Mark Cerny described the PS4 Pro as a more capable PS4, not a new console generation: it kept the same basic platform and eight-core Jaguar CPU architecture while substantially expanding GPU power, modestly increasing CPU speed, and reorganizing memory for games and a 4K interface. Its 4K strategy relied on game-specific techniques such as checkerboard rendering, so the console did not require every title to render natively at 2160p.
What made the PS4 Pro different from the original PS4?
Cerny, Sony’s lead system architect for the PS4 Pro, outlined the hardware changes in a 2016 technical briefing reported by Game Developer. The Pro retained the PS4’s basic architecture but added a more powerful GPU, a faster version of the same CPU design, more usable game memory, and features intended to improve rendering efficiency.
| Area | Original PS4 | PS4 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | Baseline for comparison; an absolute teraflops figure is not stated in the 2016 briefing (Game Developer). | 4.2 teraflops, or 2.28 times the original PS4’s GPU performance, according to Cerny; 911MHz (Game Developer, 2016). |
| CPU | Eight-core, 64-bit AMD Jaguar architecture at about 1.6GHz, according to Cerny (Game Developer, 2016). | The same eight-core, 64-bit AMD Jaguar architecture at about 2.1GHz; Cerny characterized the increase as roughly 30% more CPU power (Game Developer, 2016). |
| Memory | 8GB of GDDR5; game-available capacity is not separately stated in the briefing (Game Developer, 2016). | 8GB of GDDR5 with bandwidth raised to about 218GB/s, plus 1GB of slower DRAM. Cerny said games could use about 5.5GB of GDDR5 (Game Developer, 2016). |
| Rendering and display goals | The comparison in Cerny’s 2016 statement uses 1080p as the standard PS4 example; it does not establish that every PS4 game renders natively at that resolution (Engadget, 2016). | Designed to support game-dependent approaches to higher-resolution output, including checkerboard rendering, alongside HDR and 4K system-interface support (Engadget and Game Developer, 2016). |
| Compatibility and developer work | Existing PS4 games remained part of the same platform (Game Developer, 2016). | Designed to run existing PS4 games and let developers add Pro support without a new-generation transition (Game Developer, 2016). |
How did the Pro get 2.28 times the PS4’s GPU performance?
Cerny said Sony effectively doubled the GPU by placing a mirrored set of graphics resources alongside the original design, then raising the GPU frequency to 911MHz. He put the result at 4.2 teraflops, 2.28 times the original PS4’s GPU performance. Those figures describe theoretical GPU throughput; they do not mean every game runs 2.28 times faster or produces 2.28 times as many frames.
The GPU also included features intended to use its resources more efficiently. Game Developer’s account of the 2016 briefing names delta color compression, a primitive-discard accelerator, a work distributor, and rendering functionality associated with post-Polaris GPUs. These changes complemented the increase in raw GPU throughput rather than replacing game-specific optimization.
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Why did Sony keep the same CPU architecture?
The Pro retained the PS4’s eight-core, 64-bit AMD Jaguar CPU design. Cerny described a frequency increase from about 1.6GHz to about 2.1GHz and characterized that as roughly 30% more CPU power. Sony also added cooling to handle the higher thermal output.
The CPU improvement was much smaller than the GPU increase. That distinction matters: the Pro could offer more graphics capacity for higher-resolution images or visual effects, but the faster CPU did not turn it into a wholly new system or guarantee a large frame-rate increase in every game.
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What changed in the memory system?
The console kept 8GB of GDDR5 and raised its memory frequency by about 24%, bringing bandwidth to roughly 218GB/s, according to Cerny’s 2016 briefing. It also added 1GB of conventional, slower DRAM. Rather than give that slower memory to games, Sony could move inactive applications such as Netflix into it.
That freed almost 1GB of the GDDR5 pool. Cerny said 512MB of the recovered capacity went to games, lifting their available GDDR5 to about 5.5GB from 5GB; most of the remainder supported the system interface at 4K. The design therefore increased usable game memory by about 10%, rather than introducing an entirely new memory architecture.
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Does the PS4 Pro render games in native 4K?
Not necessarily. The Pro was designed to deliver higher-resolution output, but Sony did not require every game to render every pixel at 2160p. As Cerny put it in an interview quoted by Engadget: “Requiring all titles to run at 2160p on PS4 Pro makes no more sense than requiring all titles to run at 1080p on the standard PS4.” Games could choose rendering targets and techniques suited to their performance and visual goals.
How checkerboard rendering works
Checkerboard rendering varies the pixel pattern rendered in a frame and uses information from earlier frames to reconstruct missing image detail. It can produce an image close to 4K output without requiring the game to render a complete native 2160p frame each time. In a demonstration reported by Engadget, Cerny showed native and checkerboard-rendered scenes that were nearly indistinguishable at ordinary viewing distance.
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That demonstration was not a promise that every game would look identical to native 4K. Engadget noted that Pro support and target resolutions varied by game. Resolution labels alone therefore do not tell the whole story: implementation, image quality, frame rate, and the display and viewing conditions all matter.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did Sony call it a mid-generation upgrade?
Sony’s design goal was to expand the PS4 platform without forcing players or developers into a generational break. Cerny told GameSpot: “PS4 Pro is not the start of a new generation, nor is it a console that is going to blur the lines between generations.” Engadget quoted him making the related point that it was “not the start of a new generation and that is a very good thing.”
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In practice, the Pro was intended to remain compatible with existing PS4 games, while developers could add enhancements for Pro owners. Cerny told Game Developer that Sony wanted the work required for Pro support to be “a fraction of a percent of the overall effort of creating a game.” That was a stated design target, not a claim that every game would receive an update or that all Pro enhancements would take the same effort.
What was the Pro designed to improve for players?
Sony’s targets went beyond resolution. The more capable GPU could support higher frame rates or visual improvements where a game used it that way; the Pro also targeted HDR displays, 4K streaming, and clearer imagery for PlayStation VR. A 4K television was relevant to the higher-resolution and HDR benefits, but the console’s game output still depended on each title’s implementation.
Game Developer reported that Cerny described streaming video as the console’s number-two use case. That helps explain why the system interface and video playback mattered alongside games: the extra memory allocation supported a 4K interface, while 4K streaming was another intended use of the hardware.
How did the PS4 Pro’s reported price compare?
2016 reports gave the PS4 Pro a price of about $400 and the PS4 Slim a price of $300 (GameSpot and PlayStation LifeStyle). The Slim is a different PS4 model, not the original PS4 hardware used for the performance comparisons above; these reported figures are historical, not current prices or a statement of present availability.
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