Revolution's Broadway CPU to be G3+VMX variant?

[Magnum PI]

You guys forget that Sony and MS are losing money on their videogame business.

sony is making money with the playstation.

 

[LunchBox]

please take this as a grain of salt.

I have a feeling nintendo will be very traditional on choosing the components for the Nintendo revolution.

I'm thinking a really fast CPU maybe around 4Ghz???

but will be single thread design...

 

[Readykilowatt]

So really compared to 360 and PS3 do you think it can compete with those kind of specs?

Nintendo has stated that they will have competitive specs.Slightly more powerful than a console made 5 years ago IS NOT COMPETIVE.

Why would they spend (when it comes out n 2006) 6 years at over a billion dollars to make a console weaker than Xbox360 which was made in 2 years?

How will they port titles over?

Doesn't that contradict what nintendo said about making the console easier to develope for?

Don't let marketing speak and pseudo-intellectual technobabble disguised as intelligent discussions fool you. The PS3 and the Xbox 360 aren't as powerful as they seem and the Revolution wont be underpowered.

I have a feeling nintendo will be very traditional on choosing the components for the Nintendo revolution.

I'm thinking a really fast CPU maybe around 4Ghz???

but will be single thread design...

It's possible, however, I doubt it.

 

[Confidence-Man]

Don't let marketing speak and pseudo-intellectual technobabble disguised as intelligent discussions fool you. The PS3 and the Xbox 360 aren't as powerful as they seem and the Revolution wont be underpowered.

Aren't you just letting Nintendo's PR fool you?

 

[Shogmaster]

That doesn't make sense.

This gen:

PS2 ---1.5 years later--- GC/XBox

Next gen:

360 ---1 year later --- Rev/PS3

If we use the current generations release times as a direct guideline then that would suggest Rev will be less powerful then PS3 yes. But it does not suggest that it will be less powerful then 360.

We don't know when PS3 and Rev is launching. PS3 could launch in March, which is only 4 months after X360. Rev launch is a big mystery, but it's intended price point and size is not.

If Rev launches close to PS3 and maintains below $200 price, then I see the power pecking order being something like:

PS3 > X360 >> Rev

But it would be fairly close to each other in the end result, especially if you take into account Rev only doing SD.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Aren't you just letting Nintendo's PR fool you?

Ha...its a doozy isn't it! These Next Generation Console Transition Periods (AKA NGCTP) are fun....disinformation and information have never been so widley used since the 50's!!

I'm leading a healthy life...and hopefully..i'll be living through 5 more NGCTPs

 

[V3]

I am pretty certain that IBM will try to sell to Nintendo the same PowerPC core that they sold to Sony and MS. If Nintendo buy into IBM marketing pitch, my guess is, it will be 2-4 cores @3.2 GHz with 1-2 MB of L2 cache.

Nintendo can go with higher power dissipation for the CPU, higher than both PS3 and Xbox360, since it will be offset by their cooler GPU, since they will only target 480p.

More powerful CPU can create more interesting games, as oppose to just more pretty graphics with more powerful GPU.

 

[Urian]

I am pretty certain that IBM will try to sell to Nintendo the same PowerPC core that they sold to Sony and MS. If Nintendo buy into IBM marketing pitch, my guess is, it will be 2-4 cores @3.2 GHz with 1-2 MB of L2 cache.

Nintendo can go with higher power dissipation for the CPU, higher than both PS3 and Xbox360, since it will be offset by their cooler GPU, since they will only target 480p.

More powerful CPU can create more interesting games, as oppose to just more pretty graphics with more powerful GPU.

The Xenon CPU is enigma that is hitting my head since the last E3. Its cores seems more simpler than a Gekko but with 2 FPU, an enhaced VMX and a more longer stage-pipeline. But Allard talks that the cores are G5 with OoOE but other info said that not, that the Xenon cores are more simpler than the G5 core.

This is why I never take its for my NRev sepeculation, the reason is that I don´t know the power consumption, the size and the number of transistors.

 

[V3]

The Xenon CPU is enigma that is hitting my head since the last E3. Its cores seems more simpler than a Gekko but with 2 FPU, an enhaced VMX and a more longer stage-pipeline. But Allard talks that the cores are G5 with OoOE but other info said that not, that the Xenon cores are more simpler than the G5 core.

Its not G5 and its in order, Allard may have been talking about the early Dev Kit ?

This is why I never take its for my NRev sepeculation, the reason is that I don´t know the power consumption, the size and the number of transistors.

Its cheap and cool enough to go into X360, its most likely be cheap and cool enough for Nintendo Rev too.

 

[SGX-1]

I predict Revolution will be $249 and Nintendo will throw in some extra processing power with that added $49 price increase over GC. The integrated PPU block into the CPU is an interesting option. IIRC the full PPU from Ageia is 125 million transistors, but if Nintendo goes with just half of the ALUs/VPUs in that chip then they could have a dual core CPU + mini PPU block at around 100 million transistors total. A dual core 750GX with intregrated mini PPU/VPA would be a good choice.

Edit: For reference the PPU is 182 mm2 @ 130nm has 125 million transistors and consumes 20 Watts. So a mini PPU block with half the transistors on a 90nm process would be easy to integrate into a dual core CPU.

 

[Li Mu Bai]

The key of all this is the philosophy of Nintendo.

They never created expansive hardware, only functional hardware and if they had a competitive GCN is because they launched it 18 months later than the PS2.

Now they are going to launch their next generation hardware at the same time of PS3, this is why I believe in a design based on a cheap console but fully functional (marking an huge difference with GCN) but with less power than 360 and PS3.

And for the conversion I am not worried, the key for the conversions is the PC in most cases, not the other consoles.

Urian, you're confusing a launch date with spec. finalization & production. The GC was finalized long before the 18 month release gap. Unanticipated problems on the production front prevented Nintendo from debuting initially in late 2000. Once more is known concerning the Rev's architecture, then you can proceed to say if the design was based upon developing for a "cheap console." All 3 console manufacturers will absorb losses.

I know for a fact that Nintendo is in talks with certain western 3rd parties currently, despite the "official" announcements or not, the majority of eastern 3rd parties are already on board. Unlikely that they are only discussing exclusives.

 

[Xenon_Oxide]

I think revolution is going to be an xbox360 but release later and with a PPU. same machine different label

 

[PC-Engine]

I think revolution is going to be an xbox360 but release later and with a PPU. same machine different label

No, ATI has said the GPU in Revolution is different from that in Xbox 360.

 

[Xenon_Oxide]

but thier CPU is made by the same IBM....

 

[BlueTsunami]

but thier CPU is made by the same IBM....

IBM has the capacity to create different CPU's and judging from the threads you just created and one of them being locked...I think that question has an alterior motive to it.

 

[Evil_Cloud]

Urian, you're confusing a launch date with spec. finalization & production. The GC was finalized long before the 18 month release gap. Unanticipated problems on the production front prevented Nintendo from debuting initially in late 2000. Once more is known concerning the Rev's architecture, then you can proceed to say if the design was based upon developing for a "cheap console." All 3 console manufacturers will absorb losses.

I know for a fact that Nintendo is in talks with certain western 3rd parties currently, despite the "official" announcements or not, the majority of eastern 3rd parties are already on board. Unlikely that they are only discussing exclusives.

Ubisoft for one officially confirmed Revolution support at the Games Convention 2005.

Canwe expect a more 'traditional' line-up like King Kong, Splinter Cell 4, Ghost Recon, Prince of Persia,... or might there be some surprises (new/exclusive IP)?

 

[Li Mu Bai]

IBM has the capacity to create different CPU's and judging from the threads you just created and one of them being locked...I think that question has an alterior motive to it.

Indeed they do. Allowing the the platform developers themselves to alter (dictate) the design for efficiency, physics, processor speed, multi-threading, & a myriad of other more indepth chip characteristics.

Ubisoft for one officially confirmed Revolution support at the Games Convention 2005.

Canwe expect a more 'traditional' line-up like King Kong, Splinter Cell 4, Ghost Recon, Prince of Persia,... or might there be some surprises (new/exclusive IP)?

From what I've heard Ubi is going to produce the traditional cross-platform fare EC, we will see however certain new IPs that may be console exclusive due to the targetted demographic, as well as the cost of porting next-gen software.

 

[Ty]

Indeed they do. Allowing the the platform developers themselves to alter (dictate) the design for efficiency, physics, processor speed, multi-threading, & a myriad of other more indepth chip characteristics.

Yep, and lower costs may be one of those desired characteristics as well.

 

[PC-Engine]

Now that we know XCPU contains 160 million transistors and that a large portion of that is due to the 1MB of L2 cache and consumes 85W, it kinda puts everything into perspective now.

 

[V3]

Now that we know XCPU contains 160 million transistors and that a large portion of that is due to the 1MB of L2 cache and consumes 85W, it kinda puts everything into perspective now.

Can you share with us your perspective ?