[Digital Foundry] Sony PlayStation 4 Pro review

TopicClocker · Nov 7, 2016

Best watched at 1080p in full-screen mode. Rich and the team put the Pro's 4K credentials to the test. Can it handle ultra HD, or is it really more of a 1440p machine?

Quote:

Whether it's embracing VR wholeheartedly or challenging the established console generation cycle, you've got to hand it to Sony - this company knows how to take risks. They don't get much bigger than PlayStation 4 Pro, a release that doesn't just ask you to upgrade your console, but your display too. Built primarily for the new wave of ultra HD 4K screens, the Pro offers both CPU and GPU upgrades over the current PS4. At its best, it offers stunning visual improvements over the same games running on base hardware, but even the more modestly boosted titles show clear improvements. Bearing in mind the entirely reasonable price-point, it's a highly compelling piece of hardware.

This is a really fascinating look at the new machine, as expected it doesn't have the power to run every PS4 game at native 4K however there is a substantial image quality boost over the standard PS4 models.

Developers have to update their game to take advantage of the PS4 Pro's hardware and there's been some really awesome improvements over the standard PS4 models.

Shadowarez · Nov 7, 2016

Still lost my sale guess I was spoiled by the ps3 bought a Xbox one s halo bundle with cod infinit warfare and 2nd controller for $460 shipped.

We're I live the old Xbox 1 console comes with no game is still $450+. I got a uhd player a casual system and a return to halo universe i haven't seen since halo first dropped. All in all great deal for me. If only thus had the uhd play back I would have bought this in a heartbeat.

jarble · Nov 7, 2016

Thanks for the link. I am still waiting on a bundle (destiny or FFX) so I can get it in a different color #priority's

.

Shadowarez · Nov 7, 2016

Some of that painters turtle tape that gels on outside and some glossy spray paint with white and what color want should do trick to save internals and you got a art piece for all its good for lol.

kd5151 · Nov 7, 2016

Watching now...

SoloCamo · Nov 7, 2016

I'm just glad to see they gave the cpu a clock speed bump, that was the system's biggest issue by far. Jaguar cores start to stretch their legs slightly at 2ghz+. Obviously still the weakest point of the system but it certainly helps.

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Just bought a HDMI2.0 compatible 4K monitor. Now need to buy a PS4Pro as well.

Edit: It is a good upgrade guys. 100% good. Not as simple as a side upgrade.

Shadowarez · Nov 7, 2016

youre getting nearly extra 3.5 tera flpos of performnce but only if the game supports it, if not its a plain jane ps 4,

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shadowarez

youre getting nearly extra 3.5 tera flpos of performnce but only if the game supports it, if not its a plain jane ps 4,

Pretty much all big games will feature PRO enhancements from now on.

Old games really depend on the developers.

Viscerous · Nov 7, 2016

The lack of Ultra HD Bluray is still baffling to me. The Xbox One S got it and the PS4 Pro which is supposed to specialize in 4K content did not.

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viscerous

The lack of Ultra HD Bluray is still baffling to me. The Xbox One S got it and the PS4 Pro which is supposed to specialize in 4K content did not.

I agree as well. However they probably did not want to surprass the 400$ price point.

Swolern · Nov 7, 2016

Wow the Pro looks great!

SoloCamo · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by iARDAs

I agree as well. However they probably did not want to surprass the 400$ price point.

Honestly it's a good selling point. I'd rather go for the xbone S over this for that feature alone. If I want better fidelity I'll just use my pc.

HothBase · Nov 7, 2016

Hmm. The acoustic performance is a big disappointment for me. Sony forcing "base mode" on legacy titles is dumb, but I was hoping that it would at least lead to a reduction in heat and noise.

Now I want to see how the new SATA III interface impacts SSD performance.

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoloCamo

Honestly it's a good selling point. I'd rather go for the xbone S over this for that feature alone. If I want better fidelity I'll just use my pc.

ıt's good to have options. Some people will opt for the S just for the 4K bluray and that is understandable. Some people will never care about 4K bluray though so for them having 400$ being concentrated just for gaming is the best thing.

MAYBE Sony could add 50 bucks or so for a 4K blu player version of the console but they probably did not want to confuse the consumers with another version of PS4Pro.

I am very happy with all 400$ being invested in gaming hardware as I dont much care about 4K bluray. Never owned a bluray CD in ages anyway.

222Panther222 · Nov 7, 2016

Nice for people with 4k display but for me in 1080p non HDR, it doesn't worth the price tag for a bit of sharpness it add.

I'm quite satisfied with my standard ps4 so i'll just save toward a real major upgrade, a new rig.

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by 222Panther222

Nice for people with 4k display but for me in 1080p non HDR, it doesn't worth the price tag for a bit of sharpness it add.

I'm quite satisfied with my standard ps4 so i'll just save toward a real major upgrade, a new rig.

Not only sharpness though.

Some 900p games are 1080p and some 1080p 30fps games are 1080p 60fps.

It might still not be worth it though. Understandable.

y2kcamaross · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by iARDAs

ıt's good to have options. Some people will opt for the S just for the 4K bluray and that is understandable. Some people will never care about 4K bluray though so for them having 400$ being concentrated just for gaming is the best thing.

MAYBE Sony could add 50 bucks or so for a 4K blu player version of the console but they probably did not want to confuse the consumers with another version of PS4Pro.

I am very happy with all 400$ being invested in gaming hardware as I dont much care about 4K bluray. Never owned a bluray CD in ages anyway.

Pretty sure I saw a breakdown on the BOM for the xbox 1s and the 4k drive was an extra 10 bucks? I know I cancelled my pre-order as soon as I saw it didn't include one

SoloCamo · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by iARDAs

Not only sharpness though.

Some 900p games are 1080p and some 1080p 30fps games are 1080p 60fps.

It might still not be worth it though. Understandable.

I'm just glad the consoles (well this and scorpio) finally have decent gpu grunt behind them considering we are almost in 2017.

CryphicKing · Nov 7, 2016

If ready at dawn willing to patch on order 1866 for PS4-Pro, it's an instant buy, but it's a good news to new Playstation adaptor none the less, they are paying the same price to get a much better console

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2kcamaross

Pretty sure I saw a breakdown on the BOM for the xbox 1s and the 4k drive was an extra 10 bucks? I know I cancelled my pre-order as soon as I saw it didn't include one

4K bluray extra 10 bucks. I hightly doubt it. I cant speak for sure though it might be possible. If it is just 10 bucks it is lame. But if the cost would be 50 bucks or so, than udnerstandable.

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoloCamo

I'm just glad the consoles (well this and scorpio) finally have decent gpu grunt behind them considering we are almost in 2017.

ıt is good news for PC community too. Powerful console can lead to better PC ports. I welcome 4K console gaming native or not

y2kcamaross · Nov 7, 2016

just found the BOM i saw, it was 18 for the standard blu ray drive and 33.5 for the 4k drive, so 15.50 more

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005103/en/IHS-Markit-Teardown-Analysis-Microsoft%E2%80%99s-Xbox-Brings

iARDAs · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2kcamaross

just found the BOM i saw, it was 18 for the standard blu ray drive and 33.5 for the 4k drive, so 15.50 more

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005103/en/IHS-Markit-Teardown-Analysis-Microsoft%E2%80%99s-Xbox-Brings

If 15 bucks it is lame really... Shame.

geoxile · Nov 7, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by y2kcamaross

just found the BOM i saw, it was 18 for the standard blu ray drive and 33.5 for the 4k drive, so 15.50 more

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160805005103/en/IHS-Markit-Teardown-Analysis-Microsoft%E2%80%99s-Xbox-Brings

There's more to it than just the hardware, like software that can decode Blu-ray 4k. And of course they probably want to protect their expensive Blu-ray 4k player market.

ZealotKi11er · Nov 7, 2016

It would probably be nice to have a 1440p mode where you can use with a PC monitor. Also @ https://www.digitalfoundry.net/ you can download a clip that compare 4K PC vs 4K PS4P with RoTR.

[Digital Foundry] Sony PlayStation 4 Pro review

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