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PS5 and Xbox Series X GPU Specs Leaked: How Powerful Will the Next Generation Be?
Butcher79
The notion of a PC test database giving top secret information about an upcoming next-gen console seems implausible, but leaks over the past few months not only confirm the story Gonzalo, but also provide new details about the graphics core of the new machine. On top of that, the leak also contains tantalizing clues about the technical makeup of the Xbox Series X GPU.
The scale of this latest leak is astonishing, and the origin of the new information seems even more far-fetched than the CPU story. Gonzalo, which leads many to believe that the whole thing could be a fantasy piece. However, after taking a look at the situation and independently verifying the source, the incontrovertible evidence is that the data does indeed originate from AMD - and has not been verified. We certainly do not have critical context, but there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the leak.
As far as I can tell, someone in AMD's ASIC validation team used GitHub to store internal test data snippets from a number of Team Red's in-progress projects. The leaks include testing of next-gen Ryzen desktop and mobile APUs, as well as some in-depth tests on the PS5 chip, now codenamed Oberon. Although the data is not publicly available, it is clear that the GitHub test data is long gone: for example, the details due to the leak mentioned in this article are discussed in detail at ResetEra .
My understanding is that this data was first saved to GitHub about six to seven months ago. The source seems to have been raised back in August. While this may indicate that the testing data does not reflect the current specifications of the next generation console, it is important to remember that the development of a microprocessor of the complexity we are talking about here tends to be multi-year. Testing and validating a chip to make sure it meets performance targets and that it's being debugged is a lengthy process in itself, and changes to the chip's architecture are unlikely at this stage. Clock speed or accompanying memory tuning is possible, but we have a timeline that suggests that Sony has already made the decision to increase the GPU clock speed by the time the benchmarks are leaked.
| PlayStation 5 (not confirmed) | PlayStation 4 Pro | PlayStation 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Eight Zen 2 cores with SMT - hours undisclosed | Eight Jaguar cores @ 2,1 GHz | Eight Jaguar cores @ 1,6 GHz |
| GPU | 36 Navi user compute units at 2000 MHz | 36 GCN user compute units at 911 MHz | 18 GCN compute units at 800 MHz |
| Memory | GDDR6 at 448 GB/s (possibly 512 GB/s) - capacity undisclosed | 8GB GDDR5 @ 218GB/s | 8GB GDDR5 @ 176GB/s |
A Gonzalo leak back in April suggested that the PlayStation 5 would have a 2GHz Zen 3,2-based CPU paired with a 1,8GHz Navi graphics core. Slightly less concrete evidence related to PCI Express IDs suggests that AMD is calling the GPU "Navi 10 Lite", which pretty much indicates that the GPU will have the same 40 compute units as the Navi 10 part on the PC base found in the RX 5700, and the RX 5700 XT (with four CUs, probably disabled to increase productivity off the production line). The test leaks that have surfaced in recent days tell us nothing about the CPU component, but confirm 36 available compute units running at 2,0 GHz - which, although not confirmed, would give us 9,2 teraflops of a PlayStation 5 GPU. At the moment, this would be inexcusable for me, not to mention that the performance from Navi teraflop is significantly improved compared to older generation GCN counterparts.
The leak also suggests that the PlayStation 5 uses GDDR6 memory - much like the RX 5700 series Navi cards in the PC space. The nominal bandwidth is 448 GB/s, but some tests show that the bandwidth can be as high as 512 GB/s. This could indicate that 14Gb/s GDDR6 is being upgraded to 16Gb/s on the same 256-bit memory interface, or it could just be a case of internal cache performance improvements. Upgrading to premium tier memory could well go beyond the PlayStation 5's balance of price and performance, but of course Sony hasn't upgraded RAM in the past.
So how can we be sure that this processor is actually a semi-custom product from AMD for Sony. The downside is the fact that the GPU can be switched to three different modes to ensure hardware backwards compatibility with PS4 and PS4 Pro. While the 2,0 GHz clock speed is used for the so-called fully unlocked "native" or "Gen2" mode, the processor is also tested in the so-called Gen1 and Gen0 modes. The former is explicitly advertised as running at 36 compute units, 911MHz core clock, 218GB/s memory bandwidth, and 64 ROPs - exact PlayStation 4 Pro specs. The latest Gen0 mode cuts the number of CUs and ROPs in half and runs at 800MHz, which is the same as the base PS4. Signs that the back-compat is an integral part of the flint.
| Xbox Series X (not confirmed) | Xbox One X | Xbox One/Xbox One S | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Eight Zen 2 cores with SMT - hours undisclosed | Eight Jaguar cores @ 2,3 GHz | Eight Jaguar cores @ 1,75 GHz |
| GPU | 56 Navi custom compute units at approximately 1700 MHz | 40 GCN user compute units at 1172 MHz | 12 GCN Compute Units at 853 MHz / 914 MHz (S) |
| Memory | GDDR6 @ 560 GB/s - capacity undisclosed | 12GB GDDR5 @ 326GB/s | 8GB DDR3 @ 68GB/s (plus ESRAM) |
If the leak is related to the base specification of the PlayStation 5 GPU, then where is the info about what the Xbox Series X will have? As far as we understand, documents are made up of fragments from a much larger set of data that we cannot see. There is mention of the Arden processor, which is a highly likely candidate for flint in the Xbox Series X. Also, Sony and Microsoft's semi-custom designs can be tested differently with a different set of criteria.
In response to the leak, there was an argument suggesting that the PS5 specs are invalid because there is no mention of hardware accelerated ray tracing, while Arden confirmed this (along with VRS - variable rate shading). However, the documentation for both processors is very different and cannot be compared directly. Many of AMD's validation tests for the PS5 'Oberon' processor are leaked, while Series X data is best described as somewhat patchy in comparison.
With caveats, the rare leaked data includes a mention of 3584 shaders, which could translate into a frankly huge processor with 56 active compute units. There's no indication of clock speeds in the data, but if we assume the target is 12 teraflops, 1680MHz gives 12TF on the nose, while round 1700MHz delivers 12,2TF. If Microsoft were aiming below 12TF, the number of shaders would be much lower, and the flint itself would be significantly cheaper to manufacture - in fact, it would probably look closer to the PS5 configuration. The AMD leak seems to confirm the memory bandwidth for the Arden chip at 560 GB/s. That's a curious number, especially if we go back to Project Scarlett's E3 demo teaser, which appears to show off both 6GB and 1GB GDDR2. Maybe we'll consider a hybrid memory interface with some modules using a 256-bit interface with others on 64-bit. This is something of a mystery that will hopefully be solved when Microsoft shares the official spec.
At first glance, the AMD leak confirms a number of specs and brings out a few more. To begin with, it became clear that Microsoft designed the Series X to push the limits of console design beyond established norms for maximum performance. If the structure of the processor for 56 computing units is confirmed, the cost will at least open the eyes. Based on what we've seen in the RX 5700 series, adding 50% to the number of shaders and adding an eight-core 2 Zen CPU cluster to that (along with other "non-core" items like the display controller and media engine) suggests a processor much more than expected. This leak makes the Series X chip even more monstrous than I expected, but given that, how expensive will it be?
Meanwhile, the leaked PlayStation 5 specification points to a device with a greater balance between price and performance. Assuming we're looking at an implausible 16GB GDDR6 and 1TB SSD, it's still an expensive device, but compared to the monstrous X-series, it's obviously more likely to hit the $399 magic price. 4 and PS4 Pro served so well. On the surface, Microsoft has a more powerful machine, but some might say that in the console space, price is paramount.
However, I am clearly aware that specifications require context. I still remember an article about a conversation with PS4 system architect Mark Cerny prior to the launch of the PlayStation 4 Pro. He emphasized the importance of customization in processor design, and while there are indications and benefits we can take from existing PC Navi hardware when evaluating this leak, Czerny and his team at SIE will be encouraged by the success of the more modest and efficient Pro design and keep their weaknesses.
And direct comparisons to existing Navi PC hardware can only go so far. The fact that hardware accelerated ray tracing is confirmed for the PS5 also clearly demonstrates that Sony had the same access to future AMD features as they did with the PS4 Pro. None of these features are essential for testing leaks, but that doesn't mean they aren't there, especially when Mark Czerny says they are.
It's also worth re-emphasizing that the leak of rare details regarding the next generation Xbox - there are hints of two processor designs for the Lockhart and Anaconda blocks, but nothing conclusive about what separates them. In fact, my understanding is that there are absolutely no details for the cheaper Lockhart box other than a potential codename for the processor (Sparkman - again, this is unconfirmed). In fact, what little we can say about the Series X due to this leak speaks volumes for a high-end, premium console that practically demands some kind of cheaper, stable mainstream market - and with that in mind, it's curious what's in this chip there is nothing significant.
Overall, this latest next-gen leak is exciting and potentially fills in some gaps - but it's definitely limited in scope. The Xbox data raises more questions than it answers in several ways, and while the PS5 data is more complete, the bottom line is that all we really have is more of a block diagram of a single processor component. And let's not forget that developers have achieved results from current generation consoles that simply haven't been matched against Radeon-equivalent hardware. We know for a fact that both machines are aiming for a 2020 release, and if we look at the timeframe of how the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were introduced way back in 2013, we shouldn't have too much time to wait for more concrete results.
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