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Playstation 4 Pro
- Thread starter cynics
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I think the most underrated features about the PlayStation Pro, is how quiet it is and quick to load games and patch updates. Significantly faster than my original PS4.
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Quiet, you say?
I keep hearing / reading mixed reports on that. Some say it's "no louder than the launch PS4" - my launch model was a jet engine.
"Jet engine" seems to be an exaggeration.
I owned both the Vanilla PS4 and Pro. Even the optical drive on the Pro is significantly quieter. I purchased the Pro on day one and it was the first I thing I noticed was how quiet it was, let alone how much quicker it loads and processes.
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During Mafia III, my fan starts running. Only game so far I played where I could audibly hear it.
I upgraded to a Pro from the OG 4. It's good but the minor graphics bump is barely noticeable to me. I was using the OG 4 on the same 4k screen. The one major thing that interested buyers could be interested in is the faster wifi card. Much better than the OG 4 when I have to use wifi for online gaming. Though I normally use ethernet.
With 4K patches for certain games, the Pro is an advantage. Aside from the faster wifi, updates, it's quieter and game loads are significantly faster as well. I think this console has alot of potential and it's still early on to see what else it has to offer.
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Definitely, it's a no-brainer to buy if you don't have a PS4 currently. I took advantage of a trade-in deal, $175 for the OG 4 + controller. My controller wasn't functioning 100%, so I saw the storage upgrade (500GB>1TB), new generation controller and specs bump a great deal.
I just ordered Neir: Automata, so stoked to play it.
Not necessarily.
Sony of all people/companies can see what the UHD BD market is doing. Gamers and videophile purist aren't exactly aligning.
PS3 games were on BD so having the ability to play BD movies didn't require much effort. Plus at the time they were in competition with HD DVD so they had incentive to push the tech. The PS3 was also similarly priced as a BD player with the ability to play games grabbing the attention of both gamers and people that wanted a BD player.
That isn't the case anymore. Now they would need to add the tech that serves no other purpose then watching movies. Unless you are specifically out for a console AND UHD player you can pick up a good UHD BD player for ~$200 (I found a Samsung UHD player at HH Gregg for $120 because they were closing) which is cheaper than current consoles and function just as well if not better (Dolby Vision support, although I don't know if any UHD BD titles support it).
I was very disappointed that the PS4 Pro didn't support UHD BD but I'm not sure why since I have no plans of buying movies stored on physical media. Even when I do it will only be when I have the tech to rip it myself and store it digitally. I think Sony sees that shift in the market.
I wouldn't be surprised to see the PS5 support UHD BD though. By then the tech will be cheap enough they can throw it in. I wouldn't want it if it added more then 30-40 dollars to the cost of the console.
Speaking of PS5, latest rumors are a 10 teraflop system released in Q4 2018 from the same source that leaked the PS4 Pro and PS4 Slim. Not that unrealistic really, by then AMDs Vega GPUs will have long been out and 10 teraflop won't be that difficult of an accomplishment. For reference PS4 Pro is 4.2 tflops (I believe) and Scorpio is supposed to be 6 tflops. Other analysts are predicting 2019-2020 which would be my guess, based on nothing.
Be interesting to see what happens regardless. 10 tflops isn't enough to maintain 60 fps at today's visual fidelity in AAA games let alone 2018's, not at a native 4K anyway. We are stuck on a viscous cycle of staying at 30 fps on consoles. Hopefully with checkerboarding 60 fps will become the norm since I feel it's more noticeable than increases in resolution.
UHD blu-ray movie sales are very weak and there doesn't appear to be much consumer drive.
We're living in a world where consumer convenience will win out over quality.
4K streaming will be more important and even UHD TV wise it will be streaming and digital broadcasts rather than external UHD media that will push the technology.
Honestly I too was a little disappointed, but since buying a few UHD discs and finding overall difference isn't anything like as significant as DVD to Bly-Ray (often being barely perceptible) and the cost of UHDBR being more, in actually just using regular Netflix and Amazon Prime for 4k media content and I'm happy as it's quick and simple and convenientz
We're living in a world where consumer convenience will win out over quality.
4K streaming will be more important and even UHD TV wise it will be streaming and digital broadcasts rather than external UHD media that will push the technology.
Honestly I too was a little disappointed, but since buying a few UHD discs and finding overall difference isn't anything like as significant as DVD to Bly-Ray (often being barely perceptible) and the cost of UHDBR being more, in actually just using regular Netflix and Amazon Prime for 4k media content and I'm happy as it's quick and simple and convenientz
I bought one UHD disc to try after I bought the XB1S and was hugely disappointed by the quality, positively couldn't tell the difference from the UHD disc to the BD disc sitting just 4' away from a 55". I now know that I bought the wrong movie (Batman vs Superman) for this test, but I haven't even been tempted to buy another. That movie really soured my enthusiasm to further try UHD.
What looked absolutely stunning is The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime. Sadly I don't have too much time to sit there often to watch 4K streaming. I only got to watch the first episode so far.
Sad but true, and applies to almost everything.
This was the case with DVD's at first, where the masters were not DVD quality (actually, some DVD's I had bought were just conversions from the Laserdisc masters).
I do agree though that I'm finding that BR is good enough for me. I don't have a UHD player (I bought "Arrival" on UHD since it had BR copy as well), but was wondering about adoption - I thought I read that UHD adoption was great.
I'm working on getting rid of DVD's I don't watch anymore, but a few I want to replace with BR. Some are now completely out-of-print as you can just get the download or try to find one used.
Some programming, like documentaries, are just download-only as the demand for a physical copy is not worth printing.
30$ a pop plus tax for uhd doesn't help much either. I have a few uhd blu rays, but that price for one movie keeps me from buying more.
4k content on Netflix though looks incredible.
4k content on Netflix though looks incredible.
Applied the 4.50 update to my Pro and my original PS4.
The Pro time frame to download/patch the update was 3.5 minutes.
The original PS4 time frame to download/patch was just under 10 minutes.
A nice advantage to show the speed and power the Pro has to apply updates more efficiently and quickly.
The Pro time frame to download/patch the update was 3.5 minutes.
The original PS4 time frame to download/patch was just under 10 minutes.
A nice advantage to show the speed and power the Pro has to apply updates more efficiently and quickly.
Question for all those out there who own a Pro.
I own the OG PS4 but I have a morbid curiosity regarding the PS4 Pro. Combine this with my need to have the "latest and greatest" in technology, I am very much interested in getting the Pro.
HOWEVER, common sense dictates that I probably shouldn't. I am currently working abroad in the field of hospitality and as a result of being an expat, I am living in the same hotel that I am working in. As such, that means I am staying in a guest room and much of what I have access to is what is given to me.
The TV in my room is at least 8 years old at this point and I'm pretty sure it can't even do 1080p, much less 4K or HDR. As such, the benefits of upgrading to a Pro is essentially negligible for me. ON THE OTHER HAND, I would be able to play games like Horizon or Final Fantasy XV and have them render at a lower resolution but play more smoothly due to the increased horsepower of the Pro and with the newly released "Boost Mode", that theoretically should yield benefits to older games that didn't get patched on the dev side to take advantage of the Pro's upgraded specs.
Such is my conundrum. I'm doing my best to tell myself there's no reason to upgrade now and perhaps to wait for PS4 Pro 2 or whatever the next revision will be called, but... my self-control is lacking.
I own the OG PS4 but I have a morbid curiosity regarding the PS4 Pro. Combine this with my need to have the "latest and greatest" in technology, I am very much interested in getting the Pro.
HOWEVER, common sense dictates that I probably shouldn't. I am currently working abroad in the field of hospitality and as a result of being an expat, I am living in the same hotel that I am working in. As such, that means I am staying in a guest room and much of what I have access to is what is given to me.
The TV in my room is at least 8 years old at this point and I'm pretty sure it can't even do 1080p, much less 4K or HDR. As such, the benefits of upgrading to a Pro is essentially negligible for me. ON THE OTHER HAND, I would be able to play games like Horizon or Final Fantasy XV and have them render at a lower resolution but play more smoothly due to the increased horsepower of the Pro and with the newly released "Boost Mode", that theoretically should yield benefits to older games that didn't get patched on the dev side to take advantage of the Pro's upgraded specs.
Such is my conundrum. I'm doing my best to tell myself there's no reason to upgrade now and perhaps to wait for PS4 Pro 2 or whatever the next revision will be called, but... my self-control is lacking.
Since you are working hard, you need to reward yourself with something that would make you feel good in your downtime. There is nothing wrong with getting a PS4 Pro for that purpose. That's the reason I got one. That being said, I still think it was a waste of money and definitely would not buy one again.
Question for all those out there who own a Pro.
I own the OG PS4 but I have a morbid curiosity regarding the PS4 Pro. Combine this with my need to have the "latest and greatest" in technology, I am very much interested in getting the Pro.
HOWEVER, common sense dictates that I probably shouldn't. I am currently working abroad in the field of hospitality and as a result of being an expat, I am living in the same hotel that I am working in. As such, that means I am staying in a guest room and much of what I have access to is what is given to me.
The TV in my room is at least 8 years old at this point and I'm pretty sure it can't even do 1080p, much less 4K or HDR. As such, the benefits of upgrading to a Pro is essentially negligible for me. ON THE OTHER HAND, I would be able to play games like Horizon or Final Fantasy XV and have them render at a lower resolution but play more smoothly due to the increased horsepower of the Pro and with the newly released "Boost Mode", that theoretically should yield benefits to older games that didn't get patched on the dev side to take advantage of the Pro's upgraded specs.
Such is my conundrum. I'm doing my best to tell myself there's no reason to upgrade now and perhaps to wait for PS4 Pro 2 or whatever the next revision will be called, but... my self-control is lacking.
Personally, in your current situation based on your initial set up for the outdated TV you're currently using, I would not suggest purchasing the Pro. One of the major benefits of the Pro as you already know, is 4K/HDR.
Certain games have 4K patches that ultimately allow the game to be highly rendered. For example, I recently started playing NBA 2K17, which has a 4K patch, and I played the game on both my original PS4 and PS4 Pro, and the difference was staggering on a 4K/HDR TV with the Pro. Other games that may be older, you can take advantage of Boost mode for a more stable frame rate and smoother animations.
Ultimately, the decision is yours. But I would not recommend it without having the Pro coupled with a more high-end 4K/HDR TV.
Quiet, you say?
I keep hearing / reading mixed reports on that. Some say it's "no louder than the launch PS4" - my launch model was a jet engine.
Haha yes, my launch PS4 is soooooo LOUD!! I've taken it apart and cleaned the fan and heatsink but it's still the same. I'm keeping it though even if I did get a nice quiet Xbox One S. I was pretty annoyed that less then a year Sony launched an updated console that 'fixed' the loud fan problem!
Did you by chance try blowing out the power supply? My cousins friend had reportedly done that and it brought down the noise level considerably. When I tore apart my cousins we blew apart everything and it all works quietly now, beyond loading up something intensive like Horizon: Zero Dawn. And even then it isn't as loud as it was previously.
I'm happy with my PS4 Pro. My main raison for buying it is the upgraded performance and visuals on PS VR. Its subtle but it's there. Furthermore, it's now a better deal than ever thanks to the new 'boost mode' upgrade which brings better framerates to your older PS4 games.
Oh and PS5 is 100% going to be BC. The PS4 is running on x86 hardware and I'm certain the won't be changing back to an exotic configuration like the PS3.
Oh and PS5 is 100% going to be BC. The PS4 is running on x86 hardware and I'm certain the won't be changing back to an exotic configuration like the PS3.
Didn't think Sony was going to be adding that (was underneath the impression that devs had to come out with a patch), but Sony does have to compete, especially when MS Scorpio is released.
Argh! One of my favorite games is coming out for the PS4 with PRO support! (Dang, looks into the cost of upgrading...
)Wipeout Omega
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/wipeout-omega-collection-ps4/
A patch is required to allow the game to take full advantage of the PS4 Pro's increased power. Boost mode gives the game some of the extra power afforded by the faster CPU and GPU. From highest to lowest performance you would have PS4 Pro patch > PS4 Pro Boost > PS4 (launch/slim)Didn't think Sony was going to be adding that (was underneath the impression that devs had to come out with a patch), but Sony does have to compete, especially when MS Scorpio is released.
Argh! One of my favorite games is coming out for the PS4 with PRO support! (Dang, looks into the cost of upgrading...
Wipeout Omega
https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/wipeout-omega-collection-ps4/
I know.
There was no mention of a "boost mode" when the PS4 Pro was first announced. Devs had to come out with a patch to take advantage of it