When the PlayStation 5 was released in November 2020, users and reviewers (including yourself) were ecstatic to learn about the significant improvements Sony had made over the PS4.
For a while, it felt like we were playing on a sluggish system that couldn’t keep up with what Microsoft was releasing with its Xbox systems.
I’ve always been a PlayStation fanatic.
My PS2 and PS3 are still in good working order! In terms of specifications, though, the PS4 was a bit of a letdown.
The PS4 contains 8 GB of GDDR5 unified system memory in the CUH10XX/CUH11XX variants and 8 x 1 GB in the CUH12XX models.
The PS4’s maximum clock frequency is 2.75 GHz, and its maximum bandwidth is 176 GB/s.
This was sufficient when it was released in November of 2013.
But it wasn’t long before it became clear that we’d need more RAM to run larger, more graphic-intensive games.
With higher poly models, more detailed textures, and exponentially more complicated landscapes (have you seen Elden Ring’s open-world structure?!) games are becoming exponentially more complex.
Sony decided to boost the ante on its specifications.
In terms of RAM, Sony more than quadrupled what the PS4 had, making the PS5 far more capable of keeping up with the gaming world.
Let’s take a look at the PS5’s RAM capacity.
What is the PS5’s RAM capacity?
The PS5 includes two memory pools: a 16 GB GDDR6 SDRAM main pool and a 512 MB DDR4 SDRAM secondary pool. For high-performance gaming, the primary pool is used at high bandwidth rates. The secondary pool is utilized for the operating system’s background processes.
Who makes the PS5 and how much RAM does it have? Is it possible to increase the RAM on the PS5?
How does this RAM stack up against the PS4s?
Is there a RAM equivalent for PCs? Continue reading to find out more about the PS5’s two RAM pools.
What is the PS5’s RAM capacity?
The PS5 has two RAM pools that handle two independent sets of functions, which is definitely one of the largest advancements to the PlayStation.
SDRAM: 16 GB GDDR6
The primary RAM pool is a 16 GB GDDR6 SDRAM (Graphics Double Data Rate 6 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory), which replaces the previous GDDR5.
The GDDR6 interface offers greater bandwidth and is intended for high-end PC gaming, gaming consoles, and graphics cards.
This RAM pool is designed for gaming and performance.
The PS5 uses a mixture of 8 2 GB (equivalent to 16 GB) processors, each capable of logging up to 14000 MHz, resulting in a bandwidth of 448 GB/s, more than double that of the PS4.
This GDDR6 RAM is also considerably more efficient because it can load data directly from the SSD at significantly faster speeds.
DDR4 SDRAM (512 MB)
Sony included 512 MB DDR4 SDRAM to perform all of the OS’s background duties.
What are the advantages? More power efficiency, lower costs, and improved performance capabilities are all goals.
Who makes the RAM for the PS5?
These two RAM pools are really manufactured by two distinct manufacturers. Consider who manufactures them.
SDRAM: 16 GB GDDR6
The 16 GB GDDR6 SDRAM in the main pool is made by Micron.
This technological industry leader has been in operation for more than 40 years and is well recognized for its DRAM technology and memory cards.
DDR4 SDRAM (512 MB)
The second RAM pool is made by SK Hynix.
Since 1983, this South Korean corporation has been at the forefront of the worldwide ICT industry.
They are the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, after Samsung.
They’re also the third-largest semiconductor company in the world.
Is it possible to upgrade the PS5’s RAM?
The PS5’s RAM can’t be increased, although it’s not necessary.
For the time being, the SSD has removed the necessity for consumers to upgrade their PS5’s RAM.
Traditional magnetic HDDs may not have provided sufficient bandwidth for some users, whereas SDDs do.
The SDD on the PS5 is nearly 100 times faster than a traditional hard drive, which is extremely astounding.
A lot of non-essential data can be stored on the PS5’s SSD and then loaded into RAM in real-time when needed.
And a lot of new games take advantage of SSD to its best capacity.
You obtain practically instantaneous transitions between levels because a game dumps all of its current level’s data out of RAM and loads the next level from the SSD into the main RAM pool in under 1.5 seconds.
Any elements that are not currently on the screen in games like Insomniac will be kept in SSD and loaded into RAM as needed.
Because the PS4’s hard drive could not load them rapidly enough, telephone boxes and bins were kept in RAM.
With the PS5, the quick SSD can now store them and load them into RAM as needed.
What is the PS4’s RAM capacity?
Here’s what we see in the PS4’s two RAM pools when it comes to memory: The CUH10XX/CUH11XX Models have 8 GB (16 512 MB) of GDDR5 RAM, whereas the CUH12XX Models have 8 x 1 GB (1024 MB) of GDDR5 unified system memory (with a maximum bandwidth of 176 GB/s) plus a secondary RAM pool with 256 MB of RAM to handle OS operations and background duties.
The PS4 is equipped with GDDR5 memory.
What PC RAM is comparable to the RAM in the PS5?
Because the PS5’s RAM is shared by the CPU and GPU, this is a difficult comparison to make. A computer does not.
Instead, a PC’s RAM is split between the CPU and the GPU, with the CPU having its own DDR4 RAM and the GPU having a pool of GDDR6 RAM.
A PC with 16GB of CPU system RAM running at a speed of 3200Mhz is the closest thing that can be comparable PC-wise.
In terms of graphics RAM, a PC would need to have anywhere between a 10GB and 16GB GDDR6 GPU to truly compete with the PS5.
Closing Thoughts
When it came to the PS5, Sony didn’t hold back.
The PlayStation 4 wasn’t a bad console, but it had flaws and wasn’t as forward-thinking as it could have been.
The PS5 considers the future of gaming more, which is apparent in the way its RAM is organized.
The PS5 is able to offer quick gameplay at maximum efficiency thanks to two pools to share the work.
