The PlayStation 5 has been on the market for months, and a recently released die shot reveals that Sony's state-of-the-art console is missing a long-rumored AMD RDNA feature. Much of the hype surrounding the PS5 pre-release was its impressive hardware, such as features like DualSense controller haptic feedback and adaptive triggers to increase immersion and dynamic soundtracks that change on the fly depending on what a player is doing and how well they're doing it.
As part of this marketing-heavy lead-up to launch, the PS5’s performance and hardware efficiency was said to be superior to even top-of-the-line gaming PCs, and the console largely owes these claims to tech like its upgradable, proprietary solid-state drive. Of course, the main component at the heart of any console is its central processing chip, and now everyone has gotten their best look yet at the one that powers the PlayStation 5 for themselves.
Wccftech reports that Fritzchens Fritz, a tech photographer specializing in taking close-up pictures of high-end microchips, posted the PS5’s first die shot images on Twitter. According to these photos, the chip at the core of the PS5 is an RDNA 2-powered AMD Radeon RX 6000 GPU, though this one lacks the Infinity Cache that was previously rumored. The cache it does include provides a 256-bit 16GB GDDR6 memory with 448GB memory bandwidth, as noted in a specification chart provided by Wccftech. The absent AMD Infinity Cache and other flourishes can be seen below in Fritz’s PS5 photos:
AMD says that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused some issues in manufacturing processing chips like the ones used in the PlayStation 5, though that hasn't stopped Sony from enjoying one of the biggest console launches in recent memory. The company hopes to continue this success well into the current year by selling a whopping 14.8 Million PS5s in 2021, though continuing problems involving retail stock shortages and online scalpers will be likely obstacles in achieving this goal.
Still, it’s always fascinating to take a look under the hood of a highly sought-after console like the PS5 to see what makes it tick, and Fritzchens Fritz’s impressive die shot of the system's central processing chip is no exception. While AMD's chip falls somewhat short of what tech enthusiasts were hoping for in terms of its lack of Infinity Cache support, it's still amazing that such a small piece of technology can power the graphical wonders that players experience every time they turn on their PlayStation 5.
Source: Wccftech, Fritzchens Fritz