Digital Foundry Direct: PS5 Linux, Teardown RTX and PCs

Overview

This episode of DF2Vet Weekly explores groundbreaking community achievements, technical analysis of emerging voxel technology, and hardware performance updates. The team engages in detailed discussions surrounding the practical applications of running non-native operating systems on modern consoles and the continuous evolution of PC gaming hardware.

Linux on PlayStation 5

The team dives into the fascinating, albeit complex, project that allows Linux to run on the PS5. This exploration highlights the potential of turning a console into a Steam machine.
• The setup exploits older firmware to run an Ubuntu-based system.
• Benchmarking shows the PS5 CPU performs remarkably similarly to a Ryzen 5 3600.
• Testing games like Black Myth: Wukong and Control via the Proton translation layer offers promising performance results, though VRAM limitations remain a critical bottleneck.

Ray Tracing and Voxel Innovations

Alex provides an in-depth look at a recent presentation regarding Teardown and its engine's evolution.
• The developers are moving toward hardware ray tracing for voxel-based environments, a rarely achieved feat due to the inherent complexity of voxel data.
• By using custom intersection shaders in Vulkan, the team has achieved efficient results that bypass traditional triangle-based limitations.
• The discussion underscores the value of custom engines in pushing graphics technology beyond the standard practices seen in Unreal Engine 5.

Handheld Gaming and Hardware Refresh

John shares his hands-on experience with the Anbernic RG477M.
• This premium aluminum handheld excels at emulating PS2, Dreamcast, and GameCube eras.
• A standout feature is the 120Hz screen, paired with RetroArch functionality and black frame insertion to simulate CRT motion clarity.

"It truly feels like a CRT in your hand."

Community and Hardware Standards

The team analyzes the results of a massive community poll regarding their mainstream PC test bench.
• Following 26,000 votes, the team plans to retire the long-serving Ryzen 5 3600 in favor of the Ryzen 5 5600.
• While the 3600 provided a baseline for years, it has become a limiting factor in modern performance reviews.
• The discussion also circles back to the ongoing technical instability of Oblivion Remastered, noting the lack of updates from the developer.