Home Gaming The PS4 once had 4Gb of RAM

The PS4 once had 4Gb of RAM

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twicetherams

Many of you already know this, but at the Tokyo Game Show this week Sony worldwide boss Shuhei Yoshida revealed that the PlayStation4 was originally designed with just 4Gb of RAM, half of the 8GB that the system will sport when its released later this year. Upgrading it to 8Gb of the rather expensive GDDR5 was a “business decision.”

"And because we chose expensive memory…we really liked the performance, but it’s pricy, right? So going to 8GB was a bit of a business decision," Yoshida said. "But we were able to make that decision because of a lot of the feedback from developers. "

Those developers included the likes of Gearbox, whose president Randy Pitchford told Adam Boyes told the company that “If you go with 4GB of GDDR5, you are done.”

It;s a damned good thing too; because it seems that the next gen consoles are already struggling to keep pace with thrice the price high-end pc’s; imagine how they’d do with half the memory. Jab’s aside though; it’s actually pretty incredible what consoles can achieve with memory; GTA V is running on two systems that have just 512Mb of the stuff, and it’s beyond technically impressive.

I look forward to seeing what games developers are able to do with consoles with an available memory pool of ten times that. 

Last Updated: September 20, 2013

76 Comments

  1. Major FoxHoundR - what the fox

    September 20, 2013 at 08:31

    Xbox is the bestest

    Reply

    • MacDoodle

      September 20, 2013 at 08:40

      What hound doesn’t like a bone?

      Reply

      • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

        September 20, 2013 at 10:07

        hahaha nail on the head man

        Reply

    • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

      September 20, 2013 at 08:42

    • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

      September 20, 2013 at 08:43

      Also… TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!

      Reply

      • Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

        September 20, 2013 at 08:43

        *passes out*

        Reply

    • Rincemetimbers

      September 20, 2013 at 08:55

      Haven’t seen you around in a while. I bet I know what you’ve been up to… http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18ximv838fn94gif/ku-xlarge.gif

      Reply

      • That Dark Twit

        September 20, 2013 at 09:48

        This is most disturbing…

        Reply

      • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

        September 20, 2013 at 09:49

        At least he cleans the airvents

        Reply

        • Rincemetimbers

          September 20, 2013 at 09:56

          Indeed 🙂

          Reply

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:06

            Btw Last night was soo looking for animals in Gta v and I never seen any yet, So go for a drive to the country at night, go over this big hill and BOOM! deer and a mountain lion. I tried to beat him up. Didn’t work too well. 🙂 hehe The game is amazing!

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 10:36

            Beat who up?

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:37

            The mountain lion of course

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 10:38

            0-O I was playing as Michael last night, went into my kids room, and took a hit from his bong, frigging funny!

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:48

            Its just a pitty you don’t stay drunk or high for long though. I still need to find a tattoo parlour..

  2. Brian Murphy

    September 20, 2013 at 08:44

    GDDR5 isn’t that expensive Geoff, back in March it was roughly $80-105 for 8g, good Corsair DDR3 will run you around $80, so depending on the quality of the RAM, it wouldn’t be that much of a difference.

    Either way, agree with Gearbox, any ‘next-gen’ console that would’ve released with 4g of RAM, would’ve spelled doom for that company.

    Reply

    • Spathi

      September 20, 2013 at 08:51

      For a $400 console, $100 for the Ram alone is pretty expensive.

      Reply

      • Rincemetimbers

        September 20, 2013 at 08:56

        Ah, you beat me to it 🙂

        Reply

      • Brian Murphy

        September 20, 2013 at 09:00

        Not really, RAM, CPU, GPU, PCB and PSU are the major expenses of any computer build. The PSU is probably on the cheaper end, newer CPU’s/RAM require allot less power than previous generations. Not sure who makes the PCB, but the APU is built by AMD, so that’s a package deal via contract. So that’ll cut down on overall costs.

        I know that when I put my PC together, the RAM at the time cost almost as much as the GPU, which was $270. So, it’s about right, actually.

        Reply

    • Rincemetimbers

      September 20, 2013 at 08:56

      Eh? $80 is nearly 1/4 of the entire console. So I would venture that is pretty expensive as far as decisions go…

      Reply

      • Brian Murphy

        September 20, 2013 at 09:04

        Expensive? Not really…it’s what you do when you build a machine that’s not state of the art, but you want it as high-end as possible within a certain budget. Also have to remember that the APU (CPU/GPU) on the PS4 is integrated, so it’s one chip, and the projected cost for that at a manufacturer level is 65-80 bucks per. So they could actually afford to add it in quite easily, without hurting their bottom line.

        Reply

        • Spathi

          September 20, 2013 at 09:47

          Problem is all the other costs involved – R&D being the main one probably. It will be cheaper obviously as they don’t have to develop the hardware from scratch, but the R&D costs would still be insanely high.

          Also, things like the controller manufacturing of the machine itself need to be taken into account. I don’t know if they are currently shipping at a loss, like last gen, but if they aren’t, I don’t think they will make anything on the PS4 at launch.

          You must also take into account that GDDR5 isn’t as readily available or manufactured as other forms, so that could maybe have a impact on the price.

          Anyway yeah, 8gb was definitely the right option!

          Reply

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 09:56

            I think they all initially ship at a loss?

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 10:01

            Yes, thus why you pay a few 100 Randelas more for games than the glorious Master Race.

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:03

            Master se …….

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 10:10

            Go wave your milkshake for the peasants trollol!

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:30

            I shall, but they look too yummy

          • Spathi

            September 20, 2013 at 10:08

            Exactly, licencing fees!

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 10:23

            How’s GTAV man?! Oh, too soon 😛 *No, stops trolling, must be nice after yesterday and the 13 gold keys I got…

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:25

            Golden keys?

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 10:43

            Yip, borderlands 2?

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 10:46

            GTA V, Couch-based gaming, a Master Race elitist craves not these things.

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 10:54

            You crave Kinetic jumping-based gaming? 0-O

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 11:00

            I believe that’s called aerobics, and it comes with realistic jiggle physics from what I’ve observed. 😉

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 11:05

            *Bites tongue…

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 11:15

            What? Just because I’m #foreverSP doesn’t mean I can’t look ;P

          • Rincemetimbers

            September 20, 2013 at 11:18

            0-O I’m #foreverSP damn you! Don’t take that away from me!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 11:19

            But I don’t want you to be #foreveralone in #foreverSP lol

          • Marc O Polo

            September 21, 2013 at 22:48

            you just keep telling yourself that…

          • Marc O Polo

            September 21, 2013 at 22:47

            about 600 more randelas… as most of the “master” race seem to be arg… pirates…

          • Spathi

            September 20, 2013 at 10:10

            That was the norm, and it may be the same again. But not having to develop their own hardware (components), it may be a lot cheaper this time round.

            Some guy from MS actually said that hey (MS) are making a profit, which is weird…

          • Marc O Polo

            September 21, 2013 at 22:45

            ms making a profit sounds weird cus as far as i know they have a custom chip… and that must of cost a fortune

  3. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    September 20, 2013 at 08:47

    Agreed! 4GB would have been a death sentence… Since these systems don’t have dedicated system RAM and only ever use the GDDR for everything… My PC has had 8GB DDR3 and 1.2GB of GDDR5 for a few years now and well I am about to upgrade that again…

    Reply

    • Brian Murphy

      September 20, 2013 at 08:50

      I hear ya, I may actually have stumbled into an absolutely RETARDED upgrade, for free (ok…well, free insofar as I don’t have to pay anything for it now, I’m sure I paid for it in taxes at some point or another though). Have a few friends who work for the Air Force, and apparently they’re upgrading their computer systems which will result in them ‘tossing’ ~30 GTX 560 cards. Since I’m already running a 560ti, and have 2 extra slots on my mobo, looks like I’m running Tri SLI pretty soon 😉

      Reply

      • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

        September 20, 2013 at 08:58

      • Mossel

        September 20, 2013 at 09:00

        I call dibs on one as well! I also have a 560Ti!! Help a mossel out!

        Reply

      • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

        September 20, 2013 at 09:05

        But seriously… If you can get your hands on one for me then I will pay for the courier to me… Would be AWESOME! The boost in performance is that little boost I need… 🙂

        Reply

        • Brian Murphy

          September 20, 2013 at 09:11

          lol, no promises. I don’t even have my cards in hand yet 🙂 But, if I find myself with extras, I’ll see what I can do.

          Reply

          • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

            September 20, 2013 at 09:14

            no worries man! I figured I would take the chance and ask… Would be awesome if it can be done! Let me know 🙂 Thanks again.

          • Brian Murphy

            September 20, 2013 at 09:19

            *chuckle* Can’t blame someone for trying 😉

          • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

            September 20, 2013 at 09:24

            I was playing WoW a few years ago and was just raiding with some people… One dude spoke about his 8600GTS that he is done with and has no use for Me: “lol man send it to me! xD lololol”

            No jokes, the dude asks for my address and couriers the thing from Germany to me for free… I was STUNNED! That was an EPIC upgrade for me those days since I had no job…

            That day I learned if you don’t ask you never know what you might get… I figure that most bergies work like this too xD

          • Brian Murphy

            September 20, 2013 at 09:26

            Not sure what a bergie is, I’m in the States. But that’s a really cool thing that guy did for ya. I can sympathize, I went from a 7800GT to a GTX 270 originally. What a difference several generations of GPU makes lol 🙂

          • UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

            September 20, 2013 at 09:28

            Oh I thought you lived in South Africa o.O

            A bergie is a homeless person… 😛

          • Brian Murphy

            September 20, 2013 at 09:31

            Negative. American journalism’s (aka hacks) the nexus for all the fucktards in this country, with the lone exception being NPR (National Public Radio), which broadcasts BBC at night.

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:08

            Bergie is a cape town slang for homeless person though.

          • Spathi

            September 20, 2013 at 10:12

            A drunk homeless person with very few teeth, that enjoys drinking spirits and Paarl Perle!

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:32

            Like this?

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            September 20, 2013 at 10:51

            Autumn Harvest is for snobs. Real men drink Oom Tas or Virginia. :/

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:02

            Thats flipping sweet! I would of been like jumping for joy! I guess my only comparison is getting free Kfc.lol

      • boet

        September 20, 2013 at 09:48

        Can you SLI a 560 and a 560ti? I thought the cards have to be exactly the same?

        Reply

        • Brian Murphy

          September 20, 2013 at 16:40

          Yeah, that’s my question as well. However, since I have 3 slots, I can dual SLI two of the 560’s, and use the TI as a PhysX card or something 🙂

          Reply

    • Skyblue

      September 20, 2013 at 09:26

      Pretty sweet! Just managed to get my 660ti swapped out for a Radeon 7950 after the 2nd one packed up. Sticking with ATi for the forseeable future.

      Reply

      • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

        September 20, 2013 at 10:00

        So you finally managed to get the Radeon you wanted. Sweet man

        Reply

        • Skyblue

          September 20, 2013 at 10:09

          Shot dude. They tried to palm off another 660 on me which I declined. Took a few weeks to sort the crap out but it’s done.

          Reply

          • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

            September 20, 2013 at 10:17

            The Radeon performing lekker? Better than the 660ti?

          • Skyblue

            September 20, 2013 at 10:55

            *hangs head in shame* truthfully, I haven’t even opened the box yet because I’ve been GTA’ing and PvZ 2’ing the last few days.

  4. Pieter Kruger

    September 20, 2013 at 08:54

    Breaking Tech News: PS4 is so fast it’s liquid cooled with the radiated blood of baby Fukushima dolphins!

    Reply

    • Brian Murphy

      September 20, 2013 at 09:05

      Classy.

      Reply

    • TiMsTeR I miss Gta V

      September 20, 2013 at 09:50

      If only we knew what the next gen after this system specs would be!

      Reply

  5. Jakster

    September 20, 2013 at 09:12

    Did he also mention that the PS4 OS eats up 3,5gb or RAM.

    3,5gb for one lard of an OS 😉

    Reply

    • Brian Murphy

      September 20, 2013 at 09:17

      No, he didn’t….he also didn’t mention the custom AMD APU, which is “by far the most powerful APU” that AMD has built to date. Nor did he mention that the memory controllers were specifically designed to exploit the bandwidth of the memory, as opposed to typical GDDR5 memory controllers that result in the latency issues

      http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2250802/amd-to-sell-a-cut-down-version-of-sonys-playstation-4-apu

      Reply

      • Jakster

        September 20, 2013 at 10:16

        You said AMD APU. It maybe the most powerful AMD APU but those APU’s are nothing more than a mobile CPU mated to a mid-range GPU. Try mining through 3,5gb of system files stored in memory and see what a tedious task it is. But oh behold, superior specs = superior console, that’s because Sony care squat about Software Engineering.

        Reply

        • Spathi

          September 20, 2013 at 10:17

          Roflol

          Reply

        • Brian Murphy

          October 15, 2013 at 23:51

          You…do realize that both Microsoft and Sony are using AMD APU’s, correct? So…if the PS4’s APU is their most powerful to date, the obvious conclusion is…the One’s isn’t…. you follow?

          Reply

    • Zubayr Bhyat

      September 23, 2013 at 09:22

      that is reserved for the OS, it may or may not take up that amount of memory. 4gb is more than enough.

      Reply

  6. CypherGate

    September 20, 2013 at 09:28

    At the end of the day it all boils down to the developers!

    Reply

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