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Hot Chips: Microsoft's Xbox One SoC has 47 MBytes Cache / 204 GB/s peak BW

Msoft XBox One SoC has 47 MBytes cache in 363mm2 die!

In the pic of the architectural design you'll see the "theoretical throughput" of 204 GB/s peak BW. Confirming Digital Foundry's inside claims.

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semiaccurate.com
greenpowerz3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

K

Buttery popcorn is needed

Convas

They were right in what context and the popcorn? Seems to be unexpectedly stronger than originally thought.

" Bandwidth is at a premium in the Xbox One owing to the slower DDR3 memory employed in the console, which does not compare favourably to the 8GB unified pool of GDDR5 in the PlayStation 4. The 32MB of "embedded static RAM" within the Xbox One processor aims to make up the difference, and was previously thought to sustain a peak theoretical throughput of 102GB/s - useful, but still some way behind the 176GB/s found in PlayStation 4's RAM set-up. Now that close-to-final silicon is available, Microsoft has revised its own figures upwards significantly, telling developers that 192GB/s is now theoretically possible."

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

SuperLupe3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

Can somebody please explain what the heck does all this mean ? Sorry Im no spec nut :)

3885d ago
NewMonday3885d ago

it means only 32mb can go threw the fast ESRAM, witch means very limited application for it, the bulk of data will have to go threw the slow DDR3 ram, this mostly effects textures and loading time.

HammadTheBeast3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

Essentially, this: http://images.wikia.com/dra...

Basically this just confirms the rumors, the same things from a week ago are true.

LaChance3885d ago Show
MysticStrummer3885d ago

It means nothing has changed, but some people forgot the definition of the word "theoretical".

3885d ago
thechosenone3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

Gaf breaks it down...nothing has changed it's still...

PS4 > Xbone :D xD :P :3 :O

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

3885d ago
black0o3885d ago

ESRAm helps nothing more .. and thanks to it we may see the same thing happened this's cur-gen where Xbox holds ps back just to let games being fit into HD-DVD instead of bluRay
MgS4 30+
GOW 40+
UC3 40+ GB ..etc mean while FF13-2 were 7 GB for the poor x360

now will have to deal with files been fit into 32mb or 47 mb so x1 can run it smother, while the ps4 is setting on 8 GB

I bet ps exclusive will shine more this up coming gen much more the cur-gen

ThatCanadianGuy5143885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

PS4: 1152 Shaders
Xbone: 768 Shaders

PS4: 72 Texture units
Xbone: 48 Texture units

PS4: 32 ROPS
Xbone: 16 ROPS

Not even counting the the superior ram and ram setup, still just Means that PS4 is massively more powerful then xbox.

tokugawa3885d ago Show
tuglu_pati3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

@tokugawa

agree

anyone can go and sign up in neogaf and comment, the info from there is as reliable as in here.

Ritsujun3885d ago

GP and her nasty green mind.

NewMonday3885d ago

people angry at facts

notice non of the XB1 fans try to give a credible explanation because the truth is hard to take.

georgeenoob3885d ago Show
tuglu_pati3885d ago

The ESRAM is still essentially its own thing, memory read/writes to it can be 109 gbs right through to 204gb/s, but it's now a two way communication, not just a framebuffer cache like it was on the 360.

What that really means is post processing/defferred rendering is slick. Hellishly slick. Rendering is again, a one way traffic system, but any post processing can happen soon as the frame is created in the ESRAM. No GPU to DDR3 read/writes. All win win stuff (like last gen).

Clock speed increase means it has a throughput advantage (over PS4)in terms of the rate at which it process data, with almost zero stall pipeline in place. Very slick. OP/s still low compared to the opposition, but there is enough here to suggest that it will run efficiently enough.

Outside of the raw compute advantage on the GPU (for PS4), the Xbox one has a faster HSA bus, running at 30gb/s compared to "nearly 20gb/s).
It's all half a dozen of one and 6 of the other, someplace's XBO has advantages, others it doesn't.

Raw rendering, hell I wouldn't be at all concerned, it appears there's more than enough caches, and with the esram, and the dedicated swizzle hardware, this will hold it's own.

A good solid piece of kit that shows what a closed box customized system can do to beef up individual components.

Color me far more impressed with the dedicated silicon than I would have been if they had just taped the GPU and CPU together.
There is some smart stuff in here, wherever they know the CPU or GPU are gong to be bogged down doing mundane stuff, they have added silicon to alleviate it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

that seems like a good summary.

Bigpappy3885d ago

Nice to see N4G has so many engineers. Hope to get a chance to use their products in the near future.

As far as the spec's are concern, I am a Tech, not an engineer. I know what FSB, clock speed, Bandwidth... ) all that tech stuff means. I am no engineer though. I will look at the quality of the games an discuss those when released. The features, which make the console more of a pleasure to use, are also more important that over all power. But if the PS4 turns out to do way better graphic than Xbox 1, that could be a selling point for many gamers, if it turns out like this gen, People talked up Teraflop and cell to high heavens, then when the games came, most looked better on 360, could happen here.

release the games and let's see. That is all that really matters in the end. No?

ChrisW3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

@DayZ,

Yet... Even with Kinect, XboxOne should be cheaper because of its crappy low specs. Seriously! Isn't it odd that it's not?!?

Ritsujun3885d ago Show
tuglu_pati3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

Also, what the 8GB Flash memory are for? Really interesting...

Tw1tch3D3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

What needs to be taken into consideration, is that this is an SoC. A single chip system, everything is on a "silicon die".

So as a result if the ESRAM points directly at the GPU, that alleviates the CPU in it's own right committing to other tasks. Just because it's DDR3 don't mean it's slow, it's fast because of low latency, significant Data Flow.

The design was built from the ground up, no beefy components simply put together.

Don't want to ruffle any feathers, but that is a major leap in architectural design Microsoft brought it's A game here folks.

@ tuglu_pati

Yes very interesting. What's more, is that Microsoft had a tutorial yesterday at Hot Chips called "Flash Trends: Challenges and Future".

We'll find out more once the techies hop on this. But I'm on beyond 3d as we speak and it's as much buzz. Very interesting, scratches that exotic architecture itch i've been hoping for out of the new optimized hardware.

badz1493885d ago Show
Rockxy3885d ago Show
rainslacker3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

To expand on Dayz comment, since big numbers are nice, but not as nice as knowing what you're getting with those big numbers, I offer the following.

Shader: A program that is used to do shading. Basically, when you have a polygonal model, the models aren't always completely lifelike. For instance, a sphere can look blocky. A shader can help make it look smooth. In addition shaders can apply special effects to models, or even 2D images. Shaders handle how the final texture will look when on the screen. The more shaders, the more can be done at one time.

Texture units: These are used to map the actual textures onto a model. Textures are flat images that have to be drawn on the model's polygons. These textures can be used not only as the basic colors of the image, but also the light texture, bump textures(which give it more realistic looks), or any number of other special textures used to effect the way a model looks when it's finally rendered. Basically, the more you have, the more that can be done at one time.

ROPS: Short for "Raster Operation Unit". This is a bit more complex, but the basics of it is that before the image is displayed, each pixel is processed to give it it's depth information. This is where AA comes from, as well as many other nifty pixel and screen effects. Again, the more you have, the better the image can theoretically look.

Otherwise, I can offer this to those that don't care what all this means. All these specs discussed here means that the X1 will be able to play next gen games. It's not a bad set up. Has advantages and disadvantages, and like all consoles to date will require talented devs to make the most of what it offers.

stuna13885d ago

Microsoft is lying! Plain and simple, with those specs it just doesn't add up once you add in the fact that they said they up clocked the CPU.

TheKayle13884d ago

@black0o

do urself (and to us!!) a favour PLS before u start try talking technically again..go to study...

whta u said is a freaking big nonsense BS lol

MagnusX3884d ago

Microsoft is revising there specs saying that "its much faster then we previously calculated" lol

DonFreezer3884d ago

No we can't. Why haven't you asked the same when Sony pr chaps talked shit about teraflops , rops and shit?Why do you need explaining know when most of you played it computer engineers when Sony talked nonesense.Shut your mouth ps fanboys.Xbox One has won before the game even started.

UltimateMaster3884d ago

Yeah, cuz you know if it comes from a website called semiaccurate.com then it must be true :D!

Kryptix3884d ago

@DonFreezer

Pre-order numbers for PS4 games say otherwise.

http://www.vgchartz.com/pre...

Wait, you're denying the higher PS4 numbers? Damn, you're more blind than I actually thought.

+ Show (27) more repliesLast reply 3884d ago
NextGen24Gamer3885d ago

This is something I knew a ways back and thought that Microsoft would explain that to the masses. They never did and it's obvious this is "HUGE" news to those who think that "RAW" power means anything.

Microsoft has been showing & talking about the next gen games, while Sony has been talking about the numbers.

Maybe now people can stop talking about numbers and let the "GAMES" do the talking.

I know this for a "FACT"...Developers have been pleasantly surprised once they got the final Xbox one specs & software tools.

It's actually BETTER than they initially thought.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

"It's all about the games"

My personal taste is I love xbox exclusives a little more and I love the xbox live community a lot more.

No_Limit3885d ago

Agreed Elite,

Games as it should be. Specs is fine the way it is.

LaChance3885d ago

This would explain why there is no gap whatsoever in graphics betwen Xbox One and PS4. On the contrary, Xbox One games are actually looking to be more impressive graphically.

Its just that MS shows the power rather than talking about it.

I have yet to see a game that looks as good as Ryse running on the PS4. And with all that incredible power Cerny is talking about I would have thought Driveclub could give Forza 5 a run for its money. On the contrary, Forza 5 is making DriveClub look last gen.

Its quite surprising to see that all these N4G engineers were completely wrong about the power of both consoles ... NOT !

zebramocha3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

@elite the reason Sony talked about numbers is they already have devs to really utilize the hardware,killzone 2 and halo 3 weren't launch games but there is a difference in the way the look and I'm not to talking about art direction differences,considering bungie had been with Ms longer than gg with Sony

black0o3885d ago

there's gap between ps4 and x1 is the same gap between ddr3 and GDDr5

UnHoly_One3885d ago

Most gamers won't choose their console because of a bunch of specs that they don't understand anyway.

They are going to choose it based on the games, and how they look. And right now, the PS4 can't touch Ryse, it's not even close.

XabiDaChosenOne3885d ago

Am I missing something? What is being confirmed here that hasn't been in the rumored specs for months now? What's wrong with you people?

black0o3885d ago Show
UnHoly_One3885d ago

God of War 3 is a fantastic game, yes.

But I am strictly speaking graphics, which is what "Joe Average Gamer" will see in commercials and base his decision on.

And in that regard, yes, Ryse looks better than anything they have shown on the PS4 so far.

I'm not trying to start an argument here, I'm getting a PS4, too, it's all good. (I just wish inFAMOUS Second Son was a launch title, because I don't care about any of the other games announced for the PS4 so far.)

jony_dols3885d ago Show
bobshi3885d ago

Nothing says 'I admit the Xbox One is weak next to the PS4' like saying 'who cares, it is about the games'.

Dat Wii U defensive technique.

Did it ever cross your mind that those games would be even better if the console was not so weak compared to the competing console?

Good_news_every13885d ago

So now that devs have been saying the ps4 is more powerful and then we get this news confirming the ps4 is more powerful , we now are talking about games ? Lol you xboners are funny, if you haven't seen anything that looks better than ryse you aren't trying very hard , second son looks miles ahead and it's open world kill zone looks far better and it's 1080p 60fps and even forza looks better on the same system lol you guys are crazy or just blind.

Nfs has been said to look like a pc game on one console , which as we know now via specs is the ps4 and yoshi pretty much confirmed it days ago, the ps4 doesn't need pc gameplay to look good it runs on the actual hardware , most games still haven't even been seen running on the xbone.

Well at least now we can put the power argument to rest , we ALL know now that the ps4 is at least 40% better

UnHoly_One3885d ago

"those games would be even better if the console was not so weak compared to the competing console"

And

"it would undoubtedly run just as pretty if it was on the PS4's more powerful hardware"

Ummmmmmm... Ok, so why isn't it? Not Ryse, obviously, it's an XB1 exclusive, but if games in general are going to look better on this "more powerful hardware", where are they? Why haven't we seen anything that looks better?

I have no doubt that the PS4 will produce some amazing looking titles, but as it stands RIGHT NOW leading up to launch, the XB1 is winning in the visual department.

starchild3885d ago

@Bobshi

Why? That's what Sony gamers are always telling us PC gamers. "who cares if graphics are better on PC, it's all about the games", they tell us.

So why is it wrong for Xbox gamers to say the same thing?

Besides, that doesn't seem to be what most of them are saying. They are saying that they think Ryse looks better than anything on PS4.

ZeroX98763885d ago

can someone make it clear for me, what console got the most preorders? what's the most wanted console after seeing what we needed to see?

shadow27973885d ago

"Microsoft has been showing & talking about the next gen games, while Sony has been talking about the numbers."

Are we being serious right now? Microsoft unveiled their console and talked about TV. Sony unveiled their console and talked about games. And they've been talking about games ever since.

Sony also released the spec's of their console because some people are interested in that (me included). Microsoft refused to release the specs of their console until today.

Your interpretation of that history, is that Microsoft is all about the games, and Sony is all about the numbers? Even though Sony was first to allow self-publishing and has given the lime-light to small indie titles. Yep, all about numbers.

I'm getting both consoles. PS4 first, probably. But man, your perspective is off with that statement.

Oh and Killzone: Shadow Fall looks better than Ryse.

MysticStrummer3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

@Kobe - "Am I missing something? What is being confirmed here that hasn't been in the rumored specs for months now? What's wrong with you people?"

You're not missing anything. Just some grasping at straws.

It's really weird to me that people hold Ryse up as the visual pinnacle so far. There are better looking multi plats and exclusives on both consoles.

"PS4 can't touch Ryse"

Laughable. smh

But, that type of person shows that graphics discussions are indeed meaningless. If they think Ryse looks amazing compared to titles (on both consoles) that are demonstrably more impressive visually, then what's the point of arguing? They either have a different definition of what looks good, or their vision needs checking. Either way, changing their mind is out of the question.

MRMagoo1233885d ago Show
Mr1Y3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

What if the devs for need for speed were actually talking about the Xbox one since they thought that the Xbox one would be weakier.... So the game would look better on the Xbox :0

pivotplease3885d ago

I would be open to preferring Xbox exclusives if there were enough (not just timed). Have people already forgotten that the last 3 years of the 360's life have had a dismal lineup? Disagree with the truth if you want. It also doesn't help that 343 is on halo now and cliff has departed from epic. Fable has also been going down the crapper in a similar manner to insomniac if not worse.

pivotplease3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

Ugh the fanboys are blind. Ryse will get mediocre scores but if we're talking graphics it's hardly leaps and bounds ahead of what we saw with god of war this gen. Of course the people saying otherwise wouldn't know though since they didn't play any of the ps3 exclusives. Also have you see the HD footage of killzone multiplayer? The games not even done but it blows away every other fps graphically and even somewhat high end games like ryse (which is essentially scripted cutscenes that depend on qte).

Edit: your disagree makes you objectively right buddy.

Dasteru3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

UnHoly_One:

RYSE does look good but to say nothing on the PS4 is even close is a blatantly fanboy statement.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Maybe not quite as good but not so far behind as to be considered "not even close" It is also fully open world and has a very high level of environmental destructability which makes it much more impressive than it seems at first sight.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

KZSF is no slouch either, Again some very open environments.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Multi-Platform, Completely open world, and online multiplayer with real time dynamic events.

The PS4 isn't nearly as far behind as you make it out to be. Also it hasn't even launched yet. Give it a year or 2 after launch for some of the heavy hitter first party titles to launch and you will start to see what the PS4 can really do.

As far as people comparing Driveclub vs Forza 5, According to the developers of Driveclub, the most recently shown gameplay video is still Pre-Alpha footage, around 35% complete, Pre-Alpha means the completed textures aren't even in the game yet.
I'm not saying Forza 5 won't still look better, i don't know one way or the other, just saying wait til after launch to decide.

neoMAXMLC3884d ago

lol @ Ryse being claimed as the best looking next gen game. That is just pure comedy.

+ Show (19) more repliesLast reply 3884d ago
DoesUs3885d ago

It means as was "leaked" before really, only this goes into absolute detail(s). The peak bandwidth figure is the theoretical maximum. But remember, although the BW available on the ESRam is very high, only 32 meg can be utilised.

Ju3885d ago

The 204GB/s is a best case if you can exactly issue one read and one write access @ 102GB/s which is very unlikely and a pure theoretical value.

HammadTheBeast3885d ago ShowReplies(2)
GraveLord3885d ago

It's isn't any more or less powerful than it was 1 month ago.

quenomamen3885d ago

Well in theory I could fart so loud that I could break the sound barrier, but pobably not gonna happen. This is just MS trying to make up for the hardware shortcummings. Yea, we know, if you use a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo then it makes it true.

DoctorJones3884d ago (Edited 3884d ago )

Well no, theoretically you couldn't fart so loud that you would break the sound barrier because you aren't capable of delivering a fart that could be faster than the speed of sound. It's about how fast something is, not how loud it is. Every time you fart and make a sound - it's not a sonic boom, it's just the sound of the gas exiting your body.

So in conclusion - The Xbox IS theoretically capable of what is being said, whereas your fart isn't theoretically capable of what you are saying it is theoretically capable of.

Yes.

3885d ago Replies(5)
Evilsnuggle3885d ago

32 mb is to small for graphic or frame rate the PS4 has a large pool of unified memory that can be used for anything the developer want . The PS4 memory has no limitations the xbone does. Mark cerny look at eSRAM but did not use it becuase of its limitations . So the xbone is still 62GB/s for graphic and frame rate .difference, and was previously thought to sustain a peak theoretical throughput of 102GB/s - useful, but still some way behind the 176GB/s found in PlayStation 4's RAM set-up.

imt5583885d ago

Did someone noticed that DDR3 bandwith is shrinked :

http://i.imgur.com/LkCN75O....

Oh, i forgot! eSRAM can't do read/write operations at the same time so it's not 204 GB/s it's 102 GB/s.

Convas3885d ago

Sorry to burst your (enthusiastically INCORRECT) bubble, but ... http://i.imgur.com/gqyaZAM....

Yeah. DDR3 BW is still the same. :)

awi59513884d ago (Edited 3884d ago )

PS fans all they can say DDR5 DDR5 DDR5 DDR5 lol.

DDR5 wont mean crap at all to games. AMD used DDR5 for years before nividia made the switch and AMD cards still lost out in performance and FPS in games on max settings. The AMD cards that gen were cheaper and thats why people bought them but DDR5 didnt help one bit they still got their asses kicked in-game FPS performance by the so called slow nividia cards with DDR3.

andrewsqual3885d ago

It was pretty much proof when Microsoft were terrified to just tell us the specs back on 21st May. And even these documents are STILL not directly from the source.

MazzingerZ3885d ago

Que? Games won't look better than PS4 first party titles even if you could control a satellite with the x1 so...

FrigidDARKNESS3885d ago

In all honest the xb1 clearly will out prtform the ps4 . 47mb cpu vs a 20gb cpu. Still waiting for ijnfo on how many threads coan be done on the cpu. The gpu hasnt been revealed yet.

pyramidshead3885d ago

How's that HSA Kaveri working out for the XB1 there frigy? ;)

Metfanant3885d ago

WTF!?....

i mean you've got to just be joking right now right??...or you just have no clue...

wtf does 47mb cpu vs 20gb cpu even mean!?

MysticStrummer3885d ago

In all honest you're wrong. You keep saying "X hasn't been revealed yet", even though every time we get rumors confirmed it's the same hardware we've all been talking about for months. Nothing has changed, and PS4 is still more powerful.

marison3885d ago

He's a boy that don't know anything!

M-M3885d ago

"47mb cpu vs a 20gb cpu"

I think you need to do some research on CPUs before you say anything lol.

rainslacker3885d ago

Perhaps you can explain the difference between a 47mb cpu and a 20gb cpu to those that don't understand tech that well.

deadie3885d ago

@FrigidDARKNESS:

wow - in all honesty you should stop making xbox one look like the perfect hang-around for people with mental problems.

ThanatosDMC3884d ago

Never go full retard.... even on N4G that's just embarrassing.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3884d ago
imt5583885d ago

About XO presentation and about bandwith. Microsoft's bullshiting again!

Ars Technica

Similarly, the company claimed that there was more than 200GB of bandwidth within the system. Again, the number had no context or clarification and if rumors are to be believed, it suggests some rather creative accounting: 68 GB main memory bandwidth, 102GB bandwidth to an embedded SRAM buffer for the GPU, and 30GB bandwidth between the CPU and GPU. While that does add up to 200GB, there are no two parts of the SoC that can communicate with each other at 200 GB/s.

AnandTech

According to their data, there’s roughly 50GB/s of bandwidth in each direction to the SoC’s embedded SRAM (102GB/s total bandwidth). The combination of the two plus the CPU-GPU connection at 30GB/s is how Microsoft arrives at its 200GB/s bandwidth figure, although in reality that’s not how any of this works.

TechPowerup

Xbox One chip is a slightly different beast. It uses the same eight "Jaguar" 1.60 GHz cores, but a slightly smaller Radeon GPU that packs 768 stream processors, and a quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory interface, which offers a memory bandwidth of 68.3 GB/s, and holding 8 GB of memory. Memory between the two subsystems are shared in a similar way to PlayStation 4, with one small difference. Xbox One chip uses a large 32 MB SRAM cache, which operates at 102 GB/s, but at infinitesimally lower latency than GDDR5. This cache cushions data-transfers for the GPU. Microsoft engineers are spinning this off as "200 GB/s of memory bandwidth," by somehow clubbing bandwidths of the various memory types in the system.

Cryptcuzz3885d ago

There is no way to look at it otherwise. The facts are as clear as day that believing otherwise is just delusional. Thanks for gathering all the relevant information in one concise comment. Cheers.

humbleopinion3884d ago

Yep. Exactly like the PS3 "512 MB or RAM" last gen where in fact it was two different pools.

kryteris3885d ago

I first heard that 192ish G/Bs was possible, but then it switched to 102. But I really dont care, this is just more trouble for devs to use esram, and it is still limited vs having the full pool of ram.

Gameratheart3885d ago

Yeah, so much trouble, because they haven't gotten used to using that type of ram set up for the last 8 years, you know, the one that was so much easier and better than the ps3 ram set up.... Ok, you fanboys keep telling yourselves that developers don't know how to use it. Sure.

B-radical3885d ago

Why did you get disagreed for your telling the truth

nosferatuzodd3885d ago

wow microsoft is trying very hard give em props

3885d ago Replies(2)
theWB273885d ago

I was reading that AnandTech article PSboys like to throw out there about how much better the PS4 is and a few things jumped out...especially with the confirmation today that , indeed, the X1 has 47mb of cache.

Memory Subsystem
"To make up for the gap, Microsoft added embedded SRAM on die (not eDRAM, less area efficient but lower latency and doesn't need refreshing). All information points to 32MB of 6T-SRAM, or roughly 1.6 billion transistors for this memory. It’s not immediately clear whether or not this is a true cache or software managed memory. I’d hope for the former but it’s quite possible that it isn’t. At 32MB the ESRAM is more than enough for frame buffer storage, indicating that Microsoft expects developers to use it to offload requests from the system memory bus. Game console makers (Microsoft included) have often used large high speed memories to get around memory bandwidth limitations, so this is no different. Although 32MB doesn’t sound like much, if it is indeed used as a cache (with the frame buffer kept in main memory) it’s actually enough to have a substantial hit rate in current workloads (although there’s not much room for growth)."

"Vgleaks has a wealth of info, likely supplied from game developers with direct access to Xbox One specs, that looks to be very accurate at this point. According to their data, there’s roughly 50GB/s of bandwidth in each direction to the SoC’s embedded SRAM (102GB/s total bandwidth). The combination of the two plus the CPU-GPU connection at 30GB/s is how Microsoft arrives at its 200GB/s bandwidth figure, although in reality that’s not how any of this works. If it’s used as a cache, the embedded SRAM should significantly cut down on GPU memory bandwidth requests which will give the GPU much more bandwidth than the 256-bit DDR3-2133 memory interface would otherwise imply. Depending on how the eSRAM is managed, it’s very possible that the Xbox One could have comparable effective memory bandwidth to the PlayStation 4. If the eSRAM isn’t managed as a cache however, this all gets much more complicated."

"There are merits to both approaches. Sony has the most present-day-GPU-centric approach to its memory subsystem: give the GPU a wide and fast GDDR5 interface and call it a day. It’s well understood and simple to manage. The downsides? High speed GDDR5 isn’t the most power efficient, and Sony is now married to a more costly memory technology for the life of the PlayStation 4."

"Microsoft’s approach leaves some questions about implementation, and is potentially more complex to deal with depending on that implementation. Microsoft specifically called out its 8GB of memory as being “power friendly”, a nod to the lower power operation of DDR3-2133 compared to 5.5GHz GDDR5 used in the PS4. There are also cost benefits. DDR3 is presently cheaper than GDDR5 and that gap should remain over time (although 2133MHz DDR3 is by no means the cheapest available). The 32MB of embedded SRAM is costly, but SRAM scales well with smaller processes. Microsoft probably figures it can significantly cut down the die area of the eSRAM at 20nm and by 14/16nm it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

"Even if Microsoft can’t deliver the same effective memory bandwidth as Sony, it also has fewer GPU execution resources - it’s entirely possible that the Xbox One’s memory bandwidth demands will be inherently lower to begin with."

An answer to the people complaining about the X1 and it's power brick.

"Compared to the PlayStation 4, Microsoft should have the cooler running console under load. Fewer GPU ALUs and lower power memory don’t help with performance but do at least offer one side benefit."

Ju3885d ago

I think one line is enough:

"Microsoft should have the cooler running console under load"

That's why they have the bigger box and an external power supply. This must be it then.

moparful993885d ago

Really? Last I checked the 360 has always had an external power brick but had an abysmal failure rate compared to the more complex and powerful PS3.. Just because the brick is external doesn't mean it will run cooler..

ThanatosDMC3884d ago

PS4 = more powerful, cost less, no power brick

Xbone = less powerful, cost more, big ass power brick

ALLWRONG3885d ago

All the talk about specs and yet X1 games look better.

MagnusX3884d ago

It is true Ryse is the best looking game on any next gen console period. 1080 60fps if PS is such a power house And easier to develop for where are the yields!?

truth is the consoles are close in specs...Again! Just like last gen it will be up to developers to max out console potential.

cesuf3885d ago

For all these number crunching console fanboys arguing over table scraps and such petty numbers and "facts" and I could give my gaming pc specs and put your numbers to complete shame.

But it would be pointless to such brain washed fans because then the fall back excuse I would get would be 1 of 3: we have exclusives 2.) sony loves us and baptized our children. Hopeless bunch. 3.) consoles are better because they are cheaper

Gamer19823885d ago

That ESRAM will help the dashboard NOT the games as theres just not enough of it to make a big enough impact.

BallsEye3884d ago

Clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

marcofdeath3884d ago

ps4- 1.6 billion triangles/s, 1.6 billion vertices/s

XB1- 1.71billion triangles/s, 1.71 billion vertices/s

imt5583884d ago (Edited 3884d ago )

I was thinking in my head for some stuff. So, MS showed bandwith on XO presentation yesterday. 204 GB/s, right. So, GPU uplock happened. Before uplock eSRAM bandwith was 102 GB/s ( it's not 204 because eSRAM can not do read/write operation at the same time ). Now, after uplock, bandwith increased to 109 GB/s, or math like Microsoft - 218 GB/s.

I have a question. Did anyone noticed on presentation why MS didn't showed 109 GB/s for eSRAM or 218 GB/s on some slides?

What Beyond3D said :

Q:

I'll start: where does "204MB/s" come from? we know It is assumed that bus from eSRAM to GPU is not dual so how can it be possible to read and write simultaneously? even if it's possible why is it not 109*2 =218 GB/s?

A:

It based on during only alpha transparency blending. So it just created math.

Its like saying my car can do 250 MPH*

*When drop off a cliff.

It doesnt have real world performance like that.

So, Microsoft has no idea how RAM works and how many bandwith's has in XO. BRAVO Microsoft!

ALLWRONG3884d ago

"Microsoft has no idea how RAM works"

One of the pioneer's of PC doesn't know how RAM works? You should have thought about that before typing.

+ Show (21) more repliesLast reply 3884d ago
Convas3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

The machine is even stronger than Digital Foundry reported then?

ROFL

Where's my popcorn!?

GAF Thread for those interested: http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

Interesting tidbit, GPU is 1.31 Tflops, Direct X 11.1+

Metfanant3885d ago

actually its just about the same...remember that peak b/w is only available to the embedded RAM...not the 8GB of DDR3...that is still significantly slower...

PFFT3885d ago

Isnt the Xbox One a DX11.2 machine??? I thought MS already confirmed this.....?

FrigidDARKNESS3885d ago

It is will be done thru software whereas next gen gpu g cards it will be embedded.

BallsEye3884d ago

It is and they did confirm it. DX 11.2 is yet to be released so they write about dx11.1+ (plus as works with future version)

3885d ago Replies(2)
Wikkid6663885d ago ShowReplies(4)
Popoffboy1877183885d ago ShowReplies(1)
OC_MurphysLaw3885d ago (Edited 3885d ago )

this is gonna get interesting.

edit: I should say it will be ugly here, but could be an interesting debate on NeoGaf. Sorry N4G but I am not holding out hopes of a civil conversation here.

majiebeast3885d ago

True neogaf has dbz comparisions.

iamnsuperman3885d ago

I am on NeoGaf right now. They make it easier to understand

Show all comments (310)
280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1012d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref1d 16h ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde1d 14h ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn1d 14h ago (Edited 1d 14h ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19721d 13h ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville1d 12h ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21831d 5h ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos1d 4h ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1d 4h ago
isarai2d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref1d 16h ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan1d 15h ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis00719h ago(Edited 19h ago)

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19722d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

2d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19722d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

2d ago
1d 22h ago
Zeref1d 16h ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde1d 14h ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19721d 14h ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19721d 14h ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier1d 11h ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto1d 12h ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21831d 4h ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto1d 2h ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1d 2h ago
Hofstaderman1d 17h ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts1d 13h ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts14h ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic23h ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

Show all comments (43)
370°

Could Xbox Soon Become The Next Dreamcast?

Microsoft's future in the video game space is murky right now, so let's break it all down.

Read Full Story >>
thegamer.com
ApocalypseShadow14d ago (Edited 14d ago )

Not anytime soon. But they're on that path.

One thing not mentioned in the article is Microsoft's money bags. If Sega had Microsoft's money, they would have still been around as a hardware manufacturer. Xbox as a platform only survives because of the money bags. They can continue making consoles for the core and port to PC.

The multiplatform strategy is only the result of arrogance and misguided leadership that blew up in their face. They thought gamers would jump on Xbox in droves if they knew that many of their favorite games would be only on Xbox. But that's not happening at all. Sales didn't increase. They decreased. Why? Because the dumb asses thought giving away these expensively made games in a cheap service would also turn the tide.

Gamers on other platforms are willing to buy quality. They don't need to be handed nearly free games in a service that aren't even finished and sometimes average in their development. Gamers buy Nintendo games. They buy Sony games. Microsoft groomed their base to not buy games. Even the quality ones. It has always been their plan to go digital. But most gamers still like single player gaming. Still like physical releases.

Microsoft's problem has always been that they don't produce high quality games at the same output as Nintendo and Sony. Actually, they should be producing quite a lot more because they're worth over 2 TRILLION. How they don't have more is ridiculous and no excuse. Buying publishers to take away from competition only backfired. Because it still takes millions of dollars to continue to make those games from the publishers they snatched. Their only choice was to crawl back to their competitors to help sustain those developers because Nintendo and Sony platforms were the ones buying games.

Am I sorry for Microsoft? Hell no! They deserved last place for putting in the least effort. They deserved the fallout for buying up the industry and didn't make a single blip on the radar against their competitors where they now need those same gamers they took away games from to support them. Part of it may have been to cash in on their competition. But the result is the slow death of their platform. They may go 3rd party. They may keep making hardware. I don't give a shit about them to worry about it. I only give a shit about the destructive nature of their industry moves that only negatively affect gamers. They could sell and drop out of the industry and I wouldn't blink. Probably laugh. But not blink. They deserve whatever comes to them. At least Sega put in the effort when it came to games. They just had poor leadership. Microsoft has poor leadership and barely makes memorable games. That's a killer combination. And not in a good way.

Cacabunga14d ago

That would be an insult to Dreamcast.. it had a crazy line up of legendary critically acclaimed games.

Crows9014d ago

I was thinking the same. Dreamcast had incredible games in such a short amount of time. It was truly exceptional.

darthv7213d ago

...and yet all those great games were not enough to sway people from the looming release of the PS2 at the time. Sony just has that kind of brand loyalty.

Cacabunga13d ago

Darth

I do not agree.. Sony had even better games thanks to an unprecedented 3rd party support..
DC had amazing lineup but 90% were arcade games..

88313d ago

@darth:
And Sony showed off "The Emotion Engine" and their real time demos that made everyone think they would miss out on REAL next gen 128bit magic if they jumped in before PS2s polygon pushing monster (and early lack of anti-aliasing with a healthy heap of shimmer + DVD playback) stepped up. PS2 was a fantastic system though with amazing games.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 13d ago
blacktiger13d ago

That's not true. Just because Microsoft has the money doesn't mean Microsoft can allow xbox to bleed entire Microsoft money. It doesn't work like they. Also SEC will be watching and investor won't allow it. Lot of reasons why Microsoft can not continue even if they wanted to. SEC regulations is expensive.

fr0sty13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Exactly this... Microsoft is a publicly traded company, mostly owned by their shareholders (Approximately 59.24% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 7.73% is owned by Insiders and 33.03% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.). Their shareholders call the shots on the business decisions, and their shareholders want one thing and one thing only, for their stock price to go up. Losses do not make stock prices go up... so if the division continually posts losses on hardware, but shows profits on software and services (which has been the case with Xbox its entire lifespan, for over 20 years now), the shareholders are going to grow impatient and demand they stop making hardware and focus on the only thing that has ever made them money, software and services.

When Microsoft bought Blizzard and Activision for almost 100 billion, I knew that was the nail in the coffin for Xbox as a console... as the shareholders were going to expect a quick return on that investment, and when it didn't materialize, they were going to be out for blood... out to force Xbox to sell those games on as many consoles as possible, "and while you're at it, sell those first party exclusives that aren't selling well on other consoles as well... hell, just stop making consoles and sell games."

If there is another Xbox console generation, it will definitely be the last, but I doubt there even will be one at this point. I think the Xbox division planning on it just in case, but I don't think the project has been greenlit from Microsoft itself. The rumors that they have not yet even secured the chips needed from the chip fabrication facilities ties into this.

shinoff218313d ago

While I usually agree with you . Alot of what was said can just also be asked before any of that.

How long will the shareholders wait? It doesn't appear long at all

Babadook713d ago

I think I get your point. Like just because MS has money does not mean they are content to throw it away on a dying ecosystem. Xbox has to be profitable or “what’s the point?”

ifinitygamer13d ago

Money bags, yes, but are we ignoring that Xbox actually makes a profit on games and GamePass? Hardware is often a loss leader, and they're probably making profit 4 years into the life cycle, but games and services revenue have been very profitable while other parts of Microsoft's business is struggling. Say what you will about the quality of those games, of course, but this is kind of a reverse Dreamcast situation, where the console was dragging down the company and put it at risk of shuttering entirely. Killing that console saved the business and allowed it to continue to make games on multiple platforms. In this case, the service is very profitable, as are the games, and they're also double-dipping into Multiplatform to extend this further, while their hardware is just sort of what they believe to be the best for gamers and their own titles (whether that is the case or not...)

fr0sty13d ago (Edited 13d ago )

The issue is, they aren't selling enough hardware to make their exclusives profitable, and now that they've bought half the gaming publisher/dev industry, they have no choice but to go third party to make a profit... and that is making their shareholders take a real close look at their hardware division under the microscope... why keep making the hardware if the software is all that is making them money, and they continually, generation after generation come in dead last with hardware sales?

Look at a game like Spiderman 2... if it had been an Xbox exclusive, with the amount it cost to develop, it would have been a huge failure... simply not enough consoles out there to sell it on. They would have been lucky to break even.

ifinitygamer13d ago

@fr0sty agreed completely, which is why they're hedging by releasing other games to multiplatform, plus they have PC to make up for the difference in a lot of ways, which is why their games are not complete money pits. It brings up the question of whether or not those exclusives would drive sales of consoles, though. Let's say Spiderman 2 was an Xbox exclusive, it would certainly have pushed console sales, though who's to say how much is anyone's guess.

fr0sty13d ago

That's why you can't rely on just one exclusive, Sony has always delivered on a wide range of solid exclusives, even this generation (even if they haven't been strong on the first party exclusives, they've made up for it with third party). They don't rely on just one "system seller", they have a portfolio of them.

13d ago
JBlaze22613d ago

ApocalypseShadow To be honest Sony has more of a chance to go 3rd party because like you said Microsoft has money, Sony does not. Sony does not have games, Only games they have come from 3rd party. Sony has been losing money for years and you. Saying Microsoft has been putting the least effort just proves you have no idea what's been going on. All Sony has done is repeat and recycle, never innovating or doing something new. All Sony has is brand loyalty nothing else and it shows.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 13d ago
LG_Fox_Brazil14d ago

Not sure about that. It's been two decades and I still think about Power Stone, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Seaman and others, but I'm not sure I'll remember Xbox Series X/S games in a few years from now... Maybe I'll remember about the franchises that the Xbox brand spawned, but I don't believe that the Xbox Series lives up to the late Dreamcast or even to the Xbox name itself. I do have great memories about the 360 with Blue Dragon, Gears 2 and Lost Odyssey though

isarai14d ago

Nah, sega actually makes good games

Becuzisaid14d ago

No, Dreamcast was ahead of it's time and most still have very fond memories of it that had one. It also had some good games on it even in it's short lifespan. Xbox has none of these qualities.

Profchaos14d ago

I remember it coming out at the time in a really bad place they hit the market before the PS2 but it was during this transitional time when Sony was promoting the power of the PS2 and so many of the Dreamcast games were awesome but often third parties simply ported the PS1 version increased resolution and performance but rarely fully utilise the capabilities of the console.

I think in the end bad marketing done it in and like the GameCube so many people are fond of it now but at the time it was looked at in the lense of the day and it didn't stack up.

Personally I miss Sega in hardware they took risks that many companies won't

Becuzisaid14d ago

I never owned it, and got the PS2 right when it launched. But there were certain games it had that I was always jealous of that I didn't have access to - Sonic adventure, crazy taxi, power Stone, code Veronica, shenmue, skies of Arcadia. I always thought it was a really cool machine though. I've never heard a bad thing about it though from those that had it.

FinalFantasyFanatic13d ago

I only ever saw one Dreamcast, and that was one my friend owned, pity I never got to play it, I wonder what games he had for it?

It would be nice if some of those games got ported to modern systems.

Profchaos14d ago

Oh man sonic adventure on the Dreamcast made me so jealous as a huge sonic fan on the mega drive who also moved to PlayStation 2 I never got the chance to play it back in the day either. The Dreamcast in Australia where I am was always relegated to the smallest corner of EB Games it was kind of a strong first indicator that things were not going well at the time.

Show all comments (72)
80°

Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox and weekly streaks to be killed off soon

Microsoft has announced the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox will be discontinued in April and has confirmed that weekly streaks will also be coming to an end.

Read Full Story >>
trueachievements.com