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The original PlayStation 4’s custom AMD APU contains eight Jaguar CPU cores and 20 physically present Radeon GPU compute units, according to Chipworks’ 2013 die analysis as reported by bit-tech. The apparent surprise is the GPU count: the PS4’s announced configuration had 18 active units, not 20. Two units appeared inactive in the die analysis; the distinction is between blocks visible on the chip and the configuration specified for the console.
What the PS4 APU is
The PS4 uses one semi-custom Sony/AMD system-on-chip (SoC) that combines its CPU and GPU. It is not a retail desktop processor. TechInsights describes the chip as having a low-power, x86-64 AMD eight-core CPU block alongside a Radeon GPU block, with the system using a shared main-memory array. TechInsights’ PS4 teardown provides that system-level description.
Why reports say 20 GPU units but the PS4 has 18
These figures describe different things, not competing PS4 models. In Chipworks’ 2013 analysis, as reported by bit-tech, 20 Graphics Core Next (GCN) compute units were visible on the APU die. Two appeared inactive. The announced PS4 configuration, by contrast, specified 18 active compute units. bit-tech’s report of the Chipworks analysis covers the die findings; Tom’s Hardware’s 2013 report of AMD’s platform specifications gives the announced configuration.
| Figure | What it describes | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| 20 GCN compute units (1,280 shader processors) | Units physically visible in the die analysis; two appeared inactive | Chipworks findings reported by bit-tech, 2013 |
| 18 GCN compute units (1,152 shader processors) | Active GPU configuration in the announced PS4 platform specification | AMD figures reported by Tom’s Hardware, 2013 |
| 1.84 TFLOPS | Throughput figure for the announced 18-unit configuration | AMD figure reported by Tom’s Hardware, 2013 |
The extra two units are consistent with a manufacturing-yield strategy: chips can be made with spare blocks and still meet specifications if some blocks do not work. That is an inference from the reported die findings, not a confirmed explanation from AMD in the cited reporting. The findings also do not establish that owners can activate the inactive units; they should not be treated as a user-accessible upgrade.
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CPU, chip size and memory
Eight Jaguar CPU cores
Chipworks’ 2013 die analysis, as reported by bit-tech, identified eight AMD Jaguar CPU cores arranged in two four-core blocks. The processor is part of the console’s semi-custom APU, rather than a separate off-the-shelf desktop CPU.
A 348 mm² die
Bit-tech reported a die area of 348 mm² from the Chipworks analysis. A 2013 teardown report by 4Gamer described the die as approximately 19 × 19 mm and noted Sony’s substantial design involvement. Those descriptions are broadly consistent; the small difference in apparent precision may reflect rounding or measurement methods. 4Gamer’s teardown report gives the approximate dimensions.
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8 GB of shared GDDR5, not memory on the die
The announced platform specification listed 8 GB of unified GDDR5 memory. That is shared system memory, not 8 GB embedded inside the APU. TechInsights describes a shared main-memory array, while the AMD platform figure was reported by Tom’s Hardware in 2013.
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Which figure should you use?
- For the GPU configuration specified for the original PS4, use 18 active compute units, 1,152 shaders and 1.84 TFLOPS, attributing those figures to the platform specification reported in 2013.
- For what the reverse-engineered die showed, use 20 physically present compute units, with two apparently inactive, attributing that finding to Chipworks as reported by bit-tech in 2013.
- For the CPU, describe eight Jaguar cores in the custom APU.
- For memory, say 8 GB unified GDDR5 shared by the system; do not describe it as on-die memory.
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