Further PlayStation 5 Pro specs leak, improvements to CPU speed, GPU, RAM, and audio

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The CPU gets a 'High Frequency Boost' mode, and the GPU sees its own performance boost.

PlayStation 5
(Image credit: Pexels)

Recently, we covered a massive PS5 Pro leak that revealed a 45% higher raster and up to 4X higher ray-tracing render performance, alongside "PSSR" AI upscaling for all Pro games. This leak was first dropped through a YouTuber, but Insider Gaming verified the leak's authenticity before we covered it— and now, Insider Gaming has a look at the rest of PS5 Pro's core specs. As ever with leaks, take the news with a pinch of salt. Until they are officially announced by Sony, the specs are nebulous.

Now, before you get too excited, this is where the "Pro" nature of the console refresh really starts to reveal itself. While it seems the GPU has been fully upgraded to a new architecture (considering AI acceleration and drastically better ray tracing) for a whopping 45% performance bump, the other upgrades are a little more modest than that.

  • CPU
    • Same as PS5, but "High Frequency Mode" boosts the CPU to 3.85 GHz
  • GPU
    • 45% better rendering performance than PS5
    • 2-3x Ray tracing performance (Insider Gaming states that this could be 4x in some cases
    • 33.5 Teraflops
    • PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling) 
    • *k Resolution support in future SDK
    • Custom machine learning architecture
    • AI accelerator capable of 300 TOPS of 8-bit computation, 67 TFLOPS of 16-bit floating point
  • RAM
    • 576 GB/s (18 GT/s) versus PS5 448 GB/s (14 GT/s)
  • Audio
    • ACV runs at a higher clock rate

Source: Insider Gaming

For example, the CPU in the PlayStation 5 Pro is slated to be identical to the 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU already present inside the PS5, which is roughly equivalent to an 8-core Ryzen 7 3700X, in theory. However, there is now a "High CPU Frequency Mode" that increases CPU TDP, raises clock speed by 10% to 3.85 GHz, and only costs a measly 1% GPU performance.

Considering how CPU-bound framerate often is (particularly with upscaling in the equation), this mode will likely be key for a smooth experience in end-generation games.

The PS5 Pro also isn't stated to come with a memory capacity upgrade yet, which could be because that information hasn't yet leaked or upgrading capacity would cause deeper compatibility issues with PS5 and PS4 titles. However, the RAM is confirmed to run at up to 18 GT/s versus PS5's 14 GT/s, which is a 28% increase in memory bandwidth— nothing to scoff at! This shared memory bandwidth boost is likely necessary for pushing high resolutions, even upscaled.

Finally, the Insider Gaming piece has confirmed that the ACV (audio processor) in the PlayStation 5 Pro runs at a higher clock speed than PS5, and expected to have 35% more performance. While PS5's 3D Audio has already been praised by some gamers, it seems Sony thinks an internal bump was needed. Sony did get its start in audio, after all.

With any luck, the speculated release date of Fall 2024 for PS5 Pro will soon be met with a concrete announcement from Sony. If these specs leaks are genuine, it looks like they have a ,mid-gen console refresh to be proud of, as long as the pricing is right.

Christopher Harper
Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Heat_Fan89
    And lets rewind back to the 2016 PS4 Pro. That device was pretty much ignored by the devs once they released their games on the vanilla PS4. Gamers were begging for a serious performance boost in games like Bloodborne i.e. 60FPS in 1080p. It never happened because in 2016 i'm pretty sure the new games were being created for the unannounced PS5. I bought a PS4 Pro and there's not a whole lot between that and a regular PS4.

    Perhaps Sony is trying to generate slagging sales before the PS6. I will pass on a mid-cycle release and will wait for the next step which will be the PS6.
    Reply
  • CelicaGT
    Heat_Fan89 said:
    And lets rewind back to the 2016 PS4 Pro. That device was pretty much ignored by the devs once they released their games on the vanilla PS4. Gamers were begging for a serious performance boost in games like Bloodborne i.e. 60FPS in 1080p. It never happened because in 2016 i'm pretty sure the new games were being created for the unannounced PS5. I bought a PS4 Pro and there's not a whole lot between that and a regular PS4.

    Perhaps Sony is trying to generate slagging sales before the PS6. I will pass on a mid-cycle release and will wait for the next step which will be the PS6.
    Had a PS4 Pro as well. Many later games had exclusive graphics modes just for the Pro, you simply had to check the settings menu. I expect it'll be the same with the PS5 Pro, possibly higher levels of RT etc, seeing as how one of the improvements touted in the leaks I have seen is vastly improved RT performance.
    Reply
  • Heat_Fan89
    CelicaGT said:
    Had a PS4 Pro as well. Many later games had exclusive graphics modes just for the Pro, you simply had to check the settings menu. I expect it'll be the same with the PS5 Pro, possibly higher levels of RT etc, seeing as how one of the improvements touted in the leaks I have seen is vastly improved RT performance.
    Yes, I am aware of that and it made a subtle difference in the games I own because I still have a vanilla PS4 and PS4 Pro so I compared them. For me, it wasn't worth the upgrade. Now if I hadn't owned a launch PS4, then I would have easily jumped on the PS4 Pro.
    Reply
  • CelicaGT
    Heat_Fan89 said:
    Yes, I am aware of that and it made a subtle difference in the games I own because I still have a vanilla PS4 and PS4 Pro so I compared them. For me, it wasn't worth the upgrade. Now if I hadn't owned a launch PS4, then I would have easily jumped on the PS4 Pro.
    Fair enough. In many cases it was simply a 60fps mode, which was nice, but probably not worth it for many. I do believe the Pro had faster WiFi too, now that I think of it. Our was on a wired connection anyways..
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    Would only be worth it if it allows for higher frame rates with VRR, but most games are locked to 60fps. If devs ignore the PS5 pro, then the extra gpu power won't really matter.
    Reply
  • Giroro
    Hopefully they put it in a package that is much smaller, better looking, and less expensive than the current PS5.
    If not, then I'll have no need for it in my life.
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    Giroro said:
    Hopefully they put it in a package that is much smaller, better looking, and less expensive than the current PS5.
    If not, then I'll have no need for it in my life.
    My assumption is that with a higher clock speed and a beefier gpu, they'll need a bigger cooling solution. So it's doubtful it'll be smaller.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    I hope the PS5 Pro comes in a smaller package. The "supersized wifi router shape" they went with hasn't aged well at all.

    I think the console's biggest problem right now is its games. I'm having trouble identifying new games to play. I feel like I only see AAA open world games and remakes on PS5. There's not enough content variety! I am getting lots of use out of the PS5's 4k bluray player though.
    Reply
  • Lucky_SLS
    I am more interested in the huge NPU unit and AMD touting its AI upscaling performance. It could even ease up the GPU with ray tracing calculations. Hence the 4x RT performance claim?
    Reply