Sources told gaming site Giant Bomb that Neo is the codename for the upgraded PlayStation 4 console, along with some improved technical specifications it will have over the original PS4.
Among the info obtained by sources: “The NEO will feature a higher clock speed than the original PS4, an improved GPU, and higher bandwidth on the memory.” These improvements may attract hardcore gamers who want their games to work faster. The following info shows the difference between the two main models.
Original PS4 | NEO | |
---|---|---|
CPU | 8 Jaguar Cores at 1.6 GHz | 8 Jaguar Cores at 2.1 GHz |
GPU | AMD GCN, 18 CUs at 800 MHz | Improved AMD GCN, 36 CUs at 911 MHz |
Memory | 8 GB GDDR5, 176 GB/s | 8 GB GDDR5, 218 GB/s |
Here’s a brief of the many pieces of information:
- The hard drive in NEO will be the same as in the original PS4, but there could be improvements “in terms of capacity or connection speed.”
- All PS4 games, starting in October, will be required to run “Base Mode” for original PS4s and “NEO Mode” for the new upgraded console, while all games released in September will need a day-one patch to make them ready to work with NEO.
- NEO will support 4K image output, and offers advice on how to accomplish 4K/Ultra HD resolutions.
- Sony wants games in NEO mode to reach or exceed the frame rate of games in the original PS4.
- NEO will not be a replacement for the original PS4; also, both versions will co-exist and NEO will use the same PS4 features offered for original PS4 owners.
- Developers can decide if they want to patch their titles to be compatible with NEO consoles.
- Sony doesn’t want developers to offer games and features exclusively for NEO users; this restriction also applies to peripherals, including the upcoming PlayStation VR, and its games. Also, Sony doesn’t want to separate gamers when playing online via PSN.
Unfortunately, the release date for the NEO wasn’t available, but due to games becoming compatible with NEO in the upcoming months, should we believe October to be the month of the arrival of NEO? And, how will it look like? A recent article on RedBull shows an image of how NEO may or may not look like.
[Source]: Giant Bomb: Sources: The Upgraded PlayStation 4 is Codenamed NEO, Contains Upgraded CPU, GPU, RAM.