Next Xbox "to have 16 core processor"

[RhombusHatesYou]

Hmm, and how many transistors per core, and what is the clock speed? CISC or RISC?

People, let's not get in over our heads, this 16 core CPU might still get trounced by a top level Intel Xeon. More cores != more computational capability.

If the rumours are true then it's almost certain to be an IBM Power7 CPU in those devkits... I really can't be arsed pulling up a benched comparison between those and Xeons - too much fucking digging and server kit performance doesn't always translate well into gaming performance. Plus if I did put one up it would only lead to one of us having to explain FlOps and why they're important. Fuck That Noise.

Aside from that, til we see something more concrete, let's keep all this speculation at a very liberal arm's length.

As I said upthread, even if the rumours on what's inside the devkit are true, it's a sodding devkit. You can't reliably extrapolate anything for the eventual retail model from the devkit's specs beyond basic CPU type and probably GPU generation.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I don't know anything about the tech side of it, but this comes to mind...


Moar power!

 

[-Samurai-]

That's it?

I heard that the next line of GE toasters will have a 16 core processor, and be able to toast 5 pieces of bread at once. Why 5 and not 6? Why the hell not?

 

[Valthek]

The real question is: will there be 16 actual physical cores in there or will it use virtual processors. If it's virtual cores, I can understand it. However, it's going to be a total horror for developers if they want to actually USE these things to their full potential.

Actually making content that requires enough OOMPH to require 16 cores... well... It's either going to look better than real life (poor, poor graphics designers) or have such awesome physics (poor, poor developers)

Maybe they can.
Don't know why they would.

 

[Tharwen]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a375714/new-xbox-powered-by-16-core-processor.html

The new Xbox will be equipped with a 16-core processor, a new report has suggested.

The news comes after devkits were sent out to developers following a secret meeting in London last month, reports CVG.

The kits aren't thought to represent the final appearance of the new Xbox, which is codenamed Durango, but they do house the same technology.

This includes a 16-core IBM Power PC CPU, with a graphical power on par with AMD's Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cards.

That's a lot of juice, its four times what the 360 currently has.

That must mean it's 4 times as good!

Right?

 

[Dryk]

Bet it only has a Gig of RAM...

It would still be the first to crack 1 Gb :|

 

[El Luck]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a375714/new-xbox-powered-by-16-core-processor.html

The new Xbox will be equipped with a 16-core processor, a new report has suggested.

The news comes after devkits were sent out to developers following a secret meeting in London last month, reports CVG.

The kits aren't thought to represent the final appearance of the new Xbox, which is codenamed Durango, but they do house the same technology.

This includes a 16-core IBM Power PC CPU, with a graphical power on par with AMD's Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cards.

That's a lot of juice, its four times what the 360 currently has.

Hmm, and how many transistors per core, and what is the clock speed? CISC or RISC?

People, let's not get in over our heads, this 16 core CPU might still get trounced by a top level Intel Xeon. More cores != more computational capability.

Also, MS has a hell of a job on their hands making sure their API's will properly tap 16-cores, because asking the devs to do that manually will be a killer, it was bad enough with PS3's 6.

Lastly, [a href = "http://www.zdnet.com/blog/home-theater/next-generation-xbox-durango-could-ship-with-16-core-cpu/5792"]I've read that the graphics will be on par with the Radeon 7 series.[/a] When putting this one out, were MS saying it with some sort of pride or gleefulness? Because the 7 series will be outdated by the end of the year and the [a href = "http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/geforce-gtx-680-review-benchmark,review-32404.html"]top level cards have already been soundly beaten by the NVidia GTX 680.[/a]

I put this in an earlier next-gen console thread, I expect Durango and Orbis to have no more than 2GB of RAM considering the memory management algorithms and lightweight OS that go into consoles.

Aside from that, til we see something more concrete, let's keep all this speculation at a very liberal arm's length.

They took their time, but the PC Master Race has deigned to speak to us lowly console mortals.

How you got from someone who knows what they're talking about regarding computer hardware, to the pc master race bullshit, i'll never know but well done you.

 

[Something Amyss]

I hear it will consume the English with fireballs from its eyes, and bolts of lightning from its arse...

Cookie for the reference.

Braveheart. It doesn't hurt that I just looked up the reference to make sure I had it right for alluding to it in my novel. XD

 

[Weaver]

lolwut!?

We're not even thinking of 16 core CPUs for hardcore gaming PCs. AMD have only just released an 8 core CPU which is still a hefty amount. A Radeon HD 7000 equivalent seems a little far fetched as well having seen how far they can push what's in the current xbox's card.

Either this thing's gonna cost a bomb or I'm underestimating Microsoft.

The difference is desktop PC's have out of order processors whereas consoles are entirely in-order processors. I'll let wiki say it for me. Essentially, in an out of order processor "the processor can avoid being idle while data is retrieved for the next instruction in a program, processing instead the next instructions which is able to run immediately."

 

[mad825]

16 core CPUs exist.. anywhere in the world?

Yes and no.

I highly doubt that they would be using 16 physical cores but rather a CPU with 8 physical and 8 virtual giving a total of 16 logical cores.

This is all hardware designed for a server which leaves it very skeptical.

 

[lord.jeff]

Considering that 16 core is possible now and that the new xbox still has over a year to come out, this sound very possible.

 

[razerdoh]

Just watch, there will be rumours about it have 6 gigs of ram or something next.

it needs to have atleast that now days... 4gigs is starting to be on the very low end...

 

[MorganL4]

And twice what the PS3 has, though doesn't this seem a bit excessive? 4 to 6 with a good bus would be plenty. Though I can see a console this generation bringing in neat a little ARM processor.

You are forgetting, this thing is going to have to last almost a decade, 360 cameout in 2005 it is now 2012 and the 720 probably won't hit shelves until 2013 maybe 2014, in other words just short of a decade.... what seems excessive and crazy now, will seem mediocre 5 6 7 years from now. It is the nature of technology.

 

[sabercrusader]

I really, really doubt this. 8 cores is probably what it'll be, and even that's pretty high. I sure hope the price isn't too high, but I'm sure it will be with this amount of cores. Hell, honestly, the thing I care most about it making sure the damn thing doesn't break so damn easy. I love my Xbox, but they break a lot.

 

[isometry]

From everybody`s reaction here it sounds like that is a real shit ton. Its making me kind of hope this rumor is actually true. I am actually really doubting that this is true though. It just seems like it is to early for people to be getting dev kits.

One thing people need to remember though is a company like microsoft can get technology like this before it goes on the market and far cheaper then anybody else.

It's believable, considering that Intel didn't start selling quad core CPUs to consumers until over a year after the Xbox 360 released (of course, most games at that time were still completely single-threaded).

It's funny, extra cpus could be used to make more proficient AI opponents, such as bots for shooters, but I guess that would give the games too much replay value: it would be harder to sell next year's shooters if people could play matches full of high-quality bots any time on the games they already have.

That wouldnt make a difference since the core crowd who buys those shooters doesnt give a fuck about bots. They want to be playing against actual people. Plus you know you get better faster against real people as well.

Yeah, but their opinion would change if the bots became as challenging and interesting to play against as human opponents.

The problem with current bots is that they eventually become predictable, because they can't adapt to new levels of competitive play that human players will push themselves to. Instead of pre-programmed bots, a more sophisticated idea would be to have AI bots could constantly learn by studying the tactical patterns of 1000s of successful players every day. This kind of machine learning is not some futuristic pie-in-the-sky technology, it is the same technology that underlies things like chess playing supercomputers (they don't just compute future moves by brute force, they mostly rely on expert strategies).

Hopefully that manages to convey why I think the simple bots we've seen so far in shooters are only the tip of the iceberg for the better bots that will be possible in the future. In addition, there are a lot of people who buy shooters for the single player campaign but find the multiplayer modes too difficult and full of douchebags, so these guys would welcome the addition of good bots. Lastly, a big part of why people buy new shooters every year is because older games don't have enough players to support good multiplayer matches, so someone who wants to play an older game would welcome the addition of bots to make it playable.

 

[dessertmonkeyjk]

16 cores? Someone try running the Heaven DX11 Benchmark on max see if it breaks.

And what makes you think a 16-core CPU can break a GPU benchmark?

I was talking about the console itself unable to do it, not the benchmark. You see what I'm getting at?

 

[Lunar Templar]

It'll still run like shit because Microsoft will outsource everything to suicidal Chinese workers and the consoles will still break down at the hint of a small breeze.

this.

i look forward to hearing about it 'RRoD'ing 50% of the time on launch day.

 

[tyytedde]

16 core processor, fuck off! what is this NASA's xbox?

 

[F'Angus]

That's gonna be costly... don't think it'll sell all too well if it's over £500/600

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Unless those "cores" are off of a NES, that thing is going to be way to much power for anything it could need to do. The main problem with Xbox right now is disk space, not raw power.