SoC equipped with PlayStation 5 Pro will adopt a new process, which may be TSMC’s N4P

There have been previous reports suggesting that the PlayStation 5 Pro is in the final stages of development, with its internal codename as “Trinity” and the system-on-a-chip (SoC) dubbed “Viola”, following Sony’s tradition of using characters from “The Matrix” for codenames.

Recently, Twitter user @Kepler_L2 speculated that the SoC incorporated in Sony’s upcoming gaming console may employ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) N4P process, eschewing the 3nm process node. It’s argued that while the N3E offers improved logic density, overall it doesn’t present a significant difference from the N4P in terms of power and performance, and wouldn’t notably affect Sony’s design for the new gaming console. Another point of contention is that the cost escalation brought by N3E would be quite noticeable, making N4P a more balanced choice.

Rumor has it that Sony initiated the PlayStation 5 Pro project at the start of 2022, with the corresponding development kits expected to be distributed to various studios before November this year. The PlayStation 5 Pro will feature an upgraded GPU, equipped with 30 WGPs (i.e., 60 CUs) and paired with GDDR6 memory at a speed of 18Gbps. The current PlayStation 5 has a GPU with 18 WGPs/36 CUs and GDDR6 memory at a speed of 14Gbps.

At this stage, information on the PlayStation 5 Pro is scant. Word has it that Sony might launch the new device at some point next year, boasting improved ray-tracing performance, superior 4K gaming capability, as well as support for 8K display devices among other enhancements. How Sony plans to achieve these ambitious goals remains to be seen.