In the meantime, more and more developers are commenting on the PS5 and Xbox Series X after Sony and Microsoft have revealed at least some key data of their new hardware. This means that opinions of those who work directly with the consoles come into play.
One of them is from Ali Salehi, rendering engineer at Crytek, who concludes that the numbers on paper say nothing at all. In the end, he even thinks the PS5 is the better console because it was designed more specifically for its application. What is on the paper of the respective manufacturer is only given in the optimal case, which is rarely achieved in practice.
What most players cling to are the teraflop specifications of the Xbox Series X (13tf) and PS5 10 (tf), which makes the Xbox Series X look much better. However, these are only ideally achieved.
“The Teraflops indicate that a processor can be extremely efficient when it is in the best and most ideal condition. Teraflops belong to the ideal and theoretical conditions. In practice, however, the graphics card and console are a complex unit. Several elements must work together to make each part of the feed available to the other and to output one part to another. If one of these elements doesn’t work properly, the efficiency of the other part will decrease, ”says Salehi.
As an example, Salehi mentions the PS3, which had an extremely strong CPU, but the system itself was so complex that in the end it only slowed itself down. The PS3 was never able to reach the peak of efficiency and it was hardly possible to evaluate hardware based on its teraflop number.
“What Sony does with the PS5 is a lot more logical because they decide whether the frequency of the GPU will be higher or the frequency of the CPU at a certain time, depending on the processing load. On the other hand, it is a good thing that the X-Series has good cooling and can keep the frequency constant, but the practical freedom that Sony is given is a really big deal. ”
PS5 OS against Windows 10
Salehi does not say that the Xbox Series X cannot achieve this optimal performance, but he believes that it will not be possible in practice. The software also plays a major role, with Sony and Microsoft also taking different paths here.
Sony uses a specially developed operating system on the PS5, while Microsoft uses a modified version of Windows 10. The two could hardly be more different. According to Salehi, the developers have more options with the PS5 OS.
“As a programmer, I would say that the PS5 is better, and I don’t think you will find a programmer who will prefer the Xbox over the PS5. For the Xbox Series X, DirectX and Windows X have been packed into a console that is many years old, but for every new console that Sony has built, the software and APIs have been designed in every way as they wanted. It is in their interest and in our interest, since there is only one way to achieve everything, the best possible way. ”
When asked what his personal experience with the PS5 and Xbox Series X has been so far, it says:
“I can’t say too much at the moment, but I quote others who have already made public statements. Developers say the PS5 is the easiest console to program to achieve peak performance. In terms of software, programming on the PS5 is extremely easy and has many features that give developers complete freedom. All in all, the PS5 is the better (designed) console. ”
Whether one knows better how to use the power of the hardware at the end of a generation, Salehi assumes that it will be like every generation. The developers will be able to deal with it better, in the end the PS5 will probably have more problems processing higher resolutions, where he currently sees the Xbox Series X better positioned.
For all those who can’t do anything with the whole jumble of numbers and teraflops, Salehi says:
“The problem is with the person who made these public statements, which now need to be explained. This technical information is of no importance to the average user and is not a measurement criterion. ”
Whether the PS5 or Xbox Series X is the better console ultimately depends on the practical tests that have not yet existed.
Note: The interview with Ali Salehi was temporarily taken offline at his request, which is currently only available via the Google Cache.
