The PlayStation 5, Sony’s latest-generation video games console, typically runs games better than Microsoft’s Xbox Series X due to its shader compiler and API, the latter of which is said to be faster than the competition’s, according to new details about the two systems that have been overheard by the crew at Digital Foundry. The Xbox Series X, which Microsoft launched in November 2020, is advertised by the company as being the world’s most powerful console ever, delivering 12 teraflops of GPU power via its 1.825 GHz custom RDNA 2 GPU with 52 CUs from AMD.
From a transcript:
- “One of the big ones that we’ve heard referenced multiple times now is the shader compiler on the PS5 side is just extremely fast and optimized.”
- “It gets pretty complex, but it makes better use of the actual silicon in a way that allows the PS5 to speedier performance. That seems to be a huge thing.”
- “Obviously, Microsoft wouldn’t be sleeping on that, they’re clearly putting in the work on that, but so is Sony, and developers just seem to prefer Sony’s implementation for this.”
- “Along those same lines, the PS5’s main API also seems to be quite fast, faster than what Microsoft’s doing with DirectX.”
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Microsoft on its flagship console:
Xbox Series X, the most powerful next-generation console, empowers developers to deliver on their creative visions and dreams. It packs an unprecedented 12 teraflops of GPU power and enables new technologies and features like framerates up to 120 fps, hardware-accelerated Direct X raytracing, variable rate shading, and Quick Resume, which enables players to resume exactly where they left off, across multiple titles, ensuring they can get right back to the fun in an instant. Xbox Series X delivers a new level of fidelity, immediacy, precision and accuracy never before seen in console gaming.