Almost four years after the arrival of the next-generation consoles, the time has come to take another step. Undisputed market leader, Sony gives it another layer by offering the Playstation 5 Pro, a more powerful version than the original model, without completely changing the situation.
A notable improvement, not a revolution, which nevertheless has a high price: 800 euros, the highest price ever paid for a home console. Is it worth the change? This is what the Japanese manufacturer expects.
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Smaller than the PS5, but still
Sony does not break with its line that started in 2020. The PS5 Pro looks like the PS5 Slim that already looked like the PS5. It has the same black and white design, but each side has a triple black side vent to let heat escape. If it’s larger than the PS5 Slim, it’s significantly thinner than the PS5, even without its disc drive. But now it has 2 TB of storage to be able to fit even more games (1.8 TB of actually available space), which you can increase to 8 TB by adding an additional SSD.
Like the small version, it is equipped with two USB-C ports on the front and two USB-A ports on the back, accompanied by an HDMI 2.1 socket and an Ethernet port. The controller provided is the same as previous consoles and obviously all PS5 versions are compatible. However, no base is provided (30 euros extra). Like the previous one, the PS5 Pro has to make do with two plastic tabs to possibly hold it horizontally.
More powerful
The PS5 Pro was expected in terms of power, although Sony warned in advance that it would not be a generational leap. It is clear, controller in hand, that it is a monster of power and performance. Its GPU has 67% more processing units and 28% faster memory. The result is much more fluid and beautiful games with the arrival of improved ray tracing. In more demanding titles, this is immediately noticeable and immersion improves significantly.
The PS5 Pro’s SSD is also faster and this will be felt when loading games or even launching them. Sony promised that we would spend less time waiting and more time playing. Indeed, this is the case, backed by support for Wifi 7, which will make your connection happy if you have a compatible box and/or router.
The only drawback: the PS5 Pro tends to make a little more noise, but nothing annoying like the first one. We also noticed the heating on the bottom of the console that occurs when it rotates.
Bright days await the PSSR
One of the major additions to the PS5 Pro is PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), an AI enhancement feature. All games will become (virtually) 4K or, rather, they will be displayed in a resolution higher than that natively rendered by the console and close to 4K, but maintaining a fluid frame rate. Images are sharper and more detailed because the AI reconstructs missing pixels, imagining details that should be there.
In this way, PSSR speeds up the gaming experience and applies to all PS5 games, even those that are not yet optimized for PS5 Pro. It especially benefits the most demanding games in terms of graphic resources, for which we will look for favor Performance mode. This is particularly the case with Gran Turismo 7, which offers a 120 frames per second performance mode that makes racing more fluid. We are very close to Nvidia’s DLSS, but in console version and deployed by Playstation.
most beautiful games
Despite the power it offers, game beautification is not always obvious. It takes time, and for some to delve back into the PS5 version, to achieve the feats that the PS5 Pro allows, particularly with the much more pronounced ray tracing. The list of first optimized games is already long, but some caught our attention for various reasons.
A title like spider man 2which is already impressive on PS5, will not blow you away on PS5 Pro. However, the bluffing here becomes sumptuous, with small visual details (a Fidelity Pro mode with ray tracing at 30 fps in particular, the Performance Pro mode at 60 fps thanks to PSSR) that bring even more realism to New York City.
It doesn’t look like much (details in the hair, in the crowd on the street, life…), but it immerses you even more in the game, bringing it closer to a form of reality. In Insomniac Games’ game, the already effective ray tracing is boosted a little more when you try to climb a building and look inside apartments, or enjoy the sunset from a building. This is visible on a 4K TV, but you’ll get the most out of it if your display supports 120Hz VRR.
Among the graphic slaps, however, Final Fantasy VII It’s there. Square Enix launches a 60 fps version on PS5 Pro in Performance (Pro) and Fidelity mode. The game takes on another dimension. If you had not discovered it on PS5, it is one of the essentials in the PS5 Pro version, especially in Versatility mode. The PSS5 works wonders to improve rendering, fluidity and performance, both in large spaces and in smaller environments.
Nervous game lovers like demon soulsPerformance mode fans will generally be delighted with the switch to the PS5 Pro, which also makes the game more beautiful, smoother and more uncompromising.
A game in full renaissance since its initial fiasco and in constant modernization, no man’s sky It has not lost its turn to PS5 Pro and arrives with its share of optimizations perfect for space travel. If you haven’t picked it up since its debut, it’s a completely new game, even more so on the latest console.
However, there are some games that have already been announced that they will not always run at the constant 60 fps promised by Sony, such as Alan Wake 2. Remedy’s flagship title preferred to favor Quality mode with Ray Tracing, but at 30 fps. This mode only exists on PS5 Pro. On the other hand, Performance mode, much more effective than its counterpart on PS5, will benefit from PSSR on PS5 Pro, with more resolution and visual details.
Some games like Hogwarts Legacy, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered (recently released and already very beautiful), Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart They give an impression of refinement, rather than a slap in the face, and don’t really take advantage of the PS5 Pro’s prowess, although they are nice to look at (but they already were in general).
We note that the Game Boost option also benefits PS4 games by improving image quality to make them even more visually compatible with a next-gen console.
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Not made for everyone
If you don’t have a 4K HDR display, the PS5 Pro will immediately lose some of its splendor. It is a demanding console that wants to dress up in the best clothes to show off. This does not mean that your simple 4K television with HDMI 2.1 socket (the minimum) does not benefit from the technological advances of the console, but without the latest technologies (VRR, HDR, 120 Hz…), the risks of breach seem smaller . awesome.
It is not possible to use previous plates.
This may not be important to most players, but it’s still worth noting. Sony offers a PS5 Pro that has some features in common with the PS5 Slim, starting with the cutout of its facades. But unfortunately, although their sizes are very similar (not to say similar), the fixing system has been modified and you will not be able to recover your old models.
The price too high
The PS5 Pro is also the most expensive console ever released by Sony. At 800 euros, or 250 euros more than the PS5 Slim with reader, it is difficult to see the value of the price difference, even if it shows 2 TB of storage. Because the reader is optional (120 euros) and if you really want your physical versions you will have to add it to the invoice. The manufacturer has made no effort in the accessories (base, DualSense Edge, etc.) to provide better pain relief. For 100 euros less, it could have been more in place. Because how much will the technological leap of the PS6 be?
Conclusion
Of the PS5 Pro we mainly remember its price. For 800 euros you have to have something that justifies the purchase. If we can praise the technical prowess, the search for AI optimization and everything else, this is still an amount for a half-generation improvement.
On its own, the PS5 Pro may be worth it. The PSSR will inevitably improve over time and make all games even more beautiful, even without them being initially designed for the console. But to enjoy all this you need to have the equipment that comes with it (a 4K HDR Dolby Atmos 120 Hz TV with VRR in an ideal world).
Therefore, the PS5 Pro is not for everyone. If you already have dazzling games in your catalog and you like performance, fluidity and perfect images, you can do it. If you’re a dedicated gamer, but not necessarily a very demanding one, the PS5 Slim still does its job quite well. The rest is an advantage… expensive.
Source: BFM TV
