Is PlayStation 5 Pro worth the price? New Sony console after three months [TEST]

Let’s take the matter clearly: PS5 is not the most beautiful consoles. Although the massive and irregular block of the device has its supporters, I certainly do not belong to this group. The Sony device looks like an overgrown router, and the Pro version, unfortunately, does not change too much in this matter.

Design

PS5 PRO is a bit slimmer (like the PS5 Slim model) and lighter than its predecessor. Weighs 3.8 kg, while in the case of the “fat” version it is 4.5 kg. It is also characterized by a bit more subtle front backlight panel. In addition, PS5 Pro does not have a built -in optical drive, but more on this topic in a moment. This is where the differences end. Even worse, the manufacturer again covered the front of the device with a shiny plasticwhich is drawn from looking.

What about the console base? In the PS5 Pro box we will find plastic legs, which will allow us to attach the device in a horizontal (horizontal) position. They work much better than a fatal base attached to the base PS5, which notoriously slid off the console.

The problem arises when we want to set PS5 Pro in a vertical position. Then we must use an additional stand, which, however, was not attached to the console. This accessory should be purchased separately, and it costs a lot, almost PLN 200. The fact that Sony is not able to add a free stand for a device worth PLN 3,500 sounds quite absurd.

Specification, Ray Tracing and PSSR

On paper PS5 Pro It is a much more efficient device than the base PS5, although it is worth noting that the power increase applies almost exclusively to the graphics system. Both devices have the same processor AMD Ryzen Zen 2 with 8 cores and 16 threads. In the case of PS5 PRO, it reaches a slightly higher frequency, but the difference is not particularly noticeable (3.85 GHz vs 3.5 GHz). As for the GPU, here the comparison looks as follows:

• PlayStation 5 – AMD Radeon RDNA 2, 36 CUS @ 2.23 GHz (variable frequency)
• PlayStation 5 Pro – AMD RADEON RDNA 3 60 CUS @ 2.18 GHz (variable frequency).

As a result, PlayStation 5 Pro can boast of power 16.7 TFLOPS while in the PlayStation 5 model it is 10.28 TFLOPS. “Piglet” therefore offers a power increase of around 62.5 percent The most powerful Sony console still falls in pale compared to dedicated graphics cards. Suffice it to say that the power of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 computing system is super estimated at over 52 TFLOPSand the 4090 model on 83 TFLOPS. For honesty, it is worth noting that these cards are much more expensive than the Japanese device, and after all they require the purchase of a number of other components, such as a processor, RAM memory or a motherboard.

When it comes to operational memory. Both PS5 and PS5 Pro have 16 GB RAM GDDR6. However, the new model received additional 2 GB of DDR5 RAM To operate the operating system, which – at least in theory – also means more dedicated GROM memory.

PS5 PRO offers more efficient technology for retrograde tracking of rays compared to the “FAT” version, which translates into more dynamic and natural light reflections. According to Sony, thanks to the new GPU, the efficiency of the RT function increases twice, and in the case of some games – even three times. PS5 Pro debut also PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). This technology uses artificial intelligence to increase resolution () in games.

To sum up, the new GPU in the PS5 Pro has by 67 percent more computational units than in PS5 and 28 percent faster memory. Added to this is better Ray Tracing and PSSR technology. So much for dry numbers. And how does all this translate into gaming performance?

EFFICIENCY

The answer to the above question is: it’s complicated. Let’s start with that PS5 Pro did not receive any start title for the premiere that would fully show the possibilities of this equipment. Basic PS5 debuted with such productions as and . Thanks to this GROM, we could see for ourselves how Sony GPU is dealing with ray tracing and smoothness of the game, an SSD at the speed of loading stages, and the DualSense controller – with haptic functions. In the case of PS5 Pro, such a “WOW effect” was missing.

Of course, there are games that look better on PS5 Pro than on the base PS5. These are over 100 titles (there were about 50 for the premiere), which Sony marked the PS5 Pro Enhanced tag. On this list we will find, among others such productions as and The Last of Us Part 2. Most of them received appropriate updates that added to the Pro mode to the settings (unfortunately its name varies depending on the game, which introduces unnecessary confusion) conquering the smoothness of the game and/or visual effects.

I will focus on three titles that I had the opportunity to thoroughly upload. The first of them is T. The NAMGHTY DOG studio game has received a PRO mode, which provides a fixed 60 frames per second with a resolution of 1440p. This is conquered to 4K due to the said PSSR technology. A much sharper image is immediately striking here. The new console is also better at smoothing the edges.

In turn, he received not one, but two new Pro modes – PRO performancei.e. 60 fps + partial ray tracing and Faithfulness to the imagei.e. 30 fps + improved ray tracing (occlusion of the environment, better reflections and better shadows). The Insomniac game also gains strongly thanks to the additional PS5 Pro power.

In the case of PS5 in mode Efficiency We had to agree not only with a slightly blurred image, but at the same time with a lack of ray tracing. In mode Quality In turn, we lost the smoothness of the game, which in the case of such a game as Spider-Man is particularly painful. So in Pro modes we get the best of both worlds. Without previous compromises.

Both What Spider-Man These are the games of developers belonging to PlayStation Studios. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Japanese have made every effort to improve the experience of the game on their latest console. So I decided to check how PS5 Pro copes with the title . The choice fell on Hogwarts Legacyi.e. one of the best -selling games of recent years.

Here I have slightly more mixed feelings. Yes, the mode Fidelity + raytracing It looks great and amounts to the graphic design of the production of Avalanche studio to a completely new level. The problem is that this is done at the expense of the smoothness of the animation, which often fell even around 20 frames per second. This is not what I expected from the most powerful console in the world.

There is also a matter of hundreds of other games that have not received updates for PS5 Pro and perhaps they never receive them. These titles on the new console look exactly like in the base PlayStation, and in some cases even worse, which results from the lack of optimization for the new graphics system. It is worth remembering before the decision to buy a new device.

Memory and drive

PlayStation 5 Pro has received a larger disk than in the case of the base model. We are talking about 2 TB NVME SSD (PS5 had only 825 GB). The new console got a faster module at the same time Wi-Fi 7, Which should positively affect the speed and stability of the internet connection during online gameplay (although the best choice remains to connect the console to the “cable” network).

One of the most controversial decisions made by Sony is, however complete abandonment of the optical drive. While in the case of PS5 Slim it was somehow explained sensibly, the pro -free model is absurd. How do you logically explain the fact that the most expensive Sony console is a device defective in relation to the base (and cheaper) model?

The Japanese left the gate here in the form of the possibility of buying an external drive. The problem is that it is an additional expenditure PLN 700-800. We will pay at least with the drive console PLN 4,200. For comparison, PlayStation 5 base premiere cost PLN 2,299 (although today it is difficult to buy this device at such an attractive price).

SUMMARY

Buy it or not? If you have PlayStation 5, then a change to the Pro model at this point does not make much sense. Yes, some games marked with the PS5 Pro Enhanced label look better on the new Sony device (mainly titles from the PlayStation Studios stable), but the difference is not colossal. PS5 Pro has still not received any flagship title that would be a kind of “Seller system” for this device.

Perhaps such a production will turn out to be approaching rapidly Grand Theft Auto VI, But we don’t know that yet. It is therefore worth to stop at least at the premiere of the Rockstar studio at least with a possible change to a new device.

However, if you are just trying to buy a new console, then maybe focusing on the Pro variant will actually be a better and more future choice. But only when you have a larger budget, you want to play in the best possible image quality, and at the same time you have a TV that will be able to use PlayStation 5 Pro potential.