Just like Microsoft did in the past, Sony unlocked PlayStation 4’s seventh CPU core, which will likely become a useful tool for game developers.
- Xbox One unlocked their 7th CPU already
- Xbox One uses 1/8 CPUs for the operating system
- PlayStation 4 uses 2/8 CPUs reserved for their OS
- The change will likely only affect game developers and their future titles
For the longest time, PS4’s designed was more centered around its GPU power instead of the CPUs, which has been deemed as a limitation for certain games. Both Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles have the same number of CPU cores available, meaning eight in total. For Xbox One, one of them is reserved for the operating system. For the PlayStation 4, on the other hand, the system takes up two.
Microsoft took the step to unlock their seventh core a while ago, and now Sony is following in suit. What does this mean for games? Probably not much. However, for future game developers it could provide with extra horse power to work with. It’s unlikely that current games will feel much of a difference due to the extra power offered. That is unless game developers design updates specifically allowing their titles to access Core 6 in the PlayStation 4.
That means that for existing them, there won’t be much of a difference, but it could be for the future. Developers will now have more to work with where the PS4 is concerned. Any future games could see an even better performance from Sony’s platform, who is already beating out Microsoft in sales. This is in spite of the fact that Xbox One unlocked their seventh core earlier and has a slightly better performance.
The Microsoft console has a overall speed of 1.73 GHz, in comparison to PS4’s 1.6 GHz. It’s not a significant amount considering they had an extra core unlocked. Perhaps with the added capabilities, Sony’s console will catch up if it’s truly the CPU that determines the hardware performances. But it’s unlikely.
In spite the better performance from the CPU, the Xbox One has been found over and over again to work at lower resolutions, around 900p, as opposed to PS4’s 1080p. For numerous titles, if not the majority of them, Microsoft’s console infamously needs to drop resolution by a bit to assure a smooth performance.
This has been the case since both consoles released, and it’s likely to continue until the next generation consoles are officially launched. According to rumors, we will be seeing the next Xbox and the next PlayStation at some point in 2018. But, until then, there are several games that will be released, which might once again favor Sony’s console.
Image source: extremetech.com
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