Is the PS4 Pro Worth It? Here’s 5 Ways It Is

Since the PS4 Pro was revealed, many players have been somewhat on the fence about the PS4 iteration. While the prospect of 4K gaming is appealing, the lack of some features such as a UHD Blu-ray player and a lack of across the board native 4K gaming was disappointing.

What’s more, there’s also the fact that to see any difference in a 4K image, you must have a TV or monitor capable of displaying in this resolution. Due to this, many people have begun to question whether or not the PS4 Pro is worth it. However, whether you own a 4K TV or not, there are plenty of ways the PS4 Pro is a worthwhile purchase.

Better Performance

Though the main selling point of the PS4 Pro is its capability of displaying 4K visuals both natively in some instances and upscaled in others, that doesn’t mean that you should write the system off if you don’t have a 4K TV. In fact, even when playing at 1080p, the PS4 Pro makes good use of its additional power to make your gameplay experience that little bit better.

Depending on how the developers have utilized the Pro’s power, you can see faster load times, smooth framerates, additional detail in environments, and a generally more polished experience. If you’ve been considering picking up a 4K TV in the near future anyway, the benefits that the PS4 Pro offers aside from the obvious enhanced resolution provide good reason to pick one up.

Enhanced Visuals

Arguably the primary reason a lot of people will be picking up the PS4 Pro is the fact that it can display games in 4K resolution. The increase in resolution allows for even more detail in environments, character models, and items. Everything has that extra bit of detail and looks that little bit smoother. And if you’re lucky enough to own a 4K HDR TV, the added effect of HDR on top of 4K makes for an unparalleled console experience.

Of course, you’ll also see some games receive increased framerates on the Pro and essentially, the extra processing power that the Pro holds can be used in whatever way developers see fit. This means that anti-aliasing effects, draw distance and much more can all be enhanced on the PS4 Pro, allowing for some stunning moments.

Better and Faster Harddrive Interface

It’s not just graphical and processing power where the PS4 Pro has got an advantage over the standard system but it also gets a bit of an upgrade when it comes to storage solutions too. While the older PS4 model came with a 1TB hard drive as standard, which may be reason enough for some players with launch models to make the upgrade, you’ll also be able to get a superior performance in terms of transfer rates from the Pro.

This is all thanks to the SATA III hard drive interface that it’s running under the hood. You may see some improvements over your standard PS4 with the 1TB hard drive already installed in the Pro, but the real benefit of this interface comes when installing a Solid State Drive (SSD) into your system. Load and boot times will be slashed significantly, allowing you to jump into your games and experiences far faster than before.

Improved VR Experience

One of the features that Sony mentioned prior to the Pro’s release was that the additional horsepower of the console would be able to improve your PSVR experiences. While no further details were really given, it turns out that it basically works the same way as it does for traditional games – developers must patch their titles for PS4 Pro optimization.

While this may seem like disappointing news, from the games we’ve played so far, PSVR titles benefit greatly from the optimization process. Everything looks that bit crisper, rendering rates are enhanced, and the whole experience comes out feeling a lot smoother. With immersion being one of the biggest selling points for VR, these improvements certainly help to make the PSVR a far better accessory.

Faster Wireless Connection

As we move further into the digital age, large download files are becoming more and more common. Due to this, the need for faster wireless connections and solid download speeds has become even more prevalent. While the actual download speeds will ultimately be limited by the connection speed you’re paying for from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), the connection between your system and your router can also make a big difference.

In order to help players get the fastest possible download speeds, the PS4 Pro has an upgraded wireless adapter capable of transmitting data at both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. The previous PS4 could only transmit over the 2.4GHz frequency and so connection speeds could vary as a result. With the Pro’s adapter accommodating for 5 GHz frequencies, players can download updates, games, and any other media over a faster and more stable connection. And who doesn’t want that?

Worth Every Cent

With a number of different improvements that will benefit players regardless of whether they’re playing on a 4K display or not, the Pro proves itself as a worthwhile iteration on the original PS4. For those intrigued by the prospect of 4K HDR gaming, the Pro is the only system on the market that can offer you exactly that. On the other hand, if you’ve got a 1080p display then you’re still going to benefit from a number of smaller visual improvements, as well as a number of other enhancements.

It may not offer the full jump to across the board native 4K that players may have been expecting, but if you’ve been contemplating upgrading to a newer model or just want the very best PS4 experience you can buy then the Pro is most definitely worth it.