In-Depth Look at PlayStation 5 Pro Specs: PS5 Architect Mark Cerny Addresses ‘FLOPflation’ Misconceptions

Yesterday, PlayStation shared a fascinating video featuring Mark Cerny, the brilliant mind behind the architecture of the PS5 Pro, giving a detailed technical seminar from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s headquarters. In this presentation, Mark delves into the intricacies of the PS5 Pro’s hardware, tackling some of the swirling rumors about the new console. He spends a bit of time clearing up the confusion around the so-called “FLOPflation,” a term that popped up when an inaccurate 33.5 TFLOPs figure circulated due to a misunderstanding by someone who leaked info, mistakenly thinking the console fully embraced the RDNA 3 architecture.

Setting the record straight, the PS5 Pro clocks in at 16.7 TFLOPs, stepping up from the PS5’s 10 TFLOPs. On another note, some pre-release rumblings were spot on, pointing out that the PS5 Pro hits 300 TOPS with 8-bit calculations, and 67 TFLOPs with 16-bit figures. As Mark explains, Sony’s version of AMD’s RDNA 2, dubbed RDNA 2.X, blends some elements of RDNA 3 but cleverly retains enough of the original architecture, meaning no need for developers to rewrite existing code for the new system.

Mark highlights the PS5 Pro’s standout upgrades, notably its enhanced Ray Acceleration framework using BVH8 (Bounding Volume Hierarchy) and a refined “Stack management in hardware.” This translates to graphics shader code being more efficient and straightforward, boosting the new system’s overall performance.

For those not familiar, BVH plays a crucial role in 3D rendering by managing bounding boxes to handle tasks like reflection calculations. On the PS5, they used BVH4, which grouped bounding boxes in fours for RT (Ray Tracing) calculations. In contrast, the PS5 Pro steps it up to BVH8, allowing eight bounding boxes. Plus, the Ray Intersection Engine has seen a boost, moving from dealing with 4 boxes and a single triangle on the PS5 to 8 boxes and 2 triangles on the PS5 Pro.

These advancements in the PlayStation 5 Pro’s ray tracing technology, made possible by a highly-customized RDNA 2 GPU, offer notable enhancements in the way light reflects off curved and uneven surfaces, though improvements are modest for shadows and flat surfaces.

For those hungry for more technical insights, the complete 37-minute video is a gold mine, rich with behind-the-scenes knowledge about the console market and the cutting-edge tech driving competition.