Next-gen Xbox and PS6 chips “Taped Out” – TFLOPS numbers leak
Next-gen console TFLOP numbers leak as chips tape out
According to leaker KeplerL2, both next-generation console chips have taped out, locking in the hardware capabilities of PlayStation 6 and Xbox “Project Helix”. From here on, the hardware behind both systems is effectively fixed. With both consoles now having fixed silicon, there isn’t much that either company can do to tweak their console’s performance.
Both next-generation consoles reportedly use AMD Zen 6-based CPUs and AMD RDNA 5 graphics. This gives both systems the benefits of several PC generational leaps over today’s consoles, which use AMD Zen 2 and RDNA 2-based GPUs.
Taped-out silicon will not undergo major alterations ahead of launch. While new silicon revisions may be issued, they are primarily intended to fix bugs or other issues. The overall chip layout and hardware specifications should remain unchanged. As such, neither Sony nor Xbox can now alter their silicon in any significant way.
PS6 vs Xbox “Project Helix”: Which is faster?
While confirming the tape-out of both consoles, KeplerL2 also revealed compute performance estimates for both. The PlayStation 6 will reportedly deliver 40 TFLOPS of performance, while Xbox “Project Helix” will deliver 56 TFLOPS. This gives Microsoft’s new Xbox a 40% performance advantage, at least in theory.
Note that these TFLOPS numbers should not be directly compared with current-generation consoles. This could give gamers a misleading performance estimate, since TFLOPS doesn’t indicate gaming performance. Gaming performance depends on more than TFLOPS alone.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S deliver around 4 TFLOPS and 12 TFLOPS of compute performance, respectively. The PS5 and PS5 Pro deliver around 10.2 and 16.7 TFLOPS of compute performance. In pure computation terms, PS6 and Helix should thrash today’s consoles. That said, other factors like AI performance, ray tracing performance, and more will play a role. Microsoft’s new Xbox console reportedly features an NPU, which could also give Xbox performance advantages.
| PlayStation 6 Specifications (Leaked) |
Next-Gen Xbox (Project Helix) Specifications (Leaked) |
|
| CPU Architecture | AMD Zen 6 Generation | AMD Zen 6 Generation |
| CPU Cores | 7-8x Zen 6c + 2x Zen 6 LP |
3x Zen 6 + 8x Zen 6c |
| GPU Architecture | AMD RDNA 5 | AMD RDNA 5 |
| GPU Compute Units | 52-54 CUs | 68 CUs |
| GPU TFLOPS | 40 TFLOPS | 56 TFLOPS |
| NPU | N/A | 46 TOPS @ 1.2W 110 TOPS @ 6W |
| Die Size | 280mm² Monolithic | 144mm² SOC + 264mm² GPU |
| Process | TSMC 3nm | TSMC 3nm |
| Memory Bus | 160-bit | 192-bit |
| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR7 |
| Memory Capacity | To be Confirmed (30GB Likely) (Up to 40GB) |
To be Confirmed (Up to 48GB) |
Will TFLOPS matter this generation?
Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox reportedly has a 40% compute advantage over PlayStation 5, but does that mean that next-generation games will look much better on Xbox? With modern upscaling techniques, the difference between Xbox and PlayStation 5 games may be smaller than their relative TFLOPS numbers imply. We’ve also learned from the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X that the console with the most TFLOPS isn’t guaranteed to win. While the Xbox Series X bests the PlayStation 5 on paper, both consoles deliver very similar performance levels in games in most instances.
While Microsoft appears to have the more powerful next-generation console, this power comes at a time when base resolution matters less. If Xbox “Helix” and PlayStation 6 use next-generation AMD FSR upscaling, both consoles should deliver similar visuals. Even if Xbox has the stronger console, most gamers may find the visual difference hard to spot. If that is the case, Microsoft’s beefier console specifications may not yield them much benefit.
Join the discussion on Xbox “Project Helix” and PlayStation 6 on the OC3D Forums.
