PlayStation 4 NEO here is what might be the hardware of the new PS4 for 4K

We are now speaking for some time of the revision of PS4 equipped with hardware capable of running games at 4K resolution and manage the VR, ahead of the PlayStation VR launch scheduled for next October. Usually we refer to this console with names in PS4.5 or PS4K code, but according to the latest rumors that are literally flooding the network at this time the code name used by Sony would be NEO.

NEO should contain a CPU that operates at a higher frequency clock than the CPU of the PS4, as well as a more powerful GPU and memory with greater bandwidth. The hard drive in the console, however, should not differ from the current, even if it could change capacity and type of connection (currently SATA II).

Starting in October, so there may be two graphics modes for the PS4 games: "Basic Mode", also manageable from the original console; and "NEO Mode", only be enabled with with revised hardware console.

The allocation of memory should be increased, with an additional 512 MiB available to developers, and especially should change the memory bandwitdh, from 176 GB / s of the original version of PS4 to 210 GB / s of NEO. The memory remains of GDDR5 type. CPU side confirmed the 8-core processor based on micro-architecture Jaguar already present in the original PS4. Change, however, the operating frequency, from 1.6 GHz to 2.1 GHz.

More substantial, however, the upgrade provided for the GPU. There is talk of a video component configured to 36 compute units with architecture Graphics CoreNext next generation. The new GPU, again according to rumors, will operate at 911 MHz against 800 MHz of the current configuration. Specifications that are very similar to those that have been circulating in recent days about Polaris10 "Ellesmere", the chip that apparently will be used by AMD for upcoming Radeon R9 480 that supposedly will be introduced at Computex.

If these assumptions were true, it would rise from the current 1,152 steam processor GPU PS4 at 2,304 steam processors PS4 NEO. The new SoC, also, should have 256-bit memory interface, with the memory that, as in the case of the original PS4, would be shared between the system requirements, the video needs.

It seems that Sony will undertake to release games always be able to turn on the two types of PS4, with the two first detailed visual mode. Does not intend to fragment the community of PS4 players and users of a system will always be able to interact with the users who own the other system. There will be no exclusive game features one of the two consoles. Developers, however, will release patches for existing games in order to take advantage of the new hardware, which could enable them to increase the resolution, graphic detail or upgrade other technical aspects.

PS4 NEO will still be equipped with 4K output, which does not automatically translate into the native 4K resolution rendered games, but in the fact that you can still do the upscaling to that resolution. The new revision is not only designed for the 4K but also for the VR, and can exploit the LiquidVR platform of AMD.

As known, in fact, PS VR will come on the market, accompanied by a box equipped with hardware capable of providing the computing capacity required to process the two simultaneous images that are used for the virtual reality experience. With PS4 NEO this box may no longer be necessary with the new hardware that could fill the gaps in the calculation.

All these rumors have never shed light on the price of this solution, while new rumors speak of $ 399. A very competitive price for a hardware like that, that shows that Sony is tackling seriously the problem of the technical performance of the console games. Which could give her the right weapon to permanently outperform the competition.