Microsoft and Sony’s next-generation game consoles are going to be the largest uplift in gaming performance in many generations, ushering in a new wave of high-end visuals and gameplay like nothing we've seen before. But all of that extra power needs the right cables to transmit the data to a compatible display. In the case of the PlayStation 5, that's HDMI 2.1.
Whether you do a PS5 preorder or wait for the PS5 release date of November 12th, getting yourself ready for some next-generation 8K gameplay is a great plan.
What is the PS5 release date and how much will it cost?
The PlayStation 5 launch date was finally announced to be November 12th in the U.S., Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and November 19th for the rest of the world, with preorders starting September 17th. On par with the Xbox Series X, the PS5 will cost $499.99 in the US, while the PS5 Digital Edition will be $399.99. The more expensive model has a Blu-ray disc slot while the Digital Edition relies on its hard drive.
What games will be on the PS5 at launch?
The PS5 will launch with a relatively modest library, as with most new-generation systems, but will quickly expand. It will include both new and last-generation games that straddle the two eras of PlayStation gaming. The list includes Rainbow Six: Siege, Godfall, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Warframe, Gothic, Outriders, a Harry Potter RPG, Horizon Zero Dawn 2, a new Call of Duty, a new Warzone, and Ghost of Tsushima.
There is also expected to be a number, if not an extensive library of, compatible games from the PS4 era. They will be confirmed individually however and may require some work from the developer to make them playable.
What cable do you need for the PS5?
Although Sony hasn't officially announced that the PS5 will use an HDMI 2.1 connection, its stated capabilities and specifications all but demand that an HDMI 2.1 cable will be the cable of choice for the new system. It's the only mainstream standard that will be capable of handling the ultra high resolution and frame rate data that the console will transmit to a connected display.
PS5 Specs and is PS5 8K gameplay possible?
The PlayStation 5 has some exciting new hardware under the hood. It's based on an AMD Zen 2 CPU – the same processor architecture as found in its Ryzen 3000 desktop CPUs – with eight cores running at 3.5GHz. That's paired up 16GB of RAM, and a next-generation, AMD RDNA2 graphics chip, which is capable of outputting 10.28 TFLOPS of graphics processing power.
To give that some context, the PS4 Pro can only handle 4.2 TFLOPS.
The PS5 will also include a powerful SSD storage system which will enable far faster game load times, game install times, and much faster gameplay due to faster asset loading during play.
All of that means that the PlayStation 5 will have support for a wide range of resolutions and frame rates to cater to different game types and genres, as well as different connected displays. For those on lower-resolution displays, or who want to play at smoother, faster frame rates, 120Hz will be fully supported. Technically 4K 120Hz will be possible, though it's unlikely many games will be able to offer that kind of detail and frames per second, even with the higher power of the next-generation console.
But what about PS5 8K support? That's a resolution that HDMI 2.1 officially supports natively at 30Hz, and even at up to 120Hz with display screen compression (DSC). In practice, the graphics processor in the PS5 just won't be powerful enough to play games at 8K resolution.
What it will enable, however, is 8K media viewing. Although 8K displays are in the minority at this time, throughout the life of the PS5 that may well change. 4K resolution displays were in over 30 percent of households in 2018, and shipments across the U.S. have increased massively over the past few years, suggesting that they will be the dominant display type in the not-too-distant future.
What comes after 4K? For many, it will be 8K and that means the PS5 8K experience will become something that many gamers and movie watchers will start enjoying in the next few years.
Should you preorder the PS5?
The PlayStation 5 isn't currently available to pre-order. Sony remains tight-lipped about when pre-orders will begin, or even be announced. But it's an important one if you want to be one of the first to experience the PS5 in all its next-generation glory.
Typically, pre-orders are far from a necessity. Rarely are there shortages of new hardware as there once was with older generations of consoles and games. Though it helps developers and manufacturers project the success of their new releases, it's not something that really concerns gamers outside of pre-order bonuses.
But that may change with a PS5 pre-order in 2020. Partially due to the projected higher than last-gen cost of the of the PS5, and the supply chain problems caused by the global lockdown, it's quite possible that there will be a shortage of PlayStation 5 consoles on launch day and for the holiday season 2020.
You might want to pre-order to ensure you receive your PS5 this holiday season.
If that's something you feel is worth paying upfront for, then make sure you're as well prepared as you can be. A PS5 HDMI 2.1 cable that can handle 8K resolution, HDR, and 120Hz is a must. If you want a really long HDMI cable to connect your PS5 to your TV on the other side of the room, then look out for the Cable Matters active HDMI 2.1 10m cable coming this summer.