One of the PlayStation 4's most important features is that it will have 8GB of RAM, which will allow developers to push the envelope for what games can do on the next generation console. While some of the RAM must be used by the system's operating system, Sony has revealed how much of the 8GB of RAM will be used for games, and how much of the memory will be used for the operating system.
Eurogamer is reporting that the PlayStation 4 will usually have 4.5GB of space on the RAM for games, with 3.5GB being used for the operating system. However, developers can request an additional gig of memory taken from the operating system, which can be used situationally. This flexible memory cannot be used by everyone, and will most likely be restricted initially to first party games until they can figure out the best way to reduce the load of the operating system on the RAM. According to the PlayStation 4 dev kits (which Sony has been giving away for free to many indie developers), the RAM has two different settings that can be used. The normal setting has the RAM use 4.5GB being used by games, and a large mode with 5.25GB available for games.
These figures are similar to the amount of data the Xbox One's RAM will use. The Xbox One will use slightly less data for the operating system, with 3GB out of 8 being taken up by the console's operating system.
While this may seem like a high number of memory for the PlayStation 4 to use for the operating system, the console figures to take advantage of this memory to add many new features to the system. While the system initially was rumored to have 512MB of memory in use for operating system (back when the console was suppose to have 4GB of RAM), and operating systems on PC's like Windows can take up less than a gig of RAM, having three-plus gigs will let the system potentially have features similar to the Xbox One and PlayStation Vita. This will include seamless switching between apps while the game is paused, and then continuing the game without interruption. The large amount of memory for the operating system will also potentially allow the operating system to change and evolve over the course of the PlayStation 4's life.
Look out for more PlayStation 4 news, including the console's release date, in the near future.
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