Digital Foundry Hands-On Impressions with the PS4 Pro
Digital Foundry had three hours hands on time with the long-rumored PS4 Neo, now officially called the PlayStation 4 Pro. Some comments they made about this new platform can be found at the source link but will be sharing select quotes below.
Source: Digital Foundry via Eurogamer
Design of the System
But first, let’s talk about the actual box itself. It turns out that the PlayStation 4 CUH-2000 ‘Slim’ leak was even more significant than we realised. It was a preview of the design language that would carry across the entire PlayStation line, and the PS4 Pro (CUH-7000, designation fans) looks very much like a bigger brother of sorts – a bigger, fatter, triple-decker but with very similar design cues, right down to the collection of PlayStation symbols on the underside of the unit. Curiously, the LED strip-light found on the side of the CUH-1000 series PS4 has been relocated to the front of the machine, recessed into the lower ‘slash’. And yes, finally, we have a rear USB 3.0 port in addition to a brace at the front.
Power Boost and Graphics
The real question is the extent to which PlayStation 4 Pro actually delivers a palpable upgrade, and whether Sony’s hardware really can deliver a worthwhile experience for 4K displays. At a base level, we’ve already taken a look at the Polaris GPU technology andstress-tested it at multiple resolutions, finding that it is clearly not a native 4K capable part. However, there will be full 3840×2160 resolution software. Speaking to Naughty Dog at the event, we were told that The Last of Us Remastered – just like its base PS4 version – will have a 30Hz mode that features enhanced image quality. The existing PS4 game features higher resolution shadows maps and those are joined by a full, native 4K pixel count on the PS4 Pro. This drops down to a lower resolution at 60fps, where we’re told to expect improved performance compared to the original release on base hardware.