The PlayStation 5 Pro delivered better graphics and smoother frame rates than the standard PS5 in my testing.
Sean Booker/CNET
The original PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020, launching the current generation of gaming consoles. Three years later, the Slim model came for 2023, with the same performance but with a slight increase in storage capacity. Now, four years after the original PS5 debuted, we’ve gotten our first real step forward with the PlayStation 5 Pro.
The PS5 Pro, available on November 7 for $700 (£700, AU$1,200), enables higher graphical fidelity and improved ray tracing at much higher and smoother frame rates than the original version. It’s the most powerful gaming console on the market, but it’s also the most expensive. And that price doesn’t even get you a vertical stand ($30, sold separately). If you want to play actual PS5 games, you’ll need to buy an external drive from Sony (another $80).
At $200-$300 more than the base PS5, getting a Pro today is a bit like choosing a more expensive graphics processor for better visuals on a desktop PC. But is this worth the expense? To find out, I directly compared the PS5 Pro to its older siblings across a variety of games, including Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Spider-Man 2, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. In scene after scene, I saw enhanced detail without sacrificing smoothness, a combination that makes the PS5 Pro the highest-performing gaming console I’ve ever tested. Yes, it’s expensive, but for gamers who want the best experience, it may be worth the price.
Watch this: Sony PlayStation 5 Pro review: The most advanced gaming console ever
08:35 The design of the PlayStation 5 Pro is familiar, but with racing stripes
The PS5 Pro takes a lot of design cues from last year’s Slim model, and is itself a slimmer console that maintains the glowy plastic look of the original PS5. It has the same four outer panel design, but unfortunately, the panels are slightly different in size. This means that if you purchased any of PlayStation’s beautiful color palettes to customize your console, they won’t fit the new palette. It also uses exactly the same external drive, which is mounted on the side as the PS5 Slim consoles.
Compared to the PS5 Slim (left), the PS5 Pro isn’t much larger.
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Unlike the last two PS5 models, there’s only one version of the PS5 Pro – the digital-only option. In previous models, you could spend an additional $50 to $100 to purchase a controller that could read physical discs. Now, if you want the new PS5 Pro to have this functionality, you’ll need the $80 drive that was released last year. However, if you have a Slim model and are using an external drive, the same drive will work in your new device.
A close-up of those racing striped fins.
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The PlayStation 5 Pro is now slightly larger, falling between the original and Slim models in terms of dimensions. Now it has racing stripe-like fins on the side between the upper and lower plastic panels that vent a bit of air. Like the Slim, it has two USB-C ports on the front and two standard USB-A ports on the back. It can also be placed horizontally or vertically. It comes with two small plastic feet to lay it flat, but if you want it to stand upright, you’ll need to purchase the same $30 stand separately. You can still install your own solid-state drive, but Sony has doubled the internal storage to 2TB this time around. It also now supports Wi-Fi 7, the latest standard.
Sean Booker/CNETPS5 Pro has upgraded graphics, ray tracing, and increased AI
There are three main features that power the PlayStation 5 Pro’s improved graphics and performance. The first is the upgraded GPU. PlayStation states that it includes 67% more compute units and 28% faster memory compared to the standard PS5. This allows it to deliver gameplay 45% faster.
The second feature is advanced ray tracing that allows games to use more dynamic reflections and realistic lighting. Simply put, if you see parts of the environment accurately reflected in water, windows, or mirrors, that’s ray tracing in action. PlayStation states that it can now send rays at speeds double and sometimes triple the speed of the current PS5.
Lego Horizon Adventures looks great on the PS5 Pro.
Sean Booker/CNET
The last major feature is an AI upgrade, which Sony calls PlayStation Spectral Supersolution. This is a machine learning based technology that provides higher image clarity. It is mainly used to make games look sharper at higher resolutions, and it works automatically.
What do games look like on PS5 Pro?
On a standard PS5, you usually have two options to choose from when it comes to game visuals. Performance mode, which will lower the resolution, often to around 1080p, while increasing the frame rate, typically targeting 60fps. This allowed games to run more smoothly and often resulted in less dense environments and textures. The other option is Resolution mode (sometimes called Fidelity or Graphics), which raises the resolution to around 4K with the frame rate capped at 30fps.
After removing the cover, you can see the fan and SSD board.
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Thanks to the increased power of the Pro, games that have received an update can now aim for full 4K resolution while still hitting 60fps. Your games will look better, areas will be more detailed, and the game will still run as smoothly as possible without the trade-offs.
However, this does not eliminate the two graphics options. In fact, all the games I tested still featured both the Pro Performance and Pro Resolution options (some games rename either mode, but it’s basically between performance and graphical quality). For many of these games, the PS5 Pro only manages 4K 60 resolution, with some games, like EA Sports F1 24, advertised at 8K or 120fps. One quick caveat is that I don’t have an 8K TV, and my capture device maxes out at 4K 60, so I wasn’t able to test and demonstrate the performance capture options. Given the scarcity of 8K TVs, many gamers probably won’t take advantage of this just yet.
Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered operates in four different modes (click to enlarge).
Screenshots from Sean Booker/CNET
In Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, we can easily see the increased resolution in environments and textures, for example in denser foliage, compared to the standard PS5 performance mode. On the PS5 Pro, both Pro modes look very similar, but when slowed down, we can see how smooth the Pro Favors Performance mode is, with very similar graphical details.
Comparison of four versions of Spider-Man 2.
Screenshots from Sean Booker/CNET
In Spider-Man 2, we see more solid and numerous NPC shadows between the two Fidelity modes than their performance counterparts. We also see a livelier city, with more car traffic and NPCs walking around in the Pro model compared to the standard model. Naturally, the higher frame rate is there, making Spidey’s web-swinging look its best.
Here are four versions of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
Screenshots from Sean Booker/CNET
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart also features both modes, with the Performance Pro option targeting 60fps while maintaining high resolution. Fidelity mode drops the frame rate to 30 again, but adds various ray tracing effects instead. Pro gives a pretty big boost in artifact cleaning and texture density when we look at this close-up of Rivet. We see this again in this close-up of Ratchet, where the base PS5’s facial texture looks almost grainy compared to the Pro. When we look at very distant scenes, we see distant areas stay in focus, as well as more particles, such as confetti or crowds, appearing.
Another four-way split screen – this is EA Sports F1 24.
Screenshots from Sean Booker/CNET
EA Sports F1 24 is another good example of the amount of detail we see in scenes on the new Pro. The race track texture is much more detailed, especially in Pro’s quality mode. We also see more text in focus when looking at background elements when comparing console quality modes versus performance.
Although we’re seeing modest improvements for a number of games, the downside is that you won’t get this across the board. Just loading any PS5 game onto the PS5 Pro doesn’t guarantee that you’ll notice an improvement in performance, as developers have to go back and patch the improvements. For example, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, a game released in early 2024 that I saw a PS5 Pro demo last month, had a great-looking update. Originally, in performance mode, that game seemed almost ambiguous as to how much it lowered the resolution. However, this patch was not available for me to pick up when compiling this review.
Comparing the two versions of Spider-Man (PS4) on the base and Pro PS5 models.
Screenshots from Sean Booker/CNET
At launch, Sony said it would have around 50 titles that have been upgraded and play better on the PS5 Pro. Of course, there will be more support going forward, but that’s just something to keep in mind if you’re thinking about getting a professional on day one. I personally hope that both Final Fantasy 16 and Ghost of Tsushima, which are not on this list, will get updates in the future because I never had access to their DLC, and this would be the perfect excuse to download them again. It’s a bit disappointing that we don’t have any new first-party titles released with the launch of the new console in late 2024 to really get excited about.
However, we can look to older games for another new feature of the PS5 Pro – improved image quality for PS4 games. This is located in the console’s display and video settings and must be turned on. Doing so will enable system-wide image quality improvement for “some games.” I’m not sure of the full list of supported PS4 titles, but I took a look at 2018’s Spider-Man and saw graphical improvements. This is a really great addition for anyone with a large PS4 game collection. It’s something we’ve seen Xbox do with some backward compatibility efforts, and it’s nice to see PlayStation getting on board.
Is the PlayStation 5 Pro worth it?
The PlayStation 5 Pro is sold for $700. But remember, if you want to put it upright and have it read discs, you’ll need to pay another $30 and $80, respectively. That makes it the most expensive console we’ve seen hit retail — but I wouldn’t say it’s expensive.
From left to right, the original PS5, PS5 Pro, and PS5 Slim.
Sean Booker/CNET
When it comes to my purchase recommendation, it really depends on whether you already have a PS5. The basic console without a disc drive retails for $450. Increasing your storage capacity by another 1TB will likely cost around $100, so it really comes down to whether the graphics upgrade is worth $150. With Black Friday right around the corner, there’s a good chance the base PS5 will see some discounts, but I highly doubt the Pro will.
Personally, I think the upgrade is worth the price since you’ll also be future-proofing yourself over the next few years. Anyone who buys a PS5 Pro is basically guaranteed that they’ll be able to play the next decade of PlayStation games comfortably. Even if we see a PS6 in about four years, the install base on the PS5 is too high for Sony to abandon it, and we’re still seeing that now, with games like Call of Duty Black Ops 6 still launching on last-gen consoles like the PS4. last month.
If you already have a PS5, I think it’s better to save your money and not get the new one. Even as I was putting this review together, I was still surprised at how well the base model kept up with the Pro in many cases. But if you can find a good trade-in deal, or are considering getting your first PS5, I definitely think the Pro is worth it.
