Should you choose PS5 or Xbox Series X?

Premiere

Playstation 5 / Playstation 5 Digital Edition: 11/19

Xbox Series X / Xbox Series S: 10/11.

Winner: To draw. A week here or there won’t make a difference as to which console you choose to buy.

Prize

PS5: 499 euros. PS5DE: 399 euros. X series: 5695 kr. S series: 3595 kr.

Commentary: We are awaiting information on the Swedish price, but we expect the PS5 to cost roughly the same as the Series X in Sweden. However, the digital edition of PS5 will be more expensive than the S series, and is expected to reach around 4,500 SEK. At the same time, the PS5 and the PS5DE are identical to the bluray reader. The X and S series have some significant performance differences.

What can be said is that the prices are, after all, lower than many fear.

Winner: To draw.

Performance

PS5 / PS5DE: Processor: 8 cores, Zen 2, 3.5 GHz (variable frequency). Graphics processor: 10.28 teraflops, 36 compute units at 2.23 GHz (variable frequency). Specially built RDNA 2 graphics processor. Memory: 16GB / 256-bit GDDR6. Memory bandwidth: 448GB / s. Internal storage: Specially built SSD, 825GB. External storage: NVMe-SSD port. Optic reader: 4K UHD bluray (does not apply to PS5DE of course). Performance target: 4K at 60 FPS, up to 120 FPS.

X Series: Processor: 8 cores, 3.8 GHz (or 3.66 GHz with hypercable technology, called SMT) Specially built version of AMD’s Zen 2. Graphics processor: 12.28 teraflops, 52 Compute Units (CU) at 1.825 GHz. Custom RDNA 2 graphics processor. Resolution (circuit): 7nm improved. Memory: 16GB GDDR6 with 320MB bus. Memory bandwidth: 10GB video at 560GB / s, 6GB video at 336GB / s. Internal storage: Custom 1TB NVME SSD. External storage: 1TB expansion card (exactly matches internal storage). Optic reader: 4K UHD bluray. Performance target: 4K at 60 FPS, up to 120 FPS.

S series: It has a couple of significant differences compared to the X Series. The graphics processor only puts out 2.4 teraflops and the main memory is limited to 10 GB. So the performance target is also lower: 1440p with 60fps, up to 120FPS. Half-terabyte storage is also on the poorest equipment. Expect an additional cost for external storage.

Commentary: The fact that Microsoft’s upcoming console has 12.28 teraflops, compared to the Playstation 5’s 10.28 teraflops, itself indicates that the Xbox Series X is more powerful. The question is how relevant is that comparison. In a way, it is reasonable because the set of components of the two consoles in many cases has the same origin. But Microsoft and Sony use the components differently.

Xbox Series X has locked clock rates for cpu (3.8 GHz, or 3.66 GHz with hyper-cable technology, called SMT) and gpu (52 computing units at 1.825 GHz).

Sony, on the other hand, uses variable frequencies. The PS5 can reach 3.5 GHz (cpu) and 2.23 GHz for 36 computing units (gpu), but there is also leeway to set the frequencies according to the workload that a game requires.

– Instead of looking at the actual temperature of the silicon circuit, we look at the type of activity that the gpu and cpu perform and set the frequencies based on it. It makes everything predictable and repeatable. Additionally, we use AMD’s Smartshift technology and send all unused power from the cpu to the gpu so it can squeeze out a few more pixels, Sony’s Mark Cerny has told us.

As you can see from the figures above, Sony seems to have sacrificed a number of teraflops in exchange for a higher clock frequency for the gpu. Mark Cerny doesn’t think one should stare blindly at teraflops:

– There are many other devices (when judging the performance of a gpu, keep the red ones in mind). Those devices run faster when the gpu frequencies are higher. At 33 percent higher clock rates, rasterization runs 33 percent faster, command buffer processing is much faster, L1 and L2 caches have much higher bandwidth, and so on. The only downside is that bandwidth is 33 percent further out when it comes to cycling, but the sheer amount of benefits outweighs it.

Or, as hardware giant Richard Leadbetter at Eurogamer states in a review: “Sony’s tone can come down to this: a smaller gpu can be more nimble, more nimble. Their interpretation is that the PS5’s graphics core should be able to offer more performance than one would normally expect from a TFLOPS number that does not contain the whole truth about the capacity of a gpu. “

Winner: Tie.

Form factor

Measure: PS5: 390mm (height) x 104mm (width) x 260mm (depth). PS5DE: 390mm x 92mm x 260mm. X series: 151mm (width) x 151mm (depth) x 301mm (height). S series: 275mm x 65mm x 151mm.

Weight: PS5: 4.5 kilos. PS5DE: 3.9 kilos. X series: 4.4 kilos. S series: 1.9 kilos.

Commentary: With the exception of the S Series, these are solid parts. Today’s consoles, which are also quite large, look damp in comparison. The design of the Playstation 5 is, of course, a water divider. It manages to look like something futuristic and like a router sandwiched between two white A4s. It is awful. An old man like me prefers the understated X Series design, although it will also take up too much space under the TV. S series? Yes, it is for you that you have always wanted a console that looks like a speaker.

Winner: Xbox Series X.

Game

Playstation 5 receives the following games on release day: Astro Game Room (pre-installed on PS5), Demon souls, Destruction Allstars, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sackboy: a great adventure. Games in progress, in selection: God of War: Ragnarok, Final Fantasy XVI, Deathloop, West horizon forbidden, Oddworld: Soulstorm, Little devil inside, Resident Evil Village, Gran Turismo 7.

Xbox Series X / S gets the following games on premiere day: No. At least not some of Microsoft’s own studios. The great title was meant to be Infinite Halo but that game has been delayed. Of course, external study titles can be included, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or Dirt 5, but they are not exclusive to the X / S Series. Games in progress, in selection: Infinite Halo, Flight simulator X, State of decay 3, Fable, Forza Motorsport, Everwild, Declared, As dusk falls, Psychonauts 2, The Senua Saga: Hellblade 2, Bloody edge, Mara project.

Commentary: It would be easy to nominate Playstation 5 as the winner without thinking. After all, the PS4 has a library of games that the Xbox One cannot match in the long run. At the same time, Microsoft has made a number of interesting acquisitions in recent years, and if you look at the launch in the next few years, the battle is much smoother than you may spontaneously think. In the end, of course, it depends on which game series you like: God of War, Great tourism and Horizon? So it’s PS5 that counts. Or X / S Series if you prefer aura, Fable and Forza Motorsport.

Winner: A small advantage for Playstation 5 anyway.

Ecosystem

Xbox Series X / S: Backward compatible with many games, from the first Xbox device that was released almost 20 years ago. It has a strong community with the Xbox Live online service. It has received many subscribers, and rave reviews, for Xbox Game Pass, where hundreds of titles can be downloaded for a monthly fee. Now it also includes games that the user can stream to an Android device.

PlayStation 5: Backward compatible with Playstation 4 games. With Playstation Plus, the user can download three or four older titles each month. A novelty is the Playstation Plus Collection where you can download a large number of PS4 titles. It is not clear if this means a higher monthly cost than today. Sony also has the Playstation Now streaming service.

Commentary: Microsoft seems to have its eyes fixed on the horizon. Towards a world in which we play more than ever, without keeping such a careful record of which device is drawing the game. On the contrary, the company does not seem to launch the Xbox Series X / S as a prestige product, but as an alternative for those who prefer console games to PCs. But most of Microsoft’s games come for both Xbox and PC. Your streaming investment is ambitious and for the most part it works really well.

Sony still feels a bit more traditional and puts all its energy into convincing people that the Playstation 5 is the console that can deliver the biggest and best games. But at the same time, the company shows small signs that they also understand where development is headed.

Winner: Xbox Series X.

… Some things to keep in mind

* Despite all the talk about Xbox Series X and Playstation 5, of course, it is advisable not to forget the Nintendo Switch. It is perhaps the most popular console in the world right now. However, keep in mind that Nintendo is said to release an updated Switch model next year.

Nintendo Switch lacks many of the latest graphics-heavy titles, but it makes up for it with its unprecedented range of in-house developed games (Super Mario, Zelda, Splatoon, Pokemon and so on) and a huge library of brilliant indie games. In addition, you can use it both as a desktop console in front of the TV and as a portable device. The Nintendo Switch is also the most suitable console for younger children.

* Microsoft has long made the best controls, but Dualshock for PS5 looks really cool. Sony has ditched the vibration technology they had with Dualshock and replaced it with haptic feedback. The purpose is for the player to get more detailed vibes. Another thing is that the activation buttons R2 and L2 are adaptable. Therefore, you will feel resistance when you use them, depending on what you do in the game. The PS5 player will not have to buy an external microphone to talk to their peers. Instead, Sony has incorporated a microphone into the control.

* Remember to budget for additional storage. Even a 1 terabyte hard drive fills up quickly with today’s great games.

* The new consoles, of course, can do things that the old ones cannot. They have modern storage that can provide lower load times, ray tracing technology, and some games can draw up to 120fps.

* Sony may release a new vr headset for PS5. Your investment in VR has been going perfectly well so far.