Though Sony’s PlayStation 5 has been largely shrouded in mystery, the curtain has been officially pulled back to unveil some of the console’s technical specs. The reveal was made during an extensive conference hosted by system architect Mark Cerny, who broke down the science behind the technology in an elaborate and detail-heavy presentation that likely left many casual gamers in a state of smiling-and-nodding.

Digital Foundry has presented some of the key specs, as presented below. While those who don’t possess knowledge of computer technology might be a little lost right now, consider that the 10.28 TFLOP GPU will be seen by many as one of the foremost draws, especially with the added presence of raytracing technology. Plus, with the addition of a solid-state drive, load times will be at an all-time low. As Cerny explained, an SSD was the most requested feature from game developers, and Sony appears to have delivered on that front. 

Check out the complete list of specs below, and should you be truly interested in getting to the bottom of this newly unveiled beast, don’t hesitate to check out Cerny’s conference in its entirety (as embedded above). It’s a little wordy but jam-packed with valuable information for those willing to pay attention. And if that wasn’t enough, he also confirmed that “almost all” of the most-played PS4 game will be completely playable on PS5, although he neglected to truly delve into the extent of backward-compatibility. 

• CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
• GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
• GPU Architecture: Custom RDNA 2
• Memory/Interface: 16GB GDDR6/256-bit
• Memory Bandwidth: 448GB/s
• Internal Storage: Custom 825GB SSD
• IO Throughput: 5.5GB/s (Raw), Typical 8-9GB/s (Compressed)
• Expandable Storage: NVMe SSD Slot
• External Storage: USB HDD Support
• Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray Drive

It’s a strange time to be a gamer. With many in self-imposed isolation due to the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, the time for gaming has never been more appropriate. Yet on the side of the developers, the uncertainty has laid waste to even the best-laid plans. Luckily, Microsoft has remained vigilant in their efforts to inform the public about the upcoming Xbox Series X, unveiling the console’s specs and highlighting them with a few key videos.

One thing sure to please even the most casual gamer is a notable decrease in load times, as showcased in a tech demo below. For added context, the video is using a backward compatible Xbox One copy of State of Decay 2, rather than a game originally optimized for Series X. Regardless, the difference in load times is enough to cause excess salivating in gamers worldwide, especially those who favor massive open-world games with heavy death rates. 

On the tech side, an official update also highlights the addition of DirectX Raytracing, which will ensure that lighting and sound are as realistic as possible, above and beyond anything currently on the market today. The update also placed heavy emphasis on ensuring that games ran smoothly at 60FPS with 4K resolution without forcing developers to bend over backward. There’s plenty of information to unpack within the initial report — including a full list of specs — available right here.

Suffice it to say, Xbox Series One is about to shake the game up in a major way, even if the market is facing a moment of instability. As of now, the console has yet to be delayed and remains on course for the 2020 holiday season. On the other side of the river, Sony’s PlayStation 5 remains shrouded in mystery, only furthering the mystery of it all. Will you be copping a new generation console?