Miley
Member
For gamers who love to play video games, the most important issue these two days must be that SONY interactive entertainment (SIE) and Microsoft announced the new console "PlayStation 5" and "Xbox Series X" specification and function summary information in conjunction with the GDC event scheduled to be held in mid-march. What does this dizzying array of specs and features mean? What's the difference between these specs and the experience? There is also the most concerned about "which one is stronger?" This column will make a preliminary analysis and comparison of the information released by the parties for players' reference.
Before we get down to business, let's take a quick look at the naming principles for two new hosts.
Naming principles for "PlayStation 5" vs "Xbox Series X"
The first is "PlayStation 5" (PS5), which I'm sure you don't have to tell me is "PlayStation 5". After all, this rule has been in place for four generations, and even though SIE didn't say it explicitly at first, almost everyone guessed it would be called PS5, and sure enough.
Xbox Series X (Xbox SX) is the product of a different naming logic. The Xbox family has never been named algebraically, from the original "Xbox" to later "Xbox 360", "Xbox One", although there are some Numbers, but never algebra or multiple, but have their own meaning. So, of course, the "Xbox 720", "Xbox Two" and so on are unlikely to come true.
So what exactly does "Xbox Series X" mean? In fact, the answer is very simple, is the new console name and "reboot" back to the original "Xbox", "Xbox Series X" is "the X Series of Xbox". "Will there be other models?" one might ask. The answer is "probably". It was previously reported that Microsoft is actually planning two new hosts of different specifications, the lower-order "Lockhart" and the higher-order "Scarlett." However, the only product that has actually been released is the advanced model, which is now the "Xbox Series X".
"PlayStation 5" vs "Xbox Series X" hardware specs comparison
The PS5 and Xbox SX, as expected, follow the path of the previous generation of consoles, both using custom x86-64 single-chip processors developed in collaboration with AMD, the so-called "PC architecture." Unlike mainstream high-performance PCS, which use separate cpus and gpus, cpus and gpus are integrated into a single chip. The specification is much higher than the general embedded APU, and the functions are customized according to their own needs.
CPU
Both the PS5 and Xbox SX cpus use AMD's current generation of Ryzen "Zen 2" cpus. The 8 core 3.5 to 3.8GHz specs are somewhere between the Ryzen 7 3700X and 3800X on PC, but the specs have been tweaked for the console. With the current market mainstream PC equipment, has been a mid-level above the specification, after all, the current market price of 3700X is tens of thousands of nt dollars.
The PS4 and Xbox One use cpus built from AMD Jaguar, designed for low-power applications such as notebook computers and embedded systems. Although equipped with 8 cores, the operating pulse is low and the performance is not outstanding, which brings some bottlenecks. This time, the PS5 and Xbox SX are based on AMD's latest Zen 2 architecture, which is the latest generation of "Zen" architecture that AMD has successfully turned around. They also carry 8 cores and operate at a much higher frequency than the current mainstream PC specifications. That should give the PS5 and the Xbox SX a better starting point than when the PS4 and Xbox One started out with lagging CPU power.
The PS4 and Xbox SX CPU cores are basically the same, with the major differences in the operational pulse part. The PS5 adopts the mode of fixed power supply + variable operation pulse, and the maximum operation pulse is 3.5ghz. Xbox SX adopts the mode of fixed operation pulse, which is fixed at 3.8ghz without SMT on, and then reduced to fixed 3.66ghz after SMT on. So the Xbox SX's CPU core is more powerful than the PS5's.
GPU
Although the CPU specifications are different, the differences are limited, and it probably doesn't feel like much when the game is actually running. But the GPU's specifications have a profound impact on the performance of the most critical 3D graphics processing in today's games, and this data is arguably the best fuel for the Internet debate.
Like cpus, the PS5 and Xbox SX gpus use custom gpus based on AMD RDNA 2 architecture. This architecture is an improvement of the first-generation RDNA architecture of the latest Radeon RX 5000 series GPU products for PCS. The biggest feature is the introduction of hardware accelerated raytrace processing in AMD GPU for the first time. Through the exclusive "BVH accelerated architecture" hardware unit to calculate ray tracing required by the ray through and intersection judgment, simulation of real light reflection refraction transmission, equivalent to the "RT core" of NVIDIA GeForce RTX series.
The computing power of Xbox SX ray tracing is 380 billion intersections per second. Switching to the chromater software would cost up to 13TFLOPS in performance, meaning that it would not be enough to exhaust the entire GPU. Therefore, after importing this hardware acceleration unit, the performance of the entire GPU is equivalent to 12+13 = 25tflop. By comparison, the NVIDIA RTX series is capable of producing 5 to 11 billion rays per second. Since the units are different, there is no specific information on how to convert them, so it is impossible to directly compare them, but it can be felt that the RDNA 2 architecture is in full swing this time.
In addition, the RDNA 2 architecture introduces a number of new features to improve the efficiency of 3D drawing, including the "Geometry Engine", which allows more flexible manipulation of geometric data to make the drawing process smoother, and "Primitive Shader", which eliminates useless polygons at an earlier stage. These are improvements in the efficiency of book operations that cannot be seen, but greatly affect the efficiency of 3D mapping. This means that even if the performance on paper is the same, the new RDNA architecture will perform better than the old GCN architecture. This has been verified by a number of technical websites using PC display CARDS.
Memory
The PS5 and Xbox SX both come with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, the same as the current PC display card mainstream. The PS5 doesn't release configuration details, but instead pushes back from the 448GB/s bandwidth with a 256bit bus with a 14Gb/s transfer rate. The Xbox SX has a non-uniform configuration, with a 10GB bandwidth of 560GB/s in 16GB for high-frequency bandwidth drawing, and a 6GB bandwidth of 336GB/s for game programs, operating systems and resident services. Presumably it should be a mix of 320bit / 192bit busbar and 14Gb/s transmission rate.
While the Xbox SX is known to reserve 2.5GB of its low-bandwidth memory for operating systems and interfaces, the PS5 is unclear.
Conclusion
At this stage of the announcement, the Xbox SX's specs and performance are clearly superior to that of the PS5, making it a good choice for players looking for the ultimate quality experience. Although the PS5 lags behind in basic processing efficiency, it has put a lot of effort into its emphasis on high-speed SSD and 3D sound to overcome the obstacles and bottlenecks in hardware and software. However, these two features are not as straightforward as "picture quality", and it is still unclear what changes will be brought to the actual game experience. Neither side has yet announced the new console's game lineups, which may be the real deciding factor.
In a more straightforward way, the editors felt that the PS5 and Xbox SX could be roughly viewed as extensions of the way the previous generation of forced consoles PS4 Pro and Xbox One X went. Because both happen to offer roughly twice the performance of the previous generation of enhanced consoles, the PS5 and PS4 Pro are both cost-price models, and the Xbox SX and Xbox One X are both high-spec models. Of course, the price of the two new hosts has not yet been announced, so there is no way to assess the performance-to-price ratio. However, according to the information released so far, the PS5 is likely to be cheaper than the Xbox SX.
Before we get down to business, let's take a quick look at the naming principles for two new hosts.
Naming principles for "PlayStation 5" vs "Xbox Series X"
The first is "PlayStation 5" (PS5), which I'm sure you don't have to tell me is "PlayStation 5". After all, this rule has been in place for four generations, and even though SIE didn't say it explicitly at first, almost everyone guessed it would be called PS5, and sure enough.
Xbox Series X (Xbox SX) is the product of a different naming logic. The Xbox family has never been named algebraically, from the original "Xbox" to later "Xbox 360", "Xbox One", although there are some Numbers, but never algebra or multiple, but have their own meaning. So, of course, the "Xbox 720", "Xbox Two" and so on are unlikely to come true.
So what exactly does "Xbox Series X" mean? In fact, the answer is very simple, is the new console name and "reboot" back to the original "Xbox", "Xbox Series X" is "the X Series of Xbox". "Will there be other models?" one might ask. The answer is "probably". It was previously reported that Microsoft is actually planning two new hosts of different specifications, the lower-order "Lockhart" and the higher-order "Scarlett." However, the only product that has actually been released is the advanced model, which is now the "Xbox Series X".
"PlayStation 5" vs "Xbox Series X" hardware specs comparison
The PS5 and Xbox SX, as expected, follow the path of the previous generation of consoles, both using custom x86-64 single-chip processors developed in collaboration with AMD, the so-called "PC architecture." Unlike mainstream high-performance PCS, which use separate cpus and gpus, cpus and gpus are integrated into a single chip. The specification is much higher than the general embedded APU, and the functions are customized according to their own needs.
CPU
Both the PS5 and Xbox SX cpus use AMD's current generation of Ryzen "Zen 2" cpus. The 8 core 3.5 to 3.8GHz specs are somewhere between the Ryzen 7 3700X and 3800X on PC, but the specs have been tweaked for the console. With the current market mainstream PC equipment, has been a mid-level above the specification, after all, the current market price of 3700X is tens of thousands of nt dollars.
The PS4 and Xbox One use cpus built from AMD Jaguar, designed for low-power applications such as notebook computers and embedded systems. Although equipped with 8 cores, the operating pulse is low and the performance is not outstanding, which brings some bottlenecks. This time, the PS5 and Xbox SX are based on AMD's latest Zen 2 architecture, which is the latest generation of "Zen" architecture that AMD has successfully turned around. They also carry 8 cores and operate at a much higher frequency than the current mainstream PC specifications. That should give the PS5 and the Xbox SX a better starting point than when the PS4 and Xbox One started out with lagging CPU power.
The PS4 and Xbox SX CPU cores are basically the same, with the major differences in the operational pulse part. The PS5 adopts the mode of fixed power supply + variable operation pulse, and the maximum operation pulse is 3.5ghz. Xbox SX adopts the mode of fixed operation pulse, which is fixed at 3.8ghz without SMT on, and then reduced to fixed 3.66ghz after SMT on. So the Xbox SX's CPU core is more powerful than the PS5's.
GPU
Although the CPU specifications are different, the differences are limited, and it probably doesn't feel like much when the game is actually running. But the GPU's specifications have a profound impact on the performance of the most critical 3D graphics processing in today's games, and this data is arguably the best fuel for the Internet debate.
The computing power of Xbox SX ray tracing is 380 billion intersections per second. Switching to the chromater software would cost up to 13TFLOPS in performance, meaning that it would not be enough to exhaust the entire GPU. Therefore, after importing this hardware acceleration unit, the performance of the entire GPU is equivalent to 12+13 = 25tflop. By comparison, the NVIDIA RTX series is capable of producing 5 to 11 billion rays per second. Since the units are different, there is no specific information on how to convert them, so it is impossible to directly compare them, but it can be felt that the RDNA 2 architecture is in full swing this time.
In addition, the RDNA 2 architecture introduces a number of new features to improve the efficiency of 3D drawing, including the "Geometry Engine", which allows more flexible manipulation of geometric data to make the drawing process smoother, and "Primitive Shader", which eliminates useless polygons at an earlier stage. These are improvements in the efficiency of book operations that cannot be seen, but greatly affect the efficiency of 3D mapping. This means that even if the performance on paper is the same, the new RDNA architecture will perform better than the old GCN architecture. This has been verified by a number of technical websites using PC display CARDS.
Memory
The PS5 and Xbox SX both come with 16GB of GDDR6 memory, the same as the current PC display card mainstream. The PS5 doesn't release configuration details, but instead pushes back from the 448GB/s bandwidth with a 256bit bus with a 14Gb/s transfer rate. The Xbox SX has a non-uniform configuration, with a 10GB bandwidth of 560GB/s in 16GB for high-frequency bandwidth drawing, and a 6GB bandwidth of 336GB/s for game programs, operating systems and resident services. Presumably it should be a mix of 320bit / 192bit busbar and 14Gb/s transmission rate.
While the Xbox SX is known to reserve 2.5GB of its low-bandwidth memory for operating systems and interfaces, the PS5 is unclear.
Conclusion
At this stage of the announcement, the Xbox SX's specs and performance are clearly superior to that of the PS5, making it a good choice for players looking for the ultimate quality experience. Although the PS5 lags behind in basic processing efficiency, it has put a lot of effort into its emphasis on high-speed SSD and 3D sound to overcome the obstacles and bottlenecks in hardware and software. However, these two features are not as straightforward as "picture quality", and it is still unclear what changes will be brought to the actual game experience. Neither side has yet announced the new console's game lineups, which may be the real deciding factor.
In a more straightforward way, the editors felt that the PS5 and Xbox SX could be roughly viewed as extensions of the way the previous generation of forced consoles PS4 Pro and Xbox One X went. Because both happen to offer roughly twice the performance of the previous generation of enhanced consoles, the PS5 and PS4 Pro are both cost-price models, and the Xbox SX and Xbox One X are both high-spec models. Of course, the price of the two new hosts has not yet been announced, so there is no way to assess the performance-to-price ratio. However, according to the information released so far, the PS5 is likely to be cheaper than the Xbox SX.
