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Microsoft job listings back up "leaked" Xbox 720 specs

OXM:

You know what's fun? Literally anything that isn't combing through dozens of Microsoft job listings in search of telling phrases such as "next generation Xbox". Still, every now and then I just can't help myself, and every now and then, the effort proves worthwhile.

For instance: we now have something in the way of official confirmation that the next Xbox will utilise the x86 processing architecture rather than Xbox 360's PowerPC setup, as rumoured. Microsoft is seeking a software development engineer to work on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, see, and experience with the x86 architecture is "desirable". Conclusive. Well, it is if you squint.

A good time, perhaps, to revisit this supposed next gen Xbox specs breakdown. Alternatively, you might give a little more thought to whether you really want the next Xbox to be backwards compatible - the choice of an x86 architecture makes this rather less likely.

sherimae24134018d ago

it has 8gb of ddr3 and 32mb of esram....
hey what is esram?
and which is better this 8gb of ddr3 or the ps4 8gb of gddr5? ^_^

sengoku4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

xbox specs tidbit's
brought to you by who have lost there jobs and the we are still looking for.

Gazondaily4018d ago

@sengoku

Wtf are you on about?

bintarok4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

Fix me if i am mistaken, i won't bite you. The PS3 has a faster kind of RAM too @3.2GHz compared to the 360's GDDR3 @700MHz. Don't you remember XDR?

What really help the 360 up to speed is EDRAM. Now they gonna use ESRAM(?) for the 720.

Zashule4018d ago

@bintarok
I am going to correct you, thanks for the invitation. The 360 does not run on GDDR3 RAM, it runs on DDR3 ram, and I don't know any DDR3 RAM that runs at 700MHz, so I have no clue where you are getting your numbers from, not that clock speeds even matter for this comparison. The main advantage GDDR5 has over DDR3 is going to be its bandwith, not its speed.

sengoku4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

have you read the article??
it's trying to deduce info on the next xbox by looking at what kind of job opening's there are at M$ studios.

xbox tidbits brought to you by who have lost there jobs and the we are still looking for. (people to fill these jobs)

the job losers i refer to come form another earlier but very similar article on n4g today

http://n4g.com/news/1238997...

in that article they have 4 former M$ employees that refer to the next xbox in there CV's trying again to deduce information on next xbox by looking at what project they have worked on there..

get it?? so deducing tidbit by looking at people that use to work there and job openings available today.

see those 2 that agreed got it..
LOL seemed so obvious.

sengoku4018d ago

and lets not forget the mother of all job loser Adam #dealwithit Orth

most of what we know to date about x720 is from employees that had worked there got fired or job openings..

aquamala4018d ago

@Zashule

DDR3 goes up to 1066Mhz now (PC3-17000). but yeah 700Mhz is an odd number, the parts should be 666,800,933,or 1066Mhz.

davekaos4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

@Aquamala

DDR3 goes upto 1066 now???

It goes into 2Ghz and this has been like this since day 1 of DDR3. My Corsair Dominator GT is clocked @ 1600Mhz but overclocked to 1800

EDIT

Just so you can see for yourself.
http://www.overclockers.co....

hesido4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

@Zashule: Xbox360 runs on GDDR3 @ 700 mhz . Not DDR3. GDDR3 to DDR2 is what GDDR5 is to DDR3; they are based on the latter technologies.

Source: Xbox 360 system architecture technical paper by none other than Microsoft:
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~m...

jivah4018d ago

@davekaos Actually ram doesn't necessary have a defined ceiling yet. Its constantly rising. Corsair has the dominator platinum as well as the vengeance unleashed that breaks through and runs at a proposed 3ghz/3000mhz. Crazy shit. Curious to how high ddr4 will get.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 4018d ago
CEOSteveBallmer4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

Gddr5 is better even if you ask anyone who are PC techie. its the latest as of now for graphics ram, DDR is for CPU ram. but both has almost the same functions. DDR3 is still the latest for CPU ram DDR4 they say is still coming out

nirwanda4018d ago

I'm inclined to think that ddr3 may be better than the gddr5 just purely on it having a lower latency, google it if you don't know what latency is.
Yes gddr5 will be the best if all the data is in order like it is on graphics cards but because the cpus, sound chips and the gpu will all be accessing it then maybe ddr3 will be faster, it will be all down to the memory controllers and the way the games are programmed themselves which will determine which is the fastest memory.

If the leaks are right I think the 720 will be quad channel memory too, im sure the said it would have a 256bit bus.

Anyway another way of looking at it is like the bluray drive in the ps3 verses the dvd in the 360 gddr3 will have longer seek times (latencey) but will be faster if its properly ordered for the gpu just like a bluray is faster than dvd

2pacalypsenow4018d ago

@nirwanda DDR and GDDR are two completely different types of ram they are not comparable

nypifisel4018d ago

@nirwanda

Seeing how they are mainly gaming machines (well at least the PS4) the bigger bandwidth of GDDR5 is quite the advantage over DDR3. I believe Microsofts choice going with DDR3 rather than higher bandwidth memory tells us a little something about the next Xbox focuses - being more multi-everything oriented and less about games. The PS4s design is pretty much how you would design a gaming-machine.

Don't think the DDR3 would rake any benefit over the GDDR5 in whatever spectrum I can see these consoles work in, well they are there but hardly noticeable - the other way around on the other hand gives the PS4 quite the advantage (If we were to look at these machines as being mainly focused on gaming)

ChrisW4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

The larger bandwidth of GDDR5 will only have its advantage in the years to come. Currently, there are no games, not even on the PC, that take full advantage of the bandwidth available today. For example, two computers with the same setup (same CPU, GPU, & Gbs of RAM) except using DDR2 and DDR3 are capable of running the same game at virtually the same frame rates.

Meaning more or faster RAM has little to no effect on FPS. It helps with multitasking, which is where the PS4 will shine. Please understand, it's the CPU and GPU that directly effect the processing of graphics and FPS.

Currently, both consoles would be capable of playing today's games with only 2Gbs of RAM each. The 8Gbs in the consoles obviously is for future proofing as games and applications become more demanding.

However, keep in mind that DDR3 is cheaper than GDDR5 and thus the Xbox720 may more than likely have a price drop sooner.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4018d ago
Arai4018d ago

The 8Gb GDDR5 in the PS4 provides 176GB/sec of bandwidth.
While the current rumored/leaked specs of 8Gb DDR3 + 32mb ESRAM provides 170Gb/sec for the Xbox 720.

The Xbox 720 has a split pool of memory, 8Gb DDR3 provides 68Gb/sec while the 32mb of ESRAM provides 102Gb/sec...giving it 170Gb/sec.

Hope that helps...

kneon4018d ago

You can't just add the speed of the two memory pools, such a number is meaningless.

nirwanda4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

@kneon yes you can access both memory pools at the same time as they run off different memory controllers, both the ps4 and the 720 process from several cashees on the gpu/cpu and the data is fetched from the main memory or memory's.

kneon4018d ago

Sure you can access them separately, but you are assuming the usage is completely independent. Much of the time their usage will be inter-dependent meaning that the slower of the two will determine the maximum speed. Transferring data from one to the other can't go any faster than the slowest memory.

nveenio4018d ago

It's true. ESRAM doesn't magically make the DDR3 faster. That's just a crazy assumption. DDR3 will be the bottleneck on this system, if that is indeed what it uses..

nirwanda4018d ago

http://www.vgleaks.com/wp-c...
@kneon and inveni0
Yes it does combine they read and write independently the esram read/writes directly to the gpu and northbridge and the ddr3 to the northbridge, next you will be saying the level 1, 2and 3 cashees the gpu has its speed held back by the ddr3
See this chart like I said in my first post its the memory conroller that determines the memory access speed just like an ssd for instance

kneon4017d ago

When you have a cache miss then yes the speed is held back. In fact it ends up being worse than had you skipped the cache completely and accessed the ram directly since each cache miss incurs a small latency.

Cache performance is highly dependent on the nature of the data being cached and how frequently new data is needed.

If you can predict what data will be needed next and if you have sufficient time to prefetch the data then cache performance can approach the theoretical maximum speed of the cache, but if it's highly randomized then performance will drop.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4017d ago
WUTCHUGUNNADO4018d ago

GDDR5 is a modified DDR3 module geared for higher bandwidths with the trade off being higher latencies (slower communication) which is great for GPU purposes but could pose a weakness for CPU related tasks.

DDR3 offers lower latencies (faster communication) which suits the needs for the CPU but the bandwidth isn't as wide so it would pose a weakness for the GPU.

What people don't acknowledge is the fact that the tech has to be powerful enough to fully saturate the bandwidth in order to notice a difference which the confirmed specs of the PS4 and the rumored specs of the 720 are far from matching.

nukeitall4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

I was going to post what you said, at a lot less detail. :D

That said, yeah for multi-tasking operations i.e. task switching DDR3 is much better, but for graphics GDDR5 tends to be better. That of course assumes you have enough processing power to need all that bandwidth or low latency, which the PS4 doesn't have. The next Xbox specs isn't revealed, but if the rumors are correct then it doesn't have it either.

Basically there is good reasons to choose either one over the other.

OC_MurphysLaw4018d ago

@WUTCHUGUNNADO nailed it. Ultimately the differences of the memory setups and types are really going to be about what the machines are looking to do. Its all the behind the scenes stuff that really will determine which set up is better.

And ....the next xbox is still not official so its speculation at this point anyway.

aquamala4018d ago

rumor just doesn't make sense to me, even low end AMD cards like 7750 uses GDDR5, why would the next xbox use DDR3 for graphics?

user76939584018d ago

lol at the nobody's saying DRR3>GDDR5 hahahahaha
and more funny those who saying the GDDR5 is no needed since the PS4 has not enough raw power hahahaha

serious note..
let's hope M$ updates to GDDR5..(even if they have to delay it) I don't want the xbox stopin the third party devs from using the amazing raw power of gddr5 that all of the sudden means nothing and apparently sucks lol

defiance1874018d ago Show
Nitrox4018d ago

YeeeeeeHawwwww! I can't wait to see what a machine powered by GDDR5 is capable of! I hear gddr5 outperforms even an Intel i7 in terms of raw power!!!

kane_13714017d ago

you see, GDDR5 is already used commercially on PCs.
So nobody is going to say GDDR5 is bad.
Actually it doesn't even make sense.
GDDR5 is for GFX DDR3 for system memmory.
Why are you people blending them together?

Godmars2904018d ago

We need know whether or not MS is going to make their main focus games, or making their next system a cable box. That's going to greatly effect they do games if they do them at all. Just let whatever 3rd they can buy off to put their titles on a system they themselves will never properly explore.

InMyOpinion4018d ago

You really hate them with a passion, don't you? :)

nypifisel4018d ago

Aha! Well there, you said it yourself. You're looking to know what the focus of the nextbox will be, well the specs can actually tell us quite a bit about that. Particularly the memory, the DDR3 vs GDDR5 debate is in this regard highly interesting. Cause if the nextbox as rumoured goes with the DDR3 it then tells us that it is as speculated in fact more multi-media oriented and less gaming so (DDR3 being better with multi-tasking and what not - let's say more CPU oriented rather than GPU (PS4)

Godmars2904018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

No. If MS is only looking to make Xbox3 a cable box that plugs into a cable box people have to pay for to access their cable box with an Xbox3 UI, its going to effect how they make games. Not that their actual record for making games is especially stellar.

Though with the way this entire console generation has gone, the over-focus with realtime and 1st/3rd person, the moves towards motion control social gaming and multiplayer, I'm just as curious about what Sony's plans are.

I want some singleplayer gamers. Some StarFox and Panzer Dragoon clones. Turn based titles with pixel animations.

I want to have actual, honest fun playing games. I don't want some social engineered "experience" which some PR shill preformed verbal oral in attempt me to try and plod through.

fr0sty4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

To answer your question sherimae, GDDR5 has much higher bandwidth (can move more data at once) than DDR3 does. DDR3 has lower latency (can get that data to where it's going faster). However, video games tend to be more bandwidth hungry than they are latency hungry. So, in the case of PS4, having higher bandwidth seems to be the better trade off.

The ESRAM is similar to Xbox 360's EDRAM. It is a small pool of very high bandwidth RAM that MS is rumored to be using to help get around issues that are created by DDR3's low bandwidth. This will help get it's speed a little closer to GDDR5, and should also provide a nice high bandwidth frame buffer for good post-processing effects such as anti-aliasing. However, in the end it is not as desirable as a setup as 8GB's of unified GDDR5 would be because you are limited by only being able to have 32MB's at a time of high bandwidth RAM, vs. 8GB.

That said, GDDR5 is expensive, and will likely bring PS4's cost above that of the base console cost of the next Xbox. However, if Microsoft intends on including Kinect in every box, and so far most rumors back this up, that should level the playing field when it comes to cost.

4018d ago Replies(1)
g2gshow4018d ago

@sherimae2413

this is basic information read an you will find out

Ashunderfire864017d ago

The girl just ask a question yet you guys give her 18 disagree. Man you guys suck.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 4017d ago
sherimae24134018d ago

@ septic and griever
thx for the info guys ^_^

Serjikal_Strike4018d ago

May reveal can't come soon enough to put an end to these fake rumor articles.

famoussasjohn4018d ago

Impatiently waiting for the announcement.

dcbronco4018d ago (Edited 4018d ago )

This says nothing about the possibility of the next Xbox having BC because that would be a separate chip anyway. And it always would have been. The first PS3s included a Emotion Engine.

Serjikal_Strike speaks the truth. Too much space wasted on repeated nonsense and out right fanboy ramblings.

FrigidDARKNESS4018d ago

OXm is notorious for cooking up fanboy articles i take their stories with a grain of salt as for the article it was a waste of time to read.

TheKayle14018d ago Show
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Bethesda Needs to Reduce the Gaps Between New Fallout and Elder Scrolls Releases

Waiting a decade for new instalments in franchises as massive as Fallout and Elder Scrolls feels like a waste.

Read Full Story >>
gamingbolt.com
-Foxtrot10h ago

Microsoft have Obsidian but I feel it's Bethesda who just don't want to play ball as they've always said they want to do it themselves.

Once MS bought Zenimax in 2020 they should have put the Outer Worlds 2 on the back burner, allow Bethesda to finish off its own Space RPG with Starfield (despite totally different tone why have two in your first party portfolio with two developers who's gameplay is a tad similar) and got Obsidian for one of their projects to make a spiritual successor to New Vegas.

When the Elder Scrolls VI is finished Bethesda can then onto the main numbered Fallout 5 themselves.

The Outer Worlds 2 started development in 2019 so putting it on the back burner wouldn't have been the end of the world, they'd have always come back to it once Fallout was done and it would have been nicely spaced out from Starfields release once they had most likely stopped supporting it and all the expansions were released.

If they did this back in 2020 when they bought Zenimax and the game had a good, steady 4 - 5 years development, you might have seen it release in 2025.

We are literally going to be waiting until 2030 at the very earliest for Fallout 5 and all they seem bothered about is pushing Fallout 76.

RaidenBlack8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

Its not just only Todd not playing ball.
Obsidian have made a name for themselves in delivering stellar RPGs, but most famous once have always been sequels/spin-offs to borrowed IPs like KOTOR 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Stick of Truth etc.
Obsidian wants to invest more in their own original IPs like Outer Worlds or Pillars of Eternity with Avowed.
Similar to what Bluepoint & inXile wants to do or Kojima is doing (i.e not involving anymore in Konami's IPs).
So yea, even if New Vegas has the most votes from 3D Fallout fans, Obsidian just wants to do their own thing, like any aspiring dev studio and MS is likely currently respecting that.
But a future Fallout game from Obsidian will surely happen. Founder Feargus Urquhart has already stated an year ago that they're eager to make a new Fallout game with Bethesda, New Vegas 2 or otherwise. Urquhart was the director of the very first 1995's Fallout game after all.
And don't forget Brian Fargo and his studio inXile, as Brian Fargo was the director of Fallout's 1988 predecessor: Wasteland

KyRo5h ago(Edited 5h ago)

Obsidian should take over the FO IP. They're do far better with it than Bethesda who hasn't made a great game for almost 15 years

Duke194h ago(Edited 4h ago)

I disagree. Part of these games is the support for the mod community. If they move to releasing a "next game" every 2 or 3 years, the modding support plummets and the franchises turn into just another run of the mill RPG.

Make the games good enough to withstand the test of time, to keep people coming back to them and expanding on them with mod support.

--Onilink--2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

I dont think anyone is saying they need to come out every 2 years (not to mention almost no game is released that quickly anymore)

By the time Fallout 5 comes out, it will be more than 15 years since Fallout 4 came out (same with ES6 coming out 15 years after Skyrim). Even if you want to use F76 as the metric for the most recent release, that one came out in 2018. It will be a miracle if F5 comes out before 2030

The point is that for a studio that doesnt seem to operate with multiple teams doing several projects at once, that their projects normally take 4-5 years as a minimum, and that now they even added Starfield to the rotation, it becomes a 15+ years waiting period between releases for each series, which doesnt make sense. Imagine that Nintendo only released a mainline Mario or Zelda game every 15 years…

They either need to start developing more than 1 project at a time, let someone else take a crack at one of the IPs or significantly reduce their development times

Duke1948m ago(Edited 44m ago)

Why should someone else take a crack at one of the IPs? Look at what happened to Final Fantasy as a recent example - there is pretty clear FF fatigue setting in because they are now pumping out titles in the franchise every few years. Pumping out more games faster doesn't always make a series better.

There are plenty of options to make new games, not just create more titles in the same universe at a faster pace.

mandf2h ago

Yeah I’m going to say it, who cares about the modding community when making a game? Half the time developers only tolerate modders because they fix there game for them.

Skuletor3h ago

Yeah, let's all advocate for smaller gaps between series' releases, then we'll probably get headlines about how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven. Let them cook.

SimpleSlave2h ago

"how the series have dropped in quality and they could have benefited from more time in the oven" So every Bethesda game then? Got it.

Listen, I would agree if this was about From Software or something, but Bethesda?

🤣

C'mon now. What timeline are you from?

Skuletor42m ago

Think about it, they're already bug filled messes on their current schedule, can you imagine how much worse it would be if they rushed things?

Duke1947m ago

I mean you aren't wrong. People are going to complain about anything

isarai2h ago

Hows about you focus on quality, just a thought 🤷‍♂️

Sciurus_vulgaris2h ago

Bethesda [or Microsoft] would have to reallocate internal and external studios towards fallout and elder scrolls titles. Bethesda has the issue of developing 2 big IPs that are large RPGs on rotation. If you want more Fallout and Elder Scrolls, development will have to be outsourced.

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