The “CFI-1200” series, which is a new minor change model of the PlayStation 5 main unit, has been shipped to the market since the other day. The series was reported to be lighter and less power consumption through verification. And this time, it is reported that the core chip has also been changed to a 6nm process product. Overseas media Angstronomics reports.
The “CFI-1200” series is a new minor change model of PS5 that started shipping this month. Tech YouTuber Austin Evans was the first to analyze the changes from the old model. He reported on the weight reduction of 200g to 300g, changes in the heat sink structure, and the reduction of power consumption (Related article）。
Overseas tech mediaAngstronomicsAccording to the PS5 model number “CFI-1202”, the processor has been renewed. His new SOC called Oberon Plus made by AMD is said to be adopted. A SOC (System-on-a-chip) is a processor that integrates the processing functions necessary for devices such as GPUs and CPUs. And the previous PS5 used AMD’s Oberon SOC. What has changed with the new SOC is the process rules.
A process rule is an index that indicates the processing dimensions of an integrated circuit such as a CPU, and the unit is nm (nanometer). In general, the smaller the numerical value and the finer the design, the higher the degree of integration of the processor and the lower the power consumption. Older models of Oberon are manufactured using the 7nm process. On the other hand, the newly installed Oberon Plus is said to use the 6nm process. It seems likely that this difference led to the aforementioned reduction in power consumption.
In addition, as an advantage of this process rule miniaturization, it seems that an improvement in yield can be expected. Angstronomics compares old and new Oberon SOC. The new model is said to be able to produce regarding 20% more chips from a wafer (raw material). In other words, by increasing the availability of chips, we can expect a certain amount of contribution to increasing the number of PS5 production.
It would be premature to think that the contents of this report will lead to a steady recovery of PS5 inventory, which continues to be in short supply. However, the change of “CFI-1200” is big even though it is a minor change, and there seems to be no doubt that it is a stepping stone for further production increase. I would like to see how distribution will change in the future due to the renovation of SOC, which is the heart of PS5.
