The PS4 processor (aka PS4 CPU) is the main hardware part of the whole PS4 system. It is the unit which performs most of the processing inside the PS4. In other words, the CPU is the brain of the PS4 where most calculations take place. In terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element of the PS4 game console. It receives data input, executes instructions, and processes information. It communicates with input/output (I/O) devices, which send and receive data to and from the PS4 CPU. Additionally, the PS4 CPU has an internal bus for communication with the internal cache memory, called the backside bus. The main bus for data transfer to and from the PS4 CPU, memory, chipset, and AGP socket is called the front-side bus.
To control instructions and data flow to and from other parts of the PS4, the CPU relies heavily on a chipset, which is a group of microchips located on the PS4 motherboard.
The PS4 CPU contains internal memory units, which are called registers. These registers contain data, instructions, counters and addresses used in the ALU’s information processing.
Components of PS4 CPU
The PS4 CPU has two components:
- Control Unit: extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them
- Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): handles arithmetic and logical operations
To function properly, the PS4 CPU relies on the system clock, memory, secondary storage, and data and address buses.
The Four Primary Functions of the PS4 CPU
The PS4 CPU processes instructions it receives in the process of decoding data. In processing this data, the PS4 CPU performs four basic steps:
- Fetch: Each instruction is stored in memory and has its own address. The PS4 processor takes this address number from the program counter, which is responsible for tracking which instructions the PS4 CPU should execute next.
- Decode: All programs to be executed are translated to into Assembly instructions. Assembly code must be decoded into binary instructions, which are understandable to the PS4 CPU. This step is called decoding.
- Execute: While executing instructions the CPU can do one of three things: Do calculations with its ALU, move data from one memory location to another, or jump to a different address.
- Store: The PS4 CPU must give feedback after executing an instruction, and the output data is written to the memory.
But how can PS4 CPU manage all data together without any flaw? The number of operations the PS4 CPU can perform depends upon its speed, which is measured in Hertz. One hertz is the speed during which the CPU performs one operation in one second. Typically, you can measure a PS4’s speed in gigahertz. 1 GHz is the speed it takes the PS4 CPU to perform one million simple tasks. Get it as a necessity to handle all these data without a single failure. A “simple task” includes the smallest steps a processor can perform.
What the PS4 CPU Looks Like and Where’s Its Location
The PS4 CPU is small and square, with many short, rounded, metallic connectors on its underside.
The processor attaches directly to a CPU “socket” (or sometimes a “slot”) on the PS4 motherboard. The PS4 CPU is inserted into the socket pin-side-down, and a small lever helps to secure the processor.
After running even a short while, PS4 processor can get very hot. To help dissipate this heat, it’s almost always necessary to attach a heatsink and a fan directly on top of the PS4 CPU. That’s why you see the PS4 processor mounted with a cooler.
PS4 CPU Type
PS4 uses an AMD Jaguar CPU with 8 cores at the speed of 1.6GHz. While some of AMD’s charts are a little misleading out of context, this one is fairly straightforward. AMD claims that its low-power Temash system-on-chip simultaneously manages to have double the performance in 3DMark11. Now, with the release of new PS4 Pro CPU, you can imagine how faster it is. It’s a graphical benchmark, and a sizable bump in PCMark7, an all-purpose benchmark. It comes with only half the power at its disposal. At just 3.9 watts, there should be little trouble putting a dual-core 1GHz A4-1200 into a completely fanless tablet. Therefore, you can probably expect eight-watt, quad-core A6-1450 (which can boost to 1.4GHz) to fit in very thin laptops indeed.
AMD Jaguar 8-Core Processor
To get at why and Sony chose AMD CPU for PS4, you need to start with the content needs. Sony was looking for a way to increase the console “footprint”, increase the amount of apps, and lower the cost of software development. For this reason, PS4 CPU is a very good processor for the job it handles. The company designed PS4 to do a lot more than games. They designed the Ps4 console to be the future hub for all home entertainment and home automation and control. To effectively do this, they will need hundreds of complex apps that are relatively straight-forward to code. You can guess it. the PS4 processor can do the work as it should be. Therefore, you need to start with an application processor architecture that supports this, and it’s not Power architecture.
Digital Foundry finds that the scenes that only tap the PS4 Pro’s 2.1GHz Jaguar CPU only provide a minimal bump in FPS, with one scene hitting just a 6FPS bump, which actually directly corresponds to the 31% boost in the CPU’s overclock. The publication hints that if the PS4 Pro had a more optimized and powerful CPU, these specific scenes would have better frame rates.
AMD Jaguar processor used in PS4 makes the gaming more seamless and smooth. 64-bit was important as it maximized memory addressability, and the next gen console needed to run multiple apps, operating systems and hypervisors. ARM-based architectures will soon get as powerful as AMD’s Jaguar cores, but not when Sony needed them for its new console.
32-bit vs. 64-bit processors
PS4 CPU is a 64-bit processor that conforms to the modern standards of gaming consoles. Most of the newer game consoles have 64-bit compatible processor units. PS4 CPU is just one of these good consoles that adopted 64-bit technologies. The move to the newer 64-bit technology emerges from the need to allow computers to support larger RAM memory chips. The 32-bit architecture would only allow the use of a 4GB RAM. Even if you install a larger RAM in the PS4, it will only be able to use 4GB and the rest will go away wasted.
Users with the PS4 Pro usage, who want to simply browse the internet, write documents or send and receive e-mails can still select a 32-bit chipset. However users who heavily use their PS4 for multitask-heavy applications such as games and video editing will need to purchase a 64-bit chipset to optimize their computer performance.
PS4 CPU Cores
A CPU core is a CPU’s processor. In the old days, every processor had just one core that could focus on one task at a time. Today, CPUs have been two and 18 cores, each of which can work on a different task.
PS4 CPU permitting, some applications can use what we call multithreading. When the PS4 CPU runs hot, you may consider changing its fan. If a thread is understood as a single piece of a computer process, then using multiple threads in a single CPU core means more instructions can be understood and processed at once. The 8 cores of PS4 processor may get really hot if loads of data rush at once at it. Some software can take advantage of this feature on more than one CPU core, which means that even more instructions can be processed simultaneously.
A core can work on one task, while another core works a different task. So, the more cores a CPU has, the more efficient it is. In fact, PS4 CPU with its 8 cores will not make you need additional power, in most cases. Many processors, especially those in laptops, have two cores, but some mobile processors, such as Intel’s 8th generation processors, have four. You should shoot for at least four cores in your machine if you can afford it. Even with PS4 Pro CPU, you shouldn’t worry about the speed it offers.
Clock Speed
The clock speed of PS4 CPU is 1.6 MHz, while it is 2.1 MHz in PS4 Pro. The clock speed for the PS4 CPU used to be enough when comparing performance. Things aren’t so simple anymore. A CPU that offers multiple cores or hyper-threading may perform significantly better than a single-core CPU of the same speed that doesn’t feature hyper-threading.
Since PS4 comes with multiple CPUs, it can have an even bigger advantage. What you may not know about the clock speed of PS4 CPU is that developers code their games to comply with this limit. Manufacturers design all of these features to allow high-end game consoles to more easily run multiple processes at the same time, increasing your performance when multitasking or under the demands of powerful apps like video encoders and modern games. That’s why when dealing with PS4 CPU clock speed, you have to free your mind in this regard. So, let’s take a look at each of these features and what they might mean to you.
Hyper-Threading
When talking about PS4 CPU, this topic is not what we want to discuss. Actually, some Intel microprocessors use Hyper-Threading is a technology that allows a single microprocessor to act like two separate processors to the operating system and the application programs that use it. It is a feature of Intel’s IA-32 processor architecture. So, don’t concern too much when it comes to this point.
The fact that PS4 CPU doesn’t support hyper-threading is not surprising at all. With Hyper-Threading, a microprocessor’s “core” processor can execute two (rather than one) concurrent streams (or threads) of instructions sent by the operating system. Having two streams of execution units to work on allows more work to be done by the processor during each clock cycle. Using the right PS4 CPU can add more power to the gaming experience. To the operating system, the Hyper-Threading microprocessor appears to be two separate processors. Because most of today’s operating systems (such as Windows and Linux) are capable of dividing their work load among multiple processors (aka symmetric multiprocessing or SMP ). When considering the processor of PS4 Pro, the things don’t differ here. The operating system simply acts as though the Hyper-Threading processor is a pool of two processors.
Conclusion
There is a lot of gossip on PS4 CPU and how powerful it is to handle all the data it must process. This is something that shouldn’t concern real players that know the capabilities of their PS4 game console. In fact, PS4 CPU is a part of PS4 architecture that you can’t change/remove. There’s no replacement for it and you have to accept it as it is. So, don’t panic when PS4 CPU doesn’t perform the way you want, because all PS4s do the same. Unless you plan to optimize PS4 speed by doing some tweaks, that’s something else. Just make sure the PS4 CPU is the one that needs your real care.
The post PS4 Central Processing Unit (CPU) | The Information Guide appeared first on RyLi Gaming Solutions.
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