PlayStation 4 Seventh CPU Core Unlocked, Could Provide More Power to Developers of Future PS4 Games
Sony's PlayStation 4 has unlocked its seventh CPU core, according to changelog notes. If this is true, developers will be able to pack more details and improve performance of future games.
The news came by way of Beyond3D forum. In the update details for the FMOD audio tool, a note reads:
"PS4 - Added FMOD_THREAD_CORE6 to allow access to the newly unlocked 7th core."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The note indicates Sony had made back-end changes to the PS4 system software. In theory, these changes will allow PS4 games to make use of more processor resources.
The changelog note has been confirmed by Eurogamer's contacts who said that Core 6 has been unlocked and is available for developers to use.
This basically means developers will be able to put more details and be able to provide improved performance for their games, especially in terms of frame rates, Tech Insider explains. Simply put, PlayStation 4 games will start looking and performing better.
Just how much better remains to be seen, though. But according to Eurogamer's source, it seems the seventh CPU core will be shared between the OS and the game. The PS4 currently has an eight-core AMD Jaguar processor clocked at 1.6 GHz. Two of these cores are used exclusively by the PS4's system operations.
These changes will also need some time to take effect. Players of current PS4 games will only experience the effect when developers release a patch that will take advantage of the newly unlocked seventh core. Without this update, existing PS4 games will not have access to the additional CPU power. Gamers may also start seeing these changes in future games yet.
Microsoft previously allowed its developers to use the seventh CPU core of the Xbox One. And it looks like Sony will be doing the same, based on the changelogs, but gamers will have to wait for confirmation of this update.
