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PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Specs and Features Comparison

It’s been a few weeks since we first heard that Sony will be releasing its most anticipated console, the Playstation 5 or PS5, towards the end of 2020 or at Holiday 2020. Meanwhile, a few days ago, unexpectedly Microsoft announced their upcoming next generation console – the Xbox Series X. Microsoft also announced that the Xbox Series X will also be released by Holiday 2020 as well. So, which console do you think will be the better one? What features are we going to expect from the PS5 and Xbox Series X? Well, here’s what we know so far.

Sony PS5 vs Xbox Series X console

Sony PS5 vs Xbox Series X – General Features

The PS5 and Xbox Series X are the next generation consoles and are expected to have features and performance that would be able to perform on par with a current desktop PC gaming. Although I doubt that consoles will be able to catch up with a gaming PC by Holiday 2020, since newer and faster PC components will be released by that then.

Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X are expected to support resolution up to 8K. However, I’m not sure if it’s native 8K or if there’s any “trick” that would enable these consoles to drive such a huge resolution without breaking its hardware. 4K resolution alone is very difficult to drive and you would need at least a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti to drive games properly on a PC environment.

Although it is not yet confirmed, these next generation console will also support HDR. I’m guessing that they most certainly will support HDR. There are several PC games that support HDR already, and although it’s not quite mainstreamed yet, I’m positive that Sony and Microsoft will consider adding HDR support for “future proofing”.

The next thing that I am excited about is both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will now support frame rates up to 120 fps. Well, it’s a little bit late for consoles at this point, but 120fps is better than being stuck to around 60fps or 90 fps. This would also mean that they need a much faster graphics processor to drive games at higher resolutions with faster frame rates.

Both the Xbox Series X and PS5 will also have optical disc drive or Blu-ray drives. There is no surprise there. Expect that they will also have the wireless connectivity options, like WiFi and Bluetooth, and the usual input/output ports as well.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Performance

Now let’s take about the performance, and you’ll be surprised that their like “siblings” on the inside. The PS5 will be powered by an AMD Ryzen 8-core processor, paired with a Navi graphics processor and is reported to support ray tracing feature. Although I doubt it will be the same as NVIDIA’s approach in ray tracing with the Tensor cores and RT cores. These next gen consoles will be all-AMD, both in CPU and GPU. We will know about these once AMD announces ray tracing support on their current PC GPUs. But as of today, AMD’s current generation of GPUs doesn’t support ray tracing yet.

The Xbox Series X will also be powered with an AMD Zen2 CPU, paired with a Navi-based GPU and a GDDR6 SDRAM. The capacity for the memory is unknown at this time as well as the capacity for the internal storage. Speaking of storage, the PS5 will feature SSD or solid state drive type of storage, and I’m guessing the Xbox Series X will too. There’s no reason for them to use a slow mechanical hard drive at all, it’s 2020!

PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Design

In terms of design, well I guess by now you have seen the “unique” design of the PS5 based on the leaked dev kit photos. I must admit, I’m not a fan of the design if it’s really going to look that way. But the PS5’s design is quite… unique.

sony playstation 5

Meanwhile, Microsoft already revealed how the Xbox Series X will look like. Some say that it looks like Corsair’s One series gaming system, other says it looks like a (trash) bin, though that’s a little bit harsh. But it’s simply a rectangular (prism) box or cuboid with holes on top. We don’t know their respective dimensions or weight yet.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Controller

As for their controllers, looks like the Xbox Series X will feature a controller that looks very similar with the current Xbox controller. There are new buttons added and perhaps some slight changes in the ergonomics. But generally speaking, the new controller looks similar with the current Xbox controller.

sony ps5 controller

As for the PS5’s controller, there are reports claiming that it will feature a new controller. Latest rumors say that the PS5’s controller will feature a built-in display, or will have its own display. Instead of the touch surface on the middle of the current DS controller, that whole area will be replaced by a touch screen display. If true, then that would be awesome, but expect it’s going to be a more expensive controller.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Backwards Compatibility

The Sony PS5 is said to be backwards compatible with PS4 games only and perhaps PS VR games as well. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X will be able to play every previous generation of Xbox games. Clearly, the Xbox Series X has a much better backwards compatibility game support. But for those who don’t have a collection of (old) games in their library yet, it may not stop them from getting the PS5 instead.

PS5 vs Xbox Series X – Pricing and Release Date

At this time, it is too early for Sony or Microsoft to reveal the prices of their consoles. We don’t know yet how much the PS5 or Xbox Series X will cost. However, they will be released by Holiday 2020 and I think they will release it before Christmas. Perhaps some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Or perhaps before Thanksgiving.

Currently, the Xbox One X retails for around $325-$410 USD, depending on the capacity and where you buy it. The PS4 Pro is also around $334 to $450 USD. I don’t think that the next generation console will be cheaper or will be released on the same MSRP as their predecessors. This is just a wild guess, but I think the PS5 and/or Xbox Series X will be priced north of $500 USD. I’m sure we will learn more about their prices and exact date of release by Q3 of 2020 as we near the Holiday season.

At the end of the day, it’s quite hard to tell which console will be the better one at this point. However, the only reason why I am forced to get a PS5 (or PS4 Pro) is because of the exclusive games, like Final Fantasy VII Remake or Godfall. How about you?

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Peter Paul
Peter is a PC enthusiast and avid gamer with several years of hands-on experience in testing and reviewing PC components, audio equipment, and various tech devices. He offers a genuine, no-nonsense perspective, helping consumers make informed choices in the ever-changing world of technology.

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