Rumors have been going around for months now that Sony’s PS5 will be based on a processor with the AMD Zen architecture, information that seems more feasible than ever after it was announced that Sony is working on an LLVM compiler for the current AMD CPU architecture.
The current PS4 uses an LLVM/Clang compiler, so it is expected that the same solution will be used in the next generation. Phoronix has discovered that Sony’s lead programmer, Simon Pilgrim, is working on optimizations within the LLVM compiler for AMD’s zenver1 architecture, a clear sign that Sony plans to once again partner with AMD for its next-generation console.
The move to a Zen-based processor would be a huge breakthrough in the next Sony game console, as the current PS4 is based on AMD Jaguar processors, models designed for low-power devices and therefore very modest in performance. The PS4 mounts an eight-core Jaguar CPU with clock speeds of 1.6 and 2.1GHz depending on the version. These cores provide lower clock speeds and lower performance at the same speed as Zen-based Ryzen processors.
Sony’s current work on LLVM with Zen is a clear sign that the company plans to leverage the latest AMD architecture for a future product, and it is more than clear that this product is the PS5. At this time, no one can offer anything similar to AMD in the console market, as it is the only company that currently has both high-performance CPUs and GPUs.