PS5 Pro Rumored to Revolutionize Gaming with Advanced Upscaling Technology

The PS5 Pro might finally kill off performance mode, and the PC player in me is ecstatic

The PS5 Pro is now officially a thing, and the upcoming PlayStation 5 revamp might finally solve my console performance woes. Since the OG system arrived back in 2020, players have had to choose between resolution and frame rate in many games, but the new system on the block will hopefully send performance and fidelity mode packing. Out of all the reasons to grab a PS5 Pro pre-order, not having to pick between boosting fps or playing at 4K is the biggest. Naturally, I'll have to get my hands on the juiced-up model to see if it can pull off 4K 60fps across the board, but considering its AMD GPU boasts 67% more Compute Units and 13% faster RAM, I'd be surprised if it can't rival mid-range graphics cards. That heavily appeals to my PC gaming side, especially since it opens the door to visual versatility. Do I think everyone will benefit from owning a PS5 Pro? Absolutely not, as there are bound to be players who aren't that fussed about higher frame rates at 4K or embracing better ray tracing in adventures like Horizon Forbidden West and The Last of Us Part 2. However, if you are pining for an experience that doesn't make you choose between frame rates and resolution, or you're just looking for a living room experience that can keep up with your rig, Sony potentially has you covered. Since the dawn of contemporary gaming, consoles have featured fewer graphics customization options than PCs. Arguably, that's part of the appeal, as dialing in settings can be a chore if you're simply looking to jump into your favorite outing without a hitch. Sadly, the PS5 set an arguably bad precedent by making use of different performance modes, and while that theoretically places more power in your hands in terms of visuals, it's arguably just a reminder that you'll have to sacrifice something. Don't get me wrong, I'm known for hanging around in PC game settings menus trying to strike that perfect performance balance. That said, it's the last thing I want to be doing when I throw myself onto the sofa after a long day. It's the reason why I was quite happy to play Final Fantasy 16 on the console rather than waiting for a Steam port, but Sony's original system was still hellbent on having me make graphical decisions. Yes, it's just a toggle, and one that will provide you with a "which is better, one or two?" optometrist-style way of choosing between resolution and frame rate. The thing is, knowing I can either play at 4K or 60fps is a massive distraction that initially pulled me out of Square Enix's Kaiju RPG romp, leaving me wishing the PS5 could just pull off an optimal experience. During today's technical presentation, Mark Cerny kicked things off by saying that removing the performance and fidelity mode decision is "one of the key targets of the PlayStation 5 Pro." Admittedly, that sounds like less of a promise to take the setting to the gallows and more of a technical ambition, but I'm holding onto hope that'll mean more games being able to pull off 4K and frame rates over 60fps. In a perfect world, the PS5 Pro would be able to pull off 4K 60fps without breaking a sweat. The main issue here is that more and more developers are now throwing fancy graphical features like ray tracing into the mix, which in turn, places a heavier burden on GPU performance. That might have you thinking you'll need to wait for the PS6, but Sony has decided instead to follow in the footsteps of the PC scene and dive head-first into AI upscaling. Dubbed PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, the PS5 Pro is kitted out with custom hardware that can use AI to upscale lower resolutions before they reach your gaming TV or monitor. If reviewing Nvidia and AMD graphics cards has taught me anything, it's that upscaling can feel like performance magic if done correctly, and PSSR will be there to lend a helping hand when the Pro's new GPU wants to pull off 4K60 with no settings compromise. The key phrase above is that upscaling can feel like magic. In reality, dynamic upscaling is more of a slight hand trick, designed to use lower-resolution textures without you noticing. I've spent a lot of time with both DLSS and AMD FSR, and while I can never really tell when they're switched on at a glance, artifacts can occasionally give the game away. Therefore, I'd expect a similar situation with PSSR, so don't get your hopes up for a performance miracle. It's worth noting that PSSR might not be a performance silver bullet right now, as it'll practically be in its infancy with the PS5 Pro. What will likely happen instead is we'll see the tool expand its potential throughout the rest of this generation, with updates providing better results as time goes on. That could also mean that by the time the PS6 is ready to take to the stage, the feature will be widely adopted by developers and primed to help the console pull off 8K 60fps. Bear with me as I'm about to play Devil's Advocate with performance mode. Yes, I'd love to see the concept return to its home planet. However, I do think it could be valuable when it comes to reaching higher refresh rates, and I'm sure many Overwatch 2 players out there would happily still use 1440p if it meant reaching 144Hz. Plenty of new TVs are now kitted out with native support, like the Hisense U7N and the premium LG OLED G4, and it'd be a shame if the PS5 Pro neglected to take full advantage of those specs. I'll be keeping an eye on the PS5 Pro refresh rate situation, and I'm sure we'll hear more about that side of things once the dust settles. For now, I'll be happy if the choice between performance and fidelity mode creeps back into the dark. With any luck, it'll hopefully also stay there thanks to PSSR, in turn protecting future me from having to make decisions when using the PS6. I can barely decide what I want for dinner most nights, so I'll be glad to see the back of performance mode.

The coolest part of the PS5 Pro is PlayStation doubling down on one of PC gaming's best FPS boosters with PSSR

PlayStation's new super sampling solution could end up being the best part of the beefy PS5 The PS5 Pro is well and truly out of the bag and coming November 7 for $700, with PS5 Pro pre-order details out now. Now that we know the full PS5 vs PS5 Pro specs, the most exciting feature may be the one with no clock speeds or read rates attached: PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, or PSSR. This AI-driven upscaling method has been positioned as Sony's latest answer to the Nvidia DLSS tech and AMD FSR tech that benefits hundreds of games on PC. It is, simply put, super sampling, which conventionally uses AI to upscale and improve image quality without the usual performance cost, while also using machine learning to generate frames to further reduce performance impact. The exact methodology varies slightly between DLSS, FSR, and now surely PSSR as well, but the key takeaway is that we've repeatedly seen such super sampling techniques lead to dramatic frame rate boosts. With help from features like this, you may be able to play games at higher resolutions and graphics settings while still maintaining a better frame rate than you would normally get in the graphics-to-performance tug-of-war. Performance varies between systems and GPUs, with the likes of DLSS3 being exclusive to Nvidia's 40XX RTX GPUs, as well as specific games, but it's a proven benefit. New-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X were already equipped with some level of automatic super sampling (in this case, thanks to the AMD architecture), but Sony's PSSR seems to be a substantial push to bring the tech to console. This is especially relevant since new-gen consoles traditionally split games into fidelity and performance modes, letting users prioritize graphical detail or frame rate and responsiveness. (Most users go for performance mode, and so do I.) Super sampling could help bridge that gap, folding in more graphical bells and whistles without tanking FPS. In the PS5 Pro reveal presentation, lead system architect Mark Cerny described PSSR as one of the console's "big three" features, paired with a stronger GPU and advanced ray tracing. "We added custom hardware for machine learning and an AI library," he explained. "PSSR analyzes the game images pixel by pixel and can add an extraordinary amount of detail which boosts the effective resolution of the games." In a PlayStation Blog post, Sony platform business group CEO Hideakin Nishino adds: "We're also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail." Yep, that sounds like super sampling, all right. Cerny talks up games showing "something like [fidelity mode] levels of detail but at double the frame rate," and that sounds like the (best-case) effects of super sampling. Altogether, Sony bragged about the PS5 Pro's capabilities by comparing The Last of Us Part 2, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Ratchet & Clank running on regular ol' PS5s, and the difference genuinely is noticeable. PSSR may not sell you (or, frankly, me) on a $700 mid-gen upgrade, but it is some seriously promising tech.

PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution to Work Across the Full Library Without Patches; Will Also Support PS VR2

Ever since the PlayStation 5 Pro specs were leaked, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) was arguably the most interesting new feature. Yes, the additional Compute Units, faster memory, and improved ray tracing capabilities are great, but Sony has also developed a custom AI upscaling feature, which is probably going to be critical in delivering high frame rates while keeping the ray traced effects in place. Now that everything has been confirmed, CNET delivered some interesting news as part of their exclusive hands-on with PS5 Pro. According to the outlet, PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution has been confirmed to work across the full library without game developers having to release a specific PS5 Pro patch. If that was the case, it'd be a big selling point for all those fans still on the fence after learning of the hefty price tag ($699, £699, €799) of the console. However, the PlayStation 5 Pro's reveal trailer actually says something different when the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution feature is mentioned on the screen: Feature only available on select PS5 games that have been enhanced for PS5 Pro. We have asked Sony to clarify whether CNET's info is correct and will update the story if we hear back. Meanwhile, CNET also learned from Lead System Architect Mark Cerny that PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution will eventually work on PS VR2 games, which would be great as well. Furthermore, Cerny shared some interesting statements with CNET about Sony's latest console, which will launch globally on November 7. I've already seen games with three different PS5 Pro modes. As time goes by, particularly for the games which are launching after the hardware releases, we'll increasingly see a more nuanced approach, where the focus is less on resolution, and much more about higher image quality through a variety of strategies. PS5 Pro uses the new advanced ray tracing feature sets that AMD created as the next step in their roadmap architecture But if you look around, there are no other AMD GPUs that use it yet. We motivated the development, and I'm very happy we did so -- the response from the developers has been extraordinarily great. Are you planning to get the PS5 Pro at launch? Let us know below.