The PlayStation 5 console's specifications have been released, it's weaker than the Xbox Series X, but the disk is faster

Sony has announced the technical details of the hardware included in the PlayStation 5 console. By most specifications, the console is weaker than Microsoft's competitors, but has a faster SSD.

Sony held a rather dry "launch" of the PlayStation 5 console, from which we eventually pulled only the technical specifications. It is not surprising that this presentation was intended for developers at the GDC convention that was canceled due to the coronavirus. In any case, here are the most important hardware details of the console itself:

• CPU: 8x Zen 2 Cores @ 3.5GHz (Variable Frequency)
• GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs @ 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
• Memory: 16GB GDDR6 / 256-bit
• Memory bandwidth: 448GB / s
• Disk: Custom 825GB SSD
• I / O: 5.5GB / s (Raw), 8-9GB / s (Compressed)
• Extensions: NVMe SSD Slot
• HDD Support: USB HDD Support
• Scanner: 4K UHD Blu-ray Drive

Even if you don't understand the technical stuff, it's laymanlike to notice that the PlayStation 5 on paper is hardware-less than the Xbox Series X console in aspects of the processor running at a slightly lower clock speed, two teraflops weaker in terms of computing power, slower in bandwidth memory and has a smaller SSD capacity - 825 GB.

However, there is one thing where the PlayStation 5 is at an advantage, and that is the speed of the disc. While the Xbox Series X disk is capable of processing 2.4 GB / s of raw data, the PlayStation 5 is twice as efficient at 5.5 gigabytes per second. It's the same with compressed data, 8-9 GB / s on the PlayStation 5 and 4.8 GB / s on the Xbox.

The 825GB disk capacity is smaller than on the Xbox, but will be expandable with other NVMe drives. Interestingly, unlike Microsoft, Sony will not produce specialized PlayStation 5 expansion discs, but will be able to use * any * PCIe 4.0 NVMe discs ... as approved by Sony. However, some discs may not fit the PS5 console, such as those that come with their own coolers.

So, all in all, the numbers are technical on the Xbox side, but Sony emphasizes that the PlayStation 5 is a more capable machine than its 10.28 teraflops of power suggests. Regardless of the comparison, it is fairly strong hardware, so there is no doubt that the console will be competitive in the market. After all, a faster disk with less capacity and more flexibility in expanding storage could give Sony more benefits than harm - especially if the console is cheaper than the Xbox Series X because of this.