Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro is right around the corner, hitting shelves in just four days on November 7. It’s got a price tag of $699 USD, but that comes with the promise of jaw-dropping enhancements in both resolution and frametime, thanks to a new feature called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). Plus, it’s got a beefed-up CPU and GPU compared to the regular PlayStation 5 that launched back in 2020. What’s interesting here is that Microsoft hasn’t introduced a comparable upgrade for the Xbox, suggesting that Sony is staking a firm claim to the premium console gaming market. Just last night, a surprising teardown of what’s hailed as the most powerful console yet made its debut on YouTube.
In the video, which appears to be uploaded by a Portuguese console repair shop, we get a sneak peek at the PlayStation 5 Pro before its official release. Interestingly, the layout seems very similar to the PlayStation 5 Slim model. Furthermore, there are whispers on the internet suggesting that while the Pro’s design is close enough to the Slim, they’ve tweaked the interlocking mechanisms to avoid cross-compatibility with the Slim’s faceplates. So, it looks like this teardown might be the real deal.
Now, if exploring the guts of the PS5 Pro is your kind of thing, you might find this teardown fascinating. However, from a performance standpoint, it’s hard to draw conclusions from static circuit boards. What we’re really looking forward to are the performance metrics, which have been generating a buzz on Twitter lately.
Yesterday, a user on Twitter, known as @videotechuk_, tossed out what’s claimed to be a leak of the PS5 Pro’s specs. This user is somewhat notorious in the community for previous Rockstar Games leaks, adding some weight to the information. According to the leak, the specs are as we’d assumed, sticking with the same Zen 2 architecture as the original PS5. This makes sense for compatibility reasons. However, the Pro might run at faster clock speeds if some earlier reports hold true.
The standout details from this leak highlight the PS5 Pro’s GPU, expected to deliver an impressive 16.7 teraflops, with 16GB of dedicated GDDR6 VRAM. Unlike earlier models, this memory doesn’t need to be shared with the CPU. Moreover, there are rumors of an additional 2GB DDR5 RAM set aside for system tasks, a notable shift from previous models’ unified memory approach.
It’s been four years since the PlayStation 5 first landed in 2020, and anticipation for the PlayStation 5 Pro is through the roof—even though it’s the second time Sony’s offering a “Pro” model mid-generation. If you’re not into Xbox or prefer something different from PC gaming, the PlayStation 5 Pro seems a solid buy. Early benchmarks hint at improved image quality with PSSR and enhanced real-time ray tracing graphics, which are quite encouraging for those eager to upgrade.