PlayStation 5, First specifications: 8K, Navi with Ray Tracing and SSD

Not before 2020, but with specific hardware from next-gen true. Starting from the 8-core CPU based on the Zen 2 architecture with 7nm production process and GPU, always with AMD matrix, Navi with Ray Tracing support. Among the other details revealed by Mark Cerny, also the confirmation that AMD next-generation GPU will support Ray Tracing in hardware.

Ray Tracing also on consoles, with advantages also for the audio sector. And then 8K output and, finally, SSD, solid-state drives that, as fans know, can significantly improve performance, significantly reducing loading times, among other things.

” Ray tracing can also be used to allow the player to hear additional audio sources or to determine whether or not the enemies hear the player’s character passages, ” Cerny told Wired. ” This type of processing is comparable to those necessary to trace a ray of light through the game environment “.

The new chip set up by AMD, also includes a custom unit for 3D audio that, according to Cerny’s promises, will revolutionize the way audio is managed in a game. ” As a player, I was disappointed that the audio did not change significantly from PS3 to PS4. But with the next console, we want to show how the auditory experience can be so different when an important hardware component is dedicated to it “.

Cerny also revealed that the new console, which he never calls PlayStation 5 and may also have a different name, will be backward compatible with all PS4 games. PS VR will continue to work, which could benefit greatly from the audio changes mentioned earlier, and most likely cloud gaming via PlayStation Now.

Of course, that reference to 8K may seem reckless, especially in combination with the Ray Tracing which, as we have seen several times, requires considerable processing resources. In all likelihood Cerny talks about final output, with native rendering at a lower resolution and upscaling to 8K. We then need to see what the actual rendering resolution will be and how upscaling will be applied.

Some games, in the launch phase of the new console, will be released in two formats, and could be the case, among others, of Death Stranding. For the rest of the details, you have to wait. Not much, because according to rumors the presentation of PlayStation 5 and the new Xbox is imminent.

The second should be announced at E3 in June during the Microsoft Conference. Sony, on the other hand, will not be in Los Angeles, probably to organize a parallel event, far from the chaos of the fair, but for purposes similar to those of Microsoft, or to announce a new console.

As for the Xbox, in the last few days, rumors have been leaked about the alleged specifications, but not unofficially as in the case of Cerny. Codenamed Anaconda, the dev kits that would be circulating would have specifications very similar to those of PS5 with AMD chips and Navi GPU.

At Microsoft, there would also be a second option, less expensive, now known by the code name Lockhart. Even in these cases we talk about SSD, 1 TB, and 16 GB of GDDR6. An important amount of memory, which could be such even on the new PlayStation, although Cerny did not refer to RAM in his interview. Even in the case of Xbox, the arrival of new hardware is expected by the end of 2020.