saqw this interesting post on the verge
JR78
10GB of RAM on the Xbox is 112 GB/s faster than the PS5. This is where the high fidelity textures, models, etc would all be loaded. These have much faster throughput through the APU unit because of this, leading to fewer missed cycles and more efficient processing. It is likely that the graphical differences will be greater than what the 18% difference in raw power tells us.
The improved I/O really only relates to loading into memory, but beyond 2GB/s the differences become fairly negligible. With their compression setup, it is likely the Xbox can fill all available RAM in a theoretical 2.7 seconds versus 1.6 seconds for the PS5. Most people will not care about an extra second.
There is also an APU advantage in that the compute cores and the CPU cores all operate at set frequencies in the Xbox whereas the PS5 is variable. There will be much more optimization needed on the PS5, especially accounting for thermal loads. Microsoft designed the power to be predictable. It is possible the PS5 could deliver more power in short bursts, but cannot sustain that power.
I would guess when the first titles for both are tested that we will see the Xbox having better visuals and framerates with the PS5 loading it in a couple seconds faster. The PS5 is also more likely to have heat and fan noise issues because of its design, though their cooling stack could tell us more.
What's interesting is Sony was pretty light on specifics and did not reveal the look. I'd guess Microsoft is way ahead on engineering and is likely already building spec and prototype out on the upgrade that will come in 2-3 years after release while Sony may only be doing light concepts because it seems they are still trying to completely lock down their next gen console.
I would not be surprised to see Sony delay the console longer than manufacturing needs and Microsoft to find a way to launch it near on time. It appears MS has a fairly simple manufacturing process and designed for that.
Posted on
Mar 18, 2020 | 6:11 PM