Predict: The Next Generation Console Tech

[COPS N RAPPERS]

All of the "supposedly" leaked documents of Microsoft's next consoles should be taken with a grain of salt, they can help a bit. But as far as the memory goes for the console, i can bet my bottom dollar it's going to be shared as it's more feasible for a console. system resources should always be freed up for gaming, The 360 had the right idea for memory but there wasn't enough of it.

More memory always helps, I'd fall out of my seat if Microsoft was aiming past 8 gigs. but for all purposes of these up coming consoles 8 gigabytes should be of the minimum. that would work well with stability. 8 gigs of high bandwidth memory and an ATI 8870, that would set me over for the next 7 years.

 

[McHuj]

One of the things I thought about the dev kit, what if the reason the Durango dev kit is a pretty powerful PC (12GB ram + possible 2 quad core Xeons) is that it's really just running a virtual machine of the next xbox. In theory then, the specs of the dev kit could be completely independent of the specs of the next xbox. You'd want a really powerful machine for the dev kit to be able to run as close to real time as possible.

 

[SlickShoesRUCrazy]

I really don't know. I know they had Wii U dev kit shots first, and Durango dev kit but I'm not sure if they have their sourcse. They may get some info anonymously and than post it, so it is hard to track down. You can't just email big gaming site and say specs, you need to be "verified" source, but VGleaks probably don't ask who you are.

There was interesting bit on GAF today. One member mentioned having friend working on Durango.


http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42676246&postcount=501

what would a "top pc of today" be considered? I would figure something with some juevos lol.

 

[XpiderMX]

One of the things I thought about the dev kit, what if the reason the Durango dev kit is a pretty powerful PC (12GB ram + possible 2 quad core Xeons) is that it's really just running a virtual machine of the next xbox. In theory then, the specs of the dev kit could be completely independent of the specs of the next xbox. You'd want a really powerful machine for the dev kit to be able to run as close to real time as possible.

Expensive dev kits just for using it for virtual machine? it is weird...

 

[Sonic]

One of the things I thought about the dev kit, what if the reason the Durango dev kit is a pretty powerful PC (12GB ram + possible 2 quad core Xeons) is that it's really just running a virtual machine of the next xbox. In theory then, the specs of the dev kit could be completely independent of the specs of the next xbox. You'd want a really powerful machine for the dev kit to be able to run as close to real time as possible.

Does that mean that the software running the virtual machine can link all over the net and I could eventually play 720 games on my PC through virtualization?

 

[bkilian]

Expensive dev kits just for using it for virtual machine? it is weird...

Considering Dev Kits are always expensive, it's not that far fetched to do something like that, it would be a really interesting way to get around the usual late final hardware issues, but it would also be a significant development cost that's basically throwaway work, once the final hardware comes out, all that work on the custom VM you designed would be wasted.

It's kinda how backcompat works on the 360, it's a highly customized VM based originally on Microsoft's Virtual PC for Mac.

 

[XpiderMX]

Considering Dev Kits are always expensive, it's not that far fetched to do something like that, it would be a really interesting way to get around the usual late final hardware issues, but it would also be a significant development cost that's basically throwaway work, once the final hardware comes out, all that work on the custom VM you designed would be wasted.

It's kinda how backcompat works on the 360, it's a highly customized VM based originally on Microsoft's Virtual PC for Mac.

Then, alpha kits being more powerful than beta and final kits? Why not simply put hardware less expensive?

 

[N2O]

They won't do that this time,they doesn't need to rush it

 

[kagemaru]

Then, alpha kits being more powerful than beta and final kits? Why not simply put hardware less expensive?

I don't think they would have early kits that are stronger than the planned system. Sounds risky to me.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I don't think they would have early kits that are stronger than the planned system. Sounds risky to me.

The alpha kits are just there to get you writing code. If you're running a VM, then all the more need to have more powerful alpha kits.

 

[Rangers]

Whatever the case, 8 core CPU, 8GB RAM, and 6870 or 6950 sounds like a pretty beastly system to me when all is said and done. It must be acknowledged, it almost sounds like a monster. I mean it will certainly toast our mobile phones for a good while, heh.

I also find the line

The Alpha kit uses a discrete graphics card similar in capability and speed to the GPU that will be included in the final design.

to be worth noting. It suggests they wont undershoot a 6870/6950 greatly. And if that is truly official dev kit wording, combined with the sleuthing regards it being a 6870 or 6950, it tells a lot. See here for the evidence of official wording pointed out by Ruskie >> http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1661614&postcount=13973

As I wrote in GAF I also wonder if they might go with a VLIW5 or 4 design then. At least it would seem a possibility.

The more I see it the more I think the DRR4+eSRAM thing could be genius. When we are talking about it allowing 8GB of RAM at a reasonable price (and certainly you can go buy 8GB of DDR3 on newegg for $50). 8GB is the type of spec that i think will keep the box competitive in the broader tech world for a good long time. It will probably be some years before even our phones and tablets hit that amount (especially if they come from a certain fruit company, hah) , and it's not embarrassed by current PC's (for example I run a 4GB box myself).

It would not be a bad deal for me to go buy a Durango in 2013, and assuming I havent upgraded my PC, it have more RAM than anything else in the house. Almost like the good old console days

 

[Ruskie]

If BG and VG statement is official from spec sheet, than that would mean MS didn't include FLOP number there. Which would put "1+TF" thing aside as something not really important. I know BG said his source went with another guys guesstimate, not that it was official. It would be smart thing to do...Include good GPU in dev kit and say devs are getting something similar in performance.

 

[Rangers]

I could see a 6870 being the genesis of the "nothing special GPU" rumors. As to PC guys it's mid range.

A little trickier on some word that the GPU is <PS4 GPU. A 7850 (basically PS4 mooted GPU) is certainly a good deal faster than 6870 on PC code, but the flops count is actually somewhat lower (and I'm not sure how the performance would work out in a console).

I think I would rather see a 6870 (let alone 6950) in the final box than say, a 7770. I may be crazy about that.

Tessellation performance in Caymen/Barts is somewhat weak, if that would mean anything. Then again AMD claims super high tessellation factors dont make much visual difference.

 

[Ruskie]

We don't really know when the dev kits where sent. Probably beginning of a year, and I wouldn't put much thought on series of GPU since I doubt they will go with 6 series base (VLIW4/5).

BTW HD6870 and HD6950 easily outperform Cape Verde, even with older architecture. They are higher end cards with more ROPs, more stream processors, more texture units and bigger bus width. There is considerable difference in games like BF3, Metro 2033 and Batman going anywhere from 10 to 20fps.

 

[N2O]

I can see both will use 88xx+ level GPU in their final hardware

If BG and VG statement is official from spec sheet, than that would mean MS didn't include FLOP number there. Which would put "1+TF" thing aside as something not really important. I know BG said his source went with another guys guesstimate, not that it was official. It would be smart thing to do...Include good GPU in dev kit and say devs are getting something similar in performance.

Well,even 9000TF also means 1+TF lol

 

[almighty]

I could see a 6870 being the genesis of the "nothing special GPU" rumors. As to PC guys it's mid range.

Pretty much, it's slower then the 5870 of the same family name although the 6870 was to replace the 5770's sector and the 6850 replacing the 5750.

The 8800 series are rumoured to be a good 20% over the 7800 series.

I wonder if they'll cripple the memory bus again? I hope not as back when PS3 and 360 were being designed 256 bit busses were still only available in the high end GPU's but now you get them in mid range cards.

 

[msia2k75]

Pretty much, it's slower then the 5870 of the same family name although the 6870 was to replace the 5770's sector and the 6850 replacing the 5750.

The 8800 series are rumoured to be a good 20% over the 7800 series.

I wonder if they'll cripple the memory bus again? I hope not as back when PS3 and 360 were being designed 256 bit busses were still only available in the high end GPU's but now you get them in mid range cards.

When did that happen?

 

[almighty]

When did that happen?

 

[user542745831]

Just came across this:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/28/insert-coin-the-parallella-project/

[...]

Parallel computing is normally reserved for supercomputers way out of the reach of average users -- at least at the moment, anyway. Adapteva wants to challenge that with its Parallella project, designed to bring mouth-watering power to a board similar in size to the Raspberry Pi for as little as $99. It hopes to deliver up to 45GHz (in total) using its Epiphany multicore accelerators, that crucially, only chug 5 watts of juice under normal conditions.

[...]

Would something like that be any beneficial for gaming consoles?

 

[msia2k75]

I meant when did you hear or read that? First time i'm reading such assertion...