PlayStation 5 Pro Specs Detailed: PS5 Architect Mark Cerny Debunks ‘FLOPflation’ Myths

Yesterday, PlayStation released a video featuring Mark Cerny hosting a detailed PS5 Pro Technical Seminar at Sony Interactive Entertainment’s headquarters. As the architect behind the system, Cerny took the opportunity to delve into the new hardware of the PlayStation 5 Pro and address some swirling rumors. A topic he particularly focused on was the concept of “FLOPflation,” addressing an inaccurate figure of 33.5 TFLOPs that emerged from a misunderstanding by a leaker. This leaker incorrectly assumed a more extensive integration of RDNA 3-inspired architecture in the system.

In actuality, the PS5 Pro achieves 16.7 TFLOPs, a step up from the PS5’s 10 TFLOPs. One of the credible leaks also suggested that the PS5 Pro can hit 300 TOPS during 8-bit calculations. For 16-bit calculations, the console can reach up to 67 TFLOPS. As Cerny explained, Sony’s customized AMD RDNA 2 architecture—dubbed RDNA 2.X—incorporates several RDNA 3 features. However, it retains enough of the original architecture to avoid necessitating code rewrites for the new hardware.

During the seminar, Cerny highlighted what he sees as the most significant advancements of the PS5 Pro: the improved Ray Acceleration structure using BVH8 (Bounding Volume Hierarchy) and enhanced “Stack management in hardware.” This essentially means that graphics shader code on the PS5 Pro is better managed, more straightforward, and more efficient.

BVH is crucial in 3D rendering, as it describes how bounding boxes are used for graphical calculations such as reflections. The PS5 used BVH4, which grouped bounding boxes in fours for real-time calculations. The PS5 Pro advances this by using BVH8, doubling the bounding boxes utilized for its RT calculations. As a result, the Ray Intersection Engine has progressed from handling 4 boxes and 1 triangle (PS5) to 8 boxes and 2 triangles (PS5 Pro).

The enhancements in ray tracing technology within the PS5 Pro, made possible through a highly customized version of the RDNA 2 GPU architecture from the PS5, significantly boost performance in rendering curved and textured light reflections, albeit providing a more modest improvement for shadows and flat surfaces.

For those interested in more technical nuances, the entire 37-minute video offers thorough insights into the console market and the technological demands necessary to stay competitive.