Microsoft: Xbox One GPU Clockspeed Increased 'Because We Can'

Gameranx: "The decision to increase the power of the Xbox One wasn't a difficult one to make."

[snipab8t]

Why must people say things like "Still behind PS4". Stop trying to put bad spin on news that cannot be perceived any other way than as good. It was never stated that this would make it more powerful than PS4 and nobody is denying it.

[thehitman]

Well to counter your argument the increase in clock speed is almost irrelevant. Sure an increase can correlate with not being worse as it must be better right? but if you try to equate that into actual difference you will see in games that is like 2-3 extra frames they added which is negligible. You wont see higher textures resolution from the increase in clock speed.

I am sure Sony could up the clock speed to the same thing but all it would do is increase the amount of heat the system outputs with little to no gain in actual difference in power. The fact that MS decided to even bother upping the clock speed by that much shows they are grasping at straws for any little power they can muster due to an inept design of architecture. If they clock speed went from 800-900 or 800-1k that wouldve been like OK now that's decent.

[christocolus]

keep sony out of this...ms says they upped it cos they can..end of story..no mention of ps4 or sony in the article...so dont bring ps4 into it..

[thrust]

Mono i bet you got bullied alot in school

[thehitman]

@ chris the fact I mention Sony is just to show a comparison as they are both develop pieces of technology I couldve mentioned Nintendo or any gpu that PCs/Laptop used. Doesnt change the fact that 53MHz increase is completely worthless almost. I could overclock my gpu from 710MHz to 760MHz I wouldnt even notice the difference.

Now if you rather just ignore the facts and be happy w/ whatever they did then go ahead but the facts are the facts, dont get mad at people for stating them. Even the article if you read it, which you probably didnt, says it at the end that the increase is kinda useless.

[UnHoly_One]

Yes, because that's really how it works.

ALL it does is generate extra heat.

C'mon, seriously?

[darthv72]

Makes you wonder what kind of chips MS bought from AMD that allows them to overclock them.

Were they chips capable of higher performance but purposely downclocked or are they taking chances here with another RROD?

Sony bought higher performance chips (no argument there) but are they just as capable to overclock as the ones Ms bought? would it even be beneficial to do so?

so many questions....so little answers. Sorry to bring sony into this but it is relevant because both obtain their chips from the same source....AMD.

Now I know that in some cases, slower chips can actually achieve more through hardware methods of overclocking. so all this seems to be done using software methods.

If its a matter of drivers telling the hardware to run at a different speed then is it not possible to do the same on another platform using chips from the same vendor?

[saladthieves]

Coming up shortly after launch:

"Microsoft: Xbox Ones rroding due to overheating 'Because They Can'"

[thehitman]

@Darth anything can be overclocked all you need to do is configure the hardware to run at higher specs with the software. You could do a firmware update enabling higher clock speeds of your cpu/gpu etc of any device a phone, tablet, console, pc. Like I stated Sony couldve done the same thing but the difference in effect in games is VERY small.

When you overclock you are generating more heat, and when you generate more heat you are also using more power because the fans are working harder. The only thing you need to overclock is a sustainable power source and cooling to counteract. Looking at the case for the xb1 I am sure MS felt that wouldnt be an issue since its large and well ventilated. How much louder will the fans be idk they maybe still at a reasonable level considering its only 53MHz increase. I tend to not overclock my gpu because I can play games at ultra settings on max res at reasonable frame rates so pushing my hardware for an extra 5-10 frames for me doesnt make sense. It decreases the life of the hardware and just not something you always wanna do.

[Phoenix76]

Most ppl do not realise that all CPU's and GPU's all run at 10% slower speed than what they we're built at. Now this many be hard for some ppl to keep up with, but pls bear with me.
When being made in the factory, a 2.4Ghz is actually built at a speed of roughly 2.64Ghz. the chips are then turned down in speed, to provide you with the best balance of performance, speed and life cycle. (a safety net area if you)
This 'down clocking' of CPU's and GPU's can easily be reversed from within a PC's bios and/or through means of software.
If Microsoft want to remove the safety net that provides balance, power and life-cycle, that's their choice. However, I can already see the problems with that. Mainly being that the onboard chips will be working hard and faster at a reduced lifetime span.

Good intentions M$, really dumb idea!

[nukeitall]

@Phoenix76:

That is a load of bull!

The lifespan of a component is dependent on the amount of heat that causes current leakage or overstressing the wire bond. If you have adequate cooling, it wouldn't matter. In fact, most damages to chips are due to packaging and has little to do with whatever frequency it runs at.

Even more damning is the second common reason for failure is the repeated heating and cooling of said parts.

That is why equipment that never get shut down works for so long, but as soon as you start turning it on and off, it starts acting.

Remember, all silicon are the same! There is no special silicon that makes a part live longer.

[ZoyosJD]

@nuketail

"Remember, all silicon are the same! There is no special silicon that makes a part live longer."

This is perfectly misinformed statement.

EVERY single chip has imperfections of various levels, meaning any given chip may be more or less capable than any other chip that underwent the same exact process.

In fact for those of us who overclock, we reference a the purchase of chip with the ability to overclock well as "winning the silicon lottery".

[user5575708]

and the chance to overheat increases!

[t3rrorc3ll]

And Sony still haven't released their official clock speeds for everyone to see. It could be worse for Xbox one than everyone thinks.

And the cpu in the ps4 is the same as the one in the Xbox one. The gpu is from the same generation only a better model. With this in mind Sony would be able to up clock the exact same way Microsoft has.

[UltimateMaster]

The Xbox One and The PS4 can overclock their systm and make them better over time. We already knew that.

But saying that the Xbox One will overclock their console doesn't mean the PS4 won't do the same.

And if that's the case, then guess what?
PS4 will bring out over more power in the end.

[TheXgamerLive]

Not at all correct little man. See your wrong on most every lvl but just speaking on heat. Ps4 can and will run hot as it wasnt designed for its 8 gigs but only, 4 therefor any increase would increase heat significantly and as ive seen in some test the ps4 cant support the added temps. No, sony cant increase any speads in any area. Thats why they also NEVER speak of it.

[RIP_Weazel]

...or maybe just because it's not relevant! Where did you come up with the idea that the PS4 was designed with 4GB? Dev's have said that that wasn't the case, and they had access to 8 from the off...

[Gekko36]

@thehitman - I hate to point it out, you didn't counter anything in your post. It's clear from your language that you have little knowledge in this area. You have heard what others have said that fits your viewpoint and you are now repeating it on forums and no doubt to your friends (if you have no friends, then your parents).

I can't take you seriously hitman, your coming across rather sad and lonely. All the "Yes but's" and "No but's" and the always irritating "I think you'll find" coupled with "but what about Teraflops"? doesn't change that.

News flash man... No one cares, people will buy Xbox One because they think its cool and if MS can squeeze more out of it down the line, then cool!

I'm sure people will buy Sony and thats cool too. Competition is key here, it keep things interesting.

So chiull out, go make some friends and maybe even enroll in an software engineering course at college. You never know, you might actually learn someth9ing worth talking about.

[Ratty]

Edit: wrong thread

[christocolus]

why do they always sound like whinny spoilt kids.....its very unfortunate..hope sony is paying them good enough to be this ignorant and unreasonable..

[AceBlazer13]

oh the irony

[vigilante_man]

I think the only reason people connect these stories with Sony is Microsoft's denial that PS4 is more powerful and then their constant references to power and CPU/GPU/cloud.

So this is not Sony's doing but Microsoft do keep trying to draw attention to an issue of power and speed that they would be better off ignoring. It will always draw a comparison.

Let the games begin...

[Reem]

KZ has more preorders than all Xbone exclusives combined bwahahahahaha

[CrossingEden]

k, hopefully you'll remember that the next time you say "microsoft fanboys only like shooters" -_-

[Regis]

You should also realized that digital downloads are not counted as well for both sides

[kickerz]

You can have your sucky KZ. We get Ryse, forza, dead rising, killer instinct. All excellent looking games

[DragonKnight]

@kickerz: Ryse is a Crytek game, flash over substance. You're applauding a game that, if you believe Crytek's history, looks better than it plays. Forza is an incomplete game that plays itself. Dead Rising is worse than its past iterations. Killer Instinct? LMFAO!

Anyone can downplay games if they want to.

[Beastforlifenoob]

Just buy the game and if you like it you like it. The amount of sales it got wont make the game more enjoyable for you. If only 1 person bought killzone SF then you would call it a horrible game but because its popular you aswell like it.

Sales dont matter the game does and so far Killzone SF looks great (forget sales)

[starchild]

@DragonKnight

Oh the irony. I hate the way you Sony fanboys are always talking crap about Crytek and saying their games suck and are only about the graphics.

You could just as easily say the same thing about the Killzone franchise. Pretty graphics, boring narratives, average gameplay.

In any case, the Crysis series has a higher metacritic average than the Killzone series.

Killzone = 70
Killzone Liberation = 77
Killzone 2 = 91
Killzone 3 = 84
Killzonen Mercenary = 78
Overall series average = 80
Console games average = 81.66

Crysis = 91
Crysis Warhead = 84
Crysis 2 = 86
Crysis 3 = 76
Overall series average = 84.25

So that series that you guys always try to talk crap about actually has higher average scores than the Killzone series that you guys hype up so much.

You are entitled to your own opinion, but you guys talk crap and try to pass off your opinions as facts. When you bash Crytek or the Crysis games it only makes you guys look like huge hypocrites and fools. Obviously not everyone agrees with you. The Crysis games are good games and actually have higher average scores than the Killzone games.

[TechMech2]

How is that justification for how good a system is? Quit being a fanboy.

[kickerz]

@ starchild very well said bro. Very well said

[DragonKnight]

@starchild: You failed the minute you used metacritic scores. Defending the games you like is one thing, using metacritic scores is laughable. Metacritic has no standards, their scores are the height of inaccuracy for ALL games in existence. Try again.

You don't have to believe me about Crytek's games. They're known for pretty graphics and shallow/boring gameplay. Ryse is more of the same. Too much work put into making the main character look good, not enough put into the gameplay and the result is linearity. Just watch the videos yourself. It's not about fanboyism, it's about truth. Lie to yourself if you want to, but just remember that you used metacritic to back yourself up. That's just sad.

[starchild]

@DragonKnight

No, what's sad is that an ultra fanboy like you has so many bubbles. That proves the bubble system is a failure.

Don't give me that crap about metacritic. It's the most objective metric we have of the critical reception these games received. It's a hell of a lot better than some radical fanboy just flarping out his opinion as fact.

The fact Sony loyalists like you try to downplay Crytek and the Crysis games means absolutely nothing in the real world. You can pretend the Killzone games are the best thing since sliced bread and the Crysis games are mediocre crap, but that doesn't make it so.

[DragonKnight]

Metacritic is objective? BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Yeah, an independent group with no standards or rules about which reviews are chosen, who choose whoever they want to be part of their aggregator, are objective. Wow. You wanna be an MS or Crytek fanboy, fine. But being that delusional is bad for your health.

It's hilarious that I didn't even state my opinion on Killzone and you went on the attack, proving your fanboyism. And the icing on the cake is when a fanboy like you brings in the bubble system for a final expression of sour grapes. I don't care about bubbles son, seriously.

[Ratty]

Guys, there are things called opinions.

IMO, both Killzone and Crytek games suck *** bad. I do mean BAD.

Doesn't mean I'm right, doesn't mean I'm wrong.

[badboy776]

Thats the whole reason they upgraded.

[JokesOnYou]

OK "behind" on a spec sheet by how much? Even so in this industry or anything tech related it has never guaranteed the better specs/competition anything. It will still depend on a host of other factors, dev tools, dev talent, creative ideas/design, resources, time, budget, services, and business strategy. I think the launch lineup of X1 speaks to most if not all of these factors, better games can be made on either depending on the approach, money and focus.

If the best games were purely dictated on specs then ps2 wouldnt have been the world's most successful console, wii wouldn't still lead last gen marketshare and we all should be currently looking at high end pc's. That said specs do matter but they are only one important pieces among many important factors of how and why a great game is made and these other factors become even more important where efficiency of all aspects related to game creation/development become magnified when 2 competing consoles are very close in real world hardware performance.

[GiggMan]

"It will still depend on a host of other factors, dev tools, dev talent, creative ideas/design, resources, time, budget, business strategy".

Interested to hear your point of view on which one(s) MS has an advantage over Sony? I'm thinking just budget, Sony has the edge in every other category that you mentioned. (Except resourced but I'd put that under budget myself)

[JokesOnYou]

GiggMan sure no problem:

Dev tools:
I do know that microsoft has always been outstanding in the area of dev tools, not that sony isn't but this involves building software tools to specifically help devs work more efficiently on your platform micro being a software company is very good at this.

Dev Talent:
Sony has an in house advantage but I think besides key studios like ND they just have more in house studios not necessarily more talent, however remember not surprisingly a few good games or a couple bad games can change perceptions quickly meaning new studios can make a name for themselves while at the same time some once highly touted studios havent lived up to their past greatness. Also talented 3rd party studios can be paid for to get exclusives to fill the gap as micro has shown they aren't shy about doing.

Creative Ideas/Design I dont think either has a lock on this category although sony is more diverse in game types(last gen) and more importantly this is purely a matter of preference because frankly some game types like Heavy Rain/BTS, jrpgs, Twisted Metal and some of the more really casual type games dont do well on xbox, whilethey per game orm marginally better on ps platform. So diversity is great but it has to be slective for the fanbase their targeting.

Resources:
Sony has movie branch but has never leveraged it in a way for a clear ps advantage while Microsoft has windows, Azure, new tv studios, big nfl deal and a host of in house software applications they have the means to use and public plans in conjuction with gaming.

Time:
Both have time to do bigger and better things after launch= who takes better advantage of that time.

Budget:
Micro has deeper pockets to do all of the above BUT do they have the committment?

Services:
I prefer XBL over PSN+, but its subjective however both have feature rich console capable of offering a vatiety of features I also prefer micros OS functionality and ease of use with Kinect/tv integration.

Business Strategy:
As much negativity as micro has taken obviously alot of folks eill disagree with me here but I much prefer micros approach to this gen, yeah bad messaging but the underlying focus of all digital, always connected, games, kinect, using cloud in anyway possible, tv/hdmi in= all in one fits what I want, although not perfect I think given time this will prove to be the way to go.

-As you can see although I think micro is a strong or at least very competitive in all these important factors, I don't think either has a dominant position. lol, after the smoke clears what you will see is both have success and failures with the end result being a highly competitive console race with bad games, decent games, and great games on and services, experience on both....and once again specs having only a small role in eithers success.

[GiggMan]

@Jokes. I totally disagree with you on the Developer Talent bullet point. Sony first party devs are some of the best in the business. To only signal out Naughty Dog is a discredit to the others such as Santa Monica, Media Molecule, Sucker Punch, Polyphony Digital, Evolution, Guerrillia Games etc.

Also disagree with the Creative Ideas and design (Media Molecules LBP along with Flow, Flower, Journey, Team ICO, etc. way more diverse and creative than MS offerings.)

Their business strategy I liked better initially. At least it was some type of strategy. Now it seems more make it up as you go when it was clear at first they knew what they wanted. (like it or not)

I agree with you on the other points though.

[SniperControl]

@Jokes

Your first point is mute, Sony has a team of specialists called ICE that aid developers in designing and using dev tools, these guys have been around since the early PS3 days, they worked closely with ND and you know where that lead.

http://www.pushsquare.com/n...

[DragonKnight]

Jokes, all you have to know is that if the Xbox One were superior or equal to the PS4 at all Microsoft would be milking that like an overbloated cow needing it, and all the Xbox fanboys would be rubbing it all over everyone's face.

The title should be "Microsoft Xbox One GPU Clockspeed Increased 'Because we have to'"

**EDIT** I was going to post a lengthy rebuttal to your reply to GiggMan but instead I'll simply say that all you provided were subjective opinions and nothing factual about how MS has an advantage over Sony. ESPECIALLY in the "dev talent" department. Only a blind fanboy would ever dream of using that example considering the immensely high quality games released by Sony first party studios. Nothing on the Xbox 360 comes close to The Last of Us in story or in looks.

[JokesOnYou]

GiggMan

1st I pointed out ND by name as I would highlight them as being the most talented studio currently but I never said there weren't other talented studios, hence the plural "s" on studios. Sony Santa Monica agreed but frankly let me say imo Poly Phony Digital while great has slid a bit in my eyes sort of just like Lionhead for micro, then the others are just good devs imo.

Also I guess we agree and disagree on creative ideas because YES sony has more but games you mention dont boost xbox much in terms of what the fans want, they would help the stat sheet but not much more, its not a knock against those games but just like Blue Dragon its not going to be really noticed by folks who buy xbox. I think X1 needs new IP's and ideas but I mean in the core experiences like Quantum Break but then micro needs to fully support lesser known games unlike they did with Alan Wake.

As for the business strategy yeah as soon as they pull their heads out their azz and be consistent on their message and committed to big picture future plans then I believe X1 will do very well longterm.

Sniper and its been well known from many devs including 3rd party that micro has offered great dev tools from the begining with 360, I specifically remember at the start of last gen that not only were there complaints of cells difficulty but also the dev tools at least early on werent as helpful as they should of been. Sure ps4 is easier and more familar now but tools are always critical in any environment perhaps sony has great tools also now but Id give the nod to micro as they are always very active in this department. Even now they have setup the retail console to be used off the bat by indie devs anyone really just by signing up with micro that takes some forward thinking design and software expertise to pull off.

[t3rrorc3ll]

Jokesonyou. Seriously do you guys get business models at all. Microsoft being worth a huge amount does not equal them being able to spend more money on the gaming sector. These businesses are operated separately the gaming division is a separate entity to the OS division. If a side by side comparison is to be made you would more likely see that Microsoft gaming division is worth pretty much the same as Sony's gaming division. They would never hurt their main business (os) by moving money from one division to the gaming division. Shareholders and executives would never allow it. So this whole Microsoft has more money point is just bullshit

[Pope_Kaz_Hirai_II]

Jokes on you i would like to send you some money to help you, you seem a very sad person and it seems like your in tears when you try to defend Microsoft, you probably have mental issues and its not your fault , i would help pay for your treatment if you want me to.

[JokesOnYou]

t3rrorc3ll, you cant be serious if you think that micro does not leverage its financial assets across the spectrum of all its software, devices and services. lol where do you think the money to pay for RROD reimbursement came from? No its 1 company and thats why the company as a whole was still able to profit not long after that huge financial hit. Do you see their finacial reports seperated? Do you know why they are using Skype, Azure, Windows 8, Apps and such because they all are apart of Micrsofts investments, seperate branches still 1 company, if xbox loses money it hurts their bottom line, if it makes money it earns a profit for Microsoft, thus yes indeed they use their deep pockets to help support xbox brand as it is in their best interest as 1 company. btw this works the other way also because when any division consistently fails to earn profits higher HQ may cut it like zune and other ventures that didnt work out.

Pope I hope you feel better after that rant unfortunately it did nothing to add to the conversation but I guess some would rather throw out insults than offer a sensible response. Please do continue if that helps you sleep.

[DragonKnight]

@Jokes: Of course MS is going to use any money they have to avoid a government mandated recall. That doesn't mean they're going to use Windows money on the Xbox Division, that means they don't want to be sued and lose money because of a poorly built console.

[CEOSteveBallmer]

Remember when MS said "Specs is not important"??

[Gazondaily]

Yeah...so that means they shouldn't bother increasing the performance of their consoles if they can right?

Wow....

[nosferatuzodd]

Lol I see a disaster coming never push you're product over the safety limits rrod time a 100

[Beastforlifenoob]

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[LordDhampire]

Lots of people are denying it, we are just trying to help, these people have stockholm syndrome

[snipab8t]

Are you suggesting these people have been kidnapped and held hostage by M$?

[LordDhampire]

lol, was expecting a comment like that sooner

Im suggesting microsoft has lied, raped and abused them yet they still defend them

[TrollCraftTales]

@Georgeenoob
That's why all the games that are actually worth getting are either on PC or Xbox 360 as well, therefore making it irrelevant to buy an Xbox One just for a few games...

[TechMech2]

What if you don't have a PC?

[TrollCraftTales]

@TechMech2
First, what are you typing on?
Second, You probably have a 360, most of the Xbox games are on that too
Third, If you don't have a PC or an Xbox 360, I personally think $500 would be better spent on a PC instead of an Xbox One...

[Pogmathoin]

I exercise that right to an opinion...killerclam, your a dumb fanboy....

[Evilsnuggle]

The xoxo boys taking crap ryse ryse and ryse looks like crap and plays like crap in every preview i have read link one thats said different. All xoxo boys taking PS3 and 360 each had it's advantage ps3 better CPU and 36o better GPU and easy to program. PS4 has every advantage over easy to program double the GPU cores 100% more detail of textures ROPS and double RAM speed. Stop wit the lame on paper this is real hardware. Same AMD CPU and GPU PS4 has more graphic cores.

[t3rrorc3ll]

Actually I watched a video on my 360 yesterday for Ryse. It kooks really good. Very much just a Roman God Of War. But graphics do look good. I won't say they look as good as killzone. But they are not noticeably worse. What I want from this generation would be cross platform play. Imagine being able to play gtav online across the ps3 and 360. More people online. More fun.

[Pogmathoin]

If I were you I would stop jerking off on Sony... Snuggle

[Evilsnuggle]

MicroSCAM is doing this to themselves . They need to stop talking about hardware. Because the PS4 is far superior to the xbone one 80 in hardware. The problem is xoxo boys are in denied and will not deal with it. If i was microscam i would put a spotlight on online multiplayer gaming and stop trying to out sony sony. The one advantage xbone has over PS4. That is dedicated servers on xbone i know first party games on PS3 use dedicated servers. But microscam can give cheap dedicated servers to third party game developer. If i was microscam i would put a spotlight on online multiplayer gaming are better on xbone.

[madpuppy]

It amazes me how forgetful people are when it comes to the crappy things that Ms does and tries to do year in and year out. first, they just drop support for the first xbox like it didn't exist after the 360 gets released, then they sell an unfinished flawed console that kills itself, then they sell almost all their first party studios and the ones that are left are making games for the kinect. They try to do an end run around ownership rights and the first sale doctrine with this new generation and that is not the half of it.

I wouldn't care if the Xbone was more powerful than the PS4 or even that it somehow became cheaper.

MicroSoft is a company that is NOT TO BE TRUSTED, I have owned the first Xbox and five 360's and no Playstation consoles till the PS3. I have been through all the crappy things that MS has done. I speak from experience.

So, you can smugly disagree with what I have wrote if you like. Corporations may not be anybodies friend but, MS excels at alienation.

[lesrima88]

Still behind Ps4

[snipab8t]

I'm glad I am not transferring into next generation of consoles so I won't have to deal with people like you. I feel afraid for humanity.

[Pixel_Enemy]

Georgeenoob, you meant to say x1 has exclusive use of AA batteries.

[Tooly]

The upclock is cool my thing is, they keep saying the xbox still needs to update there drivers and finish there OS.They doing all this and sony is destroying them with raw power. sony OS isn't finish either, sony still are updatinq there drivers to so. microsoft are still going to be in the same situation there in now.now imagine if sony start upclocking,the performance gap is still going to be there,probably a bigger gap at that.There losing to sony raw power and are definitely going to be losing once sony start overclocking.

[GTgamer]

If Sony over clocks then I'm pretty sure MS will be pissed all that hard work going to waste to try and not be 50% weaker that would be a shame.

[Thehyph]

I doubt that the PS4 will see any spec changes. The PS4 has been in development for a long time, and it shows. The internal power brick and the size of the system had to have taken into account all foreseeable heat issues.

edit: The PS4 was probably already at peak performance (for the hardware) on paper before prototypes were made.

In fact, I would rather the PS4 stay the same as it is now. It shows that they've done their research, that they're confident in their product, and that the end user should most definitly have a stable and optimized product.

I don't want last minute changes on a product that's been in development for years. It doesn't look good to me.

[GTgamer]

I agree bubbles +1for being smart.

[DragonKnight]

@Tooly: "sony OS isn't finish either, sony still are updatinq there drivers to so."

Where did you get this information?

[t3rrorc3ll]

The act we haven't actually seen the clock speeds of the ps4 yet anyway

[RedDeadLB]

As long as that doesn't include stability issues and potential breakdowns, people will be happier.

[Parasyte]

Sure they may have increased the clock speed, but did they adjust the cooling to compensate for it?

[SilentNegotiator]

MS was bragging about how cool it would run and how quiet the fan would supposedly be. Either they redesign the tower (unlikely at this point for a while), made the fan noisier, or it's just going to run hotter.

[DoubleM70]

Uhmmm yes they actually have a lower power state on the machine this time around. Just google Microsoft low power state that keeps it from over heating. No RROD this time around.

[Deadpoolio]

Especially considering these morons want you to connect your cable box to it and leave it on 24/7 to watch Tv through your One80 as opposed to only having 1 device on and just watching tv on your tv

[Bathyj]

Didnt they say they a couple months ago they were underclocking it to avoid overheating? Is the increase just bringing it back to what it was originally or is it more substantial?

[GodGinrai]

The underclock was a rumour. much like the 12GB rumour. Both were dismissed by albert panello on NeoGaf. This was after he got his head bit off over the specs, but to be fair he took it in his stride and they were not giving him an easy ride AT ALL! Some were personally attacking him. He said he reads all the rumours. The internet is a funny thing. lol

[Deadpoolio]

Uh do you think Penello or anyone at Micro$oft is actually going to come out and say oh yes we had to underclock our GPU because it was frying the console? Do ya....Do ya really think they are actually going to admit that....It took 2 years for them to admit they knew that the 360 was defective and that it was more important to get the 360 on shelves rather than make sure it worked properly....leading to their stunningly embarrassing 55% failure rate for 4 years....Anything around 10% or less is considered normal...55% should be criminal

[TimeSkipLuffy]

why not have done that right away? ^^

[Wikkid666]

With overclocking you always have to start somewhere.

[Kayant]

Rightly so as their bigger case/external psu allows so but I find it funny not too long and sometimes recently they kept on saying "Specs don't matter" but obviously they do to some degree or they would be content on what they have now and wouldn't need upclocks.

[kakashi81]

I just hope no RROD this gen, I'm still getting xbx1 before PS4 as all my friends will have it first.

[SecondSon]

Wow, all your friends?
I've only met two people that want the Xbox One since the announcement date.

[Hufandpuf]

Make it four and counting.

[strigoi814]

Microsoft: we are gonna bring back DRM because we can!

[GodGinrai]

Bring it back? it already exists everywhere else! I work in music production, and just about every bit of software and plug in buy requires some form of online activation or USB dongle (iLok, authorizer keys etc). I have a steam account on my PC, I cant sell or trade or loan any of the 14 games I bought. nor could I ever sell or trade any XBLA/PSN indie game, ever.

This is where the world is heading, dude. Cant blame MS for that. Truth is the console industry is playing catch up to other media industries as far as DRM. Im am not saying that is good or bad. It simply is what it is.

[Regis]

Actually you can loan games on steam if you signed up for the family, friends plan beta

[MethCupcakes]

I the loan was only local? not online

[DoubleM70]

Uhmm yes they bring it back and everybody that bought one that didn't like the DRM. Will trade it in for a PS4. Just a stupid comment

[GTgamer]

All of this over clocking and still behind ps4 and still not the easiest to develop for sooo lets make more sense out of this its not because they can its because when they said the PS4 isn't 50% more powerful than the xone we started to see a bunch of over clocking from MS why is that hmmmmmmmmmm maybe because they were right and the PS4 was 50% stronger and Ms is trying to change that but its just my guess ;) i mean why all these last minute changes.

[solidworm]

Im not paying more for less power. Thats just stupid.

[christocolus]

then you shouldnt be commenting here...

[MasterCornholio]

Your actually paying more for Kinect which can be seen as either a gimmick or a revolution for gaming.

Nexus 7 2013

[yarbie1000]

You aren't paying for power. You are paying for features. Anyone who thinks you buy a console for power - that's just stupid

[GodGinrai]

Well said, yarbie. If power is what a gamer craves then the only answer is the PC. If you want exclusives and features unique to a specific hardware..well thats where consoles shine.

I personally dont feel the need to join in on the power debate of either console BECAUSE I have already seen better than what I am going to see on X1 or PS4, on my PC. Already. I am not going to argue about who is stronger between two consoles with custom (but weak) laptop APUs..that would be silly from my perspective.

So for me, I only care how good the games are on either console. How tight and intuitive are the controls? How well does my characters moves and abilities translate into the game enviroment? How good is the art style? Does it draw me into the world the designer has created? How good is the story? If its got multiplayer, are my freinds gonna play it with me? Is it good enough to recommend to them?..those are the things I care about..and not once did i mention graphics. I have My PC for that, but its nice when a console game looks good.

[Rageanitus]

Do you know what is powerful... a PC video cards in the class of 2GB>3GB of GDDR memory will still be more powerful than what the consoles are offering.

But hey it's funny how PS4 fanboys keep emphasizing the GDDR like they know it all. It is quite obvious that both MS and SOny are not getting into the nitty gritty of specs.....

[Bolts]

Apparently PS4 fanboys only care about power when it comes to the PS4 vs XB1 debate. Thats when that mythical 50% moar power line get tossed around, never mind the fact this "power" have yet to translate into anything tangible like 1080 60 FPS.

Oh and god forbid should the platform that have real power like the PC enter the conversation, that's when their beloved power stop being important.

[hollabox]

Good job increasing the CPU and GPU/memory bandwidth but increasing shader count probably would have been a smarter decision. ROPS 16 (unconfirmed as far as I know) is a bit on the low end, even the PS2 had 16 ROPS along with the Wii U ( again unconfirmed). Overall I still believing next gen platforms are fairly weak compared especially when compared to the last two previous generations. My X360 and PS3 made me neglect my PC until about 2009/2010, I can't say this generation will do the same.

[MikeNike310]

I think theres a possibility they might. If these first batch of games can look this good rushed out for launch then I can only imagine what developers can pull off once they know there way around the machines.

I remember the first batch of xbox 360 games looking terrible. It almost felt like a downgrade. Only time will tell I guess.

[hollabox]

The first Xbox 360 games I purchased Madden 06 blew the doors off both Xbox and PS2 versions. Project Gotham Racing 3 made the previous versions look silly,Condemned: Criminal Origins had the geometry rate MS promised with the first Xbox.

Now I know crap like Gun, Burnout Revenge, and Need for Speed Most Wanted looked like the HD version of the Xbox and PS2. A year later Gears of War something no other PC game at that time could touch. Fast forward to now, Deep Down looks similar to Dark Souls 2, KI is not impressive, Titan Fall is coming to X360 as well, Watch Dog looks good, but has been downgraded from last year E3, and only runs at 30FPS.

Overall I'm glad MS increased their spec, but like the PS4 I'm having a hard time justifying my preorders. Just don't see the jump like I did going from PS1/N64/Saturn to Xbox/GC/PS2, or the jump to HD X360 and PS3 made this generation.

[mazestar]

Over heating on day one they never learn

[falviousuk]

Trolls, when will they ever learn !

[moodymofo]

im not trolling but im just wondering ,does the x1 have to be on to watch tv if youre cable tv is running through it? cause if so then if this thing is in a familly room it could be on 16 hours a day or more thats a lot of hours to put on a system to just have it on to watch tv. or will your cable box still work if the system is off ? me personally ,i wouldnt want to leave my system on all the time that me or my familly is watchin tv you would just be askin for heating issues as time goes on

[SniperControl]

There is another issue however, I know MS has stated the X1 is energy efficient but it is still using some energy. As you correctly state, the x1 has to be on all the time to watch tv(in your case 16 hours), would it not be more energy efficient to bypass the x1and go straight into your tv or amp and turn the x1 off?

Most people dont think about that.

[Nicholasgliss]

If Sega would just bring out the Dreamcast 2 on Kickstarter with the goal of being able to equip them with equivalent specs...oh wait, wrong topic, sorry.

[MikeNike310]

Man I really loved the dreamcast. That would be awesome.

[Reem]

No, it's because you are playing catch up

[PFFT]

No its because they can.

[DragonKnight]

Play catchup? Yes, they can play catch up.

[Pancit_Canton]

More like because we're desperate. I'am right Microsoft?

[neoandrew]

So do sony can...

[Clarence]

This wont change a thing. Everything M$ is doing is the result of what Sony has done.

[PFFT]

Sure it is keep telling yourself that.

[MasterCornholio]

Not everything but most of their 180s were done because of what Sony was doing with their policies. Like their DRM policy for example.

You owe Sony for making Microsoft get rid of it.

Nexus 7 2012

[LoveOfTheGame]

@MC
So I can blame them for getting rid of my diskless future that would have been this gen.

[Clarence]

No you keep telling yourself that. Everything M$ has done to the xbone is because Sony and the PS4 is $h!tting on them.

Across the board developers have done nothing but praise the PS4. Cant say the same about the Xbone.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Any increases as long as they are not detrimental to the hardware are welcome.

[RandomDude655]

It's not the fact that GPU overhead is 10% for the OS?

[Double_O_Revan]

All these hardware changes in the last minutes before the system releases. It's already in production, so any change is software based.

I just hope they're not getting to aggressive and potentially reckless just so they can keep up and compare closer to PS4.

[GodGinrai]

I think they are just squeezing as much performance. I also dont think they really intended to launch this year. but all things considered they are handling this better than sega in the run up to the launch of the saturn, which all this has echoes of.

Im predicting a shorter cycle this gen if that gap between PS4 and X1 get to wide in terms of game performance. plus nintendo will surely be launching a new console in the next 3 years or bowing out of the home console biz, because Wiiu is flat on its face and will not get ports of next gen games two years from now. both the PS4 and the X1 will be more matured by then so they will be doing things that really cant be done on the Wiiu much less x360 or PS3.

The next 5 years will be interesting to say the least.

[Saleem101]

Small increase in power its not going change that 50 percent power advantage the ps4 has over the xbone.... sony can overclock there gpu also..

[Hufandpuf]

All this talk about %50 percent more power. Where is that info coming from?

[Hicken]

Probably from the specs of the two systems, and explanations by AMD.

Not hard to Google and see what's been said, and how these numbers came to be.

But I guess it's easier to NOT search, and pretend like people are basing it on nothing.

[Bolts]

There's that moronic 50% more power line again. Where do you guys come up with this crap?

[THC CELL]

Don't ruin the balance

[ForgivenZombie]

Both companies are trying to basically do the same thing, but with different approaches. Sony concentrated on games first and Microsoft chose multi functionality. It's just a matter of preference and you should be happy with either console or even both.

[mmj]

What happened to "specs don't matter it's the games"?? obviously Microsoft feel that specs do matter if they're overclocking.

[solidworm]

Still not paying more for less...

[MikeNike310]

I hear you but technically your getting more bang for your buck with the Xbox One if you count The Kinect and the tech inside of it but the question is do you want the Kinect?

[davejose]

And the bottom line is that if you compare this issue with ps3 and Xbox 360. The ps3 hardware came out superior to the Xbox 360. But still mi rosoft knew how to maximize the hardware performance and so the Xbox 360 came out superior in gaming graphics while having a inferior hardware SPEC than ps3.

[mmj]

That was down to multiplatform developer laziness, the primary PS3 developers like ND created games which looked better than anything 360 had to offer.

[MadSientist89]

don't ruin the balance

[oldassgamer]

With all of the little, last minute tweaks, I would be very wary about buying a first gen X1. There's very little time left to vet all of these changes.

The X1 will definitely be a wait and see purchase for me. I know that Sony are probably doing the same thing, but MS just seems to be doing it out of desperation to have the X1 appear to be on equal footing with the PS4. The fact that MS started out with an inferior spec and are having to scramble to put the X1 on equal footing with the PS4, is troubling.

In the end, it all boils down to the games... We'll see...

[SwiftArsonist]

let me give u an example, the iphone is a phone that almost never ahead of lets say samsung phones in terms of hardware. but the iphone works in harmony (balance) with the hardware and therefore in my opinion better than android (i had both). now MS has a setup in which they will demostrate this to the fullest. good software will take that "inferior" hardware far

[quenomamen]

" We increased the clock speed because it's cheaper and easier than building actual faster hardware "

There it's fixed.

[Kidmyst]

Good news for Devs and gamers

[TristanPR77]

Remember when Microsoft said "specs are not important to us" yeah right. Is obvious Microsoft is trying hard to not look as the inferior console because they know the PS4 is more powerful.

[Gore-Content]

"Because we can." Yes, yes. And why didn't you do that earlier?

[wardude01509]

More speed is always a good thing, thats why some people since the dawn of pc's have been increasing their cpu/gpu clock speeds. Now lets get real and talk a few facts, if you increase clock speed you require more power and increase heat, FACT. Depending upon how much you increase the clock speed(by a small percentage) a high percentage of the manufactured cpu/gpu's will handle it no problem and will go on to survive a normal life, however there will be a percentage of that cpu/gpu manufactured batch that will have anywhere from a slightly reduced life to a substantial reduced life. With millions of these X1's being produced there is going to be alot of X1's that will fail prematurely.. and thats not a good thing if your X1 fails shortly after 12 months and is out of warranty. Its a lot of hard earned peoples cash just lost. In my honest opinion i'm just not prepared to gamble that much money for such little gain..

[voodoogts]

All it comes down to is games... xb1 which provides good one at launch

[CEOSteveBallmer]

SO they up-clock the GPU this close to launch?, funny why bother increasing it when xbone games can create stunning graphics like ryse? you dont hear sony up-clocking theirs even though its not needed. This is just a way to catch up. This wont do better performance. ask any legit developers you know who is "working" on both PS4 and xbone.

[SwiftArsonist]

drones, sony drones everywhere

[PickAShoe]

morons like you everywhere.

[DoubleM70]

All those changes happend in early July. The internet just didn't catch wind of it until mid and late August.

[cybervike]

MS: "It's not about Gigaflops, it's about games damn it!"
MS: "Increase the Gigaflops! BECAUSE WE CAN!"

I see...

[ivnheim]

We are only 2 months from launch and this does not sound good, they want people to see this news as something positive for the Xbone, but that kind of statement makes them seem like arrogant douches.

"Because we can" it just sounds awful, so they did't had the ability and sudenly realized they could do modifications in the last minute?

i only hope that they dont screw the people that are paying for their console.

[carlocgc]

So... why wasn't it done before ?

[filipakos]

No warranty on next OC even if it is from MS

[Bluepowerzz]

this site is full head to top with ignorant "neutral Gamerzzzzzzz" who label them selves that so they can attack sony lol ms failed this gen xbox one will fail now get over it stop being in denial jump of a cliff and man the fk up and die.

[thexmanone]

Ok here we go again, PS4 Bots no better

[GinkgoID]

Gotta hope with all the overclocking they are doing that it doesn't cause overheating down the track.

[jairusmonillas]

They did not increase, they overclocked it.

It's not a totally upgrade, with microsoft's history with RLOD i'm not sure overclocking this would be a good idea.

[Silly gameAr]

Good lord who cares. Just increase the power for the 10th time and shut up about it.

[TechMech2]

Many posts from gamers on this site seem to involve people hoping the Xbox one fails. Why? What makes people hate a game system so much they waste their time insulting it online? The logic of some people will never be fully understood.

[thexmanone]

Well Said TechMech2

[TheMailman]

They increased the clock speed on CPU not GPU... this is embarrassing..

[kB0]

Grow some shaders....Oops!

[Razzy]

"RROD II....because it will!"

[kB0]

No spoilers plz!

[CaulkSlap]

Bumping the clock speed is definitely a good thing. Sony and MS should both play around with it even after launch.

Anyone remember PSP's big boost? Games got a lot better looking shortly after.

[kB0]

well PSP's big boost was doubling the ram...and I thinkt he CPU was boosted by near 33%...I'm doubting MS will boost 33% and still keep the TDP low.

We'll have to see.

Xbox can prob OC better than ps4, since ps4 has 50% more shaders, usually having higher shaders I've seen lower oc.

We'll wait and see, I'd rathe have the shader count, OC really tends to not matter when dealing with shaders and particles.

[Juste_Belmont]

I guess we'll see how much of a difference this makes once the next gen games start coming out. 53 extra MHz doesn't seem like much though.

On a side note, is this from the same Ken Lobb who was in Goldeneye 64 and Perfect Dark?

[KontryBoy706]

My thing is this... Microsoft has been coming out saying all these things. Increasing GPU and CPU etc. However, do they actually think Sony is just sitting back letting them do this. I bet Sony could/can do the same thing but they won't shout it out to the world to hear they would just surprise Microsoft like they did in February.

[srd4484]

Sony can do the same thing. When it comes to bashing MS, Sony isn't shy about it. I was surprised when MS announced both their GPU & CPU upclocks, that Yoshida didn't come out and say something on twitter regarding their speeds like he has plenty of times since E3. We are still waiting on the PS4 CPU though.

[Miacosa]

Watch out this thing is coming in HOT. Seriously though good news if it works out in the end.

[Destrania]

People do realize that this is in reference to that power increase a whioe back, right? And that developers spoke out about it being nothing more than a PR stumt and being practically negligible, right? Okay, good, as long as you're all aware.

[srd4484]

Do any of you kids know what actually caused RROD?

And MS didn't say they "Overclocked" it. They "Upclocked" it because after tests they felt it was safe to bump it up. Who cares.

[annus]

RROD was just a hardware fail, there was more than one reason. There were reports of the GPU melting it's connectors though, and the higher the speed of the GPU the more heat it will produce.

[generalthadeape]

So, you're saying the Xbox One started out "under" clocked to begin with?

That doesn't make much sense to me-- just saying.

[mmj]

The GPU will have a 'reference' clockspeed recommended by AMD who make it.

There was a story a few months ago that MS had stress tested Xbone for months in different environments to ensure reliability, it's kind of risky to mess about with clock speeds now isn't it?

[CuddlyREDRUM]

When MS messes around with a console before it launch it doesn't work out well. One second they are saying it is the games that matter, then every week they are overclocking everything.