Sony’s highly awaited PlayStation 5 Pro was released to a mixed response, with many gamers voicing their discontent over the console’s steep price of $699 and the unchanged Zen 2 CPU.
Expert Opinions
Despite the criticism, some experts have offered a more favorable perspective on the PS5 Pro. For example, Digital Foundry stated that building a comparable PC would likely cost "a fair bit more."
Key Improvements
Sony highlighted three major enhancements for the PS5 Pro: a GPU that is 45% faster, Deep Learning-based PSSR upscaling technology, and enhanced ray-tracing features. It remains uncertain whether these improvements will guarantee the PS5 Pro’s success in the market.
Performance and Graphics
During the official launch event led by Mark Cerny, Sony’s promotional material and demos fell short in showcasing the fidelity upgrades. However, additional gameplay footage shared with Digital Foundry has shown significant differences between the PS5 and the PS5 Pro.
In ‘Performance’ mode, the PS5 Pro achieves a steady 60 fps with sharp visuals. In contrast, the standard PS5 experiences issues like blurry textures, ghosting, and unclear particle effects during action scenes. The PS5 Pro enhances detail clarity, showcasing fine textures like hair and foliage much better.
In the ‘Graphics’ mode, the PS5 Pro offers a noticeably sharper image with improved frame stability. While some temporal instability and minor artifacts can be observed—common with machine learning-driven PSSR upscaling—the overall experience is significantly superior to that of the base PS5, which is currently available for $449 on Amazon. Even during intense scenes, the PS5 Pro consistently holds 60 fps, while the base model frequently experiences frame drops.
