The PlayStation 4’s CPU has 8 cores. Its processor is built from two quad-core AMD Jaguar modules, forming part of a semi-custom accelerated processing unit designed in cooperation with Sony.
The PS4’s CPU uses the x86-64 architecture and runs at a base clock speed of about 1.6 GHz in the original model. Because the CPU and GPU are integrated into one APU, the console can share system memory between general processing and graphics tasks. The PS4 includes 8 GB of GDDR5 memory, but that memory amount is separate from the CPU core count.
A common mix-up concerns the PS4 Pro. Although the Pro has a substantially faster CPU clock speed—about 2.13 GHz—it retains the same eight-core CPU arrangement. Another source of confusion is that not every core is equally available to games: system software reserves processing resources, so developers do not receive the entire theoretical capacity.
The number 8 refers specifically to CPU cores, not GPU compute units or graphics shader processors. The PS4’s GPU has 18 compute units, a separate specification used for graphics performance.