It was a few weeks before the launch of the two consoles, in November 2020, when we were able to know once and for all what the future would look like (at that time). PS5. However, the doubts that revolved around the design of the console were soon cleared up, since then it was not known which ports each one had on its back or what size they were going to occupy exactly in centimeters. However, pulling official images could be done size comparisons between PS5 and Xbox Series X quite reliable, simply throwing lines and applying the mathematics in the few snapshots in which both consoles could be seen face to face.
How big is PS5?
It is true that the appearance of PS5 is, at least, original. And the meaning of this word will have a different meaning for each one. Some might perceive that we refer to it in a positive way, while others will believe that the tone borders on the derogatory. Be that as it may, the candle shape of the Sony console invites jokes and, somehow, jokes given the scarcity of units that have accompanied the machine for the first year and a half: however ugly it may seem to us, it is so rare to see a real one, that almost automatically we want it, we desire it and it even comes to seem like a design genius.
As you can see the image that you have just above, taking the diameter of a Blu-ray as a reference, it was possible in 2020 to calculate what the size ratio would be between the two consoles, face them respecting proportions that were later confirmed as true: PS5 is much taller and narrower, while the block What Xbox Series X supposes also makes it worthy of needing a good space on the furniture where we are going to install it.
As if that were not enough, the design of the PS5 model is digital only, without a Blu-ray reader, makes your shapes even more stylized and that little hump that you can see just above the disc compatible model, go away. It goes without saying that if you want to avoid one more slot through which dust will enter your console, it is the best option, in addition to being worth 100 euros less. But we understand the attractiveness of the physical format, which allows us to sell the game once we have finished it and invest in news to continue with the wheel for a few more months.
right up here you can see in due measure what is the size of each console, with the evident greater height of PS5 and the width of Xbox Series X. In both cases, both Sony and Microsoft have opted for very different form factors from those of PS4 or Xbox One, designed to be used (above all) horizontally, unlike these two models that we have in stores (that is to say) since 2020. Which of the two do you think is more cumbersome and complicated to place on the living room furniture?
EIn the case of PS5 we have the possibility of knocking it down horizontally, resting on that base that can be used in both orientations, which is a detail on the part of the Japanese. In the case of Xbox Series X, we can also knock it down, but unlike the Sony model, it seems to be crying out for us to leave it as you can see in the image above.
How big is PS5?
Based on the previous approximate calculations, and assuming that Xbox Series X is about 30 centimeters tall, PlayStation 5 reaches 39 including the base that allows it to be placed vertically. This represents an increase of 10 centimeters compared to the Microsoft proposal, a fairly large size that many must take into account when placing it on the furniture next to the television. Although remember, as we indicated before, it is also possible to place it horizontally.
We will not say that the rest of the measures are secondary, but they do matter less: 15,1 wide and long in the case of Xbox Series X and 26 by 10,4 on the PS5 side. As in video games, what one of them lacks somewhere is surpassed by the other right in the same place. So the competition in the next-gen It goes to those minuscule extremes.
technical characteristics
One of the big unknowns that were considered in addition to the PS5 design were its technical specifications. How Sony was going to control the possible heat generation problems of the console by adding a system capable of not collapsing the machine after several hours of use.
If you remember, the configuration of the AMD CPU that PS5 has inside establishes a total of 8 Zen 2 cores running at a speed of 3,5 GHz, while the AMD RDNA 2 GPU did work 36 CUs at 2,23 Ghz. More than important numbers for a generation that is going to plunge fully into 4K resolutions at a minimum of 60 Hz, if not more.
All of the above implies significant energy consumption, in addition to the fact that both brains will generate quite a lot of heat due to the frequencies in which they work. The photos that leaked from the development kit made us imagine that the internal architecture of the console would be quite a challenge, hence the dissipation has become the key for the proper functioning of the system.
internal cooling
Maybe that's why PS5 is bigger than expected. because in sony they had to design a chassis that stays cool and without ventilation problems, hence the front opening in the form of scales that allow airing the interior from top to bottom (taking air, for example, from the back of the console).
Microsoft, for its part, opted for an AMD chip with a faster CPU that reaches 3,8 GHz and a GPU that bets on more computing units, 52 CUs, and a clock rate less than 1,825 GHz. This would cause a better consumption, or at least a more balanced one, which would translate into more manageable temperatures within the system and much less pronounced overheating.