PS5 vs PS4 Pro: should you upgrade?

The PS5 has arrived – but is Sony's flagship console right for you?

 

Which is perfect for you, the PS5 or the PS4 Pro? If you are purchasing new, must you go for the new release? And if you are already a PS4 Pro possessor, are the differences between the two consoles noteworthy enough to validate an upgrade? There’s a lot to ponder on, but this guide will help you decide what is perfect for you.

 

The PS5 is Sony’s flagship console and has substituted the PS4 Pro as its most powerful offering. It boasts improved CPU, GPU and an internal NVMe SSD. This implies the PS5 is, overall, a faster and a better console. It also comes with Sony’s new DualSense controller, which has new immersive and exclusive features, like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

 

But if you presently have a PS4 Pro, you must not just push it aside and advance it. While the PS5’s limited library is increasing with titles like Returnal and Demon’s Souls, there are still plenty of cross-generation releases to enjoy on your older PS4 Pro and it even now has a huge library of existing games that must not be wasted.

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It's also worth observing that finding where to buy the PS5 is still a trial. We were eager stocks would recover towards the end of 2021 and into 2022 but most retailers continue to sell out in minutes. For those purchasing new, however, it's double distress as the PS4 Pro really isn’t easy to get either given it’s been discontinued.

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We've studied both the PS5 and PS4 Pro, so we're acquainted with the strengths and weaknesses of both consoles. In our view, the PS5 is the newest and utmost Sony has to offer. But that doesn’t mean the PS4 Pro is totally outdated yet. Read on so that we can help you choose which is right for you or whether it’s time for an upgrade.

 

The PS5 costs $100 extra than the PS4 Pro launch cost of $399 (£349, AU$559) – but that's to be probable. It's a brand-new machine using cutting edge technology, while the PS4 Pro was made upon the foundations of the existing PS4, and was unrushed a mid-gen advancement.

 

You can occasionally do better than that RRP of the PS4 Pro through sales— it rushed to just £299 in the 2020 Black Friday PS4 sales when propelled with Death Stranding—but now that it’s been discontinued, you’re probable to see it’s progressively rigid to find in stock. If your sentiment is set on a PS4 Pro, getting it second hand may well present good value (though there have been value hikes even in that area thanks to recent scarcities). But if you're really looking for your console to be brand new, the PS5 and its all-digital counterpart are backwards compatible and as such, while they’re more classy, they're probably the better value choice in the long run.

 

PS5 vs PS4 Pro: Spider-Man on PlayStation

 

The PS5 is equipped with remarkable specs for a console, offering an AMD Zen 2-based CPU and a custom RDNA 2 GPU with over 10.28 TFLOPs of computing power. What that compares is that most games will run at 4K/60, with some games able to achieve 4K/120fps - there's even provision for 8K resolution in the future. 

 

GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) with RDNA 2 architecture

CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)

Memory: 16GB GDDR6, 256-bit interface, 448GB/s bandwidth

Storage: Custom 825GB SSD with 5.5GB/s (raw), typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)

Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot, USB HDD support (for PS4 games only)

Optical: 4K UHD Blu Ray drive

Visuals: Native 4K 120Hz + 8K

Audio: Tempest 3D

 

The PS5 is also skilled of the graphically intensive technique recognized as ray tracing. Found in some of the prettiest PC games from place to place, like Control, Metro Exodus, and Battlefield V, ray tracing is an advanced means of rendering light and shadows realistically.

 

But since every 'ray' of light has its own simulated source, only now has the power required been viable in a console. In other words, ray tracing is going to make games like Horizon Forbidden West look more realistic than ever beforehand.

 

And if that wasn't treat adequate for your corneas, there's word of 8K support, too. But when it comes to whether you should choose amid the 4K vs 8K consoles, know that 8K won't be a typical prospect for some years yet. In fact, the possibility to select 8K on the PS5 doesn't be yet and will be added via a firmware update in the future.

 

ps5 ray tracing PS5 vs PS4 Pro

 

Ray tracing aside, one more huge generational rise the PS5 boasts over the PS4 Pro is its solid state drive (SSD) – a long overdue advancement that PC players have enjoyed for years. Games can load up to 19-times faster. And, though the SSD in the PS5 is only 825GB (with only 667.2GB available), it's a welcome modification over the slow, mechanical drives.

 

In the meantime, the PS4 Pro is still apprehended by its ageing HDD. Whereas the PS4's UI design felt unified as you might easily pick up a game wherever you left off from standby or after visiting other apps, you'll finally be envious of the lack of loading screens PS5 players relish. Even if you upgrade the PS4 Pro with an SSD, it won't be able to offer the same bandwidth accessible in the PS5.

 

The PS4 Pro also doesn't have the 4K Blu Ray player that the PS5 with gratitude does, nor does it have the choice to go disc-drive free like the all-digital PS5 offers.

 

PS5 also features a completely new audio engine known as Tempest 3D audio. It's a form of spatial audio, and is capable of handling hundreds of sound sources. You'll want to seize one of the very best gaming headsets to experience it, though Sony also added 3D audio support for TV speakers on the PS5 and PS5 Digital Version on September 15 2021.

 

In the meantime, here are the PS4 Pro's specs:

 

CPU: eight-core x86-64 AMD Jaguar

GPU: AMD Radeon with 4.2 teraflops

RAM: 8GB GDDR5

Storage: 1TB HDD

The restored mid-gen model showed a decent jump on the base PS4: it supports 4K streaming from Amazon and Netflix, but native 4K gaming isn't possible on all titles, and only then you're usually topped at 30fps.

 

Naturally the PS5 is a healthy power jump over the PS4 Pro, but if you're all about the best graphics, can't get your head around gaming on PC, and are platform uncertain, it's also worth considering the most powerful console on the market today, the Xbox Series X.

 

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PS5 VS PS4 PRO DESIGN

PS5 vs PS4 Pro: The PS5 family of consoles and accessories

 

When the PS5 design was revealed, it showed discordant. Even on the TechRadar team there were those who loved it and persons who hated it. This is partly for the reason that the PS5 design is just such a parting from Sony's usual method with its two-tone color scheme and its curved innovative shape.

 

The PS5 is also the largest console Sony has ever made. The PS4 Pro, on the other hand, looks more like an outdated console and is sits unremarkably inside any entertainment set up. It's slim, light at 3.3 kg and not in the least controversial. The same can't be said about the PlayStation 5.

 

The PS5's huge size does give it one important advantage over the PS4 Pro, though: it's practically silent, and produces a negligeable amount of heat, too. The PS4 Pro, in the meantime, can kick up a worry when playing certain games, and it's also remorseful of spitting out a lot of heat.

 

PS5 VS PS4 PRO GAMES

 

If you buy a PS4 Pro now, we hope you've got some time off sorted: Bloodborne, God of War, Uncharted 4, The Last of Us and it’s The Last of Us 2, The Last Guardian, and Marvel's Spider-Man are limited to Sony's box, alongside killer multi-platform experiences like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Control.

 

The good news? Closely all of those games are backward-compatible on PS5. Some, like GTA 5, Madden 21 and Destiny are even getting big PS5 overhauls. Healthier still, Sony's new PS Plus subscriber perk, PlayStation Plus Collection, offers PS5 proprietors free access to 20 of the best-ever PS4 games to download to their new consoles from the get-go, counting titles like God of War, Uncharted 4, Ratchet and Clank and Bloodborne, provided they remain subscribers to the service. It's something that the PS4 Pro, even with a PS Plus subscription, can't match. That's a lot of gaming for your money.

 

On top of that, the PS5 has a amount of games that will be exclusive to next-gen. While Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West are also available on PS4 Pro, God of War 2 and Final Fantasy 16 will be PS5 only. So, if you're all about access to the latest and greatest, it's worth observing that the PS5 will have the principal on that front for some games.

It's also worth noting that some of the next-gen games are more luxurious. 2K Games proclaimed that NBA 2K21 on PS5 and Xbox Series X costs $10 more than its PS4 and Xbox One corresponding item, bringing the standard version of the game on next-gen consoles up to $70 (or £60). It's not a small price surge and in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, investigate company IDG revealed that other publishers are also bearing in mind raising the base price of next-gen games, denotation PS5 games will probably cost you more.

 

"While the cost of expansion and publishing have gone up, and valuing in other entertainment verticals has also gone up considerably, next-gen software pricing has not imitated these increases. $59.99 to $69.99 does not even shelter these other cost upsurges completely, but does move it more in the proper course."

 

PS5 VS PS4 PRO VERDICT

 

PS5 vs PS4 Pro: PS4 Pro with DualShock controller

 

In all fairly, there's little motive to buy a PS4 Pro nowadays unless your budget is very strict. Not only is the PS5 a more powerful, faster box, but Sony's hard work to enable backwards compatibility means that even if you buy a PS5, you won't miss out on the PS4's finest experiences, and perhaps those older than that, too. Most also run healthier than ever before, with games like Ghost of Tsushima now able to run at 60fps on PlayStation 5.

 

If you've remained waiting this long to buy your first PS4, you’re perhaps better off going straight to the PS5 for future-proofing resolutions as much as anything.

 

That said, upgrading from a Pro is another matter and a harder dilemma. The Pro already supports 4K for countless games at decent performance, and you'll need deep pockets for an 4K TV with HDMI 2.1 support to fully benefit from the PS5's power and higher frame rates. With that in attention, don’t feel like you need to push your PS4 Pro to the side and get a PS5 right now. There’s still a lot your Pro can do for you and while stock for the PS5 is tough to come by it’s still a strong console to own and enjoy.