Popular Consoles GPUs: PS4, PS5, XBOX One, Series X

Gaming consoles are some of the most fun things to play. Each new release of a popular gaming console such as a PS (Playstation) or the Xbox offers increased graphics performance.

Overall, each new generation of these popular consoles has a dramatically better graphics card. TFLOPs is a metric that measures GPU performance. As an example, the PS4 can process 1.4 TFLOPS, whereas the PS5 can process 10.3 TFLOPS., this is a 10x increase in graphics performance.

There are a few different metrics to compare graphics cards, and how well a console performs also depends on the RAM, and clock rate of the processor but the GPU plays a major role in a console’s performance.

Below, I will explain what GPU is in the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and how they compare to each other.

What GPU Does the PS5 Have

The PS5 has significantly better performance than the PS4. This is due to the performance of the processor but also the performance of the graphics card. Here’s specifically what graphics card the PS5 has.

The PS5 has a graphics card custom-designed for it by the company AMD. It can output a maximum of 2.23 GHz and can process 10.3 TFLOPs. This is 10 times more powerful than the GPU in the PS4. It’s equivalent to the GPU in the Xbox Series X.

This means games can display much more in-depth and realistic graphics, which helps load the game faster such as in-between ‘levels’, and when there’s a cutscene. It also ensures the framerate doesn’t slow, which has the effect of causing very brief pauses in the video output. Often referred to as ‘stuttering’, that interrupts the impressiveness of the game.

The PS5 GPU Is Very Different Than a Pc’s GPU

It’s important to note that the graphics card (GPU) in Playstation consoles is designed and made very differently from those used in computers. On a computer, a new graphics card can be installed or swapped out. Whereas, on the Playstation consoles the graphics card is built into the CPU as one part of the console.

Therefore, it can’t be swapped out. In technical electronic lingo, the CPU and GPU of Playstation consoles are built on the same die. A die is one ‘block’ in a circuit. Since there are built together they can’t be separated.

Although a console technically has a graphics card, it’s not a conventional graphics card that you can simply buy an upgrade for. Or, upgrade if you want to increase the performance. This CPU and GPU technology used in consoles is called an APU, which stands for ‘accelerated processing unit’.

To be more precise, the PS4 and PS5 have an APU rather than a separate CPU and GPU. But, this APU has performance metrics that can be measured in the same way as a GPU such as a clock rate, and TFLOPs.

What GPU Is Equivalent to the PS5

Although, the GPU for the PS5 is custom-made for it, here are some GPUs that are equivalent.

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Gaming GPU, Radeon Pro WX 8200 (Vega), and GeForce RTX 3060 are equivalent to PS5’s GPU, they all produce a similar number of TFLOPS as the PS5’s GPU (10 TFLOPS).

List of PC Graphics Cards Than Can Beat the PS5

The PS5 has a very powerful graphics card, and when playing it it’s hard not to be impressed with how realistic the graphics are. With that said, what graphics cards are even better than the GPU in the PS5? Here’s a list:

EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Kingpin Hybrid Gaming,
Asus Rog Strix GeForce RTX 3090 OC,
Galax GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Hof Premium,
MSI GeForce RTX 3080.

They can process around 30 TFLOPs, whereas, the PS5 graphics card can process around 10.3 TFLOPs.

What GPU Does the PS4 Have

The PS4 has a custom AMD Radeon graphics card, that can operate at a maximum of 911 MHz, and can process a maximum of 1.84 FLOPS. The PS4 Pro is about 10% more powerful.

As you’re likely aware, AMD is one of the top computer parts manufacturers, they have designed something custom for the PS4 that is built into the GPU into what is called an APU.

What GPU Is Equivalent to the PS4

The PS4 was very good for its days, and is still really enjoyable and plays games well even today. To see how the GPU on a PS4 compares to graphics cards for PCs, here’s what GPU is the same as that of a PS4.

The Radeon Pro WX 3200 (Polaris) made by AMD is equivalent to the GPU on the PS4. The GPU on a PS4 can process 1.84 TFLOPs. Top graphics card companies could produce GPUs that can process 2.0 or more TFLOPs in 2010. So, most gaming GPUs after 2010 will be equivalent to or better than the GPU on a PS4.

What GPU Does the Xbox Series X Have

The Xbox Series X was released in late 2020 and had more RAM and a faster processor than the previous Xbox consoles before it was released. To understand this console better, here’s what GPU the Xbox Series X has.

The Xbox Series X has a custom-designed AMD Radeon RDNA 2 GPU, it’s capable of cycling at 1.825 GHz and processing 12.16 TFLOPS. By comparison, the Xbox Series S has about 30% of the performance that an Xbox Series X has.

The reason the Xbox Series X has a custom-built AMD graphics card is that it’s technically an APU. Rather than a GPU is a separate component. I explained this in more detail above, under the heading about why Playstation console GPUs are different from computer GPUs.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the specs of an Xbox Series X and an Xbox Series S:

Xbox Series X – 1.825 GHz, 12.16 TFLOPS
Xbox Series S – 1.565 GHz, 4.01 TFLOPS

As you may know, the Xbox Series S was released to be a more affordable option for an Xbox and is for customers who aren’t too fussed with having the absolute best Xbox console. It’s cheaper because the specs on it are better than previous Xbox consoles but isn’t as good as the Xbox Series X.

As well as, a slightly slower processor and a GPU that offers significantly less performance it also has about 60% of the RAM that an Xbox Series X has. It has 10 GB of RAM, whereas, and Xbox Series X has 16GB of RAM.

As you can see the clock speed is quite similar and the Xbox Series S and is slower by about 20%. But, the TFLOPS is only ⅓ that of the Xbox Series X.

What GPU Is Equivalent to the Xbox Series X

AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (Vega), and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 are equivalent to Xbox Series X’s GPU, they can process around 12 TFLOPs.

List of Pc Graphics Cards Better Than the Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X has a very powerful graphics card, processor, and a high amount of RAM. But, there are many graphics cards that are much better than it. Below is a list of just some of them:

Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6900,
Gigabyte Radeon Rx 6800 XT,
EVGA GeForce RTX 3090 Kingpin Hybrid Gaming,
Asus Rog Strix GeForce RTX 3090 OC
Galax GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Hof Premium
MSI GeForce RTX 3080.

There are now many many more graphics cards that are FAR superior to the graphics card in an Xbox Series X.

What GPU Does the Xbox One Have

Xbox One has an AMD Radeon GPU custom designed for it with a clock rate of 853 MHz, the Xbox One S has a clock rate of 914 MHz, and the Xbox One X has a clock rate of 1.172 GHz.

What GPU Is Equivalent to the XBOX One

Radeon Pro WX 3200 (Polaris) is the closes graphics card on the market performance-wise to the GPU in the Xbox One, it can process 1.4 TFLOPs while the Xbox One can process 1.84 TFLOPs.

The GPU in the Xbox One has an almost identical graphics performance to the PS4 while the Xbox Series X and PS5 have approximately 10 times the graphics performance.

Sources

Isac Vasile Claudiu

I started building and fixing PCs in high school. After a couple of years of offering consultancy to a PC repair shop, I became the goto guy for all my acquaintances for PC/Laptop related buying advice or troubleshooting.