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The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is the latest console from Sony released in November 2020. The PS5 currently has four different models available, the disc edition and the digital edition and then the Slim versions of these two. These models have several differences in specifications, price and design and this article, we will outline these so you can decide which model is best for you. We will also consider what Sony may potentially have in store for the future of PS5 models.
For those of you looking to purchase a PS5 console we've got some links that may be of interest for you.
Tables of Contents
The PS5 Disc Edition is the traditional console sporting a disc drive meaning that you can play physical games discs and still choose to go digital for your games if you wish. The presence of a disc drive also allows for the playing of Blu-rays which will not be available on the digital console. Both consoles pack a punch when it comes to power, boasting high frame rates at 4K providing a premier gaming experience. Painful loading times have also been left in the PS4 generation with 825GB SSDs in these PS5 consoles that
The design of this console is two-tone with black and white accents; it's a large console (4.5kg) coming in bigger than the digital counterpart due to the disc drive. Both consoles as standard will come with the DualSense wireless controller, a complete redesign from the DualShock boasting some great new features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
The PS5 Disc editions RRP at release was £449.99 but Sony has increased the RRP to £479.99 as a result of increased manufacturing costs. It is the more expensive of the two consoles and you're effectively paying for the disc drive as that really is the major difference between the two original PS5 models currently on offer from Sony. When it comes to availability it is also easier to get your hands on a PS5 Disc Edition. Since the release of the PS5 Slim models, unless the original models are deeply discounted, you're best off going for the newer smaller models if they're at the same price.
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| CPU | 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) |
| GPU | 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6/256-bit |
| Storage | Custom 825GB SSD |
| Expandable storage | NVMe SSD slot |
| Optical drive | 4K UHD Blu-ray drive |
| Audio | Tempest 3D AudioTech |
| Backward compatibility | PS4 games |
| Max resolution | 4K |
| Max frame rate | 120fps |
| Price | $499.99 USD / £479.99 GBP / €549.99 EUR / ¥49,980 JPY |
| Release date | November 12, 2020 (US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea) and November 19, 2020 (rest of the world) |
| External Dimensions | 260 x 390 x 104mm (width x height x depth) |
Due to the early stock issues that plagued there have been some model revisions for the PS5 Disc Edition making minor changes in order to improve manufacturing speed, and also just general tweaks to the structure of the console.
Whilst there has been nothing in the way of limited edition PS5s (consoles that significantly change the console's visual design or aesthetic) we have had several official bundles released for certain games etc and we've collated them all below. Keep in mind some of these may no longer be available as a result of their age.
The PS5 Digital Edition is the PS5 model that does not come with a disc drive, meaning it only supports digital downloads when it comes to playing games. You will not be able to play any physical games with the PS5 Digital Edition PS5. The lack of a disc drive also means that you will not be able to play Blu-Rays or DVDs. In terms of power and performance, the PS5 Digital Edition is identical to the PS5 Disc Edition.
The PS5 Digital Editions design is very similar to the disc edition with contrasting white and black accents but the Digital Edition is definitely slimmer and sleeker due to not having the disc drive. This also means it weighs less coming in at 3.9kg and potentially means that it could better fit your gaming set-up.
The PS5 Digital Editions RRP at release was £359.99 but has since been increased to £389.99 due to increased costs of manufacturing the console. This means it is around £90 cheaper than the PS5 Disc Edition which is a pretty significant saving. This saving comes at the cost of not being able to play physical games. The PS5 Digital Edition also tends to be more elusive when it comes to availability, it will often be out of stock but recently even the console on its own has been quite readily available. With the release of the PS5 Slim digital there is little reason to buy this PS5 digital now unless it is discounted heavily.
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| CPU | 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) |
| GPU | 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6/256-bit |
| Storage | Custom 825GB SSD |
| Expandable storage | NVMe SSD slot |
| Optical drive | No |
| Audio | Tempest 3D AudioTech |
| Backward compatibility | PS4 games |
| Max resolution | 4K |
| Max frame rate | 120fps |
| Price | $399.99 USD / £389.99 GBP / €449.99 EUR / ¥49,478 JPY |
| Release date | November 12, 2020 (US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea) and November 19, 2020 (rest of the world) |
| External Dimensions | 260 x 390 x 92mm (width x height x depth) |
The PS5 Digital Edition has also received several model revisions to help with manufacturing and alter the console's internal structure somewhat, these pretty much line up with the Disc Edition revisions. None of these models offer any sort of performance gains etc.
As with the PS5 Disc Edition there have been no PS5 Digital limited edition consoles but there have been several official bundles to push specific games etc. You can see those below however, some of these bundles may be currently out of stock so keep that in mind.
As we approached the end of 2023 PlayStation finally announced their next PS5 model, and it's going to be a slightly smaller rendition with two different models both a disc tray version and digital version. One key difference here is that if you purchase the digital version you can add a disc tray at a later date as they're going to be sold separately priced at £99.99 RRP.
This new model is going to entirely replace the original PS5 disc and digital versions once they have entirely sold out and this is going to be the only model available to purchase. Their RRP is the same as the older models meaning £389.99 for the Digital and £479.99 for the disc version.
The model is available across most UK retailers now and doesn't look like it'll be going out of stock anytime soon. These new PS5 models will also come with 1TB SSD storage which is a slight improvement on the 825GB SSD that was standard on the previous models.
This new design is still similar to the original models but there are some key differences when it comes to its aesthetic. One of the major ones is that there are now 4 removable panels instead of 2, this means that the console covers currently available are not going to fit these new consoles, and Sony will be releasing new ones in 2024 for this new model. This is also due to the change in size with these new PS5s reducing the total volume by ~30% compared to the old models and making them 18% lighter for the disc model and 24% lighter for the digital. As default the console will now only come with a horizontal stand and the vertical stand will be sold separately for £24.99 RRP.
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| CPU | 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) |
| GPU | 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6/256-bit |
| Storage | Custom 1TB SSD, 5.5 GB/s read speed |
| Expandable storage | NVMe SSD slot |
| Optical drive | Yes |
| Audio | Tempest 3D AudioTech |
| Backward compatibility | PS4 games |
| Max resolution | 4K |
| Max frame rate | 120fps |
| Price | $499.99 USD / £479.99 GBP / €549.99 EUR / ¥66,980 JPY |
| Release date | November 29th 2023 |
| External Dimensions | 358 x 96 x 216mm (width x height x depth) |
As the PS5 Slim consoles are relatively new there is only one model SKU, it will be interesting to see if more revisions are created in the future.
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| CPU | 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) |
| GPU | 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6/256-bit |
| Storage | Custom 1TB SSD, 5.5 GB/s read speed |
| Expandable storage | NVMe SSD slot |
| Optical drive | No, but can be added when purchased separately |
| Audio | Tempest 3D AudioTech |
| Backward compatibility | PS4 games |
| Max resolution | 4K |
| Max frame rate | 120fps |
| Price | $449.99 USD / £389.99 GBP / €449.99 EUR / ¥59,980 JPY |
| Release date | November 29th 2023 |
| External Dimensions | 358 x 96 x 216mm (width x height x depth) |
As the PS5 Slim Digital console is only a few months sold only one model SKU, it will be interesting to see if more revisions are created in the future to fix any issues/improve the manufacturing process.
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(Click to view full-size image)
| CPU | 8x Zen 2 Cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency) |
| GPU | 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency) |
| Memory | 16GB GDDR6/256-bit |
| Storage | Custom 2TB SSD, 5.5 GB/s read speed |
| Expandable storage | NVMe SSD slot |
| Optical drive | No, but can be added when purchased separately |
| Audio | Tempest 3D AudioTech |
| Backward compatibility | PS4 games |
| Max resolution | 4K |
| Max frame rate | 120fps |
| Price | $699.99 USD / £699.99 GBP / €799.99 EUR / ¥119,980 JPY |
| Release date | October 10th 2024 |
| External Dimensions | 358 x 104 x 216mm (width x height x depth) |
As the PS5 Pro console has only just released with one model SKU, it will be interesting to see if more revisions are created in the future to fix any issues/improve the manufacturing process.
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I want to play physical games on my PS5 - this means you need to buy the PS5 Disc Edition/ PS5 Slim Disc Edition.
I like to sell my pre-owned games - once again, go for the PS5 Disc Edition/PS5 Slim Disc Edition., if you're someone who tends to trade in old games or sell them then you're not gonna have this option when going all-digital
I want to watch Blu-Rays on my PS5 - PS5 Disc Edition/Slim version is the way to go, you're not going to be able to play any DVDs or Blu-Rays without the disc drive.
I only play games digitally - If this is you then you're best off saving yourself some money on the initial console purchase and going with the PS5 Slim Digital Edition. There's no point in buying the old PS5 digital model unless it is significantly discounted.
I am limited on space for my console - In this case, the PS5 Slim Digital Edition is probably your best bet as it is the slightly slimmest of the four models. However, the PS5 Slim Disc Edition is not that much bigger. Just avoid the original 2 models if space is an issue.
I want the best quality and highest frames per second - This is the purpose of the PS5 Pro, so no matter what game you're playing you'll be able to get the highest fidelity along with the best frames per second.
One thing to take note of is that although the PS5 Digital Edition/Slim Digital are the cheaper consoles there are a lot of savings to be had when buying physical games. Retailers compete for the best price on physical PS5 games, meaning they often get price drops and solid sales, with the option to trade your games in as well that initial saving on going digital could easily be made up with some solid savings on physical PS5 games and trading in games you're finished with. Bundles are also better on the PS5 Disc/Slim Disc models because they can have games bundled in for free by retailers.
Meanwhile, if you can only purchase digital games with the PS5 Digital Edition/Slim Digital you're at the whim of Sony's storefront and pricing which is typically far higher than physical, yes there are often great sales on the PlayStation store. However, you can still take advantage of these with the PS5 Disc Edition/Slim Disc. In our opinion unless you see a large discount on the older models your best bet is to just always go for the new Slim model as it has the same RRP, with more SSD storage and it's significantly smaller in size.
It is important to note that now with the new PS5 Slim model even if you opt for the PS5 Slim Digital you can opt to purchase a disc tray separately down the line for £99 so if you do wish to start playing physical games this will now be an option. This is not possible with the older Digital PS5.
We're now 4 years into the life cycle of the PlayStation 5, and we've had a slimmed-down version of the console with a bigger SSD and now a mid-cycle refresh with the PS5 pro.
That's the same number of console versions that we had with the PS4, and there was only a 3-year gap between the original PS4 releasing and the PS4 Slim and Pro which both released in 2016.
Therefore it's unlikely we'll get another PS5 model releasing again, and hopefully we'll see some more editions of the current models and hope they get cheaper too.
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