Sony Files New Patent That Could Point To A Dual-GPU PS5

Sony could be hard at work on their cloud gaming infrastructure as of the moment, according to a recent patent filing. But the hardware in the filing could be quite interesting to avid PlayStation fans.

(Photo : Unsplash/ Charles Sims)
PS5 restock

DualShockers reports that the patent, which was spotted by renowned industry insider Zuby_Tech, reveals that the company is working on a new version of their PS5 console: one that could feature the power of two GPUs.

Here is the tweet from Zuby_Tech:

UPDATED Went Live 8th December 2021:

"A device may be run in a timing testing mode in which the device is configured to disrupt timing of processing that takes place on the one or more processors while running an application with the one or more processors. The application https://t.co/Yjp2KsK6DK
— @Zuby_Tech (@Zuby_Tech) December 12, 2021

As per the patent's name, it allegedly describes a "scalable game console CPU/GPU design" intended for both cloud gaming and home use. There's a total of two APUs (aka CPUs with integrated graphics) indicated in the patent diagram, which points to a much more powerful console than the current PS5-at least by theory.

There is no way to verify if the new Sony patent is accurate, but it bears a striking resemblance to another rumor that was floating around in December of last year.

In an article by Collider, the patent was revealed to be working more or less like a gaming PC with two graphics cards. In the details contained in the patent, the two GPUs are described as having one do most of the graphics rendering, while the other will pick up the slack and fire up when necessary.

Once again, though, this further cements the fact that the PlayStation 5 (along with the Xbox Series X and S) is perhaps the most PC-like console to date in terms of hardware and software implementation.

But since this rumor refers to a patent, every fan must take it with a gigantic grain of salt. There's no reason for Sony not to walk back on something like this, even if it could be big. Stranger things have happened.

For now, the PS5 remains a hot commodity-and out of stock-at most major retailers, even if Christmas is right around the corner.

A Dual-GPU Console Could Be Challenging For Sony

Before you get excited as a PlayStation fan, you have to know something about dual-GPU gaming machines-they're basically obsolete.

If the patent is real, then Sony might be bringing back a dead, non-reliable technology that has given PC gamers massive headaches over the years. And a lot of PC gaming enthusiasts agree-not to mention both NVIDIA and AMD themselves.

A video by Tech of Tomorrow explains why multi-GPU setups (i.e., Team Green's SLI and Team Red's CrossFire) are now obsolete:

TLDR: multi-GPU scaling was never reliable. And it was always dependent on the game. For multiple graphics cards to work in unison, the game has to be specifically coded to take advantage of the extra hardware performance. The problem is, games rarely ever were coded the same way.

With games not being made the "right" way, multi-GPU was just not working as intended. Stutters, graphical glitches, low frame rates, and a host of other problems arose. Eventually, NVIDIA and AMD abandoned all thought of supporting SLI or CrossFire, which also didn't give developers enough motivation to keep coding games for multi-GPU setups.

The odds are stacked heavily against a dual-GPU PS5.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce