First PlayStation 5 Rumors Point To 8-Core Zen CPU and Navi GPU - Lots of Devkits Already Out

First PlayStation 5 Rumors Point To 8-Core Zen CPU and Navi GPU; Lots of Devkits Already Out

SemiAccurate’s Charlie Demerjian posted an article a few hours ago, claiming to have access to concrete information regarding Sony’s PlayStation 5 hardware.

The actual details are hidden behind a paywall, but we can list them for you. PlayStation 5 should feature an APU composed of an 8-Core Zen CPU and a Navi-based GPU – both customized, as usual with consoles. We don’t know much about Navi yet, but AMD has previously linked its name to “Scalability” and “Nextgen Memory”. The latter could refer to GDDR6 memory, which both Samsungand SK Hynix have recently made available.

The article also claims that the hardware will be engineered with VR optimization in mind, thus suggesting that Sony will keep banging the PlayStation VR drum.

Furthermore, according to Demerjian a large amount of development kits has been already sent to game developers. This led him to speculate that the console’s launch could be much closer than anyone thought possible, even targeting a Holiday 2018 or early 2019 release window.

Honestly, this last point seems extremely unlikely to us. While PlayStation 4 sales have slightly slowed down recently, the console can surely be pushed for a while longer thanks to highly anticipated exclusive titles such as The Last of Us Part II, Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, Days Gone and others.

At the very earliest, we’d put a plausible PlayStation 5 release window to Fall 2019. This would also make sense if we consider that PlayStation 4 launched in Fall 2013 and PlayStation 4 Pro became available in Fall 2016.

However, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the next generation of consoles in 2020 either. This would give game developers an appropriate amount of time to craft the launch titles.

We’re still a long way from PlayStation 5 and the Xbox One’s successor, though rumors are only going to get stronger throughout this year and the next.

https://wccftech.com/playstation-5-rumors-8-core-zen-cpu/

PS5 isn't coming anytime before November 2019, and that's the earliest. I'd say there's now a 50/50 chance of PS5 hitting then, otherwise Fall 2020.

If PS5 uses the AMD Navi GPU architecture then you can bet the next Xbox will use either the same architecture with more customizations and more CUs, or even the 'Next Gen' GPU, which comes after Navi, especially if Microsoft launches in 2020 or 2021.

2020 is too soon imo. I feel like I'm still transitioning from my PS3 lol

PS5 this early will only make sense if it's 100% compatible with PS4. Sony can't be stupid enough to ignore the momentum PS4 is having now.

Any leak that says Navi is instantly bs. It's no where near ready for consoles.

@verbalfilth: 7 years on PS4 is too soon? The Pro and X have helped a bit, but it'd make more sense to just wait the normal 5-6 years for a full next gen upgrade.

Navi GPU huh?

Sounds like confirmation that the Avatar game will be a launch title. Either that or Zelda OoT gets a PS5 remaster.

I remember hearing this about the PS4 and X1. Wishful thinking that a $400-500 enclosed hardware is going to have PC equivalent CPU at the mid to high range. That when factoring everything else in the box (GPU, RAM, storage drive, power supply...) the CPU will be approximately the same as the mid-high CPU equivalent, and at just a 3rd of the cost to keep the total package at under $500.

Let's be real here, so long as consoles have this target price range - and we've seen how more expensive consoles suffered early sales or just altogether failed... you won't be getting a CPU close to that discreet PC chip, certainly not of what's available at the time. It'll always be equivalent to the outdated PC CPU's of a generation before, if not two.

I think 2020 is okay, we know they won't make it ultra powerful in leaps like ps1 to ps2 or ps2 to ps3.

Here's hoping the VR front gets better

I'm hoping VR goes the way of 3D and motion controls.

I’m not sure why lemmings keep thinking what PS4 wouldn’t bc with PS5, they both are going to be x86 systems . It doesn’t take a stable moron to figure that out .

LOL at that article suggesting Late 2018 release date. What an idiot. Developers need time to make games.

This suggests late 2019 at the earliest which is okay because that is a 6 year span.

Although I would prefer a 2020 release date, I can live with that.

@PAL360: Is there any reason to think it wouldn't be BC if these rumors are true? Couldn't they scale down the PS5 to Pro settings when a PS4 game boots up? Not sure how all that works, but PCs seem to have no trouble with it... And this time around, consoles are more like PCs then ever before.

We should see a massive step up on the hardware. Something that feels like a 10 years leap I would expect.

NaVi is 19 so fall 19 is pretty much the earliest release window

The only reason i see would be a greedy attempt to sell remakes and remasters.

I'm not an expert either, but considering PS4 has a pretty conventional hardware design, i think it would be pretty easy (and clever, considering the insane library PS4 already has).

I think they just need a good controller scheme, The VR games I've played have shite movement controls

Had me at Zen CPU. Lost me at Navi GPU.

@PAL360: Yeah money is always a reason I guess... Are a lot of games built to be scalable now, using dynamic resolution? Kinda like how the X can easily make Halo 5 scale up to native 1080p? Oh wait... We're talking 4k now. Idk, a bunch of games got the 4k treatment from MS and Sony for free with the Pro and X. It'd be a hard sell to charge for 4k on ps5. They can make money by releasing free patches(essentially a remaster) because people will either buy the game they haven't already bought, or for people that already own it, maybe through some cosmetic microtransactions.

• 2019 would be good. HZD 2 = 1st year title. Start slow like a typical PS console and keep improving year after year.
• 2020 would be good too. HZD 2 = launch title. Come out in style. Santa Monica , Polyphony , etc will all be further along in development.

I think we are looking at a late 2019 release date. It will for sure use Zen not sure about the Gpu. I could see it being a Navi gpu custom built for the PS5.

Do you realize how much VR is going to improve the game industry even if you never even touch VR?

You'll see vast improvements in AI, Audio, Optimization, Graphics, and gameplay innovation.

Have you actually tried VR though? A Proper setup with quality games? Because almost everyone who has would disagree with your point of view.

Oculus Touch is a brilliant controller, and games like Lone Echo / Echo Arena work wonderfully from a control standpoint.

Navi? Sounds like bullshit to me.

The article also claims PS4 sales have slowed down which is totally false. Sales slowed down for one quarter but overall they were up YoY in 2017. They sold more PS4s last year than any other year in PS history. Also lol @ the suggestion of holiday 2018, the author must be high.

I'm still expecting PS5 in 2020. 2019 launch is very unlikely but if it does happen I expect holiday 2019.

This lines up well with what I thought the "crowd pleaser" version would be. The launch window should have some actual matured titles sprinkled in to make PS5 hit the ground with a bang. Don't be surprised if the launch price is $500, though. I also think it will be a 2020 release, still, though I wouldn't be super surprised with a 2019 launch now.

LOL. Even the mentioning of a new console from Sony sounds ridiculous. It currently makes no sense for Sony to even get the breath out on a possible newer console on the horizon.

@Pedro: You think Sony is leaking this info? Lol... We're talking 2 years out still. Dev kits would need to be out by now to ensure games are ready at or near launch. The console is probably already built on paper.

Nope.

2020 with 8-core Ryzen and Navi sounds about right.

Sony considers a gen to be around 6yrs, historically. Then they sell the last-gen unit at bargain prices for 2-3yrs. alongside the new console.

Everything now is x86 and served on a platter by AMD. Days of exotic hardware are gone. Most games will probably continue to be built with PS4 base model in mind, then scaled up to newer systems.

They could just name their incremental upgrade PS5 and release it in 2019 as a refresh of the ps4

This could be happening folks it keeps Microsoft on their toes

Umm maybe because YOU cows said "who buys current consoles to play last gen games" oh and Sony looked down on BC. Cows own words amigo. I know, it's hypocrite time

I did not say or imply such. Also dev kits would not be available to developers 2 years in advance.

I'll just wait & see how it all turns out.

And just where are you getting this correlation between VR and AI, audio, graphics, optimization, and innovation from? On the last one, on paper VR would seem to be innovative, but then so did motion controls and 3D. Besides, it's not exactly as though VR is "new" to speak of as far as innovation is concerned. It's been around since the early 90's. First in arcades (quite sparsely) and only recently coming into the home entertainment market.

So some random cows opinion made you think stupidly?

I dont believe for a second that these are "Playstation 5" devkits, nor that we will see a proper 9th gen console before 2021-2022. And if we do, either company would be incredibly stupid.

This is most likely a PS4 "Pro 2"

LOL seriously...that's your comeback? Cows(plural) make an asinine comment and you say I'm the stupid one LOLOLOLOLOL

Cowsssss pppffffttttt....................in a sad sad state

Navi? This can't be real.

Because VR is the final puzzle for solving a lot of the untouched elements in gaming. Audio has barely progressed in the last 20 years, but VR will push this forward massively with personal head-related transfer functions being soon built into VR headsets allowing you to do lifelike binaural audio and there will be a greater emphasis on making audio feel as real as possible.

AI will receive advancements in the form of reactionary responses to the player. When you can track an entire human body and every expression of that body, all of which is coming soon, AI can react to a lot more stimuli. This will result in a bigger push for improving AI.

VR will be where graphics get pushed the most because you see the most benefit from graphical fidelity in VR than outside. Real-time raytraced and pathtraced pipelines will be utilized with VR first, because it's a lot easier to do with VR, and that will spill over into non-VR games when the processing power is there. VR will also be a big testbed for lightfield captures and photogrammetry for photorealistic environments.

VR has breakthroughs in optimization like foveated rendering which may be usable outside of VR, even if in a limited form factor. VR is going to be a big push for GPU advancements, more so than the gaming industry itself, so that in itself means you should see better hardware thanks to VR.

Gameplay innovation is already happening in VR, with all kinds of new experiences that you can't get elsewhere. It's making developers really think again, resulting in more creative studios.

3D and Motion Controls were fundamentally limited. VR is the penultimate combination. It's where they were always heading towards. 3D was never really innovative, lets be honest, and motion controls were, but alone they can't do much for the gaming scene. In VR, that's a totally different story.

You speak of VR in the 90s, but there was basically no content back then. The innovation comes from the software side, and we're now seeing that with consumer VR.

You have no idea, either way.

Polaris PC cards launched in mid 2016 and PS4 Pro later that fall (about 5 months later) had a mostly Polaris-based GPU, with a few of Vega's features.

@airraidjet: I know more than you.

This gen feels like it only started in 2017, next year release is too soon.

Lol, exactly.

2020 for PS5 and 2021 for X1X would be fine with me

That’s because the Xbone has no games to begin with. You still need new quality exclusive games to sell a console. No one is going to rush out to spend $400-500 to play old games with improved graphics.

Having BC and a steady stream of new games would be enticing. It would be just like the PS1 and PS2 situation all over again. MS and you lems don’t get it, and that’s why the Switch is about to outsell the Xbone’s lifetime sales and the PS4 is outselling it more than 2 to 1 despite not having BC.

Well I for one don't give a shit about BC. I might plug it in just to check it out like I did with PS2 and PS3 but I never use it at all.. I buy new console to play new games and I'm pretty sure PS5 will have lots of great new games from their first parties

What? Where does it say anything about X1? Where did I say anything about MS or it's consoles? Oh I get it, Sony's shit in your eyes has you seeing things that aren't there. Got it

Not what YOU cows said. Sorry but you can revise history amigo. Cows said what cows said and it was all negative regarding BC and current gen consoles.

What YOU cows don't get is we "lems" don't have a shortage of games. Just because a game is on PC or even the PS4 doesn't mean it's not playable on the X1. Let's not forget there are plenty of games on the X1 NOT on the PS4. The only factions that cows is a game is exclusive or not are YOU cows.

Switch sales don't affect me so why would it affect you? You think it matters to consumers if the Switch outsells the X1? I don't make a dime off any of the consoles sales and I bet neither do you.

Hypocrites will be hypocrites....just thought I'd point it out

Why don't people believe that Navi will be on the PS5? If PS5 releases in 2019, it is possible.

Navi is suppose to be built on TSMC's 7nm process, which goes into commercial manufacturing this quarter and will be used on Vega 2 later this year. The same node is rumored to be used on Navi. AMD has Navi on roadmap for 2019.

So for 2019, AMD can have an APU based on Zen 2 (8-Core) + Navi (Navi-Mid) for the PS5. I think people are assuming "Navi = High-End". Just like any architecture, there will be low end and mid end parts.

Are you sure there are no games on the Xbox One? Are you also pretending that BC now matters because its expected for the PS5?