Can PS5 do 4K 60fps with ray tracing?

The TLDR Reality Check

No, the PS5 cannot currently handle native 4K resolution at a locked 60 frames per second while running intensive ray traced lighting. The hardware inside Sony‘s console, while certainly powerful, still faces bottlenecks when every cutting graphics technique gets enabled simultaneously. Some compromises must (still) be made.

But fear not loyal PlayStation Nation – we‘ve never had it better as gamers. Through a mix of temporal reconstruction, dynamic resolution scaling, optimized game engines and both performance or resolution graphics modes, today‘s top PS5 titles push the experience to new heights. Silky smooth frame rates. 4K clarity. And ray traced effects from subtle to stunning.

There are certainly pains that accompany growing into adolescence. And the PS5 too faces awkward teenage tech hurdles before its inevitable maturity. But with incredible looking launch games that run better than ever, I‘m enjoying the ride even now in these formative next-gen days.

Now, let‘s get into the gaming grit to better understand what current hardware can – and cannot yet – achieve.

PS5 Hardware Power Deep Dive

On paper, the raw technical specs behind the PS5 seem ready to deliver 4K gaming nirvana:

Component             Specs
---------------------------------------------------------------
CPU                  8x Zen 2 Cores @ 3.5GHz 
GPU                  Custom RDNA 2 w/ 36 CUs 
  Raw Teraflops      10.28 TFLOPS
  Memory Bandwidth   448GB/s
Memory               16GB GDDR6
Internal Storage     Custom 825GB SSD w/ 5.5GB/s (Raw)
USB Ports            USB Type-A and Type-C

With a clearly advanced processor, powerful graphics engine made for 4K rendering, and high speed components across the architecture for rapid streaming, Sony has endowed the PlayStation 5 with its most exceptional DNA yet.

But hardware never lives up to theoretical potential due to pesky bottlenecks. For 4K clarity, high frame rates, and cutting edge ray tracing all to coincide, no choke points can exist across the entire pipeline. Yet they still lurk within this generation.

Resolution vs Performance – Vying Priorities

Seasoned PlayStation gamers have noticed a key trend emerge across the top PS5 game releases so far:

Resolution Mode or Performance Mode options. These graphics settings make you choose your priority.

Enable Resolution, and you‘ll get native 4K textures, improved post-processing, and enhanced ray traced lighting at the cost of your frame rate – often capped to 30 fps. Smoothness suffers for a crisper, albeit more cinematic, image.

Prefer Performance instead? You gain responsiveness through framerates above 60 fps and frequently hitting 120 fps depending on the title. But you lose 4K for a less immersive 1440p or dynamically scaled resolution. Ray tracing also remains disabled or diminished to claw back speed.

Very few games allow all three facets – 4K, high FPS, ray tracing combined. Because the PS5 hardware chokes trying to excel simultaneously on every front.

Performance Analysis of Top PlayStation 5 Titles

To demonstrate today‘s reality more clearly, here‘s a snapshot of essential graphics options, resolutions, frame rates and ray tracing capabilities within a selection of the PS5‘s heavy hitting launch games:

(see embedded data table image)

As this data highlights, almost every game‘s Fidelity or Resolution mode caps at 30 fps. To jump above that pure fluidity barrier of 60 fps, image resolutions dynamically drop while ray tracing takes a backseat or gets disabled outright.

The future looks promising, but the present remains full of compromise.

Smoke and Mirror Tricks Keep Pixels Flowing

Given full native 4K across 60 fps gameplay won‘t grace most experiences, developers rely on some new-age rendering techniques to minimize perceived sacrifice:

Temporal Injection – Uses prior frames to guess new ones rather than fully render each from scratch

Reconstruction – Builds a full 4K image from a native 1440p base by using machine learning to fill all missing pixels

Dynamic Scaling – Adjusts render resolution on the fly from native 4K down to 1440p or below based on current performance demands

Combined, these ensure consistent frame delivery while maximizing perceptions of clarity. But they aren‘t miracle workers. Image quality suffers compared to complete 4K integrity. Shimmering edges or fuzzy areas manifest regularly when fast panning or gameplay interactions overwhelm the virtual sleights of hand.

What Will the Future Hold?

Given the incredible software and hardware progress seen already happening mid-generation, I think a PS5 Pro model due within the next 2-3 years makes perfect sense to elevate fidelity further.

With expected upgrades focused on CPU, GPU and memory bandwidth, a PS5 Pro should begin delivering true native 4K gaming at 60 fps … or more! Perhaps not every title right away, but almost assuredly first party offerings at launch.

Ray tracing may remain limited to 30 fps showcases though if lighting demands escalate in lockstep. Even high-end PC GPUs like Nvidia’s mighty 4090 still only achieve Full HD and 1440p performance when all ray tracing settings get maxed currently in the most intense games.

But despite some lingering restraints hampering the pinnacle of photorealism on consoles, I believe PlayStation fans have much to celebrate already while anticipating the next wave of greatness.

These Are Still Glorious Next-Gen Days

While not matching theoretical hopes and dreams, the reality manifest on PlayStation 5 showcases an undeniable truth. We‘ve reached the promised land of high fidelity, high frame rate gaming with jaw dropping visual polish not possible in eras past.

Could hardware still improve to remove necessary compromise? Obviously. But even working within limitation, today‘s roster of PS5 games immerse on spectrum never before experienced on console.

Revel in these early next-gen days friends. For we are witnessing an enhancement leap beyond measure compared to what came before. One that will only grow mightier as the months and years now quickly pass.