After the announcement of today’s PlayStation 4 Pro, people still seem to be confused about exactly why they should care about the brand new console. It’s important to remember that whilst the Xbox One S does have 4K capability, it’s primarily being used for its multimedia functionality. When it comes to gaming, it can only upscale content to 4K with no enhanced visual functionality (HDR aside). This is due to the fact that the internals of the Xbox One S are exactly the same of the Xbox One. This is where the PlayStation 4 Pro differs.
The PlayStation 4 Pro is a more powerful PS4 with native 4k support. This is due to the below:
- An Overclocked CPU
- A New AMD Polaris GPU
- The Same amount of RAM
- Higher memory bandwidth
Whilst some simplistic games such as Journey or Resogun could potentially render games at fully native 4K, it’s not likely for the majority of titles.
Reddit User Mista_Wong has put together the below guide, which easily defines exactly what benefits you’re going to get from the PS4 Pro depending on what hardware setup you have.
If you have a 4K display
- You will be able to play games in Sony’s Upscaled 4K AKA differing a resolution between 1080p and 4K
- You will be able to play games in resolutions lower than 4K too.
- Games could use it to deliver higher framerates or better graphical fidelity
- You will be able to watch 4K films and TV shows on streaming services
If you have a 1080p display (or lower)
- You will not be able to play games in any resolution higher than 1080p. But games will be able to super sample and deliver a cleaner image
- Games may also have better graphics or better frame rates
Overall
- The PS4 Pro is more powerful and supports 4K output
- Improvements to RemotePlay, SharePlay and streaming functionality
- Every game will work on the PS4 Pro and standard PS4
- You do not need a new TV to take advantage of the new console, but you do need a new TV to take fulladvantage of the new console.
- The power can be used however the developer wants but Sony hopes they use it for higher resolutions
The PlayStation 4 Pro will release on November 10th for $549 AUD.