PlayStation 6 won't feature 'full' RDNA 5: next-gen Xbox is faster, but PS6 still a powerhouse

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 6 console could be delayed through to 2029 according to new reports, and in a fresh leak, we're being told that the PS6 won't have the "full" RDNA 5 feature set.

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We've known for a while now from leakers like Moore's Law is Dead what would be inside of the PS6 console, a new semi-custom SoC with AMD Zen 6 CPU cores and RDNA 5 GPU cores, but it won't be the "full feature set" of RDNA 5, some of that will be left for special sauce for the RDNA 5-powered Radeon RX graphics cards.

In leaks over that time we've also come to learn that the next-gen Xbox would be faster than the next-gen PS6, with the new Xbox featuring a larger 64 CUs of RDNA 5 with GDDR7 memory, while the PS6 is touted with 52-54 CUs of RDNA 5.

However, in a new post on the NeoGAF forums, leaker "KeplerL2" said that the PS6 will not include the full feature set of RDNA 5, reportedly to keep costs down. I think between Sony and AMD's collaboration on the APU, the RDNA 5 feature set isn't as strong on the PS6, leaving some room for RDNA 5 magic on next-gen Radeon RX series graphics cards.

The PS6 is already going to be leaps and bounds better than the PS5, and it will -- interestingly -- see Microsoft's next-gen Xbox being the fastest console on the planet. But consider this: the PS5 didn't use the entire feature set of the RDNA 2 architecture and still pulled some magic off (again, between Sony and AMD collaboration).

This is why we're seeing Microsoft reportedly taking a different path with its new Xbox, but pre-built PCs with semi-custom AMD chips will be the new Xboxes, leaving Sony to dominate the single-release console market with the PlayStation 6, and probably a PS6 Pro a couple of years later. But the same issue arises: the DRAM crisis.

With more products being Xboxes = more DRAM = higher costs for Microsoft (that have to be eaten as losses) or higher costs to the consumer = more expensive gaming systems. Whatever the next steps are for consoles, I can't imagine being in those board rooms right now planning years ahead because of the DRAM crisis.