First PS5 model – what does it look like after 2 years of use?

When placing an order for the PlayStation 5 console in September 2020, I was sure I had overpaid. However, the urge to unpack, launch, and test the first games on Sony’s next generation was stronger than me, and without much thought, I placed a PS5 pre-order, then waited until the first half of November 2020 for information that the courier company would Deliver said product to my home equipment today.

The PlayStation 5 made quite an impression on me with Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which both looked and performed great – especially thanks to the “features” offered by the DualSense controller, which is something to watch. Especially at the beginning, when we can check out the possibilities of adaptive triggers or tactile vibrations in the Asobi team title.

Finally, it turns out in 2020 that spending PLN 2,299 on a premiere wasn’t bad, and ultimately the best possible decision to make. A few days after the premiere the brokers (people who buy some hard-to-find product to sell at a higher price in the following days) kick in and buying a ‘naked’ PlayStation 5 console with a disc drive wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Today, we can only buy the device in sets with games or consoles, and such a game with accessories rarely costs less than 3,000 PLN.

The first model, that is, the one that had some problems from the start (even with squeaking coils), has been in my house since mid-November 2020. Just like with cars, over time I see more and more of their advantages and disadvantages. Today I’m going to list them (I’ll mark positives in green, negatives in red), while encouraging readers to share their own PS5 experiences in the comments section.

A 60fps game is kind of a “game changer”

The gameplay on the PS4 and then on the PS4 Pro meant that, apart from a few titles – focusing on the Call of Duty series, for example – we were stuck at 30fps. If we preferred 60fps, the only saving grace was at least a mid-range PC, which would allow us to play different titles with better fluidity. The PS5 has eliminated this problem, because almost every production offers, to me, a useful 60fps performance mode. And if it doesn’t, it at least offers an unlocked frame rate and we can run through story sequences at more than 30fps. A good example of this is A Plague Tale Requiem, which usually runs at least 40fps.

There is no automatic increase in FPS in older games

Getting to know older products, even those from the previous generation of consoles, on PS5 is quite a pain, because unless the developers manually introduce a patch that adds 60fps, we have to struggle with the game at 30fps. Here you can safely recall Assassin’s Creed Unity, which looked very nice on Sony devices, when Microsoft prepared the FPS Boost function and allowed customers to experience this adventure at 60 frames per second. In this regard, the competitor of the Japanese is much better.

Extensive catalog of productions in PS Plus Extra

I’m a big fan of subscriptions and have paid for Xbox Game Pass for a long time, learning about Microsoft’s successes as well as great titles from third-party developers. I was happy to hear that Sony is also getting into the services and has finally provided an extensive catalog of items available on PS4 and PS5. I paid the subscription for 2 months and for a relatively low price I got to see many interesting titles, including Shadow Warrior 3.

DualSense analog drift

On the first point, I commend the DualSense controller for its adaptive triggers and haptic vibration capabilities. Analog drift is something unprecedented for me, as I’ve never had this problem on either the Xbox One nor PlayStation 4 platforms. However, it recently showed up in the first DualSens and even after a slight touch of analog it reads as moving the knob forward. As long as I don’t turn the analog back on, my character is advancing all the time, which was annoying and eventually made me buy another controller.

Very clear interface and the speed of the PS Store

Despite the fact that I’ve owned a PS5 for two years and during that time I’ve played a lot of productions, the console never catches its breath, doesn’t jam, and doesn’t need any resets or rebuilds of the database. I’ve had to use this last function when using the PS4 Pro, which can get stuck in the menu after a few months. The situation with the new Soby controller may have been solved by a dedicated SSD, which also provides short loading screens.

higher command

I can’t remember my PS5’s disc drive being as noisy as it is now. After inserting the board, in the past this element would have liked to pop out and jet for a few seconds, but now it makes so much noise and vibration that I’m afraid nothing will come out of it in the future. To make matters worse, the reading of the plate, this odd-looking “acceleration”, now occurs every few minutes, instead of once every half hour or so, as it did in previous months.

Additional support for 1440p resolution

Because of PS5, I bought a 4K monitor, because about the first display, the console didn’t support 1440p resolution. Although I do not use this function, I am glad that Sony has finally supported owners of QHD monitors.