Sony reportedly prepping "PlayStation 4.5" with upgraded GPU for 4K gaming, better VR

[davislane1]

Or just PS4K...

PS4 UHD

 

[davislane1]

Would be a total waste of money. They are better off waiting another 2-3 years and go with the ps5 which will have to go up to 4k gaming if it wants to compete with PC's, same with Xbox.

People who want to compete with PCs...buy PCs.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Before you even get into the cost of the upgrade, consumers would have to have a reason to buy a 4K TV to go with a console. What about content? How many people are really going to ditch their current 50" TV, for a one that maybe supports a handful of games and some YouTube videos? 1080p to 2160p is quite the jump.

Sony is about to release their VR headset, so if this upgrade will improve it, are they also saying it's (resolution) not as good as it could be? This has to be a rumour.

Sony and MS would be fools to "upgrade" their current systems now.

Let's not forget that Sony also sells TVs.... I'm sure it wasn't lost on them that another way to push 4k TV sales would be having their PS4 (or PS4.5) able to 4k game....

It's not like previous games will magically turn into 4k titles though.... all it has to do is run a few games at 30FPS at 4k resolution and "presto", another reason to buy a Bravia

 

[HugsNotDrugs]

1080p content at 30fps doesn't cut it for VR. It needs more GPU power and it needs a proper high speed connections for a VR headset. It will be a refreshed model, most obviously by the name of Playstation 4 VR.

I'm most curious about how quickly AMD can develop a refreshed, far more powerful, APU.

 

[Squid Surprise]

1080p content at 30fps doesn't cut it for VR. It needs more GPU power and it needs a proper high speed connections for a VR headset. It will be a refreshed model, most obviously by the name of Playstation 4 VR.

I'm most curious about how quickly AMD can develop a refreshed, far more powerful, APU.

Well, as it's coming out in October, it's got to be in production now... or really soon... which means they're going to be using existing hardware... You're not going to get "good VR"... you're going to get bare minimum VR (and bare minimum 4k) which will be optimized with a few select titles so it won't look so bad to the average gamer...

If you want real 4k gaming and VR, you're going to have to get a good PC...

 

[Chazzon]

I highly doubt it will be an add-on... will be a new console with some sort of "trade in rebate" for existing owners (which won't be worth it).

I wonder just how they can make it 4k ready without making it insanely expensive... You really need MINIMUM nvidia 970 equivalent for even passable 4k gaming... and that's almost the cost of the console right there...

GTX970 is almost 2 years old, it's from the current generation. The next generation is just a few months away and AMD promised that it will bring VR/4k capable GPUs to a lower price, this would mean in the 200-250 dollars range and also a lower power consumption. So a 450 dollar console with a custom GPU from the next generation that can handle 4k should be possible.

AMD has been promising alot for the past 6 years. The GPU's are still under performing in real world gaming, and the CPU's have been rather lackluster as well. Certainly they look amazing on paper but they don't live upto the hype in the real world.

There is a reason Intel Stock is currently over $30 a share, and AMD is likely to finally break $3 a share for the first time in a couple years. Let's not forget Nvidia is pushing $33 a share as well.

So I'll believe they can provide a sub $300 4k experience when they can delivery it.

P.S. This is from a guy who owns AMD stock, I've been riding this train a while..

 

[Sintjago]

About time to improve the Ps4. The Ps3 and Ps2 saw upgrades. A new console is much better than an add on. Sure people have to buy a new console to benefit from the upgrades, but going that route has been a ton more successful than add on. Add ons killed Sega. The Nintendo 3ds was upgraded to the new 3ds with faster hardware and that worked well. Get a new console out but make it optional. Mainly, it is faster, better graphics, better everything, but most games will still play on the old Ps4. Maybe a few games require the new Ps4.5 like a few games require the new 3ds but it shouldn't impact most games.

 

[ForgottenLegion]

If they release an add on GPU, how will it interface with the console?
USB 3.0 is surely far too slow to provide enough bandwidth.

 

[richcz3]

Wow. Its hard to believe they are already 3 years old. I have a PS4, but honestly, it's just collecting dust. Would much rather play/purchase games through Steam. I'm looking forward to Uncharted 4, but that's about it.

I sat this console gen out and none of my nephews asked for any over the holidays. They're content with Steam for now. I really don't believe the lack of 4k is a barrier keeping people from purchasing.

 

[Arturo]

Sigh...another VR headline again

I really want to see the excitement over VR next year...including by Techspot.

Fed up with VR headlines too. With the current gears and prices, VR will never take off. I am totally sure.

 

[richcz3]

At this point in the life cycle - I don't see the lack of 4k as a barrier to purchase. It may be the lack of compelling break out titles for the current gen. Otherwise it's just the premise of future proofing. What is the adoption rate of 4K TV's and how many people would buy a 4K TV for gaming?

With that said, the possible downside for developers is having to create native 4k assets and textures, while still supporting multiple resolutions.

 

[davislane1]

If they release an add on GPU, how will it interface with the console?
USB 3.0 is surely far too slow to provide enough bandwidth.

Could they MacGyver something together using HDMI?

 

[oldikes]

How much money do you spend on your most expensive hobby? Gaming is no different than any other hobby out there.

Would be a total waste of money. They are better off waiting another 2-3 years and go with the ps5 which will have to go up to 4k gaming if it wants to compete with PC's, same with Xbox.

Confronting someone suggesting it would be a waste of money. And then suggesting it would be a waste of money yourself. Hmmm!!

As much as id usually agree with you....someone's opinion of a single product is not representative of their opinion of the entire hobby. so its not really hypocritical...theres a difference between saying "Spending money on a feature" is a waste of money and "spending money on a redundant feature youll have a year or 2 later anyway" is a waste of money.

Anyway, im always amused when people complain about VR posts. They act as though VR is not going to be the entire future of gaming at some point and likely of alot of everyday computing. theyre in for a rude awakening...

 

[Squid Surprise]

Fed up with VR headlines too. With the current gears and prices, VR will never take off. I am totally sure.

Really? Your statement is kind of an oxymoron though.... Nothing "takes off" with current gears and prices.... That's the point of "taking off"!! You start somewhere - then you IMPROVE!

Obviously the future of VR will have better gear and more competitive prices.... as with all new technologies, early adopters get the "privilege" of paying more for lower quality gear (see rich fools paying $20k for the first plasma TVs) - but getting to brag that they had it first...

We'll be in a far better position to judge the future of VR in a few years...

 

[cliffordcooley]

theres a difference between saying "Spending money on a feature" is a waste of money and "spending money on a redundant feature youll have a year or 2 later anyway" is a waste of money.

That's a good point.

 

[Edito]

I hope it's rumor, I think many gamers are not ready for this just like me and it's not about money I think, it's the fact that I don't see it like the way to go right now.. Maybe I just used to the old 6+ Year cycle.

 

[DoritosMeow]

Yes, Sony is preparing a more powerful version of PS4. It is going to be called PS5

 

[ForgottenLegion]

Could they MacGyver something together using HDMI?

I thought that might be possible as hdmi does have a lot of bandwidth to play around with but I'm not sure if it's possible with the spec. Who knows.

Apparently a Sony rep has said the box doesn't do any cpu or gpu computations so I'm struggling to understand what exactly it's there for.

 

[Adhmuz]

About time to improve the Ps4. The Ps3 and Ps2 saw upgrades.

What upgrades are you referring to exactly, the PS2 was made smaller over the years, but the hardware inside it stayed the same, minus the removal of the HDD bay after the first revision.

The PS3 had things removed from it as it aged, nothing was added to it as far as I can remember, it lost the multi-card reader, it was reduced to 2 USB ports, they removed the ability to install Linux on it. Heck they even removed the PS2 chip that handled backwards compatibility in favor of emulation.

Traditionally the last few iterations of consoles have never had their core hardware "Upgraded" they did receive die shrinks to increase efficiency/reduce power consumption, but that in no way improved CPU processing power or GPU rendering power. Increasing the hard drive capacity doesn't count.

If they release an add on GPU, how will it interface with the console?
USB 3.0 is surely far too slow to provide enough bandwidth.

There's an "AUX" port on the back of the machine, perhaps this will be how they plan on interfacing whatever external graphics accelerator they have in mind, just means you can't use the pointless camera they sell for it. Although this would be impossible for any VR due to the requirements of the camera for that to work, so USB 3.0 ports it's going to have to be, and sadly I don't see that happening on the current console.

Really the only way is to offer a whole new console that supports all the existing games but allows for new games going forward to support a 2160p resolution. This new version will support a better VR experience too, while allowing current games to run more smoothly, sucks for any current owners of a PS4 to say the least.

 

[jauffins]

My i7 2700k oc'ed at a modest 4.5ghz is still more than enough. I can't wait for Pascal though and 4k gaming is overrated. Ultrawide 3440x1440 21:9 gaming is where its at. I even heard they are coming out with a 100fps monitor with that rez

When people mention 4k gaming, they're doing so as a symbol of "higher than 1080p." There's no argument that UW 1440p is equivalent to 4k in terms of power required and experience had. Either way, no console is consistently running 1080p across all games, and when 1080p happens it's usually at a reduced framerate. I have what I would consider a high-end setup and I don't even run everything at 4k because dips into the 20-30 FPS range are unacceptable to me .

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

How much money do you spend on your most expensive hobby? Gaming is no different than any other hobby out there.

I don't see gaming as a hobby, it's more of escapism and recreation, like watching movies. That said, I like playing games on my PC just as much as the next person does. I'm retired now so I have plenty of time at my disposal to play games and I've played video games ever since I was a youngster. Old habits die hard.

 

[copasetic]

I chose not to purchase because the resolution was basically the same as the PS3, and couldn't justify the cost (particularly as 4K TVs were already shipping when they were released. This kinda made BOTH the PS4 and the XBone considered EVolutionary, not REVolutionary. I also thought of the 32X as mentioned in this article, but that was indeed a long time ago. Maybe we will see some Razer style add on (which would be somewhat silly, almost...). Then again, the PS3 did evolve, a little, when it was released....but not quite the same...

 

[gingerbill]

It would give me an excuse to play 'the last of us' again if they remaster a 4k version

I would be interested in a PS4.5 , no way it will do 4K gaming though , that seems a big step up from PS4 , just adding a .5 on would seem like an insult