PS5 graphics better than Xbox Series X?

Submitted by myhairisorange t3_107bzv5 in consoles

Before you all start arguing in the replies, I own an Xbox Series X, and my roommate owns a PS5. They're both connected to the same TV (77" LG OLED). We also play the same games on both our consoles.

His PS5 UI looks way sharper than Xbox, but I put that down to better icons or the smaller size icons compared to Xbox. But, when he logs on to a game that I also have on the Xbox, it looks noticeably sharper and more high definition than my Xbox does.

So what I'm really asking here is if anyone knows what the best settings for the Xbox are, because they're supposed to look the same. Mine doesn't. It looks almost as if mine is 1080p compared to his 4K.

My Xbox is set to 4K though so I don't understand why it looks worse

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dented42ford t1_j3lhyyt wrote

Make sure you are plugged into an HDMI jack that supports 4k, and that you have all the settings appropriate for each console - VRR, 120, Dolby Vision, etc. Not all HDMI inputs on TVs will support all input types, and a mismatch would do what you are describing. Also make sure your cable actually supports 4k - I've had some "4k" cables do some wonky things to signal.

I have both a XBSX and a PS5 plugged into my Sony 4k OLED, and they look equivalent. Any differences in quality are subjective. I will say the XBSX feels "snappier" in the menus, though the PS5 has a better interface IMHO (though both are a bit info-barf-y compared to the PS3 era).

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myhairisorange OP t1_j3lj8fl wrote

I swapped his HDMI from port 1 to my port, and mine to port 1 to see if it was the ports and it's the same. I never considered the HDMI cable itself though. I'll go out and buy a good 4K one and see if that was the issue

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Rs-tuner t1_j3ljxjh wrote

You need a hdmi 2.1 cable able to support 4k 120fps or 8k 60fps

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Scorpiogamer2017 t1_j3nqwmy wrote

He doesn’t need to go out for a replacement 2.1 HDMI. The series x includes one and there is nothing wrong with it. It’s his tv settings and what his settings are in the Xbox for video output.

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myhairisorange OP t1_j3lk0vk wrote

Yeah the TV is only 60hz though so I only bought a standard HDMI. I didn't need 120fps I don't play online games that often

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Rs-tuner t1_j3lkbv8 wrote

Still needs to be hdmi 2.1 for hdr and or Dolby vision etc depending on the model of tv.

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myhairisorange OP t1_j3lkfp2 wrote

When I load a game a little logo from the TV pops up telling me it's in Dolby Vision mode. But I'll still try the cable option just to test it out

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celcius_451 t1_j3lrspy wrote

As far as I remember from all the Digital Foundry videos I binged, developers usually choosing higher resolution but not stable (small drops from here and there) frame rate for Xbox SX and lower resolution but stable frame rate for PS5. I remember Hitman 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 being like that for example.

But to my eyes if someone doesn't circle the differences in bright red and shows it to me I can't understand the small differences in shadow rendering techniques and whatnot. They should look almost same.

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PeakyBlinderBrummy t1_j3ljai9 wrote

PS5 UI is 4k. XSX is 1080p. There's nothing you can do to change that. Can't remember why Xbox did that but it had something to do with saving RAM space. (EDIT. Xbox released a 4k version. Not sure if it's native 4k or upscale or reconstructed though.. hence the difference you see)

Also when the games first released, the consoles were tested on several games. PS5 outperformed XSX on several games, while rarely loosing out. Digital foundry, VG tech and Another channel tested them. I remember seeing the first 5 games tested, 3 of which were new gen, the last 2 were previous gen. PS5 beat the XSX in graphics fidelity sometimes. But mostly on framerate.

It got so bad that the AC Valhalla had way higher res pixel count on PS5, and higher fps too...that Xbox complained at which there was a patch released which made the PS5 graphics and fps WORSE. BUT it still outperformed the XSX. PS5 fans were outraged at PS5 getting a "patch" when it didn't need one, which only detuned the performance.

So generally speaking, graphics are usually the same or close enough. They're usually fixed but some games have adaptive reconstructed resolution techniques which means the resolution can reach 4k, but can dip below when it's demanding. On those games PS5 had higher resolution. But when it's fixed. Its the same obviously. But then the PS5 most certainly offers better fps, especially on 120fps mode where there's huge gap.

Aside from this mode, there's not always necessarily huge differences. It's still neck and neck pretty much

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Joshooahh t1_j3ljy76 wrote

Pretty sure there was a patch a few month back that made the ui 4k for the xbox series x

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PeakyBlinderBrummy t1_j3lkci0 wrote

Just edited it. But I can't confirm if it's native 4k res, or upscaled or has some reconstruction technique.

Problem with Xbox..and US companies in general..they do lie and mislead a lot.

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CyberKiller40 t1_j3mudtp wrote

It is native, you can clearly see all the pixels on fonts curves. The game icons can vary though, as well as the general resolution in apps like the store.

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mad_sAmBa t1_j3lo52o wrote

It makes no sense, Xbox Series X is, in paper, more powerful than a PS5. Xbox usually is better or the same as an PS5. It could be a bad HDMI cable, wrong HDR calibration or even something on your tv.

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threeolives t1_j3nbxsj wrote

I've noticed that the GUI looks much sharper on PS5 as well. That's just how it is. For games though you really have to take it case by case. XSX is marginally more powerful than the PS5 but it ultimately comes down to what the devs actually do the work. And I don't mean that it should be better on XSX but it should be equivalent. It may be an HDMI cable as others have said or it could just be a game where the devs didn't optimize the Xbox version like they did the PS version. Callisto Protocol for example.

Also, check if maybe Xbox version is in performance and the PS5 version is in quality mode or something like that.

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[deleted] t1_j3lh1em wrote

Could it be the HDR calibration?

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myhairisorange OP t1_j3lk4dd wrote

I have never calibrated it so it could be that but wouldn't that just make the image more punchy rather than sharper

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n1keym1key t1_j3majle wrote

1st world problems right here.

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No_need_for_that99 t1_j3mij7y wrote

It may have been mentionned, but make sure you have your HDMI plugged into your Gaming port (if your TV has one). My TV has one and all the gaming features are only activated when it detects a video game console.

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CyberKiller40 t1_j3mvmg7 wrote

You need to check every game you compare online for info. Also make sure to check the graphics mode on the game, performance vs quality. In general, it's rare for the same game to have the same settings on both platforms, and that's not even taking into account dynamic resolution.

For a good check take something that is confirmed to be the same, eg Quake 1, set it to the same graphics settings and then take screenshots of the exact same spot, eg main menu, level start, etc and compare those in some app pixel by pixel, praying the screenshot compression won't affect your results 😉.

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N8ThaGr8 t1_j3nduwp wrote

Keep everything exactly the same when you try both, i.e. just unplug the HDMI form the back of the PS5 and plug in straight into your Xbox. This way you're on the same port/input and using the same cable. Also make sure the Xbox is set to output in 4K and HDR and all that. There should not be a noticeable difference so something is up.

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Brand_EX t1_j3o117z wrote

I have both consoles and on average the Xbox will usually run at a better resolution but it’s so close that it’s usually not even noticed. I have them plugged into a Sony x90j with hdmi2.1 and vrr on both, HDR and 120hz on

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darren_m t1_j3oyxc9 wrote

A few things I’d check based on what I read about the LG A1 on RTINGS.com: the PS5 uses variable refresh rate on titles that support it, while the XSX does not. HRD is quite dim (relatively) on that TV, so you could try calibrating the HDR and increasing the brightness all around. The TV does not support a refresh rate above 60 Hz, so make sure in all the video settings that they limit the video to 60 Hz. In the review they talk about the LG accepting a 1080p signal at 120 Hz, but dropping every other frame.

And as others have mentioned, the XBOX dashboard may be upscaled from 1080p with poor results (by the console). To me it doesn’t seem like Microsoft puts that much effort into the dashboard.

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Lariver t1_j3mmb4i wrote

The most trouble I have with xbox is with dolby vision randomly washing out colors.

edit: Technically xbox is more powerful on paper, but They dont make good exclusives that utilize that power. ps5 has exclusive games that fully utilize next gen. Xbox for years has been lacking in AAA quality, and with gamepass seem to try to give more games for your money, rather than high quality for your money.

There are 3rd party games where the graphical difference is noticable. For example in no mans sky when in a space station you can see the graininess from the 4k upscaling on the floors and walls on ps5, but on series X it looks smooth. But so far with 3rd party this is really the only place I notice a difference

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Joshooahh t1_j3ljuu9 wrote

Both basically the same, i guarantee if you had them side by side running the same game it would be very difficult to tell the difference, look up the youtube channel, digital foundry they will answer all your questions

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myhairisorange OP t1_j3lkach wrote

Yeah I get that but someone else noticed it too. The writing in a game menu on my Xbox looks slightly more fuzzy compared to the sharp writing in the same menu on my roommates PS5. It's so odd because my Xbox does look 4K, it's just got like... Fuzzy edges around objects and text rather than sharp clear edges

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