Is the Pro a less expensive gaming alternative to a PC?
Is it an upgrade for todays PS5 users?
Or is it some unexpected pinnacle of console gaming perfection that should be the envy of any modern gamer?
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Our PlayStation 5 Pro review is here to answer these big questions.
As to the first: no.
Thats fine, because a console shouldnt be a PC.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The second question depends on how much you value graphical subtleties and higher framerates.
Most games currently sporting the Enhanced label can run at better framerates even with additional ray tracing effects.
Some games benefit more than others.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Pros
Cons
But the PS5 Pro is still better.
Really, if youre a PlayStation devotee, this $700 console is a $780 equipment.
If money is no object, then of course the PS5 Pro is the better console.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Theres some gravy to savor before Thanksgiving.
Itsalready on salebefore Black Friday.
With the additional slits running through the center, you could imagine the console as a white shark.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Its a quiet sea beast, at that.
Setup for the Pro is as simple as the regular PS5.
The lack of disc drive is a stark reminder of the PS5 Pros high price tag.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Our review unit didnt come with one, but luckily we had our PS5 Slim model handy.
After some surgery, we attached it to the new model.
Even that is not enough.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Youre required to register the disc drive on the new console, which of course requires an internet connection.
Its too much extra effort just to play the physical versions of the games you ostensibly own.
Its a predatory move that we hope Sony doesnt continue in the future.
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Occasionally, some games will refer to the Pro Enhanced graphics in their setting menus.
Without that, there would be nothing during use to tell you youre using a more expensive gear.
What you wont find on the list are recentgames likeAstro Bot.
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
The PlayStation 5 Pros big enhancements include better ray tracing capabilities in some games while targeting higher framerates.
Now, they look and play differently with those same options.
I would be surprised if FromSoftwares latest title doesnt get the enhanced treatment before the end of 2025.
What about other games that will likely never get Sonys special sauce?
I tested it with my PS5 version ofDeathloop.
The game is normally locked at 60 FPS under the default Performance mode.
Well wait and see if more games see big improvement on the Pro versus the PS5.
At least we can stop pretending anybody is going out of their way to buy an 8K TV.
The console makes it clear this will only work in some games.
Sony doesnt say exactly which titles benefit most.
In our tests theres only very minor improvement in quality compared to what you would get on regular PS5.
Edges did seem sharper on the new console, but the difference is minuscule.
Sony didnt touch the PS5s CPU capabilities and instead focused all its effort on improving GPU performance.
A GPU-dependent title will benefit more than others.
Many games, even the enhanced titles, look near-equivalent to their PS5 counterparts.
The most significant upgrade is merely the higher framerates youll get thanks to the improved hardware.
The game feels silky smooth, akin to what you get when playing on a capable PC.
Without PSSR anti-aliasing, there was a bump of 10 to 15 FPS in the scenes I played.
On a regular PS5,Jedi Survivors Performance mode looks jagged and awful by comparison.
Our Jedi hero Cal Kestis runs as fast as a headless chicken, and looks the part too.
In the first few campaign missions, the game performed 80 to 100 FPS outside of 120 Hz mode.
The campaign on normal PS5 is capped at 60 FPS.
Ive playedHorizon: Forbidden Weston the original PS5 and on PC, all for the sake of benchmarking.
In this mode, the game hovered back and forth between 58 and 70 FPS.
Theres no question on that front.
Ive read a few takes that compare the PS5 Pro to a gaming PC.
The big distinction between a gaming PC and the PS5 Pro is price.
The PS5 Pro is still just a console, one that is beholden to Sonys ecosystem.
But it is an upgrade overall.
What it also proves is that the regular, slim-model PlayStation 5 is still a quality console.
Playing the PS5 Pro, I concluded that I can live without all the extra graphical capabilities.
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