Do Consoles Have Graphics Cards? [3 Things You Did Not Know]

Graphics cards are essential components of a gaming PC. Without it, you cannot run games at high settings and smooth frame rates.

On the other hand, consoles are compact units with smaller footprints than PCs. But they are equally adept at playing games.

So how are consoles able to render the games smoothly? What solutions do they use for running graphical tasks?Here I will reveal some fascinating stuff about GPUs on a console. Tag along if you have a minute to spare.

Do Consoles Have Graphics Cards?

Yes, consoles have graphics processing units, or GPUs integrated into them. But they are not modular like the graphics cards of a computer. The GPU is soldered with the processor into a single unit or SOC that cannot be upgraded or replaced.

Feeling confused? Let’s clarify this by comparing the GPU of a console and a computer.

The architecture of a computer and a console are very similar. Due to this, the question arises.

Every computer has built-in graphics that you can use to do basic tasks. You must buy a graphics card if you need to game on it.

A graphics card is a piece of component that contains the GPU itself, along with the memory, controllers and other components. It attaches to a computer, and then you can run games at high frame rates.

Consoles are designed in a way that will last you at least 5 years. The processor, RAM and GPU are embedded in the circuit board. Of these components, you can upgrade only the SSD/HDD.

These GPUs are similar to integrated graphics cards on a computer. But they are quite powerful and specifically chosen to run the games made for the platform.

Related contents you should read about how to fix a new Graphics Card showing black screen?

What GPU Do Consoles Use?

AMD has been providing the GPU for the past two generations of consoles. If you know your way around the APU lineup, you will be familiar with it.If it doesn’t ring a bell, just follow along.

Accelerated Processing Unit, or APUs for short, is AMD’s solution for integrating a processor and graphics unit into a chip. They have superior graphical performance than other integrated graphics solutions.

Consoles use this architecture to achieve a small form factor.

The current consoles’ processor is based on a Zen 2 architecture and has 8 cores with 16 threads running at 3.5 – 3.8 GHz. They have a unified 16 GB of DDR6 RAM that the system can access.

For storage, the SSD is faster on the PS5 than on the Xbox.

Some more guides on best Graphics settings for Genshin impact.

The only difference between the PS5 and XBOX Series X lies in their GPU.

Let us take a look at them.

PlayStation 5

The GPU is based on RDNA 2 architecture. It has a core clock speed of 1.8 GHz that supplies 10.3 teraflops of computing performance. It shares 16 GB of fast DDR6 memory with the system.The digital edition of PS5 has the same internals barring a physical Blu-ray drive. Because of that, both consoles can run games at 4K at 60 fps or 1080p at 120fps.

Xbox One X and Series S

The series X and S are both based on RDNA 2.0 architecture. Series X is designed to run games at 4K, while the series S can run at 1080p. The GPU compute performance is reflective of this.Here is a detailed comparison of the GPU specifications:

The Xbox series X has greater graphical power than the series S. Since they are targeted at different resolutions they usually perform decently.

The Previous Generation of Consoles

The Xbox One and PS4 also used APU to power the consoles. For the GPU, Xbox One had 12 compute units consisting of 768 shaders running at 850 MHz. The PS4 had 18 compute units comprising 1152 shaders running at 800 MHz.

PS4 had a faster GPU, evidenced by the quality of games released over the last 5 years. Even the limited power was utilized very well by the developers. Last of Us Part 2 is a shining example of this.

Can You Upgrade the Graphics Card of Your Console?

No, you cannot upgrade the graphics card of your console. They are soldered to the mainboard. The GPU is a custom-made solution specifically made for that console. There is no upgrade path in consoles such as XBOX and PlayStation.

In computers, the graphics cards are removable and can be upgraded. When you feel that a newer unit will give you greater performance, you swap out the old unit and place it in the new one. Install the drivers, and voila! You just got upgrades to play newer games smoothly.

For consoles, the GPU remains the same for its life. You might think about how that performs over time?

In fact, it really does well.

I mean, yes, a PC has its perks. But a console runs games admirably due to the developers’ optimizations made specifically for the graphics chip inside.

Just think about this. Rise of the Tomb Raider, released in 2016, ran on the XBOX 360. The Last of Us 2 ran impressively on the PS4 in 2020. Both these games ran on a machine that was more than 6-7 years old by that time.

Just mighty impressive.

So stop thinking about upgrading the GPU on your console. You will be more than ok with it.

Also, check out our separate post on do Playstation plus Cards expire?

Which Graphics Card in a PC is Equivalent to PS5/Series X?

Both consoles ship with an RDNA 2.0-based GPU. The compute performance is between 10 and 12 teraflops. It is a custom-designed unit by AMD.To find the equivalent GPU of a PC, we need to look at some key specifications of two AMD graphics cards, specifically the Radeon 5700 XT and 6600 XT.

The PS5 has a GPU that lies somewhere between these two. The power draw of the PS5 GPU lies somewhere between these two. Since it is based on RDNA 2.0, it is more power efficient.

If we want to compare the computing performance with an Nvidia card, the RTX 2070 Super comes very close. It has a compute performance of 9.0 Teraflops and performs similarly to the two competing AMD cards.

You may also like to read about what to do with Old Graphics Card?

Conclusion

Consoles do use a graphics processing unit, after all. And they can be comparable and similar to the ones we use for our computers.

The best part about this is the longevity of the consoles. Due to the way games communicate with the system, a mid-tier GPU can churn out great graphics for many years to come.

That means great news to console owners who purchased a PS5 or Xbox Series X ‒ worry-free gaming for the next 3-5 years.

I hope you now know a little more about consoles than before. Is that enough persuasion to join team PlayStation?

Let us know that in the comments.