PC with PS5 chip goes on sale but youd be best off sticking with Sonys console

Date:
Wed, 03 Nov 2021 16:45:51 +0000

Description:
It may have a repurposed PS5 SoC, but the MinisForum CR50 is no gaming PC.

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A new mini PC has been launched which is built around a PS5 chip, but if you want a gaming PC , this isnt going to be one thatll provide you with speedy frame rates (far from it).

Still, the MinisForum EliteMini CR50 PC is at least a nifty looking box of tricks, although the price tag is steep for what it is and indeed what it isnt, namely as claimed by the maker, a machine capable of ultra-high frame rates and professional gaming, which is a billing it falls well short of
(more on that later).

VideoCardz spotted the press release, and the spec of the CR50 comprises of the AMD 4700S thats (purportedly) the 8-core (16-thread) SoC used in Sonys PlayStation 5 combined with 16GB of on-board GPDDR6 memory, both of which
are soldered to the motherboard. Theyre combined with an AMD Radeon RX 550 discrete graphics card .

Storage options are a 256GB or 512GB SSD (2.5-inch SATA), or you can order a unit with no drive and fit your own.

The Mini PC comes with Windows 10 Pro installed, with an upgrade possible to Windows 11 , MinisForum clarifies, and this is a compact device, measuring just 205 x 192mm, and its 86mm high.

The MinisForum CR50 is now up on pre-order with a discount, meaning you can currently get the PC with no drive for $679 / 496, or the 256GB model for
$729 / 532, or the 512GB version for $759 / 554. Once the pre-sale period is over, those prices will go up. Analysis: A far cry from fast frame rates

You may recall that back in July 2021, AMDs 4700S Desktop Kit was released , and this CR50 Mini PC is essentially this kit stuffed inside a compact case, all ready to go.

That kit is almost certainly built around repurposed PS5 chips (though AMD hasnt confirmed that), as our sister site Toms Hardware has made clear in the past. So whats essentially happening is that these were SoCs rejected for Sonys console, and AMD is finding a use for them its most likely the GPU which has gone wrong somewhere, because thats disabled in the 4700S here.

At any rate, Toms has evaluated the AMD 4700S solution before and observed
its lack of gaming chops on various fronts, and pairing it with a distinctly lackluster RX 550, a rather dated GPU which also lacks punch, means that the CR50 wont set anyones gaming world alight. (Remember, AMD has said that its kit can be combined with up to an RX 590 GPU).

Far Cry 5 hits 26 frames per second, MinisForum asserts, although it doesnt tell us what graphics settings were used in that benchmark. Naturally, none
of this represents the ultra-high frame rates that the product spiel
promises.

When you compare a (discounted) asking price of more than $700 / 500 considerably over if you want 512GB to the price tag of the PS5, which
starts at $399 / 359 for the Digital Edition, the PC obviously doesnt come
off well in the comparative stakes for gaming. Not that you could expect a small PC maker to remotely compete with Sonys volume production clout, of course but things are considerably askew here, performance-wise. Intel vs
AMD : which is best?



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/pc-with-ps5-chip-goes-on-sale-but-youd-be-best- off-sticking-with-sonys-console/


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