PlayStation 5 Will Be Based on AMD Ryzen and Navi, Sony Confirms

Sony's next PlayStation, rumored to be called the PlayStation 5, will run on a third-gen AMD Ryzen processor and a custom variant of AMD Radeon's Navi graphics. That graphics card will allow for ray tracing on consoles. It will also use an SSD and be backwards compatiable. The details were revealed to Wired by Mark Cerny, the system architect.

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More specifically, the CPU will have eight cores and be based on AMD's 7nm Zen 2 architecture. And the Navi-based GPU will put the PS5 in the position of being the first console to support ray tracing. The system will also support 8K graphics, though there are very few TVs and monitors that actually support that resolution.

The report says that AMD's processor will also have what Wired calls a "custom unit for 3D audio" that Cerny suggested will make players feel more immersed. This may provide a boost for PlayStation VR, which Cerny told Wired will work with the new system.

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.