PlayStation 5 release date, news, specs rumors: Next-gen console's 7-nanometer chip from TSMC now in production
The rumors are rife that Sony is now working on a next-generation PlayStation console. However, considering how the company took several years to launch the PlayStation 4 after its predecessor, the PlayStation 5 is not expected to arrive anytime soon. Still, there is hope that the company will have an earlier unveiling of the PS5, as evidenced by the ongoing production of the processor that will power the gaming device.
As reported by Game Rant, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has confirmed recently that it is currently developing a new chipset that will be used for upcoming gaming applications. While the company did not specify which exact gaming platforms will benefit from the processor, tech tipsters are convinced that TSMC is indeed preparing a chip for the PlayStation 5.
Specifically, TSMC is working on the new 7-nanometer chips that are being produced in high volume. The company's president and co-chairman, C. C. Wei, mentioned via AnandTech that there are more than 50 product tape-outs planned by the end of 2018, which will come from mobile apps, server CPU, network processor, server CPU, GPU, and PGA, among others. The 7nm chips are perfect to handle the next generation of AMD's graphics cards and CPUs, which are likely to end up in the PlayStation 5 as well.
As gaming is one of the factors being considered to increase the volume of production of TSMC's new processor, it is highly speculated that a electronic gaming giant such as Sony is the chipset maker's latest partner. With this, it is now possible that Sony is going to present the PlayStation 5 sooner than expected, and the public may no longer have to wait until 2020 to experience a next-gen gaming experience.
Although, the PlayStation 5 is not expected to be around as early as this year either, given that the other hardware components to be used in the console, including the AMD Navi GPU, will not be shipped until the last quarter of this year. If anything, the PlayStation 5 will be ready by 2019 with the completion of all parts of the console.
