Introduction
Unreal Engine 5 represents a major leap forward in real-time graphics and it gives us a glimpse into the next generation of gaming visuals. Both Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X will support Unreal Engine 5, but there will likely be differences in how each system handles these advanced graphics. In this in-depth analysis, I’ll compare the graphical capabilities of PS5 and Xbox Series X running Unreal Engine 5 demos and examine how factors like resolution, frame rate, ray tracing, and more impact the visual experience on each console.
Demo Analysis
The Matrix Awakens
One of the first Unreal Engine 5 demos shown for next-gen consoles was The Matrix Awakens, developed by Epic Games in collaboration with film studio Warner Bros. This demo was designed to showcase what’s possible with UE5 in terms of photorealistic characters, environments, lighting, and effects.
On PS5, The Matrix Awakens runs at 4K resolution with a 30 FPS target. The visuals are incredibly detailed with advanced material shading, global illumination, and screen space reflections bringing the city environment to life. Ray traced reflections are used on vehicles and windows to heighten realism.
On Xbox Series X, the demo also runs at 4K resolution but has a 60 FPS performance target. This improved frame rate comes at the cost of some visual effects – ray traced reflections are disabled on Series X. The demo still looks stunning, but lacks some of the finer graphical touches seen on PS5.
Overall, PS5 leverages its beefier graphics hardware to deliver a more cinematic 30 FPS experience, while Series X favors smoother 60 FPS performance over ray tracing features.
Lumen in the Land of Nanite
Epic showcased its two core UE5 technologies, Lumen and Nanite, in a technical demo called Lumen in the Land of Nanite. This demo was running on PlayStation 5 during its initial reveal.
On PS5, Lumen in the Land of Nanite runs at a 1440p resolution with a 30 FPS target. The visuals demonstrate UE5’s movie-CG quality lighting with Lumen’s real-time global illumination and physically based materials that react to scene lighting. Nanite allows for an incredible level of geometric detail with hundreds of millions of polygons filling the environment.
Digital Foundry analyzed this demo running on Xbox Series X and found it targeting 4K resolution at 30 FPS just like the PS5 version. Both consoles can handle the advanced UE5 features like Lumen and Nanite equally well. However, the PS5 reserves some GPU headroom to accommodate higher quality shadows and ambient occlusion.
In this demo, the PS5’s advantage lies in finer details like shadows and AO rather than core features like Lumen or Nanite. The Xbox Series X trades some visual refinements for higher resolution output.
Technical Comparison
Hardware Specs
When it comes to real-time graphics, the capabilities of the underlying hardware plays a huge role. Here’s a quick comparison of the graphics specs between PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X:
- GPU power – PS5 has 10.3 TFLOPs vs Series X has 12 TFLOPs
- Architecture – PS5 uses custom RDNA 2 while Series X uses RDNA 2 variant
- Ray tracing – Both have dedicated ray tracing acceleration hardware
- Memory – PS5 has 16GB GDDR6 with 448GB/s bandwidth. Series X has same capacity and bandwidth.
On paper, the Xbox Series X has a moderate advantage in terms of raw graphics and memory throughput. But the PS5 still holds up thanks to its super-fast custom SSD and potent RDNA 2 GPU.
Resolution and Frame Rate Targets
The console’s graphics hardware powers the rendered resolution and frame rate we see in games. The targets vary between PS5 and Xbox Series X:
- For 4K output, PS5 frequently uses checkerboard rendering while Series X uses native 4K rendering.
- In terms of performance modes, PS5 targets 60 FPS while Series X pushes up to 120 FPS.
- At lower resolutions like 1440p, the PS5 leans into visual effects while Series X focuses on high frame rates.
The PS5 seems optimized for cinematic visuals even at lower resolutions while the Series X taps into its power for faster frame rates. This aligns with their respective goals – PlayStation prioritizes immersion while Xbox focuses on performance.
Backward Compatibility Considerations
The PS5 and Xbox Series X also differ significantly when running last-gen PS4 and Xbox One games via backward compatibility:
- On PS5, back-compat titles run in Legacy Mode restricted to base PS4 spec.
- Series X features Xbox One X Enhancements for back-compat games when available.
- As a result, Xbox One X enhanced games look and run better on Series X.
- The PS5 provides more consistent visuals between new and old games.
This means the Xbox Series X will offer visual benefits for supported older games, while PS5 aims to provide uniform visual quality across generations.
Developer Considerations
Optimizing for Each System
Developers play a major role in realizing the full graphics potential of PS5 and Xbox Series X. When making multiplatform games, studios optimize specifically for each system:
- The PS5’s I/O throughput encourages streaming of high quality assets.
- Series X’s GPU power can be used for higher resolution textures and elements.
- Each system has different bottlenecks, so effects are tailored accordingly.
First-party Sony and Microsoft developers crafting exclusives dig even deeper into custom hardware-specific features:
- Sony studios focus on cinematic quality through immersive effects.
- Xbox studios leverage the Series X’s performance headroom.
- Exclusives designed for just one system avoid compromise.
So even with the same engine like Unreal Engine 5, optimization considerations result in visual differences between PS5 and Series X.
Ray Tracing Support
One of the major graphics innovations this generation is real-time ray tracing supported by both consoles. But the implementation and level of ray traced effects can vary:
- PS5 seem to use ray tracing judiciously for select effects like reflections.
- Series X takes a brute force approach with wide ray tracing usage.
- The Series X GPU may be better optimized for ray tracing workloads.
- Both consoles use intelligent scaling to balance ray tracing with performance.
In their current states, the Xbox Series X appears more equipped for extensive ray tracing compared to PlayStation 5’s more conservative approach.
Closing Thoughts
Unreal Engine 5 is an impressive leap for real-time graphics. When comparing PS5 and Xbox Series X, we see subtle differences in how each system handles these new visual features. The PS5 excels at cinematic quality through resolution, effects, and judicious use of ray tracing. The Xbox Series X flexes its performance muscles to achieve higher frame rates and more ray traced effects at the cost of some finer details.
But these differences merely come down to optimization priorities tailored to each console’s strengths. Both deliver gorgeous Unreal Engine 5 graphics that mark a new generation of immersive worlds and realistic characters that were previously only possible pre-rendered. This is an exciting time for the future of real-time rendering and there’s far more still to come from PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
