PS5 Pro review: One week with Sony's new PlayStation console
PS5 Pro review: One week with Sony's new PlayStation console
I've spent over a week testing the PlayStation 5 Pro console and I've discovered where it changes things up just enough for gamers willing to spend $700 on better graphics
Pros
✅ 🏆 Best PS5 graphics for PS5 Pro enhanced, 8K and ray-tracing games
✅ 🤝 Combines Fidelity and Performance graphics mode choices
✅ 📈 Game Boost and PSSR upscaling make older games look better
✅ 🗄️ 2TB of storage more than doubles the original PS5 storage
✅ 📐 Smaller design than the original PS5
✅ 🤫 Runs more quietly than the PS4 Pro did (sounds like PS5)
✅ 🐏 More RAM means developers can create better future games
Cons
❌ 📺 Only worth it if you have a big screen TV with VRR
❌ 💿 This $700 ‘Pro’ console doesn’t include the $80 optional disc drive
❌ 🗼 This $700 ‘Pro’ console doesn’t include the $30 vertical stand
❌ 🫥 This $700 ‘Pro’ console isn’t compatible with Slim console covers
❌ 💸 Digital PS5 games are ONLY sold by Sony and remain expensive
❌ 👀 Not all games are PS5 Pro enhanced with noticeable differences
I tested Sony’s new PS5 Pro for review throughout November, and I can now tell you whether this console is worth buying. As someone who helped half a million of you buy the original PS5 when it was impossible to find in stock, I’ll be honest with you and cut through the hype to answer this question: Is the PS5 Pro really worth $700?
PS5 Pro does an excellent job offering Fidelity mode (the best graphics in PS5 games) with Performance mode (stable frame rates). This is extremely noticeable on VRR-capable TVs 65 inches or larger and monitors 27 inches or larger. Basically, if you spend a lot of money on an impressive display, you’re going to want to spend even more on a PlayStation 5 Pro to show every pixel at the maximum frame rate.
This PS5 Pro comparison image tells us a lot if you look at the skyscraper in Spider-Man 2. You can clearly see that PS5 Slim’s Performance Mode lacks ray tracing (it’s in favor of a stable frame rate). Its Fidelity Mode has the extra detail, but the action is choppier (and in other PS5 games, it’s so choppy that this mode is unplayable).
I’ll have more PS5 vs PS5 Pro images and video samples in a final review this week, but it’s safe to say that PS5 Pro, an upgrade four years in the making, comes down to how much you want that extra detail and smooth performance. How much do you want the best PS5 games playable in Fidelity Pro mode with superior graphics while having the stable frame rate of the original Performance mode?
PS5 Pro is the best way to play PlayStation games, and they look fantastic on the 98-inch TCL QM8 that I’m reviewing at the same time. I used a PS5 and PS5 Pro to play Spider-Man 2, Horizon Forbidden West, The Last of Us Part II, God of War Ragnarok, and other PS5 and even PS4 games. I can confirm that there are extra details, more ray-tracing, and smoother frame rates when using the PS5 Pro.
My launch day video hit 433,000+ views on X, Instagram, YouTube & TikTok
I also had time to dive into Call of Duty Black Ops 6, which just got a patch to be among the first PS5 Pro-enhanced games. Aside from playing it on a PC, this is going to be the best way to experience Activision’s latest FPS game. Even if it’s “free” with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Black Ops 6 is one of the many Xbox games that run best on PS5 Pro. I can run it at a stable 120Hz, which makes PS5 Pro worth it for reaction-time-dominate games like Call of Duty.
PS5 Pro: Fidelity & Performance modes in one
I love that PS5 Pro means I don’t have to decide between Fidelity (best graphics) and Performance (best frame rate) modes among PS5 Pro-enhanced games. In some of the games I tested, there are new Fidelity Pro and Performance Pro modes to choose between. But gone are the days of having to sacrifice detail and ray tracing on a PS5 to achieve anything higher than 30fps.
Gone are the days of having to sacrifice detail to achieve anything higher than 30fps
PSSR upscaling and Game Boost also make unpatched and older games look better, albeit marginally many times. I’ve seen cleaner graphics and better anti-aliasing from older PS5 games (that lack a PS5 Pro-enhanced patch) and PS4 games.
In the future, thanks to this new console, 8K PS5 Pro games and ray-tracing games will become the norm. Sony no longer advertises the PS5 is an 8K console on the box (it used to). That remains true of the PS5 Pro box. But there’s an 8K output mode among the PS5 Pro settings, so it is present on the new console.
PS5 Pro specs and design
The PS5 Pro includes an internal 2TB SSD, which more than doubles the storage of the original PS5 (825GB) and PS5 Slim (1TB). Yet, the actual console is smaller in size – though not as small as the PS5 Slim. It’s somewhere in between, but, importantly, the new PlayStation finally fits in my media cabinet because it’s significantly shorter than the original. For what it’s worth, the PS5 Pro feels a lot lighter, too.
PS5 Pro contains an extra 2GB of RAM dedicated to system resources compared to the original PS5. That won’t mean too much to you right now, but down the line, that additional memory will mean developers can make even better PS5 Pro games. They don’t have to reserve a slice of the overall 16GB of RAM for system overhead. For this reason, I can’t wait to see GTA 6 on PS5 Pro next year.
Where I’m skeptical of the PS5 Pro
*Record scratch* …But the PS5 Pro is overpriced. Sony is technically charging $300 more for its mid-cycle console refresh than the PS5 Digital at launch, and it’s $100 too much for most PlayStation gamers. I predict a $100 PS5 Pro price drop will happen next year, and sales will pick up (much like PSVR 2, which dropped in price this year, and sales suddenly surged by 2,000%).
It’s hard to get over the fact that even at $700, there’s no disc drive included with the PS5 Pro. It’s an optional $80 purchase and is currently hard to find in stock. And Sony couldn’t be bothered to throw in a $30 vertical stand (also difficult to find in stock).
A disc-less PS5 Pro only benefits Sony, which controls the PlayStation Store prices. It not only cuts out Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, Target and GameStop, but the lack of competition means PS5 games often cost $20 more at the PlayStation Store vs some retailers in the US. It’s not a great sign for the future of gaming.
For some unexplained reason, Sony changed the latching mechanism on the PS5 Pro console covers, meaning you’ll need to buy a whole new set of plates to customize this new console. These covers are roughly the same size as the PS5 Slim plates, but I tried attaching them and they just don’t fit. Luckily, you can hot-swap your old PS5 SSD for additional storage besides the 2TB SSD that’s built in.
Is PS5 Pro worth the upgrade?
The larger PS5 Pro GPU offers 45% faster rendering than the original PS5, which is how many (but not all) PS5 Pro-enhanced games can achieve that 4K 60fps with “fidelity” graphics. That said, not everyone with a PS5 will appreciate the PS5 Pro’s performance upgrade simply because their TV or monitor isn’t large enough. I’m also waiting to see how PSVR 2 on PS5 Pro changes Sony’s VR commitment, if at all.
Trying out the PS5 Pro on multiple TV sizes – 55 inches, 65 inches, and 98 inches – I could appreciate the extra detail of the PS5 Pro on the larger TVs. The same rule of thumb applies to monitors. Anything beyond the popular 27-inch monitor size will display the extra pixels and ray tracing more clearly. Otherwise, you can get by with performance mode and wait for the Sony PS6 release date in a few years.
More PS5 Pro review testing this week
I’m spending time recording more gameplay footage to show where PS5 Pro and PS5 differ, as we’ve seen a great PS5 Slim sale coming this Black Friday. That Spider-Man four-way comparison is just the beginning of our deep dive.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was just patched this weekend, so I want to spend a little more time seeing how one of the most significant new games of 2024 performs on the PS5 Pro in 120Hz mode.
Right now, I can tell you that Sony’s system is easily the best way to navigate the debate on fidelity vs. performance graphics modes and get the best of both worlds. If you never cared about playing PS5 games in performance mode, then PS5 Pro isn’t for you. $700 is a steep price for a slight edge in graphics. But, for everyone else, on a big TV, PS5 Pro has enough wow factor to be my preferred way to game on a console.
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