In their analysis of PlayStation 4 Pro’s Boost Mode, which potentially brings improvements to unpatched PS4 games, Digital Foundry has revealed that certain titles like Assassin’s Creed Unity and Project CARS see big frame-rate gains.
Opening by saying Boost Mode’s improvements “vary from the dramatic to the inconsequential,” Digital Foundry adds that the end result is by and large a “a highly valuable feature that we think Pro owners are going to love.”
While games that stick to their 30fp or 60fps cap won’t see much improvement in Boost Mode, there can be major gains to titles not hitting their targets on PS4. Comparing performance to the standard PS4, here’s an overview of some of the changes Digital Foundry saw in PS4 Pro’s Boost Mode:
- Assassin’s Creed Unity (3:40 of the video) – 22-24fps (PS4) to 30fps (Boost Mode)
- Assetto Corsa – Frame-rate locked to 60fps in Boost Mode
- Battlefield 4 – 48fps (PS4) to 60fps (Boost Mode)
- BioShock Infinite – 51fps (PS4) to 60fps (Boost Mode) with fewer stutters
- F1 2016 – Frame-rate up 7-8fps in Boost Mode
- Killzone Shadow Fall – 35fps (PS4) to 40fps (Boost Mode)
- Knack – 36fps (PS4) to 42fps (Boost Mode)
- Mighty No. 9 – 47fps (PS4) to 60fps (Boost Mode)
- Mirror’s Edge Catalyst – 57fps (PS4) to 60fps (Boost Mode)
- Project CARS – 40.5fps (PS4) to 55.5fps (Boost Mode)
- Shantae – 50fps (PS4) to 60fps (Boost Mode)
- Tomb Raider Definitive Edition – 55fps (PS4) to 60fps (Boost Mode)
It’s worth noting that Knack has a PS4 Pro patch, bringing it to around 55fps.
To help understand the technical details behind Boost Mode, Digital Foundry reached out to Sony. Their response wasn’t in-depth, but it did give an overview of the improvements you might find:
Boost Mode has been designed to provide better performance for those legacy titles that have not been patched to take advantage of the PS4 Pro’s faster CPU and its faster and double-sized GPU. This can provide a noticeable frame-rate boost to some games with variable frame-rate, and can provide frame-rate stability for games that are programmed to run at 30Hz or 60Hz.
Depending on the game, the increased CPU speed may also result in shorter load times. Boost Mode is not guaranteed to work with all titles, however, turning the setting off will allow the game to be played in a mode that replicates the standard PS4. As an aside, the older unpatched titles that run in Boost Mode are unaware that they are running on a PS4 Pro and consequently don’t take full advantage of the PS4 Pro capabilities; power consumption for these games will therefore be a bit lower compared to playing a newer title.
You can see the video focused on Assetto Corsa, F1 2016, and Project CARS over here.
Boost Mode will be available to all PS4 Pro owners when system software update 4.50 leaves beta in the coming weeks.
[Source: Eurogamer]
