Microsoft?s Xbox 2 Architecture Unveiled

[NFS4]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mobile/display/20040426094105.html

 

[maziwanka]

i wish i understood what all of that meant.

i hope it = good things

 

[lancestorm]

Post the story, can't access from work...

 

[Passions]

LOL XBOX2......amazing they even come up with this due to the flop XBOX was.

 

[Confused]

Microsoft?s Xbox 2 Architecture Unveiled
Sources Set the Announcement Date for New Microsoft?s Console

by Anton Shilov
04/26/2004 | 09:47 AM

A visitor of aChinese BBS revealed information that, he thinks, mirrors some architecture peculiarities of the Microsoft?s Xbox 2 console in addition to the date when the world?s largest software maker is expected to release the official details of the console.

Microsoft is expected to formally announce the Xbox 2 (the ?Xenon?) on the 2nd of June 2004. The firm may adjust some parameters but will not change the overall structure of the console, the China-based web-site GZeasy.com believes.

Link to System Block Diagram

Microsoft will use IBM?s POWER 64-bit processors in the Xbox 2. The 65nm chips were reportedly taped-out recently and are now evaluated by engineers at Microsoft and IBM, though, the architecture of those microprocessors still remains to be investigated.

As everybody knows, there is a lot going on with multi-core, multi-threaded designs at IBM. Apparently, Microsoft also wants to jump on that bandwagon, some sources indicate. The Redmond, Washington-based firm wants to incorporate IBM?s POWER 976 architecture into the CPUs for Xbox 2 console to allow truly high-performance processing. POWER 976 is expected to be a dual-core processor able to handle two threads at once. What may seem a pretty hard to believe is that Microsoft wants more than 1 such chip to power its forthcoming console, according to the scheme published there are three of such chips.

The whole Xbox 2 CPU system will be capable of processing a number of threads simultaneously; because of its RISC nature, the new architecture is a big-endian system, a term that describes the order in which a sequence of bytes are stored in computer memory. Traditional x86 architectures use the little-endian approach, it was initially noted.

The graphics processor of the Xbox 2 is to be developed by ATI Technologies, the I/O controller is to be developed by Silicon Integration Systems Corporation.

 

[bunker]

Am I reading that diagram correctly? Three 3.5+ Ghz processors????

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Passions
LOL XBOX2......amazing they even come up with this due to the flop XBOX was.

Flop???

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: bunker
Am I reading that diagram correctly? Three 3.5+ Ghz processors????

Not just 3 3.5ghz cpus, 3 POWER 976 3.5ghz cpus! I believe these are essentially the equivalent of dual core hyperthreaded cpus. That means 6 physical CPU's, + hyperthreading. So essentially 12 cpus if I read correctly.

 

[ElFenix]

jebus h... what i the VPU bit on the CPUs?

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Passions
LOL XBOX2......amazing they even come up with this due to the flop XBOX was.

Flop???

I think he's just an xbox hater. It could be considered a flop considering the money lost per console, but the gain in marketshare and the fact that microsoft came in willing and knowing makes it not a flop.

You can't deny its a powerful system capabilities beyond what the other systems have. And now with microsoft proving that they're dedicated to the cause, more 3rd party developers will be willing to develop for xbox.

 

[geno]

moving towards proprietary architechture = good

in terms of consoles at least.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
jebus h... what i the VPU bit on the CPUs?

VPU - possibly the hyperthreading bit?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: bunker
Am I reading that diagram correctly? Three 3.5+ Ghz processors????

Not just 3 3.5ghz cpus, 3 POWER 976 3.5ghz cpus! I believe these are essentially the equivalent of dual core hyperthreaded cpus. That means 6 physical CPU's, + hyperthreading. So essentially 12 cpus if I read correctly.

I think it is juts 1 cpu, BUT multi core, like AMD and others have been talking about.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Passions
LOL XBOX2......amazing they even come up with this due to the flop XBOX was.

Flop???

I think he's just an xbox hater. It could be considered a flop considering the money lost per console, but the gain in marketshare and the fact that microsoft came in willing and knowing makes it not a flop.

You can't deny its a powerful system capabilities beyond what the other systems have. And now with microsoft proving that they're dedicated to the cause, more 3rd party developers will be willing to develop for xbox.

Passions = idiot. I don't know how the price drop from 179 has hurt/helped sales but it was at least tied with the GC for 2nd place before that. (The GC showed strong sales after their price drop to 99) The XBox is hardly a flop - a flop is the Dreamcast. Microsoft will only get better with the XBox 2.

 

[CPA]

So what's this thing going to cost? 1-2K?

 

[lancestorm]

I'll believe this one as much as I'll believe that we were 'supposed' to get a 1.5 - 2.0 GHz chip in the first xbox...

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: bunker
Am I reading that diagram correctly? Three 3.5+ Ghz processors????

Not just 3 3.5ghz cpus, 3 POWER 976 3.5ghz cpus! I believe these are essentially the equivalent of dual core hyperthreaded cpus. That means 6 physical CPU's, + hyperthreading. So essentially 12 cpus if I read correctly.

I think it is juts 1 cpu, BUT multi core, like AMD and others have been talking about.

The 976 is already dual core. The way the article was worded as such that Microsoft wanted to use more than one 976 in the design. In fact, 3 976's. Which would be 6 cores...

From the article: POWER 976 is expected to be a dual-core processor able to handle two threads at once. What may seem a pretty hard to believe is that Microsoft wants more than 1 such chip to power its forthcoming console, according to the scheme published there are three of such chips.

 

[RossMAN]

Include a PVR (with no monthly fee) and I'll pay up to $499.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: Passions
LOL XBOX2......amazing they even come up with this due to the flop XBOX was.

what.. the.. hell... are you talking about. MSFT went in knowing they would be losing money on XBOX 1, intentially selling them at a loss so they could gain marketshare. And considering XBOX is still the best overall system imo, i think they've done a pretty decent job. Their xbox live service is way better than whatever ps2 has. I will concede that their library is lacking, but its slowly getting there.

 

[Howard]

Who's Passions? He's been around for 4 years, and yet I don't recall seeing him...

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

ummm...those specs seem excessive. They look like an engineering no-holds-barred wishlist rather than something that's economically feasible.

 

[Corporate Thug]

it would be all that much better if i new what it meant

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: shady06
it would be all that much better if i new what it meant

In layman's terms, a console with those specs would be fvcking fast. Pulling a number out of my ass, I'd say it'd be 8-10x as fast as the current XBox with those specs.

 

[50]

Originally posted by: CPA
So what's this thing going to cost? 1-2K?

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: Howard
Who's Passions? He's been around for 4 years, and yet I don't recall seeing him...

Beats me, but he gets a 1 on his rating from me. :-D