The PlayStation 5 might have an eight-core Ryzen CPU at its heart

The PlayStation 5 might have an eight-core Ryzen CPU at its heart

Sony's next-generation console, the rumored PlayStation 5, looks like it might continue the use of AMD hardware to power it, with rumors suggesting that not only will a next-generation AMD graphics chip power the console's visuals, but that it will be backed up by an eight-core, AMD Ryzen CPU.

This latest rumor comes from a Redditor, which may not be a great starting point for an endorsement, but as PCGamesN points out, this is the same Redditor who correctly highlighted that Sony would not be attending E3 in 2019.

That same Redditor, RuthenticCookie, claims that AMD will provide the GPU, in the form of a Navi graphics chip and the CPU, in the form of the Ryzen 8-core chip. The PS5 will launch in either March or November of 2020, we're told, and will have a launch price tag of $500.

If true, none of this would be specifically surprising. AMD's Navi was long-rumored to be being designed specifically with the PS5 in mind and AMD was reportedly working on microcode adjustments to its Ryzen chips back in May this year to make it more applicable for a console platform.

The current crop of mainstream consoles also employ a lot of AMD hardware. Although the Nintendo Switch has an Nvidia Tegra GPU powering its visuals, the XBox One and PS4 utilize AMD APUs which combine CPU and GPU cores into a single die. Considering the CPU portion of those chips is based on AMD's Jaguar architecture -- hardly a powerhouse -- the new-gen system(s) will likely see a huge increase in general computing performance thanks to Ryzen, if these rumors turn out to be true.

Image source: DavidHansson/Deviantart