PS4 vs Xbox One: which is better?
- Apr 25, 2017
- 6 min read
The definitive showdown between Xbox One and PS4
We're now more than three years into the life cycle of the current generation of consoles. Things have changed over this three year period, making it more important than ever that we're able to definitively compare Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One.
As the years have gone by, the consoles have only becoming more appealing as both of their price points are at all all time low. This is partly because both systems have received mid-cycle upgrades in the form of PS4 Slim , PS4 Pro, Xbox One Sand, soon, Project Scorpio .
At this point, most of the games that are being released are available across both consoles, however, both still have exclusive titles that could make one or the other a more worthwhile investment depending on your priorities.
The latest PS4 sales numbers continue to show Sony with a comfortable lead, crossing 50 million sold over the course of its lifetime. That's compared to just 24 million Xbox One consoles sold as of October 15, 2016.
Looking for a comparison of the newer hardware? Check out our guide to thePS4 Pro vs Xbox One S .
Sony's comfortable lead is no accident. The company has made sure its system is packed full of excellent exclusive games (just check out our list of the best PS4 games if you're in any doubt), and it's recently received a new slimline model as well as an upgraded 4K machine .
Oh, and it's also the only console to feature a fully-fledged virtual reality headset, thePlayStation VR .
See all PS4 deals
Not to be outdone, Microsoft has come back strong, and in recent months has narrowed the sales gap with Sony. As well as bringing a number of excellent exclusives of its own (check out our guide to the best Xbox One games for more details), the company also has its own slimline console, the Xbox One S .
Whereas Sony has played it safe with the PS4 Slim, Microsoft has been much more adventurous, and has equipped the One S with an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive, and the ability to upscale games to 4K . There's also Project Scorpio on the horizon, which will offer native (rather than upscaled) 4K gaming.
The company has also got big ambitions for Xbox One/Windows 10 compatibility with the Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Game Pass initiatives. It's gotten of to a bit of a rocky start , but it has the potential to really take off in the future.
See all Xbox One dealsXbox
One vs PS4 hardware design
The original PS4 is the smaller consoles out of the two.
The Xbox One's rear ports are easier to access.
Deciding between PS4 and Xbox One is like peeling back an onion, and it starts with the outermost layer – the hardware design.The original Xbox One's dimensions make it a menacing gaming beast that measures 13.5 in x 10.4 in x 3.2 in. It's also riddled with vents, a design decision to avoid another Red Ring of Death overheating scenario.It towers over every other device (though Microsoft advises not to stand it up vertically), and completely dwarfs our smallest home theater gadget, the app-filledChromecast .The original PS4 has a more distinctive angular shape with an overall stylish design. This half-matte half-gloss console measures a slimmer 10.8 in x 12 in x 2 in at its widest regions.These dimensions make Sony's machine more media cabinet-friendly, at least next to Xbox One. The new Xbox also weighs a heftier 3.56 kg vs PS4's 2.75 kg.
Xbox One dimensions
Xbox One is a monster console with lots of vents, but at least it won't overheat
PS4 dimensions
PS4 is smaller and a little more stylish
PS4 has the advantage of hiding ports too, though as we illustrated in our video comparison, this can actually make it harder to plug cables into the back of the system. In this way, Xbox One represents functionality over form. A lot of the internal specs are comparable, but Microsoft and Sony really diverged when it came to the designs of Xbox One and PS4.
Now, all of this might sound like a big to-do about nothing, but keep in mind that one of these two systems are going to sit front and center in your living room entertainment system for the next few years.
Xbox One vs PS4 front and rear ports
You can't upgrade Xbox One's internal hard drive, but you can on the PS4.
The Xbox One has more ports on its rear.
More clear cut is the wireless connectivity situation. PS4 makes room for gigabit ethernet and 802.11 Wi-Fi bands b/g/n, while Xbox One includes all of that plus the older 802.11a band.
Xbox One also supports both the 2.4GHz and newer 5GHz channels that are compatible with dual band routers. PS4 limits connections to 2.4GHz, which is likely to have more interference.
Both systems launched with 500GB hard drives and now have 1TB variants, but only PS4 allows user-replaceable internal drives. An Xbox One teardown found a standard-looking drive inside, but replacing it voids the warranty. Be careful.
Instead, the Xbox One June update finally allowed gamers to add external storage to the monster-sized system. There are strings attached. The drive needs to be 256GB or larger and USB 3.0 compatible.
PS4 vs Xbox One rear ports
------------------------------------------------------------------
A recent PS4 software update also added the option for external storage to Sony's console, adding greater appeal to anyone that's not interested in tinkering around with the inside of their system. The PS4 will support external hard drives up to 8GB in size and they must be USB 3.0.
PS4 vs Xbox One rear ports
PS4 and Xbox One are void of remarkable characteristics on the front. There's a Blu-ray/DVD combo drive to the left and their respective, muted-color logos to the right. PS4 has a pair of USB ports tucked between its sandwich-like halves next to where the disc drive is located.
It's party in the back with Xbox One connections. That's where it has two USB ports, HDMI in, HDMI out, S/PDIF for digital audio, a proprietary Xbox One Kinect port, an IR blaster connection and an Ethernet port. To the far right is a K-lock in case you want to lug this system around to LAN parties.
Sony went with a minimalist approach when it came to PS4's rear ports. You'll only find an HDMI out, S/PDIF, Ethernet and PS4 camera port (marked "AUX") around back.
Xbox One is more feature-packed in this area thanks to its HDMI in and IR blaster connections used for its TV cable or satellite box functionality. But are you really going to use this feature? PS4 lacks this passthrough technology, opting to stick with gaming as its top priority.
Xbox One graphics specs teardown
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Xbox One has a non-replaceable internal hard drive
Is PS4 or Xbox more powerful?
The Xbox has a more powerful CPU.
The PS4 has a more powerful GPU.
PS4 and Xbox One multiply the power of Xbox 360 and PS3. More importantly, they were built with smarter internal designs, drawing from mistakes of last-generation consoles.
Chip manufacturer AMD benefitted the most from these upgrades. Xbox One has a custom 1.75GHz AMD 8-core CPU, a last-minute upgrade over its original 1.6GHz processor.
The PS4 CPU remained clocked at 1.6GHz and contains a similar custom AMD 8-core CPU with x86 based architecture.
This represents a roughly 10% increase in processing power for the Xbox One,
but the opposite is true when it comes to the all-important graphics processor.
PS4 graphics specs teardown
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Best PS4 vs Xbox One specs for RAM
Both systems have 8GB of RAM overall.
But they allocate that memory to
developers differently.Even more controversial is the memory under the consoles' matte black hoods. It's not the amount of RAM at issue - both are future-proofed with 8GB of RAM - it's the type of RAM used.
PS4 has a distinct advantage with faster 8GB GDDR5 memory, while Xbox One went with the slower bandwidth of the 8GB DDR3 variety. But, wait, there's more to it.
Neither system allocates all of that RAM to game developers - some is reserved to run their operating systems.
PS4 reserves up to 3.5GB for its operating system, leaving developers with 4.5GB, according to documentation. They can sometimes access an extra 1GB of "flexible" memory when it's available, but that's not guaranteed.
Xbox One's "guaranteed memory" amounts to a slightly higher 5GB for developers, as Microsoft's multi-layered operating system takes up a steady 3GB. It eeks out a 0.5GB win with more developer-accessible memory than PS4, unless you factor in Sony's 1GB of "flexible" memory at times. Then it's 0.5GB less.
The PS4 and Xbox One specs have similar AMD architecture at their core, but contrast like apples and oranges when it comes to memory. Only developers can determine how this battle is won.
PS4 vs Xbox One graphics comparison
Games on PS4 run at higher resolutions than their Xbox One counterparts.
The graphics comparison between multi-console games such as Grand Theft Auto 5 and Metal Gear Solid 5 have given us the best PS4 vs Xbox One graphics benchmarks.
A gameplay video on YouTube of GTA 5 pans between the two next-gen versions of the game with a definitive answer. The PS4 GPU is able to handle more foliage in environments.
Yes, you literally have to get into the weeds to see the differences, though both the PS4 and Xbox editions of GTA 5 look stellar compared to their last-gen counterparts.
Comments