Sony has sold over half a billion consoles over the last 2 decades. Sony is celebrating PlayStation’s 30th anniversary this year in December. PlayStation 5 is obviously Sony’s fifth game console. Sony only released 2 handhelds, a cloud handheld (PlayStation Portal) and 2 Virtual Reality devices with the “PlayStation” branding on it. Today, we’re talking about the PlayStation 5 hardware. This is the PlayStation 5 Hardware review.
PlayStation 5 has been on the market for about 4 years now. PlayStation 5 was released on November 12, 2020 and sold over 60 Million units. I purchased PlayStation 5 in November 2023, when PlayStation 5 Slim was released. It was new, and every store was sold out of a PlayStation 5 console. The first PlayStation 5 title I got with the system was the obligatory Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. The pack-in game for PlayStation 5 is Spiderman 2. The original plan was to get Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III as the pack-in game, but since the Spiderman 2 pack-in was available, that’s what we got. Since the purchase, I bought 6 games.
I set up a series of reviews building up to this review. I started with Final Fantasy XVI, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I’ve spoken about parts of PlayStation 5 in these reviews, and will be relevant here.
Console Design
The original PlayStation 5 console was a large console, and was designed to shock. Since PlayStation 2, their consoles was always black. However, Sony saw how creative people were with Xbox 360, and PlayStation 4. Now, PlayStation 4 wasn’t a particularly a customizable console, but outside businesses saw how creative players were with Xbox 360 – either with official faceplates, and/or mods. Starting around the 6 months into the release PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – businesses that are not affiliated with Sony nor Microsoft devised business models where they’d paint their consoles to match the faceplates. And other businesses would create mods for the consoles with the idea of “Do it yourself” (DIY) mindsets. It was a creative period. So, Sony played into this mindset and parlayed all of the design with these concepts. Sony doubled down with these concepts while designing PlayStation 5 Slim, and the recently announced PlayStation 5 Pro. The biggest innovation of PlayStation 5 Slim and Pro is the detachable drives. Nobody understood the concepts, but players wanted the DIY philosophy. Think about it; you can buy a PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, and buy the detachable drive later. You can event swap the covers with different colors.
It looks sleek, but it’s not easy to lay the console on the entertainment center like previous PlayStation consoles. Xbox Series X sort-of fixes this in the design. You can stand it, or you can lay the console. Now, that’s not to say you can’t lay the PlayStation 5 console, as it comes with two “stand feets.” (Yes, that’s literally what it’s called.)
Console Specs
PlayStation 5 Specs at a glance
CPU: 3.5GHz, 8-core AMD Zen 2
GPU: 10.3 teraflop RDNA 2 GPU
RAM: 16GB GDDR6
Storage: Custom 1TB SSD
Expansion: NVMe M.2 SSD slot
Disc drive: 4K Blu-ray player
Technology
The PlayStation 5 is a pretty powerful system. Both the CPU/GPU are designed by AMD. (Keep this in mind.) A lot of people will not understand the technical specifications of PlayStation 5, unless they are either a PC gamer, or a console gamer. Casual consumers and casual players will not understand it all, and will have to discern it via how visually impressive the game is with the power it boasts. PS5’s CPU runs at 3.5GHz at 8 cores. Codenamed “Matisse,” Zen 2 is about as powerful as Intel’s 8th gen chips. Zen 2 is an microarchitecture that integrates with AMD’s GPU for PlayStation 5. In turn, AMD’s RDNA 2 communicates with Zen 2. Both are known as “System on a Chip” processors. RDNA 2 supports up to 10.3 teraflops. Furthermore, RDNA 2 supports hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing, providing for realistic shadows, and reflections. Think Toys Story, and Star Wars.
PlayStation 4 can do Toys Story, no problem, but it would have to be done by hand. And it kinda did happen with the release of Kingdom Hearts III, which panned at launch. They actually put a Toys Story level into Kingdom Hearts III. The problem is, there are some hinderances in some places. The beginning of Kingdom Hearts III actually put you into a room that would have been a Ray Traced castle. Sora was miniatured into a toy, but you actually roamed a room where light would reflect on a floor that seems laminated. But, but all this was done by hand, and the optimization was not ideal. The reflections were static. The shadows landed where it’s supposed to be, but as a result, the compute calculations hindered the performance of the animations – the industry calls this the framerate.
I use Star Wars as another example – because a lot of people don’t realize that most of the graphics in Star Wars are all Computer Generated. Most of it is a derivative of Ray Tracing. I think they call it something else. Anyway, my point is; those reflections on shiny helmets and armor? Ray Tracing. All of it. You can even go all way back to Terminator 2 – when T-1000 would morph into tinfoil chrome. Computer Generated. So! Most PC games are now using Ray Tracing…
To showcase this, Sony used Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart as the launch showpiece of PlayStation 5. It brought that Toys Story graphical feel. But Sony didn’t just focused on the graphics, Sony focused a lot on the ability to “manifest” worlds on a whim. This is more on the storage of PlayStation 5, but is supported by the CPU and GPU.
Positive(s): Sony sells the PlayStation 5 console as 4K-ready consoles. And it does the job. If you don’t believe me, look at the broadcasting outputs: If you want broadcast your gameplay to YouTube or Twitch, you have the option of selecting this. Every video I ever put out on my YouTube channel from my PlayStation 5 console has these broadcast specifications:
However, to upload the videos… It’s gonna cost up to 20 GB to upload the video. That’s how crisp the graphics can be output. And the raw videos look better than the ones on YouTube, Rumble, or Twitch. YouTube supports up to 4k (and 60fps). Rumble supports up to 4k, too. Twitch is very much behind in this aspect. The bitrate for videos are dragged and bogged down by Twitch itself. Despite being owned by Amazon.
To get the full experience from the console, you’ll need to have a TV that supports HDMI 2.1. A lot of people think that 4k isn’t all that, and that 8k isn’t going to help. No, guys. It will. In fact, if you saw the graphical differences between a 4k TV (which I sort-of have), and a Quantum TV, you will drop your jaw. I saw these Quantum TV’s while I was traveling to Puerto Rico. They are sharp. You won’t notice if it is real, or not. Sony makes TV’s. That’s their business. Sony is a hardware company above all else. They are banking on 4k, and 8k. Right now, PlayStation 5 is a 4k console.
Negative(s): The graphics are cool and all, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t drawbacks to the console. Each game has two display modes – Performance mode, and Fidelity mode. Performance gives you 60fps, but sacrifices graphics. Fidelity gives you graphics, but sacrifices 60fps. Sony has already announced PlayStation 5 Pro, which brings a bigger CPU than the base, mainline PlayStation 5. Now, just remember, that CPU is technically a “System on a Chip.” Sony says they will merge the ideals of Performance with Fidelity modes. It has been said that there will be a 3rd setting to solve for this.
Backwards Compatibility
A lot of people are sleeping on PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility implementation. I’ve spoken about this via the Final Fantasy VII Remake Review. Backwards Compatibility on PlayStation 5 is about choice. I think that PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility implementation is somewhat similar to Microsoft’s implementation of backwards compatibility. Xbox One’s backwards compatibility program is a case-by-case basis of allowing compatibility of Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. PlayStation 5 takes this idea, and allows games to be “emulated” via Legacy Modes. So, you pop in your old PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro game into your PlayStation 5 console, the console recognizes it as an authorized device. This is because Sony is working with AMD again this time around. Not only that, PlayStation 5’s architecture is based around the x86-64 coding process. It is how most PC games are being made, making PlayStation 5 easy to develop for. Mark Cerny talked about it at CES 2020…
That said, I think Sony’s implementation of backwards compatibility is the innovation of PlayStation 5, a lot of people don’t understand this, or are sleeping on it. So, you can put your PlayStation 4 game into the PlayStation 5 console, and it will play as is, or… you can work a little bit more to get more. Sony’s PlayStation 5 store has multiple choices of what to buy, or download. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is the “official” PlayStation 5 version, but it is not in circulation at retailers. The only way to buy it is on the PlayStation 5 store. The very best way to play your PlayStation 4 version on PlayStation 5, is through the upgrade path on PlayStation 5. You download the upgrade patch, which is free, by the way – but you’d need the “play” disc. Once you’re done downloading, you load up the game via the “play” disc already in the PlayStation 5 disc drive. The upgrade patch will play the PlayStation 4 version as if it’s a brand new game. I played the PlayStation 4 version on the PlayStation 4 console. It played well, but I remiss if I don’t mention it – there are some framerate issues.
Controls/Controller
Sony invested a lot of Research and Development on the controller. We’ve had rumble controllers since the original PlayStation, but the first controller with haptic feedback is the Nintendo Switch. It’s known as a “HD rumble” and PlayStation 5 has it. Sony also included a motion sensor into the controller. Sony included adaptive triggers for realistic mechanics in gameplay. Let’s say you have a bow, you press and hold the adaptive trigger(s), it corresponds via haptic feedback, and on-screen. It all works in tandem, it all works together to create a nice controller. But, PlayStation 5 controllers do drain a lot of energy – It drains depending on what action is being done on the controller. You can get 5 to 12 hours of gameplay depending on the action on-screen. The early controllers were so poor, Sony revised the controllers with better adaptive triggers, and better battery life with the arrival of PlayStation 5 Slim.
Games/Software
PlayStation 5 has a lot of games, and don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise. Right now, there aren’t many hard hitting games for PlayStation 5, granted. Starting next year, we may see these hard hitters start to be released. In fact, Grand Theft Auto VI is said to be released in 2025. That said, since I bought PlayStation 5, I bought 6 physical PlayStation 5 games, and 3 digital PlayStation 5 games. 3 of my favorite games are on PlayStation 5. Released within the same year: Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), Final Fantasy XVI (2023), and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024). I’ll give you a few more: Resident Evil 2 Remake, Resident Evil 4 Remake, and Stellar Blade.
Resident Evil 4 Remake plays better on PlayStation 5, than it did on PlayStation 4. It looks so crisp, and runs at silky smooth 60fps. Final Fantasy XVI is a hidden gem that people are sleeping on. Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are masterpieces. I feel like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth perfected the action genre for Square Enix. Just bring on the third disc.
And even then, you still have access to being able to play PlayStation 4 games on PlayStation 5. We are 4 years into the lifespan of PlayStation 5, and people aren’t upgrading to the next console. The only reason why we’re still in this “cross generation” period is because game developers continue to make games for the 114 Million players that are still on PlayStation 4. The reason why most PlayStation 5 games aren’t using the real power of PlayStation 5, is for the games to be feature parity with the previous generation.
For example, this year’s Call of Duty release – Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – is scheduled to be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S / X, and Xbox Game Pass. Obviously, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles are the lead platforms for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The PC version even requires SSD as a prerequisite to play the game. This is because of the “Texture Streaming” technology that Activision coded specifically for Black Ops 6. I went hands on with Black Ops 6 recently, Texture Streaming is gonna become a bigger problem in the next few years.
Performance
As I mentioned before, you have choices with regards to PlayStation 5 games. And as I said, we’re still in the “Cross Generation” period. You can choose to buy a PS4 game, and play it that way. You can choose to buy the PlayStation 5 version, and play it that way. You can choose to buy the “Cross Gen” version of the game, which comes with the PS4 disc, and the digital download of the PS5 version. With “Cross Gen,” you’re not actually buying one game, you’re buying two. This is where the best part comes: If you buy the PlayStation 4 version, and that game has a upgrade path available – that PS4 disc you have? That becomes the PlayStation 5 version. So, what normally runs at 30fps now runs at 60fps with all the upgrades. A lot of people are sleeping on this feature. A lot of people are not getting it. Sony is setting the standard for backwards compatibility right now.
I saw this with Final Fantasy VII Remake. And we’re gonna see it more, very soon. Sony announced Horizon Zero Dawn was remastered, and will be released on October 31, 2024. Those who have the PlayStation 4 version, can buy the upgrade patch for $10. There is a stand-alone PlayStation 5 version, so again, this goes back to the word “choice.”
PlayStation 5-focused games like Helldivers II, Stellar Blade, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth showcase the console to showcase the performance of the PlayStation 5. However, this is dependent on what developers are able to do with the console. Helldivers II looks fantastic, plays fantastic. Stellar Blade has that “it factor” because you will battle bosses that are twice the size of the players. Usually, this is reserved for God of War games where players are tasked with battling greek and/or morse mythology’s fiercest bosses. I played the PS4 version of God of War Ragnarok, and I can only imagine how the PlayStation 5 version plays.
Since the performance is dependent around what developers can do with the console – let’s talk about heat and noise. The original PlayStation 5 console that was on the market before the PlayStation 5 Slim had a lot of problems with regards to heat and noise. So much so, many players returned their PlayStation 5 or got the PlayStation 5 repaired by Sony. Most of the time it was around heat and noise. I’m happy to report that PlayStation 5 Slim is now cooler, and less noisy. I never had to return the PlayStation 5 Slim or repair it. That’s not to say it doesn’t get warm or get noisy. When you install the game onto the PlayStation 5 Slim – the console does whirr, it does get a bit of a noise. It gets warm when you play the game a while, or when it’s doing more tasks.
User Interface
The user interface is more or less similar to the PlayStation 4. So, like the PlayStation 4, the design focuses on the games lined up. It goes by when you installed the game and by when you last played it. Updated games get “listed” first, too. I’m not saying it’s bad or anything, I’m just saying. Each game has a “page” focused to them. Some game pages have downloads for the PS4 and the PS5 version. Some page have downloads for the upgrade path as mentioned earlier. Each game also shows your progress in the game, and/or shows the time played in the game.
The best part of the User Interface, and I alluded to it earlier, is the ability to stream or record gameplay to YouTube and Twitch. I really wish Rumble would work something out with Sony on this. Previously, Sony allowed for Twitter screencaps to be shared. I also wish Sony and “X” would work something out to allow video clips and/or recordings and/or livestreams from PlayStation 5. Because the raw recordings from PlayStation 5 is just as good as a developer uploading it. That’s what impresses me the most about the User Interface. And, I really, really wish Twitch would be better about the integration of PlayStation 5 streaming via Twitch. The problem is that Amazon’s in-house streaming solution is better than what is on Twitch’s own platform. I said earlier that bitrate and resolution is a big problem. It would expose more kids who are primarily on Twitch, to new games from Sony/PlayStation themselves.
The worst part of the User Interface is that the developers that works or worked on PlayStation 5 are not consciously aware that there are YouTubers or Twitch streamers that use the PlayStation 5 to stream to aforementioned platforms. The features are there, yes… but when you use the headset as a mic or similar equipment, it is kind of “cumbersome” to get ready to do a recording session with commentary. I’m not saying it’s cumbersome, I’m saying that in order to do a commentary this is the route you need to do:
- Plug in your headset/headphone.
- Turn headset on for input.
- Turn the mic on in broadcast settings.
Don’t get me wrong, don’t get me twisted. I like the options available, but I feel like there should be a preset for streamers/commentary folks to select a mode like “commentary” so they don’t forget to go to these options an turn everything on. Otherwise, commentary uploads will have double voiceovers, double sounds. Here’s a recent example:
In this case, I forgot to change the input from TV to Headset. That’s my fault. And as a result, the TV took over the whole recording. I like the options, I guess what I’m hoping for is a preset for commentaries. Non-Commentaries is easy peasy. Just leave everything alone, and then record. I’m just saying commentaries need a preset somewhere on the PlayStation 5 console.
There’s something I want to say about the User Interface, though. If you go to the menu to edit your profile, why isn’t there a password wall in front of that? Why it s easier to edit the profile information straight from the PlayStation 5 User Interface? With PlayStation 4, you needed the account password to edit your profile information. I am aware of the 4 digit PIN that is brought up as soon as you power up the console. And the password wall when you purchase a game. I feel like the User Profile section of the User Interface is vulnerable.
Storage/Expansion
Originally, PlayStation 5 shipped with 825GB SSD, which meant you only had 667.2GB to work with. PlayStation 5 Slim now ships with 1TB of data, which means you now have 842.2GB to work with. The 6.33GB of files are unremovable files (they’re system files), and each PS5 console comes with Astro’s Playroom. You can remove Astro’s Playroom from your console. The SSD read speed is pretty fast – 5.5GBps bandwidth. This means, actions on PlayStation 5 will be able to “talk” back and forth between the SSD and the game itself. Most games today load assets in the background for the game to “manifest” the texture you’re about to go to next – this method of loading was prevalent with consoles like PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4. Rockstar Games in 2001 revolutionized open world games, both in technological leaps, and sales. Critical acclaim, all that. Most 3D games were in isolated, sprawling worlds like – let’s say Unreal Tournaments. The maps are usually in a “arena” map. You can’t go outside of that arena. Doom games were in a labyrinth. Open world games are sprawling maps at scale. What Grand Theft Auto was able to do with that open world is to load assets in the background as you roam that sprawling map. As years progress, this technology evolved in ways that necessitates new coding styles. For example, if you go from a world map, to a labyrinth of sorts – the game loads the assets on the other side of that labyrinth. SSD’s does all this at once. No compromises, no loading times. Nothing.
Early on, Sony used the original Spiderman for PS4 to show off how fast loading times are regardless of how much information is being loaded in Spiderman. Sony’s launch title, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart shows the power of the SSD, by loading worlds as you move to new worlds, or move “rifts” and/or objects to your worldview in seconds. Another great example is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, where Aerith moved massive buildings to puzzle pieces.
You can use the external HDD and/or SSD drive for miscellaneous downloads or installs. Sony rejects PS5 games from being installed on external HDD/SSD drives, because of the specifications required to install, read to, and move to. When I say external HDD/SSD drives, I meant drives that attach via USB. I’ll explain more in “Hardware Ports.” As you can see, from the image embedded above, there is a SSD slot on your PlayStation 5 console. So, if you’re not satisfied with the 825GB SSD drive, or the 1TB drive, you can extend the storage by installing a “off-the-shelf” SSD drive. Microsoft’s solution is to create a proprietary memory card-style chip which is called “Expansion Card.” It’s nothing new, just a SSD in the design of a memory card.
Hardware Ports
The biggest innovation with the hardware ports is the NVMe M.2 SSD Slot. On the front of the console, you have a Hi-Speed USB Type-A port, and a USB Type-C SuperSpeed port. On the back of the console, you have two SuperSpeed USB-A ports, an Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.1 port, and an AC adapter. The NVMe M.2 SSD slot requires a PCle 4.0 implementation to actually work.
Console Price
The original PlayStation 5 console launched at $399 for the Digital Edition, and $499 for the Disc console. Today, PlayStation 5 Slim costs $449 for the Digital Edition, and $499 for the Disc console. These are MSRP prices currently at retailers. Now, if you want the PlayStation 5 Pro, which is being released November 7, 2024 – you’ll need $699 to buy it.
Carlos’ Verdict
PlayStation has been a juggernaut for three decades. Sony continues with PlayStation 5. As a 4k-ready game console, PlayStation 5 had a pretty rough start of a console launching. It reminds me of PlayStation 3, when it launched with few games, but came swinging later. Currently, PlayStation 5 sold over 60 Million copies worldwide, but the release was staggered by an event that is no fault of their own. Despite the event, Sony maneuvered spectacularly by doing what they know best – scheduling game releases around the console. Game releases started out slowly for Sony, but rebounded in a year or two.
PlayStation 5 is a console centered around the word “choice,” with everything from the console covers, to controllers, to accessories, and then down to the actual games themselves. Backwards compatibility is being slept on, but is innovative in its own right. Sony set the standard for how backwards compatibility is handled going forward. Rather than just being a console that allowed for backwards compatibility, it transforms games that are backwards compatible with PlayStation 5 and improves the quality of the backwards compatibility games.
The PlayStation 5-focused games highlight PlayStation 5’s strengths as a console, while future-proofing the console for future devices such as High Definition Televisions (HDTV’s). Sony is teasing and spoiling PlayStation 5 owners with high fidelity visuals. That’s not to say the PlayStation 5 is perfect, it does have drawbacks that makes PC gaming a better viable option. However, people like consoles for the ease of setup.
