Xenon System Block Diagram

[London Geezer]

By reading this thread i suddenly got a feeling, which lasted for about 10 seconds, which left me a bit odd inside... What if PC GPUs got so powerful and ATI or Nvidia got so good at what they're doing that all the consoles will be able to do is just match (if even that) whats out on PC at any given time? See Xbox2...

But then i switched my brain ON and thought "Nah, if anything, MS or Sony can put 2 of the best chips out at the moment and off u go"...

 

[Megadrive1988]

Unless "R600" represents a weird shifting of project names, or is a project running concurrently for rather than--as we expect--after R500, I don't see how Xbox2's chip would wear that moniker best. Is X2 indeed slipping well into 2006? Is R600 perhaps a project attempting to see how an eDRAM-laden card would do in the PC marketplace or in other sectors, and that's a more-determining factor? Or an alternative-designed product that's not really "the generation ahead?"

Considering that it seems like R500 will be released around the same time as the Xbox2 (at least by many assumptions right now), and quite possibly a lot after, considering X2's GPU would have to be solidified and produced in might higher volumes to assure a good console launch. But that chip will be the next designation up?

It seems much like "R600" is meaningless at the moment, as everyone expects what it would/should be representing is "the next-generation higher architecture to R500" aimed at the PC. (Which can, of course, have variations elsewhere.) If it's NOT... well, then we need to know what it is first.

Hopefully May 5th will indeed bring some clarity, because at the moment there's not much of it as far as this is concerned.

well, R500 is probably a spring/summer 2005 part. with VS/PS 3.0, and some or most of the advances ATI had planned over R300, but couldn't get into R420. I'm not sure if R500 is the R400 anymore since that theory that R500=R400++, now might not be right. since Longhorn has been delayed until fall 2006 at the soonest, and it seems that's when DirectX Next / DX10 will arrive, R600 is the hardware that will support DX10 features including SM4.0 - ATI cannot wait until fall 2006 to have a new generation part. R500 needs to get here sometime around or after spring 2005. that's 12~18 months after R420 but 12~18 months before fall 2006.

I really start to doubt MS will launch Xbox 2 even in late 2005. it's too much of a crunch for everyone. especially developers. whether or not R600 or R600 derivative could be ready by late 2005 (really early to mid 2005 for production) is in question. I think Xbox 2 will come early 3rd Q 2006 (summer) to get a few months lead on PS3/GCNext, but not a year before which would put Xbox 2 hardware at a disadvantage.


there is still alot up in the air

 

[Guden Oden]

What if PC GPUs got so powerful and ATI or Nvidia got so good at what they're doing that all the consoles will be able to do is just match (if even that) whats out on PC at any given time?

Thing is, with a console you get a whole system that generally costs less than just a top-of-the-line graphics card, after a couple years it's less than HALF... Games run fast and are bug-free (*cough* Morrowind *cough*), control is precise and tight (*cough* except for first-person shooters *cough*).

Plop in the disc, turn on the power and off you go. With a PC it half an age just to boot the machine, and in the case of games like Unreal2, Farcry etc, two or even THREE ages to load the game. Right now I think I'm back in the C64 days with a tape deck; it's really getting THAT bad.

Consoles have a definite edge here, that's undisputable, even if they might not be technically superior. That's what's making them a stronger force in the market than ever before actually.