said they can offload to gpu but modern devs don't care about hardware working only the ease of ports

@N4LIFE Storage is abysmal on the PS4. Really, Sony is behind everyone else. I'm heavily invested in digital and have almost filled up my 2tb drive. Xbox is looking more attractive. Hell, my Wii U even supports an external.