PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Similarities and Differences

A shared brain

The new generation will be characterized by being managed by the same processor. Both PS5 and Xbox Series X will mount inside a chip made by AMD consisting of a Zen 2 CPU and an RDNA 2 GPU , an extremely powerful pair of processors that each console has decided to customize in different ways.

On the one hand, Microsoft has asked AMD to come up with a processor that could offer the maximum possible power, and the result is an 8-core CPU at 3.8 GHz and a GPU of 52 Computing Units at 1,825 GHz. PlayStation 5, meanwhile, will have the same CPU with a variable speed of up to 3.5 GHz, while the GPU reduces the Computing Units to 36 to squeeze the speed up to 2.23 GHz variably.

Adjustment as needed

These variable frequencies of PS5 look for a very clear intention, and that is to take full advantage of the performance of the CPU and GPU without wasting power. Let’s say that it will be a fairly efficient console, since based on the hardware and the architecture of the same will be designed to thermally support high-flying tasks, the system will have a power manager that will be in charge of balancing the performance of the CPU and the GPU depending on how loaded they are.

That is, depending on the workload they have, the frequencies will go down or up, always reaching a maximum of the number set by the manufacturer. These power pushes are what Sony calls “Boost.”

With the cards on the table, we can see how both consoles show completely different intentions. On the one hand, we have Microsoft, which is committed to maximum power with a spectacular configuration capable of offering a total of 12.16 teraflops. For its part, PlayStation has devised a system that will balance and adjust performance according to demand, offering a total of 10.28 teraflops at maximum performance.

To this we would have to add the internal memory that each console has, both with 16 GB of GDDR6 RAM , with the peculiarity that the one used in the Microsoft console offers a bandwidth of 560 GB / s for ten of those 16 GB ( the other 6GB would work at 336GB / s), higher than PS5’s 448GB / s.

We could say that PS5 presents a more efficient solution while Xbox Series X seeks unlimited total power, but is this completely true?

Xbox Series X and PS5: official features

Beyond power is SSD

One of the great innovations that the next generation consoles will include is the incorporation of an SSD drive. It will be more than just a solid state drive, since both Microsoft and Sony have opted for high-performance NVMe drives that will be responsible for spraying the load times we are used to.

But at Sony they wanted to go a step further, and clarifying that it was one of the most requested requests by developers, they have designed a custom unit that is capable of offering transfers of 5.5 GB / s. The figure, which already sounds spectacular, is even more so when we consider that Microsoft will achieve 2.4 GB / s transfers (uncompressed) with its NVMe SSD.

According to the statements of some developers, this speed offered by PS5 is really spectacular, and completely changes everything we had experienced so far in video games. The question is to what extent developers will be able to take advantage of such bandwidth, although Sony invites you to think of much larger maps with textures in great detail that can be loaded quickly.

This would be the section in which a priori PS5 would receive a special advantage over Xbox Series X. The only bump would be in the capacity, since the unit included in the Sony console would offer 825 GB, while the one hidden inside Xbox Series X would be 1TB. However, capacity would not be an issue considering there will be external storage options.

Expansion cartridges

It will be here when we can choose between connecting a USB 3.0 disk or one of the new cartridges that will be released together with the consoles. These cartridges will serve to continue guaranteeing the high transfers offered by NVMe drives, since USB 3.0 disks are not capable of reaching it.

For this Microsoft will launch some cartridges made by Seagate personally that will be connected through the rear area where we find the console ports. For its part, PS5 will also be compatible with external units, although they will not be Sony’s own products, but we can purchase third-party units. Of course, the units must have the PlayStation seal to guarantee performance, something that apparently will be achieved as long as the disks have a PCIe 4.0 standard (currently without options on the market).

Graphic similarities

But among so many data we could not forget what is truly important. What will the games look like? Both platforms are betting on the new graphic tricks that are currently booming, such as ray tracing. And is that the GPUs used include support for Ray Tracing , so we can expect quite advanced lighting effects with which to enjoy more realistic scenarios and with a treatment of reflections and quite surprising illuminations.

At the moment the only one who has dared to show the first examples is Microsoft, which with several images of Gears V has demonstrated the visual changes that occur when ray-tracing technology is included in the Xbox One game. In the images, the differences between Xbox Series X and Xbox One.

The different point

We have already seen how PS5 bets on an extremely fast unit, but both systems will include more functions and features with which to be able to differentiate even more. In the case of Sony, PS5 will include a motor called Tempest Engine that will take to a new level what we have known until now as three-dimensional audio. This engine will be able to handle hundreds of sound sources (to give you an idea, one of the most advanced processors on the market is the PSVR, and it is capable of moving 50 sources), so according to Sony, the player will be able to Almost individually identifying drops falling to the ground in a rainy scene. The approach to sound on PS5 seems very interesting, however there are many unknowns still to be resolved, such as the implementation in scenarios where headphones are not used. You can read more about it in our full feature PS5 article.

Xbox Series X will pay special attention to backward compatibility, as Microsoft has confirmed that the new console will play any title from any past generation, be it Xbox One, Xbox 360, or Xbox. This opens up an incredible range of possibilities, something that contrasts quite a lot with the PS5 offer, where at the moment they only ensure the reproduction of PS4 games. Of course, at the launch of the console only the 100 most demanded games will work, although over time the compatibility list will increase until it offers the 4,000 titles that make up the PS4 library.

Which console is better?

The controversial war between platforms will be present, without a doubt, once again on the lips of all fans, however, the reading we make about it could be quite different from that of other years. Sony seems to have wanted to find other intentions with its console. We don’t know if he’s looking to cut costs, or has another kind of PS5 orientation in mind, but what is clear is that on paper he has some downsides over Xbox Series X.

Microsoft’s approach is absolutely different, and the technical design of Xbox Series X is very reminiscent of Xbox One X, a console that threw all the meat into the grill and has managed to attract many users thanks to its excellent performance. Will it be more stable when it comes to displaying 4K at 60 FPS than PS5?

To get rid of doubts about this and other questions, we will have to keep waiting for future conferences, but something tells us that the PS5 SSD proposal may not be enough to cover figures. Another matter will be the new experience that this proprietary disk will offer compared to the Seagate SSD that we will find in Xbox Series X, although if it is limited to reducing the load times a few seconds, it is probably not a compelling reason to tip the scale to favor of Sony.