Sony is on the verge of rolling out the PlayStation 5 Pro, with its arrival scheduled four days from now on November 7, carrying a price tag of $699 USD. This launch promises significant enhancements in resolution and framerate, courtesy of AI upscaling technology through PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), coupled with upgraded CPU and GPU components when compared to the original PS5, which hit the market back in November 2020. As Microsoft hasn’t introduced a comparable upgrade for its Xbox, it appears Sony might be taking the lead in the high-end console gaming segment. Just yesterday, an alleged teardown of the new powerhouse console surfaced on YouTube, adding to the excitement.
The video upload seems to stem from a Portuguese console repair shop, unveiling an internal structure that closely mirrors the layout of the PlayStation 5 Slim model. Some sources observed that while the PlayStation 5 Slim faceplates could fit the Pro, Sony seems to have altered the interlocking mechanisms to restrict this compatibility. This lends some credibility to the teardown’s authenticity.
Beyond these design resemblances, the teardown doesn’t reveal much else unless you’re keen on inspecting internal components. It’s difficult to assess their performance merely from a teardown since circuit boards don’t translate into performance metrics. For those, stakeholders are turning their attention to a Twitter post generating significant buzz this week.
According to a Twitter leak by user @videotechuk_—known for revealing details about Rockstar Games—the PS5 Pro’s hardware specifications are starting to circulate, thanks to early shipments being received by buyers abroad. The details mostly align with prior assumptions: the device continues using the same Zen 2 architecture as its PS5 predecessor. This may well be an intentional design choice to ensure compatibility with existing PS5 technology, though some whispers suggest the possibility of increased clock speeds with this new model.
One highlight of the leaked specs is the PS5 Pro’s expected 16.7-teraflop GPU performance, now packing a full 16GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM. Unlike the base PS5 models, this RAM is not split with the CPU. Additionally, rumors point to the PS5 Pro having 2GB of DDR5 RAM dedicated to system operations, a significant shift from previous models with their unified memory setups.
Even though it’s four years since the original PS5 launch in November 2020, gaming aficionados are more than ready to embrace the new Pro variant, marking Sony’s second mid-cycle enhancement. With Xbox lacking a similar offering and for those hesitant about delving into PC gaming, the PlayStation 5 Pro presents a compelling choice. Early benchmarks reflect encouraging improvements in PSSR image quality and support for real-time ray tracing graphics, making the prospect of this new console all the more enticing.
