What are the Pros & Cons of having a PowerVR GPU in a Next Gen Console?

Can't do 1080p for video? Weird.

My understanding is that for video content 1080i would produce an identical image on a 1080p display as 1080p would. Unless Vita TV is always scaling everything from 960x544, that is, in which case you wouldn't be getting a real 1080p image anyway.
 
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...-next-gen-hardware-and-the-strategy-behind-it


Around 18 months ago, during an informal chat with an extremely well-placed individual in the hardware manufacturing business, an interesting nugget of information dropped into the conversation - Nintendo was already accepting pitches from third parties on the hardware make-up of its successor for Wii U. Two names were mentioned: AMD and Imagination Technologies, creators of the PowerVR mobile graphics tech. With the lack of backing sources, that little aside never made it to print, but as Nintendo strives to bounce back from the Wii U sales disappointment, eyes inevitably turn towards future platforms.


Besides maybe losing backwards compatibility with the Wii U I think PowerVR would be the way for Nintendo to go.

If they could get a new Nintendo console to the market in 2016 just as powerful as the PS4 at a $250 price with a new controller / tech it could put them back in the race.
 
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...-next-gen-hardware-and-the-strategy-behind-it





Besides maybe losing backwards compatibility with the Wii U I think PowerVR would be the way for Nintendo to go.

If they could get a new Nintendo console to the market in 2016 just as powerful as the PS4 at a $250 price with a new controller / tech it could put them back in the race.

I think Power VR's new Wizard GPU line could be very interesting in any next gen console. It would have to scale up on ALU , Rops and such, but the idea of dedicated ray tracing hardware on a console GPU is exciting to me. From what I have read online the dedicated ray tracing bits will be used only for things that raster hardware doesnt do efficiently. Global illumination and real time reflections could benefit a lot from this.
 
Not sure what console this will be for but PowerVR seem most likely to be the GPU that will be 10nm in the 1st half of next year.

TSMC releases earnings and 10 nm design for games consoles

The earnings for the first quarter 2016 also show what TSMC is up to. The tape out of the first chip in the 10FF process (10 nm FinFET) was successful in the first quarter of this year. Mass production in this process will ramp up in the second quarter 2017. Needless to say, TSMC kept its lips sealed about any possible customers for the node. TSMC CEO Mark Liu did, however, speak of a console design that will rely on this new process. As nothing else was said, one can wildly speculate what Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo are up to something behind sealed doors.
 
This quote doesn't mention PowerVR though. Are you assuming, "Apple", and hence PowerVR, by any chance...? :)

That would be for iPhone, (and possibly iPad) though, not a console, because Apple isn't in the console business.
 
This quote doesn't mention PowerVR though. Are you assuming, "Apple", and hence PowerVR, by any chance...? :)

That would be for iPhone, (and possibly iPad) though, not a console, because Apple isn't in the console business.

Far as I know PowerVR GPU's are the only GPU's that would be console level & 10nm next year. Intel & Mediatek have tested PowerVR 7 series at 10nm & the PowerVR 7900 is said to be an affordable game console GPU

PowerVRGT7900-CPU.png



PowerVR7900comparison.png
 
The exact TSMC quotes regarding consoles were:

Prepared statement - Conference Call

For smartphone growth, momentum comes from China's 4G+ deployment, through increases of operator subsidy and the continued 3G-to-4G upgrade in emerging markets. These factors will also drive the associated infrastructure growth. Recently we also see good demand from gaming GPU and game console processors for VR applications.

...

We have expanded our N7 design ecosystem development to include both mobile and high-performance computing, to enable our customers to deliver their first-to-market products. Our N7 adoption is very strong, with customers ranging from mobile GPU, game console, FPGA, network processors and other consumer product applications. We have more than 20 customers in intensive design engagement with us and expect to have 15 customer tape-outs in 2017. The volume production of N7 will start from first half 2018.

Q&A

Brett Simpson - Arete - Analyst

So maybe just -- I wanted to ask on graphics, because you talked a number of times in your prepared remarks about VR and graphics and game console. And there's quite a big performance jump coming as some of these customers go to 16-nanometer later this year. What sort of growth are you seeing in gaming and graphics specifically at the moment this year? Thank you.

Mark Liu - TSMC - Co-CEO

VR and AR, it still is an emerging application. So the growth rates come from very small number. So probably I cannot put into accurate number. Currently this application, this product is under the application software development, I think is being tried, several VRs and AR products. Many of the application software is a demo software. And both -- all the producers of the chips right now create their software development platforms. So this is at this stage. So in terms -- we just see it starting shipment, but it's yet to be a volume quantity this year for this application.​
 
Alright, so your statement isn't based on any fact, but rather an assumption. Ok, gotcha.

Seeing that my post was a an assumption & never a statement to begin with I'm not understanding this post?

"Not sure what console this will be for but PowerVR seem most likely to be the GPU that will be 10nm in the 1st half of next year."

I think it's because someone said "VR". I think we've always hoped that somehow the VR trend would benefit PowerVR marketing, and here we are.

I don't remember seeing anything about VR in the article I read.
 
Seeing that my post was a an assumption & never a statement to begin with I'm not understanding this post?

"Not sure what console this will be for but PowerVR seem most likely to be the GPU that will be 10nm in the 1st half of next year."



I don't remember seeing anything about VR in the article I read.

The article you read was an interpretation of what they read/heard in the earning call. VR was mentioned quite a lot. One mention that at least one of their customers also makes consoles. When questioned specifically about VR, graphics, and gaming consoles. The entire focus of his response was on VR and AR and not a single word about consoles.

Hardwareluxx is reading far too much into their conference call statements and Q&A.

Regards,
SB
 
The article you read was an interpretation of what they read/heard in the earning call. VR was mentioned quite a lot. One mention that at least one of their customers also makes consoles. When questioned specifically about VR, graphics, and gaming consoles. The entire focus of his response was on VR and AR and not a single word about consoles.

Hardwareluxx is reading far too much into their conference call statements and Q&A.

Regards,
SB

Seems to be the case unless they was told something off the record.


But on this topic I wonder who Imagination was targeting to use the GT7900 with 32 cores? Seem too high end for Amazon & Apple micro consoles but it's close to Xbox One power when clocked at 1Ghz.

Add the Ray tracing unit & you could have a pretty good console. I think Amazon could pull it off if they really wanted to make a break at the mid range console market right now.
 
Beautiful games with shit awful shadows are basically shit awful looking games that tease you with a beauty you will never be able to fully appreciate no matter how hard you try.

Wizard, plz...
 
Beautiful games with shit awful shadows are basically shit awful looking games that tease you with a beauty you will never be able to fully appreciate no matter how hard you try.

Wizard, plz...

I

What

I am so confused by this

Shadows aren't everything.
 
Shadows aren't everything. But bad shadows cast a long ... shadow ... over everything they leave ... in shadow.

Sawtooth and lod popping shadows are like watching a beautiful pre-industrial rural landscape where everything is covered in dancing fleas trying to give you plague.
 
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Pro's and Cons of having PowerVR GPU (coupled with arm) in a next gen console?

Cons:
-more than triple PS3 level performance, which is great if you have developers who produced God of War, Uncharted, Gran Turismo and other titles which have yet to be matched visually or artistically, but not so great if your name rhymes with Bluebliechoft

Pro's:
-handheld possibility
-low power
-possibility for extremely small design
-cheap to produce

So for Nintendo it would have been perfect; a handheld which you dock at home or something.

It could run at the native 720P screen when on the road; while docked would enable 1080P because of less power constraints and active cooling in the dock or something.

For PS5 or Xbox 2 however... It would be a step back, unless they cluster 10 of these new PowerVR things, breaking backwards compatibility, so no.
 
Shadows aren't everything. But bad shadows cast a long ... shadow ... over everything they leave ... in shadow.

Sawtooth and lod popping shadows are like watching a beautiful pre-industrial rural landscape where everything is covered in dancing fleas trying to give you plague.
I agree. PS3's first impressions were really impacted by sawtooth shadows everywhere, when PS2 had had perfectly clean shadow lines. I think that's what I recall first and foremost regards the new GT gameplay of the time. Felt like a real backwards step, and remains a painful compromise of 'progress'. RT shadows would be very welcome!
 
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