THE CRUNCH
The graphics silicon for the PlayStation 6 and Microsoft's Xbox Helix has reportedly passed its final design stage, according to a prominent AMD leaker. Kepler_L2 claims both chips have 'taped out', a milestone that means they are ready for mass production. The leak also provides specific performance figures, putting the Xbox Helix at 56 TFLOPS and the PS6 at 40 TFLOPS. This would give Microsoft's machine a roughly 9
The figures come from a NeoGAF thread where Kepler_L2 dismissed an earlier claim that the PS6 would hit 80 TFLOPS. The leaker noted that TFLOPS is a crude measure that does not account for differences in architecture, memory bandwidth, and ray tracing hardware. Consequently, the 40% performance gap on paper may not translate directly to real-world gaming performance.
The leak also provides some cost context. The same report suggests the PS6 already costs Sony approximately $960 to manufacture, which could influence the eventual retail price. Given the high production costs and the complexity of these chips, neither console is expected to launch imminently.
As with all console rumours, these claims remain unconfirmed by Sony, Microsoft, or AMD. The hardware landscape is also shifting, with Nvidia's RTX 5080 already offering 56.28 TFLOPS, highlighting how quickly raw performance figures are becoming comparable to high-end PC GPUs.
Why It Matters: If these specifications hold, the next generation of consoles will offer a significant leap in raw power over the current PS5 and Xbox Series X, potentially narrowing the gap between console and high-end PC gaming performance.