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PS4 Pro Review: A console of missed opportunities?

JackDoyne

So i've treated myself to the new Glacier White PS4 Pro, was it worth it? 

 

 

Introduction: 

For the better of two years all of my gaming has come from my gaming PC, i decided PC gaming was the way forward after the rather disastrous launch of the Xbox One, selling my Xbone and buying a GTX 970 was the best decision i've ever made, i got bored of the constant crashes and piss poor performance, so a higher end graphics card was the obvious choice for me, however most of my life i've been console based and enjoyed many years on legendary Xbox 360 and as you can gather i've become attached to some of the more casual games that are less popular on PC like FIFA and Call of Duty to mention a few, so a PS4 Pro was my choice when i was looking at a new console, due to the bad experience with the Xbox one i couldn't bring myself to buy one again, plus most of my friends own a PS4 so it made the choice even easier, but do i regret my decision? don't worry i'll still be on my PC playing some of the prettier titles like the upcoming Metro and playing other games like PUBG, but a console for casual games and Red Dead

 

The PS4 Pro 

So this is the first Playstation i've owned since the amazing PS2 and the rest of my time has been on 360, i'm a bit of a traitor i know! but honestly i feel i've made the right choice i just feel that the console has missed some good opportunities that the Xbox one X might take, so let me explain what i mean, 

 

Framerate or Higher Resolution?

So as you know the PS4 pro runs some games at 4k (those with a pro patch) and some still remain at 1080p, i appreciate what Sony are doing with 4k and games look simply outstanding at 4k games like Uncharted and The Last of us are breathtaking, however i feel there's a missed opportunity here for people without 4k displays, personally i feel there should be an option for 1080p performance mode where it targets 1080 60fps rather than sticking at 30fps and down scaling 4k, personally the better option i feel especially for a game like Uncharted 4 and Skyrim Special Ed, i'd of prefered to see two modes, 4k 30fps and 1080 60fps, i understand this is difficult to do, but if the console can push 4k (sometimes not native) i can't see why it can't run at a reduced resolution at a higher framerate for those who want it, i personally feel this is kind of a missed opportunity and Sony needs to look into this.

 

Anyways enough with the negative points because that's pretty much all there is, 

The console is fast, using the user interface and general use for Netflix is an absolute charm, although i would of liked to see a faster drive, the 5400rpm drive doesn't hold it back as much as you think, loads times are average but definitely beat the mediocre Xbox one speeds, i'm thinking an SSD at some point might be an option, however i can get over the slightly below average load times when i get into a game and see just how beautiful the PS4 can be, pretty much every game will run at a full 1080p HD even on the base PS4 with some games dipping the resolution for increased framerate in Multiplayer environment but that's okay, 

 

Conclusion and closing remarks 

 

Like i said i've made the right decison and i'm enjoying my time with my PS4 much more than i did on the Xbox One, i think it's a very solid console with many more good points than negative ones, well worth the money and the slightly higher cost when compared the base PS4 

 

To sum it up

 

+ Stunning Visuals 

+ 4k Support for some games and all upcoming games is a welcome feature 

+ Solid Library of exclusive games 

+ Huge player base on more casual games when compared to PC 

+ Outstanding well built controller 

+ Beautifully designed console Especially the white one  

+ Well priced, only slightly more expensive than a base PS4

 

- Hardly any backwards compatibility which is disappointing considering Xbox one has a huge library of xbox 360 games, a missed opportunity

- No 1080 60fps option for games, although this isn't Sonys fault i just wished the pushed for something like this for people without a 4k Display

- You have to pay for online, whilst this is still present on Xbox i liked the fact PS3 was free to play online, but hopefully the money will go towards making the server better and more secure so we don't have another PSN outage again

 

Rating 8/10 

 

I'd recommend this to anyone who's thinking of getting a console and doesn't want to wait for the Xbox one X, who knows it might still be the better option once the Xbox One X is released anyways 

 

Feel free to give me feedback and your thoughts, nothing hostile though it's simply my view on the Pro 

 

Happy Gaming folks, 

Jack 

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5 minutes ago, JackDoyne said:

i understand this is difficult to do, but if the console can push 4k (sometimes not native) i can't see why it can't run at a reduced resolution at a higher framerate for those who want it, i personally feel this is kind of a missed opportunity and Sony needs to look into this.

It's the cpu bottleneck. CPU load remains the same across all resolutions whether it be 1080p or 4k, the CPU is whats stopping the PS4 Pro from reaching 60 fps in some games so lowering the resolution wont help.

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It's very simple really. PS4 PRO was never ment to play games at higher framerates. It was ment to bring 4k experience at existing framerates. The Sony staff said so, I believe I saw it in Digital Foundry channel.

 

I think it's completel bullcrap, what not bring 60fps to console players, specially FPS games, where higher framerate really makes the games more enjoyable. I hope Xbox ONEX fixes most of PS4s problems. If not, I really hope the next PS5 or whatever Will finally stick to that 60fps mark.

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1 minute ago, Sam5127 said:

It's the cpu bottleneck. CPU load remains the same across all resolutions whether it be 1080p or 4k, the CPU is whats stopping the PS4 Pro from reaching 60 fps in some games so lowering the resolution wont help.

The jaguar CPU in PS4 PRO is only about 30% faster while the GPU is like 3x. 

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24 minutes ago, Light-Yagami said:

It's very simple really. PS4 PRO was never ment to play games at higher framerates. It was ment to bring 4k experience at existing framerates. The Sony staff said so, I believe I saw it in Digital Foundry channel.

 

I think it's completel bullcrap, what not bring 60fps to console players, specially FPS games, where higher framerate really makes the games more enjoyable. I hope Xbox ONEX fixes most of PS4s problems. If not, I really hope the next PS5 or whatever Will finally stick to that 60fps mark.

I saw the on DF too, but i still don't understand how it can render at 4l but not 1080 60fps? because some games run at 60fps anyways 

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7 minutes ago, JackDoyne said:

I saw the on DF too, but i still don't understand how it can render at 4l but not 1080 60fps? because some games run at 60fps anyways 

It can. But what sounds more appealing to consumers who don't know much.

"Get the new PS4 pro and play in 60 fps!"

"Get the new PS4 pro and play in 4k uhd!"

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Just now, Abyss Gaming said:

It can. But what sounds more appealing to consumers who don't know much.

"Get the new PS4 pro and play in 60 fps!"

"Get the new PS4 pro and play in 4k uhd!"

Yep that's a very fair point, just wish it was something that was included really, because more and more console users are finally understanding there is a difference between 30 and 60 fps 

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18 hours ago, Light-Yagami said:

It's very simple really. PS4 PRO was never ment to play games at higher framerates. It was ment to bring 4k experience at existing framerates. The Sony staff said so, I believe I saw it in Digital Foundry channel.

 

I think it's completel bullcrap, what not bring 60fps to console players, specially FPS games, where higher framerate really makes the games more enjoyable. I hope Xbox ONEX fixes most of PS4s problems. If not, I really hope the next PS5 or whatever Will finally stick to that 60fps mark.

It's not necessarily the hardware, rather, the developers that choose whether or not to aim for 60 frames a second, or to trade the 30 frames a second for better visuals + more complex game logic code.

 

Aiming for 30 fps essentially allows double the render time vs a 60 fps mark, a tradeoff that is not lightly ignored, Not saying it is the right or wrong tradeoff to make, but the choice is with the developers. Of course, on PC, we can have the cake and eat it too, budget allowing.

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My camera lens sees the present…

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I think the PS4 Pro fell victim to marketing and not a lot of incentives for developers to enhance their games for the Pro.

Quite frankly, the best titles on the Pro seem to be games like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Knack 2.

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Sometimes 30 FPS is chosen to allow for a consistent experience as well. I would rather have a flat 30 FPS than 60 FPS a lot of the time but it hiccups like crazy. A few people noted that when left to run unrestricted, FFXV feels like it plays worse due to performance dips all over the place.

 

12 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

 Of course, on PC, we can have the cake and eat it too, budget allowing.

And that's the thing. Consoles have to be affordable as well. You can point at the weak CPU in the PS4 all you want, but you try building something better for less than $400 (and I must preface that everything must be included, Blu-Ray drive and all)

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On 9/7/2017 at 2:18 PM, M.Yurizaki said:

And that's the thing. Consoles have to be affordable as well. You can point at the weak CPU in the PS4 all you want, but you try building something better for less than $400 (and I must preface that everything must be included, Blu-Ray drive and all)

Inb4 using Linux.

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