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Digital Foundry: Alan Wake 2 PS5 Pro Tech Review - Pro vs PS5 - PSSR vs DLSS - Pro RT vs PC

No, AW2 uses mesh/primitive shaders on both PS5/XSX using the same AMD enabler hardware which maps 1:1 to primitive shaders (AMD terminology for the feature). XSX doesn't have a specific "mesh shader hardware", nuances are related to directx12U interpretation of the implementation.
Thank you, that is the best explanation I’ve read on the matter.

But I distinctly remember the XSX running AW 2 better than base PS5 and the difference between the two was higher than what it usually is. DF also mentioned mesh shaders in their review if I’m not misstaken, hence my question.
 

Zathalus

Member
Thank you, that is the best explanation I’ve read on the matter.

But I distinctly remember the XSX running AW 2 better than base PS5 and the difference between the two was higher than what it usually is. DF also mentioned mesh shaders in their review if I’m not misstaken, hence my question.
Primitive and mesh shaders are very similar with mesh shaders being programmatically more flexible. PS5 Pro is now indeed on mesh shaders but there should be no performance differences between the two.
 

Lysandros

Member
Thank you, that is the best explanation I’ve read on the matter.

But I distinctly remember the XSX running AW 2 better than base PS5 and the difference between the two was higher than what it usually is. DF also mentioned mesh shaders in their review if I’m not misstaken, hence my question.
As far as know PS5 code improved quite a bit but i wouldn't be that surprised if XSX still performs a little better on this. Remedy is a PC centric developer at the core which higher familiarity with directx than GNM/X apparently, this should naturally favor XSX. We have other examples like Avatar which uses mesh shaders on both (as per developer's statement) and performs better on PS5. As always, depends on the specific engine/game.
 
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adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
A few people have concluded that the PS5 Pro only has a 30% boost, but they are wrong.
The 250 watt PS5 Pro (suitable for TV) has many limitations when it comes to benchmarking the GPU: 60fps or 120fps cap, CPU bound, memory bandwidth and V-Sync.
Remedy's Pro patch is a failure and developers should have improved the resolution and framerate.
Let's wait for better updates for other games in the future.
A3lM0gu.jpg

"Let's wait for better updates"

But almost all the images in your collage are non Pro patched games that just run faster due to the faster GPU. without incurring any of the PSSR overhead.

🤔


As far as know PS5 code improved quite a bit but i wouldn't be that surprised if XSX still performs a little better on this.

AW2 runs better on SX even if we compare today's PS5/Pro version with DF's coverage of the game last year, without even factoring in all the updates the SX version also got.



9VeXWxk.png
 

T4keD0wN

Member
I honestly think they are still overrated as fuck. I see more posts about cyberpunk and hellblade 2 graphics than I ever see on AW2.
Just because its AW2 is less popular than Cyberpunk doesnt mean its not better looking. Cyberpunk might have better use of effects, but AW2 still beats it in all other aspects of visual presentation (obviously open world games will end up less consistent).

As for Hellblade, console exclusives get more attention than normal games for obvious reasons, it looks consistently good, but presentation is just about the only thing the game has going for it, problem with HB2 visuals is that it looks nearly the same on highest settings as it does on the lowest which is still decent, but maxed out AW2 doesnt have this problem and ends up way more impressive if you max it out.
 
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"Let's wait for better updates"

But almost all the images in your collage are non Pro patched games that just run faster due to the faster GPU. without incurring any of the PSSR overhead.

🤔




AW2 runs better on SX even if we compare today's PS5/Pro version with DF's coverage of the game last year, without even factoring in all the updates the SX version also got.



9VeXWxk.png
That XSX runs aw2 better than the Pro goes against all logic and would point to the code being better optimized on SX rather than it being hw related unless there is avx or something the xsx simply does better.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
A few people have concluded that the PS5 Pro only has a 30% boost, but they are wrong.
The 250 watt PS5 Pro (suitable for TV) has many limitations when it comes to benchmarking the GPU: 60fps or 120fps cap, CPU bound, memory bandwidth and V-Sync.
Remedy's Pro patch is a failure and developers should have improved the resolution and framerate.
Let's wait for better updates for other games in the future.
A3lM0gu.jpg
?? several of your comparisons show performance delta in the 35% range.

if you own a pro, a new vrr tv and a ps5, you can do this yourself. i did. I played tlou2 on the base ps5 and got framerates of 75-95 fps. those same sections gave me framerates of 100-120 fps. this is a pro patched game from a first party studio. performing anywhere between 25-30% better on a console that should on paper be at least 67% faster in standard rasterization and 100% faster in RT games.

spiderman 2 and ratchet can also be compared this way but they use dynamic resolution so it might not be completely accurate. still you can see that ratchet still does not run at 60 fps in the native 4k mode. it sits around 53 fps. with the new rt upgrades and a 67% better gpu, it shouldve easily hit 60 fps given the 40 fps fidelity mode. spiderman 2 is also the same. the moment you turn on all the rt effects, the resolution just drops to 1440p. the 2-4x rt performance upgrades would not have allowed for it.

even the lords of the fallen devs said that they were only able to upgrade the resolution by 40% on the pro. yes, its likely bottlenecked by vram, vram bandwidth, and cpu but thats besides the point. the point is that the console isnt performing up to specs.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
That XSX runs aw2 better than the Pro goes against all logic and would point to the code being better optimized on SX rather than it being hw related unless there is avx or something the xsx simply does better.
it does not. the pro is using quality mode settings. the xsx is still using performance mode settings which reduce the gpu load and result in better performance.

had remedy kept the performance mode settings on the pro, you would see the pro perform better.
 

Lysandros

Member
I really think there should be a Sony mandate dictating that PS5 PRO versions shouldn't run worse than the base versions regardless of reasons. Even due to developer's lapse of judgement, this is a particularly bad look for the new system. Those kind of things wouldn't help to sell more consoles to the enthusiast crowd that's for sure. In fairness a part of me doesn't want the system to be particularly successful since i despise mid generation upgrade concept but still.
 
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shamoomoo

Member
"Let's wait for better updates"

But almost all the images in your collage are non Pro patched games that just run faster due to the faster GPU. without incurring any of the PSSR overhead.

🤔




AW2 runs better on SX even if we compare today's PS5/Pro version with DF's coverage of the game last year, without even factoring in all the updates the SX version also got.



9VeXWxk.png
Ugh!🙄🙄🙄 The Pro is not running the performance the same as the base console because its setting are closer to the quality modes on the PS5 and XSX, the Pro is "slower" because it's a relatively heavier game. Without context the comparison makes Remedy seem like Lazy devs or the PS5 Pro is under delivering.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Ugh!🙄🙄🙄 The Pro is not running the performance the same as the base console because its setting are closer to the quality modes on the PS5 and XSX, the Pro is "slower" because it's a relatively heavier game. Without context the comparison makes Remedy seem like Lazy devs or the PS5 Pro is under delivering.

In general, a Pro console should not be running games worse than the base console. That should not be a controversial take, regardless of if it's using PSSR or not.

This happened for a few games back on the PS4 Pro too where the OG PS4 would often run a game a bit better and Pro would have more drops, wasn't good back then either.
 

shamoomoo

Member
In general, a Pro console should not be running games worse than the base console. That should not be a controversial take, regardless of if it's using PSSR or not.

This happened for a few games back on the PS4 Pro too where the OG PS4 would often run a game a bit better and Pro would have more drops, wasn't good back then either.
Sure,but if the settings aren't the same or the game is doing more relatively to other machines then what do you expect?
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Sure,but if the settings aren't the same or the game is doing more relatively to other machines then what do you expect?

It's doing more relative to the other machines, but it's also a stronger device relative to the other machines. We're not just increasing fidelity on two devices of the same spec.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Remedy are just dumb idiots who decided to add more effects in the 60 fps mode instead of simply upping the resolution so that PSSR can finally shine.
The 60fps mode barely matches the PS5 base quality mode and also runs at a lower resolution and looks worse.
They didn't add a great deal, in fact it's shocking they couldn't match the PS5 Pro quality mode without RT at 60fps
the patch is just generally bad and looks like it was thrown out last minute.
The fact that performance mode still looks like shit says it all.
And the RT is poor base PS5 level RT.
Also the game is glitchy as fuck.
 

RobRSG

Member
"Let's wait for better updates"

But almost all the images in your collage are non Pro patched games that just run faster due to the faster GPU. without incurring any of the PSSR overhead.

🤔




AW2 runs better on SX even if we compare today's PS5/Pro version with DF's coverage of the game last year, without even factoring in all the updates the SX version also got.



9VeXWxk.png
It is clear that Remedy had little effort putting this Pro version together.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
It is clear that Remedy had little effort putting this Pro version together.

I wonder what caused that decision. It would be interesting if remedy gave some form of update on why they made these choices but I doubt we ever will.

The shimmering in pro quality mode is really bad and needs to be changed back imo.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
"Let's wait for better updates"

But almost all the images in your collage are non Pro patched games that just run faster due to the faster GPU. without incurring any of the PSSR overhead.

🤔




AW2 runs better on SX even if we compare today's PS5/Pro version with DF's coverage of the game last year, without even factoring in all the updates the SX version also got.



9VeXWxk.png
Performance mode on ps5 and performance mode on pro are different modes.
Performance mode is old quality mode on pro.
 

kevboard

Member
The shimmering in pro quality mode is really bad and needs to be changed back imo.

it's low quality post processing due to GPU constraints.

Nvidia for example, generally advices developers to run post processes at target resolution and after reconstruction happened.
but this will have a performance impact. and depending on how heavy the post processing is, it can have a large impact.

the solution here would be to follow the same advice Nvidia gives developers. but that solution could mean framerate drops if their GPU budget is already basically at its limits.
 
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Nex240

Neo Member
A few people have concluded that the PS5 Pro only has a 30% boost, but they are wrong.
The 250 watt PS5 Pro (suitable for TV) has many limitations when it comes to benchmarking the GPU: 60fps or 120fps cap, CPU bound, memory bandwidth and V-Sync.
Remedy's Pro patch is a failure and developers should have improved the resolution and framerate.
Let's wait for better updates for other games in the future.
A3lM0gu.jpg
Comparing PS4/Cross gen games to AW2 is going to lead to disappointment. Next gen only games are probably going to fall in that 30% range more often.
 

SKYF@ll

Member
"Let's wait for better updates"

But almost all the images in your collage are non Pro patched games that just run faster due to the faster GPU. without incurring any of the PSSR overhead.

🤔




AW2 runs better on SX even if we compare today's PS5/Pro version with DF's coverage of the game last year, without even factoring in all the updates the SX version also got.



9VeXWxk.png
PS5 & XSX: 847p (1440p / FSR2) , low~mid setting
PS5 Pro: 864p (2160p / PSSR) , mid~high setting

Remedy likely decided on 864p to match the heaviest forest scenes.
If DRS is adopted, the PS5 Pro's internal resolution will increase to over 1080p in scenes other than forests, and PSSR upscaling should also work well.
 

Hunnybun

Member
So do we have a good idea now whether PSSR actually does much to improve these very low base res games? Cos if it doesn't, what exactly is the point of this console?
 

SKYF@ll

Member
Comparing PS4/Cross gen games to AW2 is going to lead to disappointment. Next gen only games are probably going to fall in that 30% range more often.
I think Next gen only games will benefit from more CUs and memory bandwidth.
However, if those games are CPU bound, then you're right.
 

Luipadre

Gold Member
Seems like AW2 still looks shit in its performance mode though? What about something like Jedi Survivor?

I dont think it looks shit at all. Unless you zoom in and focus only on the bad stuff. Framerate on the other hand is... kinda shit. If it was a solid 60 all the way through i would be really satisfied with it on the Pro
 

Neo_game

Member
Show me some "objective" results then. We have numbers from old games running around ~30% better than PS5, we also have PS5 Pro native app AW2 that has performance measured.

GPU that is the closest to Pro is 3070, if it wasn't vram limited in many new games it would almost be a perfect match:

AzEI4ar.jpeg




How you measure that?

Last of Us Pro mode is 1440p 60 just like base mode but with PSSR
God of War Pro mode use quality settings in 60fps (unlocked) but is 1440p instead of 4k from base ps5 quality mode.
Demon's Souls is 1440p 60 just like PS5 but with PSSR? etc.



Optimizations for Pro would also make base PS5 version perform better, it's still the same architecture. So far delta seems around that 30% and if games will start to show more than that we will know that something was wrong at launch.

I would like to see a bench of R5 3600 with RX 6800. As I said previously performance is dependent on dev and optimization. It can be on par with RT 3070 it is can do better or worse. Not sure AW2 is the best example though.

From the specs 60CU, 16tflops 576gbps it should be on par with RX6800 or 7700XT
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
Remedy's crappy work aside, is that amount of shimmering common in games with PSSR?
I've watched a bunch of gameplay videos and it's quite noticeable in some games.
I actually dropped Horizon Forbidden West on launch due to how bad the shimmering was in performance mode, so for me that would be a deal breaker.
HFW is perfect even on base PS5
 

Pelao

Member
HFW is perfect even on base PS5
It is now, but it was not the case when it came out. It took several weeks for them to fix the shimmering of its performance mode. And the problems I see in some games with PSSR remind me of that. I dropped the game due to how bad it was (until it was fixed), that's why I ask how common it is.
 
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Seems like AW2 still looks shit in its performance mode though? What about something like Jedi Survivor?
Jedi Survivor's quite broken too it seems:



There are some games struggling with either PSSR or/and the lack of a RT denoiser with the pro patches, Black Ops 6 is the latest example, but Hogwarts, SH2, AW2, Jedi Survivors, Outlaws or Fifa are struggling one way or another.



Considering how rough it looks in some games i'd bet there will be some hotfix from Sony soon? or at least they'll allow users to go back to FSR in case it takes time to get fixed.
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
They're not using PSSR for the recent Horizon 1 'remaster' anyway, like the Lords of Fallen dev, they chose to use their own solution over PSSR.
Not talking about PSSR or anything new.

HFW ran at 1440P locked 60fps and still blows most games out of the water in terms of visuals when it launched nearly 3 years ago.

A beautiful game.
 

Kenneth Haight

Gold Member
It is now, but it was not the case when it came out. It took several weeks for them to fix the shimmering of its performance mode. And the problems I see in some games with PSSR remind me of that. I dropped the game due to how bad it was (until it was fixed), that's why I ask how common it is.
A few weeks and it was pretty much perfect
 
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M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Jedi Survivor's quite broken too it seems:



There are some games struggling with either PSSR or/and the lack of a RT denoiser with the pro patches, Black Ops 6 is the latest example, but Hogwarts, SH2, AW2, Jedi Survivors, Outlaws or Fifa are struggling one way or another.



Considering how rough it looks in some games i'd bet there will be some hotfix from Sony soon? or at least they'll allow users to go back to FSR in case it takes time to get fixed.

You can't really easily hotfix ML upscaler, you can however train it and continuously improve it.
 

vkbest

Member

bundylove

Member
Jedi Survivor's quite broken too it seems:



There are some games struggling with either PSSR or/and the lack of a RT denoiser with the pro patches, Black Ops 6 is the latest example, but Hogwarts, SH2, AW2, Jedi Survivors, Outlaws or Fifa are struggling one way or another.



Considering how rough it looks in some games i'd bet there will be some hotfix from Sony soon? or at least they'll allow users to go back to FSR in case it takes time to get fixed.

Where is my appology for saying silent hill 2 had pro patch and was broken and the game looked bad cuz of that huh?
Telling me i need an oled tv to have a better image quality and what other nonsense lol
Anyways at least we know the issue .
But will this be fixed?
Ia this on hardware level or sofrware level?
Why is pssr so broken?
 
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Pelao

Member
A few weeks and it was pretty much perfect
It took them until June to fix the problem. The game came out in February.
Also, this isn't even answering my question :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
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Kangx

Member from Brazile
Where is my appology for saying silent hill 2 had pro patch and was broken and the game looked bad cuz of that huh?

Anyways at least we know the issue .
But will this be fixed?
Ia this on hardware level or sofrware level?
Why is pssr so broken?
I dont get it. Look like there is no resolution improvement or graphic improvement from 2 known youtube comparison although they are not as reliable as DF but i don't see any differences in clarity from seeing them side by side.

Although in motion the pro look a bit sharper. This could due to the pro staying at upper range of DRS.

If they have issue With PSSR, then stick with TSR/FSR and up the resolution like lord of the fallen and empire of the ants, that would have been much better.

This is bizarre. This is the only UE5 game that i see there is no improvement where most other like lord of the fallen, until dawn remake, empire of the ants and the first descendant all are significantly improvement/sharper than the ps5 because the internal res are all around 1440p.
 
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bundylove

Member
I dont get it. Look like there is no resolution improvement or graphic improvement from 2 known youtube comparison although they are not as reliable as DF but i don't see any differences in clarity from seeing them side by side.

Although in motion the pro look a bit sharper. This could due to the pro staying at upper range of DRS.

If they have issue With PSSR, then stick with TSR/FSR and up the resolution like lord of the fallen and empire of the ants, that would have been much better.

This is bizarre. This is the only UE5 game that i see there is no improvement where most other like lord of the fallen, until dawn remake, empire of the ants and the first descendant all are significantly improvement/sharper than the ps5 because the internal res are all around 1440p.
Yeah as it is right now it looks worse than on base console.

But finally i see that its a pssr issue so i have high hopes.

I want to play this game soo bad it hurts.
Ita been a while since i got hooked on a game and i shelved it for the pro and now i have to still wait till its fixed.


Its a mistery why some games look much better with pssr and some way worse.
 
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