Want to run your games at 120FPS on your PS4? So can you the PS4 run at 120FPS, we will be taking a look at this below. In the gaming world, the frame rate is a crucial factor that impacts the overall experience.
The smoother the frame rate, the more enjoyable a game becomes. With the high-refresh-rate monitors and TVs, the demand for higher frame rates has escalated.
So this brings us to the question: Can a PlayStation 4 (PS4) console, known for its impressive gaming capabilities, be pushed to run games at 120 frames per second (FPS)?
Table Of Contents
Refresh Rate & Frame Rate:
It’s important to distinguish between a console’s frame rate and the refresh rate of a display, as they are two different things. For example, while the PS4 wasn’t built for 120 FPS gaming, it can still benefit from high-refresh-rate displays.
A lot of modern TVs and monitors offer refresh rates of 120 Hz or more these days, and using one will make gameplay feel smoother and more responsive even if the console’s frame rate doesn’t reach the maximum frame rate that’s on offer.
So although you are using your PS4 on a high refresh rate display this doesn’t mean the games themselves are running at a high refresh rate like 120 Hz, 144 Hz, or 175 Hz, etc.
Can The PS4 Run At 120FPS?
Running games at 120 FPS demands a considerable amount of processing power and memory bandwidth, which is why PC owners spend a lot of money to be able to achieve high FPS.
Unfortunately, the PS4’s hardware was optimized to deliver quality gaming experiences at 30 to 60 FPS, striking a balance between graphical appearance and performance. So no the PlayStation 4 cannot run games at 120FPS.
If you are interested to achieve 120 FPS, several hardware challenges need to be overcome on the PS4 for it to be able to run at such a high frame rate:
- CPU & GPU Power: The PS4’s CPU and GPU are not capable of handling the computational demands of rendering games at 120 FPS. So the hardware would need a significant boost to achieve such frame rates, which would result in a change in case to fit the new hardware.
- Memory Bandwidth: Higher frame rates require quick data access, which places pressure on the console’s memory bandwidth. So again this would also need an upgrade as the PS4’s memory would most likely struggle to keep up with the demands of rendering at 120 FPS.
- Thermal: Running hardware like the graphics card at higher frame rates generates more heat, this could then lead to thermal throttling and reduced performance. For example, look how well some gaming PCs are cooled, the PS4’s cooling system would also need changing as it would probably not be sufficient to handle the heat generated at 120 FPS.
But even if you could do the above the games would not run at the high FPS as they have been coded to run between 30-60 FPS and Sony also would have locked this down.
More about the PS4:
The PlayStation 4 was launched in 2013 and I still remember the day of its release, just like any console it was engineered to offer stunning gaming experiences on its release.
Because it was soo long ago it wasn’t designed to support frame rates as high as 120 FPS. The console is powered by a custom AMD Jaguar octa-core CPU and an integrated Radeon GPU, providing 1.84 teraflops of processing power. While these specs were impressive for their time, they do of course have limitations on the frame rate potential of the PS4. But we now got the PS5 for higher FPS.
You can view all the tech specs for the PS4 here on Sony’s website.
Can the PS4 Pro Run at 120 FPS?
Neither the original PS4 or the upgraded PS4 Pro are designed to handle games at 120 FPS. While the PS4 Pro brought some improvements over the base model, such as a slightly more powerful GPU and enhanced performance, it still is not able to handle 120 FPS.
The PS4 Pro’s hardware limitations are similar to those of the original PS4, making 120 FPS gaming not possible for both consoles.
Can the PS4 Run Games at 60 FPS?
The PS4 is capable of running many games at 60 FPS, particularly titles that prioritize performance over graphics quality.
However, not all games on the PS4 achieve this frame rate, as it often depends on the complexity of the game’s graphics and the optimization efforts of the developers and these days a lot of developers seem to be lazy.
Can The PS4 Run At 4K Resolution?
The original PS4 does not natively support 4K gaming. While the PS4 Pro introduced a feature called “4K upscaling,” where games could be displayed in 4K resolution on a 4K TV, the actual rendering resolution was not true 4K and was lower which is why it’s called upscaling.
Final Thoughts:
While the PlayStation 4 is an impressive console with a strong library of games, pushing it to run games at 120 FPS is not possible because of its hardware limitations.
The PS4 Pro, even with its improvements over the original model, also can not achieve such high frame rates. So if you want higher frame rates while playing a PlayStation you will need to look at the PS5. I hope you enjoyed this article about the PS4 and if it can run games at 120FPS.
