The PS5 vs. Xbox Series X comparison is a tricky one. Especially since in some cases, Sony's console offers a better gaming experience than Microsoft's, even though it's less powerful. The experts at Digital Foundry have looked into the matter, and we finally have some answers.
On paper, the Xbox Series X is much more powerful than the PS5
In the latest episode of the weekly DF Weekly meeting, Richard Leadbetter first recalls that in terms of technical specifications, the Xbox Series X is without a doubt the most powerful console on the market, at least until the arrival of the PS5 Pro.
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Its GPU reaches 12 TFLOPS, to which is added a maximum memory bandwidth of 560 GB/s. In comparison, 10.23 TFLOPS of GPU calculation are available on PS5, powered by 448 GB/s of bandwidth, which should logically mark a gap between the two machines.
So the gap is very clear. If we were to compare the same characteristics in the PC field, we would expect the first to far outperform the second.
However, this is not the case and the expert even suggests that this is overall the closest generation of consoles we have ever known, with minimal differences in most multiplatform games.
Some titles also display quite marked differences, as we have seen on several titles, and again recently on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, whose framerate differences are in favor of the Sony console.
Why do some games run better on PS5?
After interviewing numerous sources, including some of the industry's most qualified AAA developers, Digital Foundry says two points stand out.
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Richard Leadbetter notably claims that while several theories have suggested over the years that the Xbox Series X's shared memory configuration could be the cause of these differences, the main reason behind these performance gaps mainly concerns the nature of Sony's development environment.
More than one AAA developer has told us that the PS5's GPU compiler is significantly more efficient than Microsoft's, meaning there's better utilization of the graphics hardware. In general, we understand that the lower-level API access offered to PlayStation developers allows game creators to get more out of the hardware.
The second explanation would come from the very nature of the PS5's GPU, and the fact that it operates faster than that of the Xbox Series X.
While the console has fewer compute units than the Xbox Series X (36 versus 52), the entire GPU runs faster, meaning some tasks run faster, which is better suited to certain game engine designs. The extent of this advantage has always been an unknown, as the PS5 runs with a boosted clock on both the CPU and GPU – maximum clock speeds will be limited by a power cap on the CPU.
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From our conversations, the combination of a more efficient GPU compiler, lower-level APIs, and higher clock speeds allows the PlayStation 5 to match or even exceed the performance of the Xbox Series X in certain scenarios.
Digital Foundry also explains that by standardizing DirectX 12 and the DXR ray tracing API, Microsoft still allows the Xbox Series X to take advantage of development techniques common to the PC.
The Xbox also has more computing power, which can therefore provide an advantage over engines that exploit it, and some better implemented features, like VRR, are also sometimes to Microsoft's advantage.
Towards a more marked gap on PS5 Pro?
The experts continue their post by mentioning that after hearing many convergent feedbacks on the subject from developers, we can consider the case as being “closed”.
Digital Foundry finally addresses the PS5 Pro, saying that they expect it to build on the same principles that made the PS5 competitive and “go further.”
This is going to be interesting. We expect it to build on the same strengths that made the PS5 competitive and go further – the machine learning-based PSSR upscaling should act as a sort of effective “multiplier” on the increased GPU performance.
The “boosted” version of the PS5 should soon be on the horizon, and could therefore offer an even greater advantage over the Xbox Series X in certain games, while Microsoft for its part mentioned in 2023 that there was no need for “mid-gen” consoles.
If this is the case, then Sony will have free rein to offer boosted versions of the next generation games on PS5 Pro, and it is hard to imagine the Japanese giant depriving itself of this on highly anticipated titles, such as a certain GTA VI.
You will find the entire passage dedicated to the subject in the video below. As usual, do not hesitate to give us your opinion with respect and courtesy in the comments.