We know with the recent news of PS5 releasing, it has been the most talked about product in the PlayStation world for the past year. But today we’re going to talk about the good old PlayStation 4. The PlayStation 4 is probably one of the most popular game consoles in the gaming market ever. Released in February 2013, it has had a long product life and supported countless game titles ever since its release.
Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, it is packed with a tremendous amount of versatile and flexible technology to ensure that the PlayStation continues to be a contender in the highly competitive game hardware console market.
Its refined controller, as well as sleek console design engineered to connect to a wide selection of online services, has made it a mainstay in the video console market. This piece of hardware is not going to go anytime soon because people can use it for HD media streaming, as well as online games.
When it comes to support, it is untouched because it covers a wide plethora of games, accessories, and multimedia options. You read that right. Not only does it support software, but it also accommodates a wide range of gaming accessories.
What Are The Specifications Of A Playstation 4?
It is powered by an AMD Jaguar central processing unit, which has eight cores and runs at 1.6 GHz. Its GPU clocks in at 1.84 TFLOPS and has an 18 CU at 800 MHz.
When it comes to memory, the PlayStation 4 offers 8GB of DDR5 memory and has an expandable internal HDD slot. In terms of internal storage, it can accommodate 500GB easily. It also features a Blu-Ray optical drive.
What Is The Difference Between The Ps4 And The Ps4 Pro?
The main difference is in price. The PS4 is more affordable than the PS4 Pro. With that said, if you love the PS4 and you think it’s a good value, you should definitely upgrade to the PS4 Pro.
If you have a 4K HDR TV, this is a must because if you want to fully enjoy the graphics technology of the latest and greatest games that you’re buying, why not tap the 4K HDR capabilities of your living room TV?
The good news is that there are all sorts of online deals for the PS4 Pro. You don’t have to go with the standard price to get that unit.
Another point of contrast between these two consoles is resolution. The PS4 has a 1080 pixel resolution, whereas the Pro version has a 2160 or full 4K video capability.
When it comes to appearance, the PS4 Pro is slightly bigger and has a sleek, more modern finish on its console. It is also half a kilogram heavier and has a three-layer appearance. PS4, on the other hand, is slimmer.
When it comes to connectivity, the Pro features an extra USB port, as well as an optical audio port. The PS4 uses HDMI 1.4, while the Pro offers the latest HDMI version, which is 2.0A.
When it comes to optical drives, both have Blu-Ray drives, but they’re not capable of 4K Blu-Ray playback.
If you want to use PlayStation virtual reality features, try the PS4 Pro because of its improved PSVR technology.
Why Should You Get The Playstation 4?
There’s a shortlist of the reasons why I selected the PlayStation 4 instead of an Xbox.
First, it supports 4K resolution. A lot of videos out there are in 4K now. In fact, a lot of the games also take full advantage of 4K media playback. There will come a time that 4K is going to be required, so get ahead of the curve and pick up a PlayStation 4.
Another reason that I like this console is that its controllers can be customized based on my needs. Third-party companies are always rolling out different controllers to cater to the latest and greatest game control requirements of the latest titles.
There’s also a share button that is built into the system, so you can capture in-game videos and screenshots. This is a must if you are into podcasting or streaming or if you’d like to make money through your YouTube channel.
Another feature that I like about the PS4 is its touchpad. It features a touchscreen and share buttons, so you can easily operate the controller.
Finally, it offers great graphics performance. Its eight-core AMD Jaguar processor is more than up to the job for a lot of mid-level to lower-top-level games. On a practical basis, if you are a casual gamer, this is all you need.
The Downside Of Playstation 4
While this is a next-generation console and offers an extendable GPU, so you can slap on more graphic processing power should the need arise, there are some downsides to it.
First, you have to pay an online fee. If you want to get access to PlayStation Plus and download games that way, you have to pony up with the fee.
Another downside is that being a member of PlayStation Plus doesn’t buy you much because of the weak inventory of games there. These are, of course, Sony Major-exclusive games. They are tied to the Sony platform. But there are PS4 house games from other developers that are also available on other consoles.
Another downside to this is that you can’t stream audio-video content from a media server. It doesn’t support such servers because it doesn’t allow for third-party services.
Another problem is that you can’t play audio disks like mp3s or CDs. There’s also no backward compatibility. So if you’ve fallen in love with a game from an earlier PlayStation model, good luck with that because you can’t play those games on this new console. You can only play games specifically ported for this version.
It comes as no surprise that this unit doesn’t support the Wii remote, so you can’t play Super Vita PS remote play or even apps that are native to iOS or the Android ecosystem.
For a lot of people, the deal killer is that the Super Mario 64 NextGen is not offered on this platform as of this writing. Still, given its pedigree of tried and proven performance, as well as its solid hardware infrastructure, the PS4 shows that it’s still a serious platform.