PS5 in trouble? 12 teraflops of GPU power confirmed for the Xbox Series X

A few media outlets are already forecasting the doom of the PS5 now that Microsoft has revealed a bit more about the next-gen Xbox Series X console. The device will be able to rely on 12 TFLOPS of graphics processing power, it will utilize variable rate shading (VRS), offer hardware-based DirectX ray-tracing, and it comes with a Quick Resume feature to enable gamers to get straight back into their game when a pause has been required. Smart Delivery ensures Xbox owners get the optimal version of a purchased title for whatever console they are playing on. It’s a fierce and bullish post by Phil Spencer, which is almost saying “come on, Sony…what have you got?” But this doesn’t quite spell trouble for the PS5 really.

The Xbox Series X news post continues with further enticing tidbits such as mention of 120 fps support, the inclusion of a custom next-gen SSD, and the fact that the console delivers the best AMD can offer in regard to CPU and GPU technologies thanks to Zen 2 and RDNA 2, respectively. But it seems a bit premature to leap to the conclusion that the PS5 is now beaten before it’s even known exactly what the console is bringing to the table. It’s always been widely expected that the Xbox Series X would be more powerful, generally speaking, than the PlayStation 5 anyway. However, a recent survey showed it was price (affordability) and backwards-compatible gaming that were the most important aspects of a next-gen console purchase – not the amount of teraflops a device is packing.

There’s no doubting the Xbox Series X is shaping up to be a mighty console. The post adequately highlights how much technology has advanced: The GPU of the Xbox Series X offers twice the performance of the Xbox One X and no less than eight times as much as 2013’s Xbox One. Speculation of how much GPU performance the PS5 will offer has ranged from a conservative estimate of 9 TFLOPS to a rather outrageous 14 TFLOPS. It’s likely the eventual figure will only be slightly less than that of the Xbox Series X, and many of the features Spencer mentions will also appear with the Sony rival. The final design and price of the PS5 are going to be more important to many customers than the odd TFLOP here or there.