Sony announced PlayStation 4 Pro with 4K graphics

Sony has officially announced the new PlayStation 4 models. As expected, Sony introduced the new slimmer PlayStation 4 as well as a new Pro model which will provide improved functionality.

The slimmer version has the same features as the current PlayStation 4 but the new PlayStation 4 Pro also includes 4K support among other changes. Pro model is said to improve the performance two fold which will allow it to process higher 4K resolutions in gaming.

The PS4 Pro's processing power comes from a new custom built AMD graphics card that is based on the Polaris architecture. The CPU cores are still Jaguar but have been clocked higher. There's 1 terabyte of HDD storage on the PS4 Pro.

Not all games will be 4K supported and you don't need a 4K TV to use PS4 Pro. PS4 Pro will come available on November 10 starting at $399. PS4 Slim will retail for $299.

Sony also announced that all PlayStation 4 models, new and old, will also get the HDR feature which will bring games more alive with more vivid colors.

Written by: Matti Robinson @ 7 Sep 2016 17:13

KillerBug

Slight (major) error...it still doesn't have a "graphics card" so it still can't be upgraded just like the old one can't be upgraded to a pro.

8.9.2016 08:24 #1

Mysttic

It would be more accurate to say GPU than card - I agree with Killer. Card implies you can upgrade it. Maybe that's what PS5 should focus on, a modular upgrading system.

8.9.2016 12:40 #2

Bozobub

I don't see that ever happening. Pretty much the entire point, from the marketer's end, is guaranteed compatibility, ZERO maintenance (beyond dusting and such), and only well-defined, licensed upgrade paths. Selling you an cheap, UNupgradeable box over and over fits those requirements perfectly.

Furthermore, once you start going down that route, you have to make the box openable by human beings, without voiding the warranty. Not gonna happen, IMO.

There's also, at that point, the spectre of all the whining online by 12-year-olds, who are convinced faster graphics = huge online play advantages (and sometimes they'll be correct, for heavily GPU-bound games).

Tl;dr? While arguably a great idea for many reasons, truly upgradeable consoles are PCs, basically, and lose much of makes them attractive to manufacturers/developers (AND many consumers). Witness the removal of "OtherOS" capability from Playstations ^^' . The "Steam Box" is a welcome change to this formula, but it's also simply a modular Linux box (a full PC, in other words, including true upgrade capability).

8.9.2016 14:14 #3

hearme0

Even the tech segments of a couple broadcasts today said specifically, "not a beneficial upgrade for those with current and working PS4's."

Who cares about 4K! This technology is already fading out in the consumer's eyes, while the manufacturers slam 4K on every tv set because it's cheap and run-of-the-mill now.

The ONLY thing that makes this a "pro" is the 4K capability.

Games are limited, movies are HIGHLY limited and TVs are only starting to bring 4K to the lower priced models.

This is a waste! Anybody buying into this is a nincompoop. Only worth it IF you need to buy or replace a PS4.

8.9.2016 16:15 #4

Bozobub

This console IS a reasonable upgrade, in my opinion, because older games will perform much better at 720p/1080p resolutions, especially concerning texture and shader throughput, due to much larger/faster RAM. So I guess it depends how many games on the original system were truly GPU-bound ^^' ...

8.9.2016 21:49 #5

KillerBug

Originally posted by Bozobub: I don't see that ever happening. Pretty much the entire point, from the marketer's end, is guaranteed compatibility, ZERO maintenance (beyond dusting and such), and only well-defined, licensed upgrade paths. Selling you an cheap, UNupgradeable box over and over fits those requirements perfectly.

Furthermore, once you start going down that route, you have to make the box openable by human beings, without voiding the warranty. Not gonna happen, IMO.

There's also, at that point, the spectre of all the whining online by 12-year-olds, who are convinced faster graphics = huge online play advantages (and sometimes they'll be correct, for heavily GPU-bound games).

Tl;dr? While arguably a great idea for many reasons, truly upgradeable consoles are PCs, basically, and lose much of makes them attractive to manufacturers/developers (AND many consumers). Witness the removal of "OtherOS" capability from Playstations ^^' . The "Steam Box" is a welcome change to this formula, but it's also simply a modular Linux box (a full PC, in other words, including true upgrade capability). While I totally see what you mean, it really wouldn't be all that hard to have a video module. You see it in high-end laptops, but even that is more than I am talking about. Think of this...you flip a little latch on the back (placed so it can only be flipped with the power cord removed) and it unlocks a sliding plastic brick that comes out of the side. It has a PCI-E x16 type connector, except physically different to keep people from plugging in the latest PC cards. You slide in the new one, flip the latch back, and you are good to go because the drivers were released as part of a system update before the upgrade hit the shelves. The PS4-pro will be online against the regular PS4, so if having better graphics is an advantage then Sony doesn't care...they even gave it a faster CPU! Sony wins because PS4's are sold at a loss to sell games at a huge profit, customers win because they can upgrade for $150 instead of $400, and sony wins a second time because they are selling a $80 video card for $150, then sony wins a third time because that $250 the customer saved ends up being spent on games...sony makes profit on $400 worth of purchases instead of a loss.

The idea of consoles was once "just plug it in and play". This isn't the case when installing and updating a game you got on a disk takes more time than downloading and installing the same game from steam. If the idea now is lower cost...well, buying a whole new system every 3 years kills that. What else is there...the lack of features?

8.9.2016 21:59 #6

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