You won’t believe these leaked console specs!
A month or so before E3, Sony casually announced that a PS5 is on the way and that it’s going to be a powerhouse. SSD, 8K, AMD Navi. These are all things, that much is true, but they’re incredibly vague things. Fast forward a month from that release, and rewind a month from now, where we saw Xbox take to the stage to unveil their next console – codenamed: Project Scarlett. Scarlett specs were also announced in fairly broad terms but the accompanying video did give us a bit more info than the PS5 announcement that dropped prior. But one thing is for certain, these two consoles mean business and it’s looking like they are going to be level-pegging in spec, come next generation. Unless these newly leaked specs are anything to go by, in which case, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
GPU & CPU
Both the GPU and CPU are the only two components of both consoles that are pretty much identical. Both Scarlett and the PS5 will be making use of modified AMD chipsets with each based on Zen 2 architecture. The two chips are modified in slightly different ways but offer the exact same processing speeds – a 3.8Ghz clock with 8 cores! This, paired with a custom AMD GPU, each with a clock speed of 1755Mhz, 8GB GDDR6 VRAM means the quality of games on console will be unprecedented. Both consoles will be pushing upwards of 10 TFLOPs and we know how important TFLOPs are!
RAM
It’s not until we get to both systems memory where things begin to change. The PS5 will come packed with 16GB of GDDR4 RAM, doubling the amount of the PS4 Pro! Paired with the GPU & CPU, the advertised 8k gaming will be completely achievable but expect the par to be 4k.
Scarlett will instead be shipped with just 12GB of memory and whilst this may look pale in comparison to the PS5, it does have a trick up its sleeve. Scarlett will make use of Azure to download more RAM as and when it is needed. Using a custom-built API, Scarlett will download RAM from the open source service, downloadmoreram.com, meaning that it has a limitless supply of memory to hand. This ground-breaking technology really shakes up the gaming landscape and will be the perfect fuel for the ongoing console wars.
Extras
As we all know, power isn’t everything, so the extras that come packed with PS5 and Scarlett may sway you in one direction or the other.
Both consoles come standard with a 4k Blu-ray player, each supporting older technologies (Blu-ray and DVD). But in a surprising step, Scarlett is going one step further by integrating a VHS player. We assume this is a cheeky nod to the criticism that the Xbox One looked like a VHS player. Scarlett’s VHS player will upscale to 4k, meaning all those Bond movies you taped from ITV some 20 years ago will have never looked better.
And the PS5 isn’t just going to be processing power, it will also process food! The lid of the console will flip up, allowing you to insert up to 2 pieces of fruit which then get processes into smoothies. This can all be controlled by an interface on the front of the console but also ties into a fun mini-game where you have to squash fruit using the PSVR headset. It’s kind of like Fruit Ninja but you actually get something out of it! The smoothie is then dispensed from one of the faux USB ports at the front of the console. Forget “For the players” this is “Five a day”.
PSU
As the world grows ever conscious of the impact we’re having on the planet’s ecosystem, the two consoles are looking to change the way in which they power these new consoles.
Scarlett is controversially using solar technology to power its hardware. Each unit will ship with a small panel which can be affixed to the exterior of your house. This solar technology charges an onboard battery which means you can still play through the evening when the sun has gone to sleep. It’s expected that each charge will allow up to 2 hours of gaming which in turn, solves another problem – people getting too fat from playing all the games.
The PS5 is taking an even more controversial step by making use of Downsized technology. After the hardware development team watched the lacklustre blockbuster – Downsizing – in 2017, a couple of things shone through its mediocrity. They agreed that creating a power station manned by tiny Matt Damons would truly be the next step in energy management and, honestly, the results are incredible. Truly wireless energy is finally here and at the small cost of small people.
It’s obvious that these two consoles are wanting to make an impact in the stagnant sea of video games. Each has its pros and cons. Do you like ant farms? Opt for a PS5. Do you want to watch your collection of old mucky tapes? Opt for the Scarlett. But one thing is for sure, no matter which console you go for, someone will tell you it’s the wrong one for you and the ultimate winners are the massive corporations draining you of your hard-earned cash.
