PS4 Pro - worth the upgrade?

[antithesis]

I've just picked up my PS4 Pro. Unboxing it showed a number of external differences from vanilla PS4 -

 

1. The Pro is about 20% bigger than the PS4.

2. The power supply cable is now the same size as PC, implying it has a bigger PSU.

3. The buttons on the new controller are dark grey rather than black. That's a bit fugly IMHO, but whatever.

4. There's an extra USB port on the back. Nice.

 

There are lots of internal changes which I'll get into later, or read this Eurogamer article to get up to speed - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-playstation-4-pro-review

 

Note that 2160p is 4K, the measurement has simply swapped from vertical to horizontal pixel count. 4K's the right moniker to use given the screen has quadruple the pixels of 1080p. More info here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolution

 

The first thing I did was replace the 2TB HDD with a 500GB Samsung SSD. The HDD bay is now on the back of the console and replacing the drive with an SSD was relatively trouble-free. The only issue was the plastic dust cover over the bay - pulling it off was easy, putting it back without breaking the little plastic thingies required a little more effort and patience.

 

Once I got the SSD in there, it was time to fire the Pro up. The power button's clunky and I don't like it at all. It's kinda levered off the left-side of the console and is pretty loose and junky. A few corners look to have been cut to hit a budget. It's a minor quibble, but it all lends itself to a value judgment.

 

Interestingly, the Pro seems to ship with 3.70 firmware whereas we're up to 4.05. Note that upgrading the HDD requires the full firmware install file, which weighs in at 891 megabytes, and not the default 312 mb update file. The full FW file is buried behind a poorly designed small black graphic at https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/system-updates/ps4/#newinstallation.

 

Now onto the judgment - is it worth upgrading to Pro if you're happy with vanilla PS4 @ 1080p? After a few days of testing, I'm going with "no" for now. I haven't noticed massive leaps in UI speed others have reported from an SSD upgrade, nor have I noticed any performance or visual effect improvements in vanilla PS4 games. Some gamers I've spoken to have reported more consistent framerates in games like Battlefield 1 and The Witcher 3, but I've yet to confirm this myself.

 

Eurogamer has done some performance testing and the results aren't good - in some cases PS4 games running on Pro are performing WORSE than on vanilla PS4. This is due to the aforementioned resolution increase then downscaling to 1080p for Pro-enhanced titles. At this stage it looks like the Pro is little more than a 4K resolution increase, which is working against 1080p gaming. More info here - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-why-are-some-ps4-pro-titles-running-slower-than-base-hardware

 

Where the Pro will shine is 4K gaming, PSVR gaming, and future Pro games that offer separate performance modes for 4K and 1080p. With any luck it won't take Sony long to respond to performance criticism of the Pro and offer improved 1080p native resolution gaming rather than upscaled / downscaled for little noticeable graphics improvement at 1080p at the expense of frame-rate.

 

Unless we get separate options for 1080p optimised gaming rather than the current upscaled to 4K then downscaled to 1080p, which offers zero performance benefits for older Pro-enhanced titles, steer clear of the Pro for now. But if you're into 4K gaming, go for it.

Edited November 12, 2016 by ant1th3s1s

[DEMON]

Hoping mines comes tomorrow. I have a 4K but won't really have any games that use it until FFXV.

[Nihiris-]

People that I know that have it already are very happy with it. I won't get one until sometime early next year, as I still want to see what Nintendo Switch will be priced at.

[Parker]

I'll be picking mine up tomorrow. Really all I'm looking for is more stable framerates in games that struggle to maintain a solid 60fps and from a lot of what I've read the PS4 Pro seems to help tremendously. When I get a 4K TV I'm sure I'll appreciate the graphical differences as well. 

 

 

Parker

[DaivRules]

1. The Pro is about 20 bigger than the PS4.

2. The power supply cable is now the same size as PC, implying it has a bigger PSU.

 

 

more stable framerates in games that struggle to maintain a solid 60fps

 

I'm excited for the technological improvements that can be made to existing games and the power available for the games in the future that choose to take advantage.

 

I'm *not* excited for the extra power draw. I already bought the PS4 v2 when they reduced power consumption by 15%. I'm hoping that in 2-3 years the pro slim will reduce the power usage again and by then more games will have been patched or released to take advantage of the improved 1080 visuals, even though I have no intention of getting a 4K monitor or television.

 

I'm all about having options and I like that Sony is still saying that there are no exclusives for the pro.

 

Bring on those comparison shots!

[LeetWolf2]

Ordered mine a while back and Tesco are delivering it tomorrow morning (fingers crossed). Looking forward to comparing it with my other PS4, can't wait.

[TheYuriG]

Think the question is: is the extra cash for the Pro compensate over the vanilla version? Can't remember if the pro costs 50 or 100 bucks more, but is that worth paying extra?

 

Not everyone will upgrade, a few of us will jump to new new gen right away.

Edited November 10, 2016 by TheYuriG

[antithesis]

Think the question is: is the extra cash for the Pro compensate over the vanilla version? Can't remember if the pro costs 50 or 100 bucks more, but is that worth paying extra?

 

It's worthwhile for new PS4 buyers, PSVR users and 4K and/or HDR TV owners to take advantage of their shiny toys, but what about the rest of us who are happy gaming at 1080p on vanilla?

 

There's been a lot of speculation to date that it's a minor upgrade at best for us. Gamespot and Eurogamer cover this pretty well, but I want to see how that translates to those of us who use these things several hours per day, every day.

Edited November 10, 2016 by ant1th3s1s

[TheYuriG]

Exactly the point of this thread Yuri.

Oh, i thought it was specifically for already PS4 owners buying an entirely new system. Nevermind then, I'll keep an eye out here.

 

EDIT: in your opening post you say that Pro is 20 bigger. 20 what?

Edited November 10, 2016 by TheYuriG

[antithesis]

Oh, i thought it was specifically for already PS4 owners buying an entirely new system. Nevermind then, I'll keep an eye out here.

 

EDIT: in your opening post you say that Pro is 20 bigger. 20 what?

 

You're on the money there - I want to see if it's worth upgrading from vanilla PS4 to Pro. I bought a Pro because I wanted another PS4 in the house, so it makes no real difference to me. But is it worth replacing a perfectly good PS4 with a Pro if you don't have a tonne of cash to splash around and don't care about 4K?

 

The other question is related to SSD - is it worth the upgrade? I can already tell I'm going to have problems with a measly 400GB at my disposal compared to the 1.8GB HDD in my other PS4. A 2TB SSD (1.8TB usable) costs almost double the price of a Pro, so the performance increase of an SSD better be substantial or it's not worth the loss of space.

 

And :doh:....that'd be 20%.

Edited November 10, 2016 by ant1th3s1s

[Parker]

Oh, i thought it was specifically for already PS4 owners buying an entirely new system. Nevermind then, I'll keep an eye out here.

 

EDIT: in your opening post you say that Pro is 20 bigger. 20 what?

 

Percent. 20% bigger than the original PS4.

 

 

Parker

[totallycrushed]

Not gonna' upgrade to Pro probably ever. I have still 2 copies of P.T. on my PS4 and I'm not going to give those up.

[Parker]

Not gonna' upgrade to Pro probably ever. I have still 2 copies of P.T. on my PS4 and I'm not going to give those up.

 

You can transfer all the data you have on your current PS4 to the PS4 Pro by hooking them up via ethernet cable. I know P.T. was delisted from the PSN store but I would assume that if you still have it on your PS4 it would be able to transfer over. I'm sure someone will test it and confirm though. 

 

 

Parker

[AffectatiousDonk]

Just about to give the VR a whirl on the Pro, hoping for some improvements with the power

[balotelli_boy45]

P.T.?

[totallycrushed]

You can transfer all the data you have on your current PS4 to the PS4 Pro by hooking them up via ethernet cable. I know P.T. was delisted from the PSN store but I would assume that if you still have it on your PS4 it would be able to transfer over. I'm sure someone will test it and confirm though. 

 

 

Parker

Yeah I'll wait 'til someone can confirm this and then think about upgrading. Not gonna' risk it myself.

[Nano1124]

There are too many unknowns. I need to know how and what each game gets before I even think of getting one.

[yellowwindow7]

I think it's pretty simple, if you already have a ps4 then don't upgrade, if you don't have a ps4 right at this time then get the ps4 pro instead.

[Natsuu24]

Think the question is: is the extra cash for the Pro compensate over the vanilla version? Can't remember if the pro costs 50 or 100 bucks more, but is that worth paying extra?

 

Not everyone will upgrade, a few of us will jump to new new gen right away.

I was on the same side as you, with the same question... But, after see some gameplays/reviews, i decided get a slim. I dont have a 4k TV, and graphics is not very important to me (the difference is small too). Prefer use the 100€ additional to buy games, or save for PS5. The games already look prety good on original ps4, and some multiplayers games (like BF/COD) have 60 fps. But you decide

[Glaciphy]

I think I'm going to upgrade later this month. A friend of mine will buy my current 1TB original PS4 from me and I'll be getting the PS4 Pro so we can play together

[aric201812]

 

 

The other question is related to SSD - is it worth the upgrade? I can already tell I'm going to have problems with a measly 400GB at my disposal compared to the 1.8GB HDD in my other PS4. A 2TB SSD (1.8TB usable) costs almost double the price of a Pro, so the performance increase of an SSD better be substantial or it's not worth the loss of space.

 

 

 

 

I managed to pick up a Crucial M500 SATA III 1tb SSD factory reconditioned for around £120 [$150] a few weeks ago in anticipation of using for the Pro. Was looking for a 500gb but the deal was too good to pass up.

 

Haven't got the Pro yet but put the SSD in my current PS4 out of interest and the impact is dramatic. GUI is so responsive, wake up from sleep or off is almost instant, i feel like installing from disk is faster but i have the feeling the bluray is the limiting factor here so it may not make a huge difference, in game loading screens are barely there... stuttering I sometime got from assets loading in Witcher III and FO4 completely gone. In short it feels like a new machine. I suspect the Pro will be even better since it is SATA III compatible so the full speed will be available.

Edited November 10, 2016 by aric201812

[antithesis]

I managed to pick up a Crucial M500 SATA III 1tb SSD factory reconditioned for around £120 [$150] a few weeks ago in anticipation of using for the Pro. Was looking for a 500gb but the deal was too good to pass up.

 

 

That's a great deal. I think 1TB is usable, 500GB means I have to make tough choices of what to keep installed on a permanent basis.

[Parker]

Well, I'll be able to post my opinions in a few days after I've had some time with the system playing various games. 

 

 

 

Parker

[DEMON]

Sadly mines didn't arrive today.. should arrive tomorrow hopefully and there's a new FFXV demo coming out tonight so I should be able to use that to see what it's like.

[hyappatuhyakuchu]

4K is useless.