XBox Ten Spec Sheet

[TechBoyJK]

Crytek has stated that they already have prelim specs and have started building games for
XBOX720 and fine tuning CryEngine3 to work with it. So MS has to have, to some degree, the hardware specs decided on.

 

[Arkaign]

If it releases by 2013 then I cant see QuadHD being available, if they are leaving it to 2015 then i would hope they would leave it as an option or at least a possibility.

To put it another way : Asus has that one nutty card that's $1500 or so. Even it cannot run all games at 2560x1600 with all settings maxed. And 2560x1600 is a LOT less than Quad HD. It will probably be another 7-10 years before we see a console capable of Quad HD in any meaningful way.

3840×2160 = ~8 million pixels
1920x1080 = ~2 million pixels

2560x1600 = ~4 million pixels

In other words, with today's tech, it would probably take at least 4 of those $1500 asus cards running in highly optimized SLI to stand a chance of running QuadHD

 

[mnewsham]

To put it another way : Asus has that one nutty card that's $1500 or so. Even it cannot run all games at 2560x1600 with all settings maxed. And 2560x1600 is a LOT less than Quad HD. It will probably be another 7-10 years before we see a console capable of Quad HD in any meaningful way.

3840×2160 = ~8 million pixels
1920x1080 = ~2 million pixels

2560x1600 = ~4 million pixels

In other words, with today's tech, it would probably take at least 4 of those $1500 asus cards running in highly optimized SLI to stand a chance of running QuadHD

By support i mean upscaling like current consoles do for 1080p

 

[Sonikku]

Quad HD? Are you serious?

Developers complained like mad this generation they had to get their games running stable in 720p resolutions as it is. Some games like Halo 3 can't even manage that much.

 

[Pheran]

Yeah, this whole Quad HD discussion is ridiculous. I will bet anyone in this thread $100 that the next Xbox does not support Quad HD.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Quad HD? Are you serious?

Developers complained like mad this generation they had to get their games running stable in 720p resolutions as it is. Some games like Halo 3 can't even manage that much.

MW 2 also is running at sub 720p resolutions. There are probably many games that can't run in HD.

However this console needs native 1080p, there really isn't an excuse anymore.

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

The graphics card doesn't really make any sense to me, why would they go dual GPU?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Yeah, this whole Quad HD discussion is ridiculous. I will bet anyone in this thread $100 that the next Xbox does not support Quad HD.

Seriously, there's not even a remote chance. They're going to be targeting HDTVs and the whole 10ft concept. 1080p is all they reasonably have to aim for. What's a realistic timeline of quad HD even coming to a TV set, at a price the average person can afford?

 

[zebrax2]

The graphics card doesn't really make any sense to me, why would they go dual GPU?

For better yields

 

[Ancalagon44]

Based on this thread and the rumor that the next Xbox will be even cheaper than the 360 is today it sounds like Microsoft is trying to pull a Nintendo: subpar system that's cheaper and has boat-loads of shovelware. Worked for Nintendo I guess, though I wish it hadn't. If this is MS's plan I hope they crash and burn.

Why? The Xbox and PS3 being more powerful hasnt kept them free from shovelware.

Lower console prices benefit everyone.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

The 100MB of eDRAM is interesting. Honestly, I'm not smart enough to understand it all, but my understanding is the 10MB of eDRAM in the current 360 is a major asset to developers (used for high-speed caching or something) but the small amount is what forces them to limit most resolutions to 1152x720. With 100MB, 1080p should be NO sweat.

After all the weird ARM rumors and what not, this makes me feel A LOT better.

 

[Beev]

Why? The Xbox and PS3 being more powerful hasnt kept them free from shovelware.

Definitely, there's crap on every console. There's no comparison with how much is on the Wii compared to the other two systems, though.

Lower console prices benefit everyone.

Not if it's at the expense of power. I would even pay more than the launch prices from this generation if the console was especially impressive. Other consumers purchases do not interest me

 

[DrunkenSano]

I wouldn't mind paying more for a xbox console if it can deliver powerful graphics that the latest high end PCs can. Create two types again, the regular xbox and elite. Elite will have kickass graphics while regular has... regular.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

It's way too cost-prohibitive to build consoles with two different hardware configurations, not to mention the fact that developers then have to program taking two difference performance levels into account on the same platform. Besides, there's already a variable performance platform that let's you pay for better gear, and it's called a PC.

Honestly, I think Microsoft is correctly playing it smart here. The Xbox 360 has been a massive, strategic success for them. They've gone from being an underdog with probably around 20-30% of the market (original Xbox) to a powerhouse with around 50% (not counting Wii as a legitimate competitor; I get it, it sold like crazy, but it's not really competing directly anymore).

So they're being conservative about their hardware. Rather than pull a Sony and design of outlandish, unique chip or architecture, they're taking the current 360 design that developers are familiar with and turning it up to 11 (6 vs 3 cores, 2GB vs 512MB memory, 100MB vs 10MB eDRAM, dual-core vs single-core AMD graphics).

It's not particularly earth-shattering or mind-blowing, but it should allow for developers to start kicking ass from day one with minimal learning curve since it's faster, more potent upgrade of the same key ingredients.

 

[Pheran]

So they're being conservative about their hardware. Rather than pull a Sony and design of outlandish, unique chip or architecture, they're taking the current 360 design that developers are familiar with and turning it up to 11 (6 vs 3 cores, 2GB vs 512MB memory, 100MB vs 10MB eDRAM, dual-core vs single-core AMD graphics).

It's not particularly earth-shattering or mind-blowing, but it should allow for developers to start kicking ass from day one with minimal learning curve since it's faster, more potent upgrade of the same key ingredients.

I agree, I think this is a good idea. I'm curious how they will handle Kinect with the next generation though. Will it be bundled with all consoles, or still be an add-on? Hard to tell. I can see advantages of making it standard equipment, but that might add too much $$ to the price of the console.

 

[KentState]

I know that developers can stretch the hardware of a console further since they are developing towards one platform, but it would seem that since games are multi-platform and will continue to be that way, it would be easier to load up on RAM and CPU and reduce the time spent tweaking for the Wii, Xbox, PS and PC.

 

[Rage187]

I'd be happy if they just beefed up the Xbox and made sure there was backwards compatibility with upscaled graphics.

 

[Oyeve]

I just want BC, i dont feel like getting new just to keep the old console laying around.

 

[Arkaign]

I'd be happy if they just beefed up the Xbox and made sure there was backwards compatibility with upscaled graphics.

Should be possible, and it'd make TONS of sense from a developer perspective. Given that there are tons of 360s out there, one could also easily make a 360 version of games as well (though MS might not like that), which would open the door during the first couple of years to a lot more potential buyers.

 

[BD2003]

The 100MB of eDRAM is interesting. Honestly, I'm not smart enough to understand it all, but my understanding is the 10MB of eDRAM in the current 360 is a major asset to developers (used for high-speed caching or something) but the small amount is what forces them to limit most resolutions to 1152x720. With 100MB, 1080p should be NO sweat.

After all the weird ARM rumors and what not, this makes me feel A LOT better.

Lol at 100mb edram. That's the part how you know this is fake.

That would probably take up several times more space on the die than all the logic combined. And it'd be massive overkill for 1080p.

It doesn't compute. Pun intended. This is 100% fake.

 

[BD2003]

Image I linked previously doesn't work.

Just take my word on it, they're not fitting 100mb of edram on a chip this decade. Nor would that even serve a purpose if they could.

 

[Pheran]

Lol at 100mb edram. That's the part how you know this is fake.

That would probably take up several times more space on the die than all the logic combined. And it'd be massive overkill for 1080p.

It doesn't compute. Pun intended. This is 100% fake.

There is an existing Power7 chip with 8 cores and 32M eDRAM used as cache, and that's on a 45nm process. It's not that difficult for me to believe that a smaller-process chip with a dedicated "daughter-die" (just like on the 360) could have 100M of eDRAM. Care to justify your claim?

 

[BD2003]

There is an existing Power7 chip with 8 cores and 32M eDRAM used as cache, and that's on a 45nm process. It's not that difficult for me to believe that a smaller-process chip with a dedicated "daughter-die" (just like on the 360) could have 100M of eDRAM. Care to justify your claim?

Out of curiosity, how much does that power7 chip you speak of cost?

 

[Pheran]

Just take my word on it, they're not fitting 100mb of edram on a chip this decade. Nor would that even serve a purpose if they could.

Doing 1080p with 4xFSAA and a 32-bit Z-buffer requires around 66M of video RAM. So why wouldn't having 100M serve a purpose?

 

[Pheran]

Out of curiosity, how much does that power7 chip you speak of cost?

I have no idea, I'm just saying that a chip that does something not that far from what you are claiming is impossible was released in early 2010. AT has a nice article about the POWER7.