On paper, the Xbox Series X is a significantly more powerful piece of hardware than the PlayStation 5, so why are we looking at a generation of consoles where Sony and Microsoft machines often deliver similar results? It’s a conundrum that has puzzled many over the past few years, and after discussions with multiple sources, including some of the most high-profile triple-A developers in the business, we finally have some answers – and it’s all in this week’s edition of DF. Live weekly.
In terms of technical specifications, the Xbox Series X is undoubtedly the most powerful console on the market – at least until the aforementioned PlayStation 5 Pro arrives. Its GPU reaches 12 teraflops, complemented by decent memory bandwidth: a maximum of 560 GB/s. PlayStation 5? There is 10.23 TF of GPU processing power, powered by 448 GB/s bandwidth. Then it’s a clear divide. If we were to see this comparison of specs in the PC space, you’d expect the former to easily outperform the latter.
Except it didn’t happen to this generation. Overall, it’s the closest console generation we’ve seen, and the differences are fairly minimal in most cross-platform versions. One machine may outperform the other or vice versa. Sometimes where there are differences, they are differences in dynamic resolution scaling – which often looks invisible when comparing A to B. It’s a far cry from an Xbox One X vs PS4 Pro battle where Microsoft’s machine had a clear advantage – or a PS4 vs Xbox comparison One where Sony usually held a similarly noticeable lead.
- 0:00:00 Introduction
- 0:02:00 News 01: First look at FSR 3.1!
- 0:10:56 News 02: Dead Rising remake in development
- 0:22:55 News 03: Dragon’s Dogma 2 fixed
- 0:30:12 News 04: Keystone project details revealed
- 0:38:16 News 05: Forza Horizon 4 will be retired
- 0:49:38 News 06: SGSSAA appears in new game
- 0:58:46 News 07: Unity 50Hz physics issue returns
- 1:07:55 Supporter Question 1: Why haven’t more reviewers noticed the problems with the Elden Ring? And is it really fair to heap so much technical criticism on From Software?
- 1:27:03 Supporter Question 2: What should we expect from a potential PS3 emulator on PS5?
- 1:36:05 Supporter Question 3: Why is the Series X still sometimes beaten by the PS5 in cross-platform gaming?
- 1:45:54 Backer Q4: Could something like Auto SR be implemented on consoles for backwards compatible games?
- 1:50:00 Supporter Question 5: Why do low settings in games look so much better than before?
So, after several years of talking to developers, what’s the explanation? How can a less capable machine outperform a more powerful one? As we saw recently in our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree coverage, the framerate difference in favor of the PS5 is surprising considering it’s clearly a less capable machine.
We’ve heard some interesting theories over the years – like how the Xbox Series X’s split memory settings (560GB/s bandwidth on “fast” memory, 336GB/s on “slow” memory) can affect performance, but the number one reason that we’ve heard from developers is about the nature of Sony’s development environment. More than one key triple-A developer tells us that the GPU compiler for PlayStation is significantly more efficient than Microsoft’s alternative, which means there’s better use of the graphics hardware. In general, we understand that the lower level of API access provided to PlayStation development means that game creators get more out of the hardware.
The second most common explanation we received from developers is about the nature of the GPU itself. Mark Cerny himself discussed this way back in March 2020, when he revealed the technical specifications of the PlayStation 5. Although the console may have fewer computing units than the Xbox Series X – 36 vs 52 – the whole GPU runs faster, which means that certain tasks will be completed faster, better suited to certain game engine designs. The extent of this advantage has always been unknown, as the PS5 works with a boost clock on both the CPU and GPU – the maximum clocks will be limited by the processor’s performance limit.
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However, we still haven’t heard any complaints from developers about overclocking unduly affecting GPU performance. And as far as raw numbers go, here’s an interesting tidbit from the recently leaked PlayStation 5 Pro developer documentation: turning on the CPU boost option, which increases the clock by ten percent, only drops GPU performance by one percent – essentially negligible.
So, based on our conversations, the combination of a more efficient GPU compiler, lower-level API, and higher clock speed allows the PlayStation 5 to match or even surpass the outputs of the Xbox Series X in some scenarios. That said, the approach Microsoft has taken obviously has value: by standardizing on DirectX 12 and DXR ray tracing APIs are aligned with PC development, which of course helps game developers. And of course, the Xbox has more and more computing bandwidth – so game engines that take advantage of that will see the benefits. Additionally, there are times when the Xbox ecosystem and feature set pays dividends. For example, while Elden Ring may run faster on PlayStation 5, Sony’s limited implementation of variable refresh rate support means we’d much rather play the game on Xbox Series X – it’s just a smoother, more consistent experience.
At this point, hearing the same set of points from a number of completely unrelated developers means it’s pretty much closed on this particular topic – and we expect a similar situation to play out for the rest of the generation. PlayStation 5 Pro? It will be interesting. We’d expect it to build on the same strengths that make the PS5 competitive and go further – PSSR’s machine learning-based upscaling should act as an effective “multiplier” of sorts for increased GPU performance.
This discussion is just one small part of DF Direct Weekly #169, where we have first impressions of the new Dragon’s Dogma 2 patch and AMD FSR 3.1 spatial upscaling revision (expect more detailed coverage of both soon), plus comments on the new Dead Rising Remake. I hope you enjoy the show – and remember that DF Supporter Program supporters not only get early access to every episode, they can also contribute to the show. Have a great week!