PS5 Specs, Features and Price: Everything We Know

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Here's what we know about the PlayStation 5 so far.

Sony is slowly announcing details about the PlayStation 5, or PS5, it's anticipated next-gen console. And after a briefing about the technical specs, we know more than ever. But a lot, like the price and the final design, are still shrouded in mystery and rumor. Here's what we know so far.

PS5 Specs

CPU
AMD Zen 2-based CPU, 8 Cores / 16 Threads, up to 3.5 GHz
GPU
RDNA2-based GPU, 36 CUs up to 2.23 GHz, 10.3 teraflops.
RAM
16GB GDDR6, 448GBps
SSD
825GB Custom PCIe SSD
Expandable Storage
PCIe SSD Slot, External HDD
Disc Drive
Ultra HD Blu-ray, up to 100GB/disc
Audio
Tempest 3D AudioTech

Late last year, we learned through an interview Sony had with Wired that the PS5 will use a CPU based on AMD’s third-generation, eight-core Ryzen processor, along with a custom GPU based on the Radeon Navi line, and a new 4K Blu-ray player with support for optical disks up to 100GB. The console is also set to use a custom 825GB SSD,

PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny said in March that the Zen 2-based CPU will have 8 cores, 16 threads, up cap at 3.5 GHz. The RDNA 2-based GPU will boast 36 compute units and cap at 2.23GHz, or 10.3 teraflops.

The main drive in the system will be a 825GB with 5.5GB/s read bandwidth. Cerny suggested that loading screens will be all but eliminated, and that games may just fade out and back in to show loading. He said that it can load 2GB in 0.27 seconds.

The PS5 will lack the proprietary SSD expansion slot built into the Xbox Series X, but will support some M.2 SSDs after launch. It will also support external hard drives for game storage.

The PS5 uses the new PCIe 4.0 standard, it would likely have to do so to beat out top-of-the-line PC SSDs like the Adata XPG SX8200 Pro, which has a 3,500 MBps/3000 MBps sequential read/write speed and uses PCIe 3.0 x 4.

Cerny also detailed a unit for 3D audio, the Tempest Engine, which runs Tempest Engine. He largely referred to it as a research project, suggesting it would work best, at first, with headphones. But it should, in theory, allow immersive audio from TV speakers, sound bars and surround sound setups in the future.

Sony said the PS5 will offer "support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1)," but it's unclear if it will do 4K and 120Hz at the same time.

Early last year, tech analyst Pelham Smithers, who focuses on Japan’s stock market, guessed that the PS5's processor will fall between $180 and $220, putting the console as a whole around $399. Which leads us to our next section.

PS5 Price

When the PS4 launched in November of 2013, it did so at a price point of $399, which undercut the Xbox One by $100. If Smithers is right, Sony will be able to pull the same trick again with the PS5, but not all analysts agree. As reported by Twinfinite in May of last year, Ace Research Institute analyst Hideki Yasuda predicted then in his quarterly forecast that the PS5 will launch for $499, which would bump it up $100 over what the PS4 and PS4 Pro sold for at launch.

A recent report from Bloomberg, meanwhile, seemed to find a middle ground between Smithers and Yasuda’s predictions. The report said that Sony was having difficulty securing DRAM and NAND for the console at reasonable prices, despite the memory market having oversupply issues for all of 2019. This is probably because next-gen consoles themselves increased demand enough for prices to jump, and NAND prices in general were expected to rise in 2020 for a litany of reasons. The report also suggested that Sony will be spending more than usual, "at a few dollars per unit," on cooling, leading to a total estimated price of "around $450."

Sony itself has yet to confirm a price, telling investors in its most recent earnings call that it has yet to be decided. The Xbox Series X also has yet to reveal a price, despite dumping its full specs list.

PS5 Design

In August of 2019, Dutch publication LetsGoDigital stumbled across a patent that Sony filed with the Brazillian National Institute of Industrial Property and the World Intellectual Property Office for an unnamed “electronic device.” Notably, the patent was filed by Sony’s technical director Yusuhiro Ootori, who also filed the patent for the PS4.

The patent showed what looked to be a V-shaped game console, with a number of USB ports, a disc drive, and vents along a raised V that might be for cooling. It’s not like anything we’ve seen for a game console in recent memory, but with the Xbox Series X ditching traditional console designs itself, it’s a feasible possibility.
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