It seems speed will be the name of the game for the upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro. Following earlier leaks of the console’s specifications, a new report by The Verge has verified the authenticity of these claims, with game developers told to ensure compatibility with the upgraded model and turn their attention to ray tracing.
According to the publication, the mid-gen refresh — codenamed Trinity — will include a more powerful GPU. Render speeds are expected to be “about 45 percent faster than the standard PlayStation 5″, as listed by documents outlining the PS5 Pro, which reportedly runs on “a more powerful ray tracing architecture”.
As such, Sony is encouraging developers, who are able to order test kits right now, to make more use of graphic features like ray tracing with the console. Those who can “provide significant enhancements” to their games are granted access to a “Trinity Enhanced” label, similar to the one Microsoft used for titles that were optimised for the Xbox Series X.
There won’t be much change on the CPU front, despite GPU improvements. The processor will be the same as the standard model, but with a new, slightly faster mode that clocks it higher. Additionally, users can expect more efficient system memory (576GB/s versus the current 448GB/s) and increased overall memory allocation (13.7GB versus 12.5GB), courtesy of Sony’s new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) support.
PSSR is a super-sampling technology akin to NVDIA’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR, designed to improve frame rates and image quality without requiring extra horsepower. The PS5 Pro is also set to include full HDR support, though Sony notes a two-millisecond delay in upscaling a 1080p image to 4K. The company is currently working to support resolutions up to 8K, with plans to improve the latency in the future.
Since the PS5 Pro hasn’t been officially revealed, there isn’t a release date just yet. However, it’s likely to debut during the 2024 holiday period, as indicated by previous reports.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
