As the PS5 and Xbox Series X are released worldwide, the battle reignites to crown one of these next-generation systems the winner of the everlasting console war. While Microsoft was eager to claim the title early and proudly marketed the Xbox Series X as the “world’s most powerful console”, analysis suggests the exact opposite might be true.
On paper, the Xbox Series X comes out on top. Comparing the consoles spec-by-spec shows the Xbox to have better-performing hardware than the PS5 in most respects: its clock speed is slightly higher at 3.8Ghz compared to the PS5’s 3.5Ghz, and it features that infamous 12-teraflop GPU compared to the PS5’s 10.3-teraflops.
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But these raw technical numbers have little to show for themselves in-game. Collating analysis from Digital Foundry, The Verge reports that the PS5 consistently outperforms the Xbox Series X across several multi-platform launch titles. Despite its slightly poorer technical specs, the PS5 is able to better leverage its hardware to give a smoother gaming experience.
Take Devil May Cry 5: the Xbox Series X has a small frame rate advantage in ray tracing mode, and scrapes a few more frames during cutscenes, but is far outstripped by the PS5 during the all-important gameplay sequences in high framerate mode. The PS5 delivers consistently greater frame rates overall, and the Xbox Series X’s occasional dips can introduce an unpleasant juddering to the gameplay.
The Xbox Series X similarly suffers when running Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Sudden frame rate sinking and screen tearing are common, and while the PS5 doesn’t always reach its 60fps target, the Xbox Series X misses the post more often.
When running Dirt 5, the PS5 achieves greater image resolution and better maintains its visual quality when switching to performance mode, which pushes for 120fps.
Such problems aren’t game-breakers and may be no more than teething problems of the next-generation. Speaking anonymously to several developers, The Verge found Xbox Series X development kits had been issued by Microsoft far later than equivalent PS5 kits from Sony. This shorter time to get to grips with the Xbox hardware before shipping could explain the consistent and noticeable performance issues.
Microsoft acknowledged these problems in a statement to The Verge, saying:
“We are aware of performance issues in a handful of optimized titles on Xbox Series X|S and are actively working with our partners to identify and resolve the issues to ensure an optimal experience.
“As we begin a new console generation, our partners are just now scratching the surface of what next-gen consoles can do and minor bug fixes are expected as they learn how to take full advantage of our new platform.”
Aside from these performance issues, players are also reporting PS5 and Xbox Series X bugs. If your PS5 is facing rest mode crashes, download queue bugs, or disc games automatically uninstalling, we've covered all of the known PS5 issues and how to fix them, so you can alleviate those pesky glitches from your system.
Source: The Verge
