8-Core CPU Heads Xbox One's Hardware Specs

[Steven Bogos]

Given the 8gigs of RAM, it's probably just sloppy writing on the part of either Mr. Bogos or the microsoft marketting wonk he got it from,

I resent that. x86 refers to the architecture, which is all Microsoft have said.

Furthermore, it should be assumed that it is running 64 bit, because that is the standard these days, and like you said, the 8 gigs of ram.

 

[Albino Boo]

For a start its the AMD jaguar which is 64 bit not 32 bit. As I said above the gpu is on the chip and is without native memory. So using 8gigs GDDR5 as the main memory will produce better graphics performance than using 8 gigs of DDR3

Re-read my post.

I never stated it was 32-bit but questioned it. I understand the difference between DDR and GDDR, bonus points; GDDR5 does not process 64-bits but rather circa 32-bits.

DDR3 uses a 64-bit memory controller per channel ( so, 128-bit bus for dual channel, 256-bit for quad channel), whereas GDDR5 is paired with controllers of a nominal 32-bit (16 bit each for input and output), but whereas the CPU's memory contoller is 64-bit per channel, a GPU can utilise any number of 32-bit I/O's (at the cost of die size) depending upon application ( 2 for 64-bit bus, 4 for 128-bit, 6 for 192-bit, 8 for 256-bit, 12 for 384-bit etc...).

 

[fix-the-spade]

I'm glad about the jump from 512MB to 8Gb in RAM, though the difference between DDR3 and GDDR5 remains to be seen.

Theoretically the difference is huge, on AMD's fusion PC chips, going from DDR3-1333 to DDR3-1600 equates to a 10%-ish jump in frames per second when gaming, you can bet MSoft won't be speccing higher then 1333. GDDR5 is made more or less specifically for graphics cards, so even if they use identical chips the PS3 will have a speed advantage.

The lack of hardware specifics is hugely disappointing, it probably means the specs will be too.

Two other things that bug me hugely, HDD and controller batteries are no longer replaceable, so Ebay is going to flood with dead on arrival controllers and as game install sizes balloon that 500GB disc is going to become a huge frustration. That's not even 20 installs of the PC version of BF3 (or it's 25hours of 1080p video), since I assume that's the level they'll be shooting for (and hopefully surpassing) prepare for frustration Xbox users.

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

It is also worth noting that the 8 gig of RAM in the Xbox One is standard DDR3 RAM instead of the fancy-pants GDDR5 that the PS4 is boasting. The console will also be switching to a much more PC-friendly x86 architecture.

Either I'm being stupid or this is the worst gobbledygoo I've heard in a while.

There are two kinds of RAM, system and graphical. While you can have system RAM on the GPU, you cannot have GDDR on the system ; Quite frankly my old 9800GT had GDDR3 and the standard for most DX11 GPUs is GDDR5 and the standard for most for system RAM is DDR3 .

It's switching to a 32-bit system? How can it use more than 4GBs of RAM?

GDDR5 is standard memory in PS4 because it's an APU, not a GPU+CPU combo like a PC. To simplify it, PS4 is a 8GB GeForce Titan. That does all the processing.
BTW, I wonder if you can actually get a 8GB Titan? Or it's 1 gb tops? i'm kinda behind the curve with PC market.

 

[Krantos]

Well, fuck.

Here I thought my nice 6 core was going to carry me through the entire next generation.

Well, fingers crossed we don't run into many games requiring an 8 core CPU for a couple years at least.

 

[TheComfyChair]

Well, fuck.

Here I thought my nice 6 core was going to carry me through the entire next generation.

Well, fingers crossed we don't run into many games requiring an 8 core CPU for a couple years at least.

The 8 cores in the xbone and ps4 are low power, low performance netbook cores (jaguar). A dual core sandy bridge will be faster than either of them. Any recent CPU, from the Phenom II X4 onwards, wont break a sweat beating the PS4/Xbone handily.

 

[Krantos]

Well, fuck.

Here I thought my nice 6 core was going to carry me through the entire next generation.

Well, fingers crossed we don't run into many games requiring an 8 core CPU for a couple years at least.

The 8 cores in the xbone and ps4 are low power, low performance netbook cores (jaguar). A dual core sandy bridge will be faster than either of them. Any recent CPU, from the Phenom II X4 onwards, wont break a sweat beating the PS4/Xbone handily.

Oh.

Well that will teach me for not looking more at the type of cpu they're using. I admit to being slightly confused when I read they were Jaguar, as I had never heard of it. Should have done more research.

On the plus side that makes me considerably happier. Suck it Sony and Microsoft! My free computer is still better than you're Consoles!

 

[Snow Fire]

well done, but x86 isn't x64. All it says that it supports on x64 systems not necessary with the benefits which x64 comes with.

x86 has had no successor, x64 is just short for x86 64 bit. I guess I'm weird in that, given today's techbology, I assume if x86 is mentioned, they are automatically referring to the 64bit version of x86.

 

[Strazdas]

So, basically, what they are giving us is a high end current PC (which is fair, they cant invent soem kind of future technology) and use old 86x architecture.

Well, it seems better than PS4, with as little information as we are given. Still, PCs will get ahead soon, but that is to be expected. Though i think my 4 year old one wont be able to run games made for new generation, well, i plan to upgrade this year anyway.

Capcha: lunchtime
Funny, i actually was eating with colegues while reading this.

 

[taciturnCandid]

A lot of misinformation on this by people who don't study technology.

8 cores does not mean better. A low to mid grade 8 core can be matched by a mid to high grade 4 core. Considering that they are using things meant for smartphones and tablets, it really isn't all that impressive. Really there is quite a bit of diminishing returns after 4.

Microsoft seemed to be a little smarter using DDR3 instead of GDDR5.

DDR3 might have lower bandwith, but it has very little latency. It is quick to respond and will be great for things like AI and physics.

GDDR5 has much higher bandwith but medium latency. That means it has the potential to look prettier, but it won't handle things that require a lot of fast communication very well. I'd take better physics and AI over graphical fidelity any day personally.

Overall a midrange custom PC will be able to run anything that is put out this generation. While doing a whole bunch more applications and uses.

the actually design of the core is called x86

for the slow people out their that can't read

gddr5 = faster then ddr3

faster = better

Faster may seem better, but latency matters and so many complex mathmatical computations will be harder on the PS4. Expect a difference in gameplay with the Xbox handling greater physics and AI and the PS4 handling better graphics

 

[taciturnCandid]

So, basically, what they are giving us is a high end current PC (which is fair, they cant invent soem kind of future technology) and use old 86x architecture.

Well, it seems better than PS4, with as little information as we are given. Still, PCs will get ahead soon, but that is to be expected. Though i think my 4 year old one wont be able to run games made for new generation, well, i plan to upgrade this year anyway.

Capcha: lunchtime
Funny, i actually was eating with colegues while reading this.

No. A midrange pc will beat it while doing a lot more.

In fact, PCs from 2010 already beat this. With a nice quad-core and a decent gpu you will be able to run anything that is put out this generation.

If you spend about the same amount on a PS4 on an upgrade to a PC you will outdo them

 

[Lord_Gremlin]

A lot of misinformation on this by people who don't study technology.

8 cores does not mean better. A low to mid grade 8 core can be matched by a mid to high grade 4 core. Considering that they are using things meant for smartphones and tablets, it really isn't all that impressive. Really there is quite a bit of diminishing returns after 4.

Microsoft seemed to be a little smarter using DDR3 instead of GDDR5.

DDR3 might have lower bandwith, but it has very little latency. It is quick to respond and will be great for things like AI and physics.

GDDR5 has much higher bandwith but medium latency. That means it has the potential to look prettier, but it won't handle things that require a lot of fast communication very well. I'd take better physics and AI over graphical fidelity any day personally.

Overall a midrange custom PC will be able to run anything that is put out this generation. While doing a whole bunch more applications and uses.

Well, I'd take pretty graphics first and better physics second, matter of taste. What I will say is that we have no idea just how effective those custom APUs are. We can only guess based on APUs used in PCs. I'll have to see games to make an informed opinion. What I would say is that Sony showed stuff that mid-range PC can't run. Those were stage demos of course too, we'll need to see them in action.

 

[taciturnCandid]

A lot of misinformation on this by people who don't study technology.

8 cores does not mean better. A low to mid grade 8 core can be matched by a mid to high grade 4 core. Considering that they are using things meant for smartphones and tablets, it really isn't all that impressive. Really there is quite a bit of diminishing returns after 4.

Microsoft seemed to be a little smarter using DDR3 instead of GDDR5.

DDR3 might have lower bandwith, but it has very little latency. It is quick to respond and will be great for things like AI and physics.

GDDR5 has much higher bandwith but medium latency. That means it has the potential to look prettier, but it won't handle things that require a lot of fast communication very well. I'd take better physics and AI over graphical fidelity any day personally.

Overall a midrange custom PC will be able to run anything that is put out this generation. While doing a whole bunch more applications and uses.

Well, I'd take pretty graphics first and better physics second, matter of taste. What I will say is that we have no idea just how effective those custom APUs are. We can only guess based on APUs used in PCs. I'll have to see games to make an informed opinion. What I would say is that Sony showed stuff that mid-range PC can't run. Those were stage demos of course too, we'll need to see them in action.

It doesn't even matter really. The ps4 and Xbone will be running at 1920x1080 and not 4k. While most high range pcs can run games at 4k or beyond.

Even my budget PC can run current games at 1920x1080 and max settings at 50 fps (stress that this was a low budge pc. Medium range would greatly outpace it)

Sony and Microsoft admitted that it can broadcast video at 4k, but not games. This will be a great limiter.

If it really is all that powerful, then it would be like using a flamethrower to make a piece of toast. It costs way more for the same performance as a toaster due to the task at hand being simple

 

[Xarathox]

I doubt most games (or any) will actually be using those 8 cores to the fullest. At least, until the very end of the consoles life cycle.

 

[Ukomba]

Ah good, I don't have to worry about the next gen games out pacing my current pc, I'll just wait for the ports.

 

[EstrogenicMuscle]

To simplify it, PS4 is a 8GB GeForce Titan. That does all the processing.

Not even close.

And while APUs are a good idea, to compare anything in the PlayStation 4 to the GeForce Titan is... no. No no no. Not even anywhere near.

 

[taciturnCandid]

Considering that the XboxOne will always run 3 OS congruently, I have to wonder, just how much RAM will actually be dedicated to gaming? Windows 8 is 2-3 Gigs right there, then they have this Intermediary OS for the Skype, TV, and what not, then they ave the Gaming OS. It wouldn't surprise me if you are only getting 4 Gigs for gaming.

Windows 8 actually uses less than a gig of memory. it is down from 7, which was much more intensive.

the new xbox is stated to have 4 gb dedicated to gaming