CES: Natal Will Consume 15% of Xbox 360 CPU

[Nerf Ninja]

15% doesn't worry me, I've no intention of buying one.

 

[Jadak]

snip

I don't know exactly what percent of processor power running a 360 game requires either, but if it ever approaches 80% or so, (which it probably does, considering the console isn't new anymore, and developers are likely sucking every bit of power they can out of it by now), then another 15% would be a problem.

Not a big deal though, as any games making use of it will have planned around it from the start, and you'll likely never know the difference.

 

[AngloDoom]

I really don't see 15% as that much... is it?

I want you to go into task manager right now and see how much power your CPU is using.

Between 5-10%

utorrent
firefox
gameranger
steam
Vista

So I would say that 15% isn't massive.

I think the problem is, most 360's have problems with heat just playing a normal game. Adding another 15% to the mix isn't going to help all the Red Ring of Death issues that stil haunt the console.

In itself, it isn't a huge amount, but it's a bit like jumping up and down on a car over a frozen lake. Sure, it can take the car, but that push might just be enough.

Yeah, I am realising that now. I am used to seeing my PC's CPU usage. I forget that the Xbox is a little erm... shit. I have had three so far.

Fun times, I'm on my third 360 too. Seems that three is, indeed, the lucky number.

That, or the four fans I had fitted into the 360 helped.

 

[bawkbawkboo1]

Do they mean 15% of one of the three cores, or 15% on all of the three cores? Or 5% on all of the three cores? I am not particularly looking forward to natal (looks like a dumb gimmick), but I am pretty sure the XB360's graphical bottleneck is the GPU (Xenon), not the CPU(Xenos) anyway.

 

[Tweekster13]

I personally don't see what the big deal is. It's just another gimmick. I'll stick to normal games, thank you very much.

 

[Aethonic]

Good thing that graphics depend on the graphics card more heavily than the CPU! Physics (and other floating-point calculations) *might* be limited, but that might be a good thing if it means fewer stupid physics puzzles.

And yet, Natal is still a gimmick that's going to fail hard.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

snip

I don't know exactly what percent of processor power running a 360 game requires either, but if it ever approaches 80% or so, (which it probably does, considering the console isn't new anymore, and developers are likely sucking every bit of power they can out of it by now), then another 15% would be a problem.

Not a big deal though, as any games making use of it will have planned around it from the start, and you'll likely never know the difference.

As people above have pointed out, it might be a problem even if current games only take a use a small percentage. In fact, that might make the problem worse.

A bump from 60% to 75% is relatively less than a bump from 15% to 30%. And if a 360 already tends to overheat playing normal games, a 15% increase might just push it over the edge a lot quicker.

Eh, I don't really care. The EyeToy never became more than a gimmick, and I doubt Natal will be any different, no matter how much they try to hype it. I just don't see the practical applications of it, past a few Wii-like things. Just give me a good controller and I'll be happy.

 

[johnman]

Well if the figures are similar for sonys attempt, then the cell processor may come into its own.
And also, we are taking this 15% as a massive increase on the basis it will be playing cpu intensive games like Halo 3 or Gears of War. The whole idea of Natal is to appeal to more casual gamers, so maybe the games will be less cpu taxing and this 15% hike wont matter as much.

 

[comadorcrack]

I'm surprised anyone really cares about natal still.

This, To the Max

Its just Eye Toy with a new name

 

[Baby Tea]

So your Xbox, which has substantially less power than your PC, doing more than all of that while just having Natal plugged in, isn't massive? Imagine the overheating issues while playing a game?

No where in the article does it say that Natal takes up 15% while 'just plugged in', only when in actual use.
And I'm assuming that if the thing is doing everything that it can do.
Just having it plugged in won't tax the CPU any more then having a disk drive plugged into your computer that isn't in use. And any game that ends up supporting Natal will know this ahead of time, and they can plan and program accordingly.

So what's the big deal?

More on topic, I'm looking forward to see how Natal is used.
I don't think anyone doubts the silly shovelware that is sure to spawn, but there are bigger opportunities here then playing 'Breakout' with your hands and feet. Imagine it being used simply as a lean command when playing a shooter. I lean right, my guys leans right. Sweet!

Or, for another shooter example, imagine a multiplayer FPS (Or TPS) where your mic chatter is heard by everyone near by (Sort of like Halo 3), so in order to remain stealthy, you can issue orders and commands with hand movements (Think Navy Seals). Not too obtrusive, yet still pretty cool.

There is plenty of potential here, we'll just have to wait and see how it's used.

 

[GethinPetrelli]

I'm more worried at the fact that:-

a)It has a brain
b)It can see through your body and know what you've got behind your back
and c)It has complete knowledge of human anatomy

When the machinces take over natal will kill us all.

 

[BaldursBananaSoap]

Oh well, that's went down the drain. I suppose the PS3 wand will use even more since it has full 1:1, 3D depth of field and more. Sony will cover it up saying "BUT TEH CELL," but I wont fall for it and I wont be buying either shitty gimmick.

And for all the people saying "That's not too much," go check task manager and look at the bottom when you're playing a game on the PC.

 

[Sevre]

So your Xbox, which has substantially less power than your PC, doing more than all of that while just having Natal plugged in, isn't massive? Imagine the overheating issues while playing a game?

No where in the article does it say that Natal takes up 15% while 'just plugged in', only when in actual use.
And I'm assuming that if the thing is doing everything that it can do.
Just having it plugged in won't tax the CPU any more then having a disk drive plugged into your computer that isn't in use. And any game that ends up supporting Natal will know this ahead of time, and they can plan and program accordingly.

I thought that's what was insinuated by the whole:

The Natal will not ship with its own dedicated processor in order to keep the cost of the peripheral down. Therefore, Kipman and Co. (new sitcom!) had to figure out how to accomplish all of this computing without stealing too much processing power from the game developers. But is 15% of the CPU too much? Will Natal games look worse because of the peripheral leeching power? Only time will tell.

That using Natal is taking away up to 15% of the CPU's power which the developers have to work with just by being used.

Imagine it being used simply as a lean command when playing a shooter. I lean right, my guys leans right. Sweet!

I can't wait to see how it reacts when you fall over BT!

 

[Baby Tea]

No where in the article does it say that Natal takes up 15% while 'just plugged in', only when in actual use.

I thought that's what was insinuated by the whole:

The Natal will not ship with its own dedicated processor in order to keep the cost of the peripheral down. Therefore, Kipman and Co. (new sitcom!) had to figure out how to accomplish all of this computing without stealing too much processing power from the game developers. But is 15% of the CPU too much? Will Natal games look worse because of the peripheral leeching power? Only time will tell.

That using Natal is taking away up to 15% of the CPU's power which the developers have to work with just by being used.

Right! When it's in use!
You post made it sound like it would take up CPU power if it was just plugged in, but not in use (Like on the dashboard, or playing a non-natal game). I bet they could make it use less if they were to scale back what it's doing, though that's my own assumption.

Imagine it being used simply as a lean command when playing a shooter. I lean right, my guys leans right. Sweet!

I can't wait to see how it reacts when you fall over BT!

Bwahaha! That'll open the door to all new levels of both Machinima and 'noob' calling.
Sign me up.

 

[Virgil]

There is plenty of potential here, we'll just have to wait and see how it's used.

I'm more looking forward to the applications to the rest of the interface. The original demos not only demonstrated the motion controls, but also facial and voice recognition. Voice and gesture commands could really improve the base system interface for people that aren't comfortable with a controller, like my wife, which would really make all the non-gaming features much more useful for her. It would be nice if she could easily watch Netflix, stream music, and check Facebook on the TV without needing any help from me.

The camera system they're using is very impressive though, and far more capable than what the Wii is able to do with it's current controllers. It's very likely that Natal-based XBLA Wii Sports equivalents could play significantly better, and wouldn't use even close to the power that a normal AAA title does. It would be a huge win for Microsoft if they can get a Xbox/Natal bundle out for a similar price to the Wii.

 

[mattman106]

Do they mean 15% of one of the three cores, or 15% on all of the three cores? Or 5% on all of the three cores? I am not particularly looking forward to natal (looks like a dumb gimmick), but I am pretty sure the XB360's graphical bottleneck is the GPU (Xenon), not the CPU(Xenos) anyway.

Good question regarding how the power hit will be split, I'm guessing either 15% per core or 5% on each one. And in regardds to graphical bottleneck it's neither of those really, it's the crippling lack of RAM.