Is it worth upgrading your base PlayStation 5?

The discovery of the upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro Model has generated both excitement and criticism, and a lot of focus is on the question of how much value it brings to the table. The idea of ​​a mid-generation Pro upgrade was put into place during the last console generation, with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X offering significant boosts to consoles struggling to meet high resolution and performance targets on some games. It’s not surprising that Sony is continuing the tradition, but this does not necessarily mean that an upgrade is worthwhile.

The PS5 has enjoyed a successful console generation in terms of sales so far, consistently impressing despite initial supply shortages and many jokes about its arguably anemic selection of killer apps. Unlike the PS4, however, the PS5 isn’t in need of an upgrade to handle most of its current library without significant compromises. A PS5 Pro might have to bring a lot to the table to make double-dipping worthwhileEven if it can be an appealing option for those who have not invested in a system.

The PS5 Pro focuses on the GPU and scaling

The CPU is not the target of the PS5 Pro

According to the official PlayStation Blog, The big upgrade lies in the GPUwhich should be capable of “Up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay” Thanks to additional computing units and faster memory. The CPU, on the other hand, is getting a higher frequency mode rather than a real change in hardware. This comes with the trade-off of taking a bit of power away from the GPU, but it could help games that are particularly CPU reliant get a boost from the PS5 Pro.

The most obvious upgrades to think about gameplay might be framerate and resolution, but it looks like Sony is making a push for developers to use the extra power for improved ray tracing features. This advanced method of simulating lighting is officially supported on the PS5 and appears in a number of games, but the intensive performance demands that come with ray tracing often make its implementation minimal or non-existent. The PS5 Pro is apparently using “Even more powerful ray tracing“ Which can be cast at much faster speeds than the standard PS5 is capable of.

Another important inclusion is PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling (PSSR), which appears to be Sony’s alternative to the AI ​​scaling solutions offered by Nvidia and AMD. This tech uses machine learning, which makes it closer to Nvidia DLSS than to AMD FSR. For those not used to it, this is a good thing, as DLSS outperforms FSR in some key capabilities, despite the two options being equally competitive overall.

This scaling tech could be the key to making the PS5 Pro experience feel much different From the standard console. Scaling solutions can only do so much if the game is internally rendered at a low resolution, but when it comes to punching something up from 1080p to 4k or similar tasks, it’s an easy way to deliver a crisp output with a smooth framerate. Minimal compromises.

That’s how big the PS5 Pro improvements are

60 FPS is an easier goal, but not necessarily a universal goal

A PS4 Pro technical presentation available on the PlayStation YouTube channel highlights an emphasis on 60 FPS gameplay, focusing on games that offer 30 FPS Fidelity modes and 60 FPS Performance modes on the standard PS5. Games like The last of us part 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2And Ratchet & Clank: Rift apart There can be relatively similar visuals at 60 FPS on the PS5 Pro to what the standard PS5 can manage at 30 FPS, making it a potentially meaningful upgrade for those who value both high framerates and maximum detail.

A particularly strong example of the change can be found in Final Fantasy 7 RebirthWhich features a disappointingly blurry performance mode on the standard PS5 that seems to be the result of an inadequate scaling solution. A Digital Foundry Video available on YouTube goes into detail about the difference, praising a vast uptick in clarity that lets the game’s graphics properly shine at 60 FPS. This difference may not matter to everyone, however It’s promising for those who find the current Performance Mode options on PS5 underwhelming.

As analyzed by Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter in a Eurogamer In this article, the improvements offered by the PS5 Pro may still run into major limitations. assuming Grand Theft Auto 6 Running at 30 FPS on the standard PS5, it can be expected to hit the same framerate on the PS5 Pro thanks to the lack of a significant CPU upgrade. Even if it features some ray-tracing enhancement or enhanced resolution scaling, being unable to push the compromise on what is slated to be the biggest title of 2025 makes it hard to argue that the PS5 Pro is changing the game.

The PS5 Pro price may be too steep to upgrade

An astronomical MSRP makes the purchase unappealing

What might make the PS5 Pro a particularly tough buy is the priceThat sits at $699.99 for a discless version of the console. It’s vastly more expensive than the PS4 Pro, which matched the initial MSRP of the basic PS4 at $399.99 and included a disc drive. Purchasing an attachable disc drive for the PS5 Pro adds $79.99 to the price, and a vertical stand carries an additional $29.99 tag.

That’s a huge investment, even for those trading in a console for the upgrade. Current trade values ​​at Gamestop are around $300 for disc PS5s and $330 for consoles with disc drives. Reinvesting that into a PS5 knocks the effective price down to $370 to $400 (excluding a disk drive), which certainly seems more manageable. Assuming the PS5 was purchased for $400+ to begin with, however, that leaves the overall cost of investing in this generation of PlayStation at $770 or more for the average person upgrading.

With a disc drive in the mix, it’s also worth considering how close the PS5 Pro comes in price to a proper gaming PC that won’t be outmoded by the release of a subsequent generation in a few years. Individual PC components can be upgraded without replacing the entire system, and paying something similar for a console without that advantage is a hard sell. It might make sense for die-hard PlayStation fans, but brand preference and exclusions definitely do some of the heavy lifting to make the valuation work.

finally, The PS5 Pro seems more likely to be a good choice for newcomers than a worthwhile investment for current PS5 ownersThose particularly enthused by improvements in ray-tracing and potential resolution may get a lot out of the system, but the PS5 Pro isn’t ready to double the framerates of struggling games. While there’s nothing wrong with chasing the best way to play games, anyone currently on the fence may not have enough reason to commit. PlayStation 5 Pro upgrade.

Sources: PlayStation Blog, Playstation/YouTube, Digital Foundry/YouTube, Eurogamer