New rumors suggest PS6 will massively out-perform the Steam Machine, but I'm not sure that's what we need right now

Another leaker has been stirring the PS6 pot just a few days after Sony's three-console next gen strategy started swirling around the rumor mill. This time we're looking more at performance and less at price, though.

Kepler L2, a leaker generally considered fairly reliable, has posited that the PS6 will over performance gains at around 3.1x the PS5's current ray-traced framerates, following from "AMD's most optimistic estimate" that its new system will be able to deliver up to 10x the ray-traced power in Sony's new device.

In a NeoGAF post, the insider used an Assassin's Creed Shadows performance disclosure to estimate where this boost in RT handling would take us in real-world experience. While the PS5 will take 5ms to conjure a frame (note that the disclosure uses 1440p rather than the system's top 4K resolution), KeplerL2 extrapolates a 1.35ms rendering time for the PS6.

That translates to 3.1x higher framerates in the PS6 (100fps vs the PS5's 33fps if you really want to get muddy with it). It should be noted, though, that this is strictly a discussion of ray-tracing task performance - there's a whole bunch of extra processes going on that could effect that bottom-line.

Of course, that's all to be taken with a heavy dose of salt. After all Sony hasn't even confirmed the PS6's AMD chipset yet, and everything we're using to come to these conclusions is based on rumor and speculation.

Still, if it turns out to be close to the truth, current estimates put the PS6 on par with an RTX 4080 level of performance, and leagues ahead of the Steam Machine.

That's to be expected, after all Valve's device is positioned as a mid-range PC for the living room. Its AMD RDNA3 GPU and Zen 4 processing architecture were enough to know that this isn't a high-end enthusiast device, no matter how hard it pushes that 8GB VRAM. With performance expected to run at around a mobile RX 7600 level, it wants to run competitive games at 1080p or 1440p, and push into 4K 60fps when immersion is the top priority.

That's not what the PS6 wants to be. Facing a new console generation, Sony wants to be the best and it wants to offer a tangible level-up from the PS5 in order to see success. Unfortunately, with the way the supply chains are faltering right now - that goal isn't aligned with its market.

With a speculated holiday 2027 release window, there's still plenty of time for the PS6's pricing to change before any kind of official announcement. However, rumors have put the top end console at around $1,000, with a cheaper option at between $350 and $550. That means the PS6 'proper' likely isn't the device most Sony fans will be buying.

It's going to come down to how much you care about squeezing every last ounce of new-generation power into your TV screen. Do you want to play your games or do you want to play your games in the highest possible graphical settings possible, bank balance be damned?

With the way things are going right now, I (and I'm willing to bet most players alongside me) am in the former camp. Is it nice to be able to turn on high-end ray tracing and still maintain a 60fps cap? Absolutely. Would I like a Lambo? You bet, but at the end of the day my old beater still does the same job.

If the Steam Machine costs significantly less than the full-fat PS6 it's going to have a much easier time getting into people's living rooms this console cycle.

For those revving up the current generation, we're rounding up the best PS5 accessories, including the best PS5 controllers and the best PS5 headsets.