PS5 Pro Deep-Dive Details Technical Upgrades as Sony Announces New AMD Collaboration

gadgets.ndtv.com:

Sony revealed the PlayStation 5 Pro, the upgraded version of its current-gen console, in September. In a technical presentation, Mark Cerny, lead architect of the PS5, gave an overview of the PS5 Pro's features. Cerny has now gone in-depth into the technical aspects of the console in a new deep-dive video, detailing the PS5 Pro's advanced ray tracing features, the new AI-driven upscaling technique and more. Cerny and Sony have also revealed a collaboration with AMD on Machine Learning-based technology for improved graphics and gameplay.

At a seminar at Sony Interactive Entertainment HQ, Cerny gave a “bits and bytes” talk on the PS5 Pro, diving into the technical details that went into Sony's newest console. In a near 40-minute presentation, shared on YouTube Wednesday, Cerny detailed the “tightly focussed” approach to upgrades for a mid-generation Pro variant that prioritises keeping the work needed from game developers to an absolute minimum, while bringing improvements that feel significant to gamers.

Cerny revealed that the ideation for the PS5 Pro began in 2020, the same year that the standard PS5 launched. The upgraded console, which launched November 7 in select markets, comes with three headline performance features — an upgraded GPU, upgraded ray tracing hardware, and a new AI-based upscaling technology, dubbed PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).

Cerny detailed the technical aspects of the larger GPU on the PS5 Pro. The base PS5 runs on RDNA 2 GPU, which comes with 18 sub-units, called Work Group Processors (WGPs). The PS5 Pro's “hybrid” RDNA GPU, on the other hand, comes with 30 WGPs. In the video, Cerny explained the technology behind the 16.7 teraflops “hybrid” RDNA GPU on the PS5 Pro, that combines multiple generations of RDNA technology.

“The base technology for PS5 Pro is somewhere between RDNA 2 and RDNA 3. I'm calling it RDNA 2.x,” Cerny said. According to him, that choice makes it easier for developers to port their games to the PS5 Pro.

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