PlayStation 6 VS Xbox Next (Project Helix) – Leaked Specifications Compared

PS6 VS Next-Gen Xbox – Which console has the strongest specifications?

The next generation of consoles is coming. Both Sony and Microsoft have started teasing what’s coming next. Specifications for Sony’s PlayStation 6 “Orion” silicon and Microsoft’s Xbox “Project Helix” (Magnus) chips have leaked. That means we can compare both systems early.

What’s worth noting here is that the specifications for neither of these systems are finalised. Furthermore, these leaks have not been confirmed by Sony. That said, various sources have leaked similar specifications for both systems, making these specifications believable. They certainly line up with expectations for the next generation of gaming consoles.

Both systems are based on custom AMD silicon, which means (like today’s consoles), both systems are broadly similar. Both systems should feature similar hardware and feature sets, thanks to their joint AMD origins. That said, each system may have some “secret sauce” that gives it an advantage.

CPU Power

Both the next-generation Xbox and PlayStation reportedly use Zen 6 CPUs. That said, both have different configurations and core types. With the PlayStation, Sony is reportedly using 7-8 Zen 6c cores to handle gaming workloads and uses two additional Zen 6 LP (low power) cores to handle OS tasks. Sony’s PS6 silicon configuration reportedly isn’t finalised, so it is unclear if the CPU will use seven Zen 6c CPU cores or eight. One core could be disabled to increase chip yields.

For Xbox Project Helix, Microsoft are reportedly pairing three Zen 6 cores with eight Zen 6c cores. This means the Xbox should feature a higher CPU core count and higher maximum single-threaded performance. AMD’s Zen 6 cores should clock higher than their Zen 6c cores and may feature more internal cache. The c in Zen 6c stands for “compact”, which means that these cores are physically smaller. These smaller cores may have less cache than their larger counterparts and may be unable to reach higher clock speeds. Note that Xbox’s three Zen 6 cores could act as faster cores that are dedicated to single-threaded workloads, accelerating specific tasks.

Overall, PlayStation 6 and Xbox Project Helix will have a similar overall CPU feature set. Both systems will have a similar CPU core count and feature Zen 6 CPU cores. This means that both systems will feature the same microarchitecture and feature set. However, Xbox’s use of larger Zen 6 CPU cores could give the system an advantage.

Graphics

GPU-wise, both the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Next (Project Helix) will feature AMD RDNA 5 graphics chips. For the Xbox, this GPU will be on a separate piece of silicon, while on the PlayStation 6, it will be on the same die as the system’s CPU. Each system may have some custom elements on its GPU, and one system may lack specific features that the other possesses. Regardless, they both reportedly use RDNA 5 graphics chips that are broadly similar, architecturally speaking.

Once again, leakers have claimed that the PS6’s chip is not finalised. However, the system is estimated to have 52-54 RDNA 5 compute units. The final CU count for the system will depend on whether Sony disables compute units to increase silicon yields. Note that the PlayStation 5 has 36 RDNA 2 Compute Units, while the PS5 Pro has 60.

For Xbox’s Project Helix, the system reportedly has 68 RDNA 5 GPU Compute Units, making it much larger than the PlayStation 6’s GPU. Based on these leaks, the GPU inside Xbox Project Halo is 25.9%-30.7% larger than the GPU inside PlayStation 6. However, it is worth remembering that there is more to GPU performance than CU count alone.

Xbox Series X has more compute units than PlayStation 5, but both systems perform similarly in most games. Why? Sony’s PlayStation 5 runs its GPU at a much higher clock speed, narrowing the performance gap between the two GPUs. With higher clock speeds, the PS5 can complete some workloads faster, while the Xbox Series X’s increased CU count (GPU parallelism) delivers advantages in other areas. Without knowing the clock speeds of both systems, it is hard to know how large or small the performance gap between the two systems will be.

With RDNA 5 graphics, both systems should feature much more ray tracing performance than today’s console GPUs. Xbox has confirmed that Project Helix delivers 10x the ray tracing performance of the Xbox Series X. Add on features like neural rendering, and next-generation games should look much better than today’s games.

PlayStation 6 VS Xbox Next (Project Helix) Specifications (leaked)

NPU?

One interesting addition to the next-generation Xbox is its alleged inclusion of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), a piece of low-power silicon that is dedicated to AI tasks. While the GPUs in both the PS6 and Project Helix will be AI-capable, dedicated NPU hardware is separate from the graphics card, allowing it to run AI workloads without taking away GPU resources for graphics.

Currently, it is unknown how Microsoft plans to utilise this NPU. Will it enable special OS-level features for Project Helix? Will it enable a form of Auto Super Resolution for older Xbox games? Can developers use it to deliver enhanced AI inside their games?

Memory

With memory pricing skyrocketing, the memory capacity of both next-generation consoles will likely be the last specification on both systems to be finalised. With a 160-bit memory bus, Sony’s PS6 could theoretically have up to 40 GB of GDDR7 memory. Project Helix reportedly has a larger 192-bit memory bus, allowing it to support up to 48GB of total memory. If memory pricing remains high, both systems will likely include less memory than this. Regardless, we expect to see much more memory than the 16GB that both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have.

Without knowing the memory speeds that both systems will utilise, it is hard to know how much more bandwidth the next-generation Xbox will deliver. If both use the same memory speeds, Project Helix (next-gen Xbox) will have 20% more memory bandwidth. Sony could narrow this gap by using faster GDDR6 memory, while Microsoft could extend this gap by using faster memory than Sony.

Which console will be the most powerful?

When Microsoft unveiled Project Helix, Microsoft said that it would “lead in performance”. That means Microsoft is unlikely to repeat some of the mistakes it made with the Xbox Series X. Despite using a larger GPU, Sony dramatically narrowed the performance gap between the two systems by running its GPU at higher clock speeds. Microsoft is unlikely to let Sony do the same thing with their next-generation system. This should mean that PlayStation 6 and Project Helix should run their GPUs at more similar clock speeds. If that is the case, Project Helix (Xbox) should win the performance crown.

If these leaked specifications are correct, the next-generation Xbox should also feature a faster CPU, with faster Zen 6 cores acting as its lead cores/threads. This could be another advantage for Xbox. Though it’s arguable that this boost is necessary, given the fact that Project Helix is designed to also run PC games. Project Helix should also have more memory bandwidth, and its rumoured NPU could have its advantages.

Does more performance matter in the age of AI upscaling?

With modern ML-based upscaling solutions like FSR, PSSR, XeSS, and DLSS, the raw performance of console GPU hardware matters a lot less than it did before. Both the next-generation Xbox and PlayStation will use an ML-based upscaling solution that’s based on AMD FSR. Even if the next-generation Xbox is more powerful than the PlayStation 6, all that benefit will bring is a higher base resolution for Xbox (Project Helix). Given how effective AI upscaling is, the visual difference between the two systems should be minor. It could be like turning DLSS/FSR’s Quality mode to Balanced mode. The visual difference between the two will be minor unless you are looking for differences.

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