PlayStation 5 will feature full discrete GPU, not an APU

Exclusive: In the hustle and bustle of Computex, I had an interesting conversation with someone who will remain anonymous, about Sony's next-gen PlayStation console.

After I had found out what this person did, I had a few questions to ask about the PS5 and what it will arrive as - especially when we look at Microsoft's upcoming Project Scorpio console. The first question I had was "will it feature a discrete GPU" to which I received a smile and a "I can't say exactly", and then I said would it feature an APU like Project Scorpio, and then there was a "no".

This is all I heard, and this person is deep in the industry and would know a fair amount of what to expect, and while they might not know exactly which GPU will be inside of the PlayStation 5, the sheer possibility that PS5 might feature a proper GPU instead of a watered down and power constrained APU, is exciting.

Let's think of the possibilities: PS5 runs a Vega-based graphics card that we've been hearing about in the GTX 1070 level performance range, with an 8-core Ryzen-based CPU. Sony could push for a more expensive console experience, while providing better than Project Scorpio performance.

Sony would've learned their lesson after the PS4 Pro, as Project Scorpio will slap them all over the place, and I'm sure they don't want that to happen again. A discrete graphics card inside of the PS5 would be a huge win for Sony, as it would allow them to provide a true 4K 60FPS gaming experience with next-gen games, and what I'm sure will be the PSVR 2.0 headset.

Another question I asked was when will Sony release the PlayStation 5, and my anonymous source said "definitely not in 2018", but wouldn't confirm a 2019 release. I think we'll see a tease of PS5 at E3 2018 or so, and a release at E3 2019, or even earlier of Project Scorpio begins squeezing Sony in all the wrong ways.

Let us know in the comments below on what you think, what kind of power are you expecting from PS5, and do you think it would be a win for Sony to shift away from using an APU.