Digital Foundry Article Technical Discussion Archive [2015]

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They said something incorrect, stop defending them unless you have some evidence that any PS4 game will constantly stream. No? Stop replying just to be contrary.

Wait... what?

They actually reviewed/analyzed a game during the installation period? :confused:

I'm behind a nanny-wall at work... can't view Eurogamer site. :(
 
They actually reviewed/analyzed a game during the installation period? :confused:

Nope. They're just testing noise levels with a decibel meter, and claim the new PS4 is much quieter than the old with decibel readings at the same gameplay points.

Perhaps the new PS4 is not really quieter in certain tests where they claim the disk was streaming, the game was just already installed whereas on the old PS4 it was still installing thus louder? The tests need to be like for like at all points...
 
Nope. They're just testing noise levels with a decibel meter, and claim the new PS4 is much quieter than the old with decibel readings at the same gameplay points.

They may have done. This is the contentious paragraph:

"But what of games that constantly stream from disc - adding to the noise output? Assassin's Creed Unity caught our attention last year, with even its menu screen ramping up the decibels to 64.5 on our launch unit. Surprisingly, the C-Chassis undercuts this by around ten decibels once again - at 55.2 - despite the disc drive adding turbulence. Again, the advantage is clear, and in practice it's a much quieter machine."
The wide held belief is that all Blu-ray PS4 games must be installed and run from the HDD except during the brief installation process however this paragraph does suggest that some PS4 do actively stream from disc. If DF are wrong (which is what I believe) they did indeed test the new PS4 while it was installing a game from disc.

The thermographic image adds credence to this:

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The launch PS4 drive area (bottom left) is cold and the new unit is hot which is indicative that the drive is (or has just been) used extensively, such as installing a game because the console is brand new. A sustained install will result in a much hotter system overall, both Blu-ray drive and HDD will be far more active than just pulling reads as the game demands.

Hopefully they'll revisit the article and provide some clarification.
 
The only way to properly compare will be to have 2 brand new units and have the exact same process for each, but even then there are reports of 'silent' launch units and 'hair-dryer' new units (from what I've read on 't web).

FWIW I believe Killzone also installed areas in chunks - I seem to recall every now and then it'd just ramp up the noise levels then die down again.
 
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HHmmm...seems the launch PS4 is also spitting out more heat - could it be the reason the new console is quieter is that the fan just isn't spinning as fast (or something as simple as that) resulting in a quieter but hotter unit. Certainly it's odd looking at the vents the launch PS4 has not only a hotter vent but also wider.
 
Digital Foundry vs Forza Motorsport 6

The drive of your life?

But from a technological perspective, there's something else here that impresses us - namely, a level of ambition and polish indicative of the confidence that comes from an accomplished developer now firmly at home with the Xbox One platform. Some of the enhancements are genuinely spectacular - like the new Rio track - while others are gambles that may not completely pay off, such as the 24-car multiplayer.
 
Which in turn comes at the cost of performance. At least it didn't affect the gameplay of this game most of the time in my multiple playthroughs. I do think that it needed a month or two of optimization to bring performance up to par though. Still one of my favorite games this year, really great fun!
 
those jaggy edge in Tomb raider reminded me of Last of US remaster, are they doing some low res light bouncing, AO or something?
 
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