Xbox 720 Specs: Eight-core CPU, 8 GB RAM, Windows 8 Kernel?

Microsoft Xbox 720 could have an Eight-core CPU, according to new leaks.

This latest rumour is via BD, who posts regularly on TGFC, which is a Chinese forum. What’s special about him? Well, he is an ex-Ubisoft employee, and claims to know all information about the Xbox 720, including the RAM, OS, and plenty of other stuff.

[hennessey86]

According to him, the Xbox 720 will have an Eight-core CPU, and a HD 8800 series GPU. This also fits in with our previous report where we mentioned that the Xbox 720 could be running on a AMD HD 8000M graphics card.

It is also said that Microsoft will be using Windows 8 kernel for the system, which is pretty straightforward, as they have been pushing it a lot. He said it will have 8 GB memory and a 640GB hard drive.

If theses are accurate it should be a beast, but I still think these will be toned down. I can't see 8 GB of ram, maybe 4 and a 640 GB hard drive seems like a random number picked out of the sky

[iamnsuperman]

640 GB puts into question the validity of this. I have one 640 GB hard drive) in my PS3 but that thing was hard enough to find (really obscure size). The general consensus is to make 250 or 500 GB then up to 1TB. 640 is a bit random.

[DiRtY]

The number is probably used because the current Xbox 360 SKU offers a 320GB HDD. So they doubled it. And is 320GB a more common figure for HDD space?!

Anyway, if this is true, I think we will see some really impressive games for it. Can't wait to see what 343 industry will do with this. Halo 4 already looked awesome for a game that runs on a 7 years old system.

[kneon]

I suspect the specs are a little old. the 640gb drives weren't around long because the 750gb drives came out soon after at about the same price.

But remember that they will be placing orders for millions of drives, they could order any wacky size they wanted to.

[HammockGames]

Agreed, 640 GB for a hard drive size is relatively uncommon. Not unheard of, but not as main stream as 500, 750, or into TB territory.

Generally speaking, hard drive prices tend to be lower for more common makes/sizes - cheaper to pick from the lot of what's already made en masse rather than requesting special orders.

And we know console makers will be looking to control mfg. costs.

[Ezz2013]

if thos spec are true
what do you think the console will cost ??!!

[ABizzel1]

@Ezz

We can't really say. None of those spec are off the shelf or detailed enough to give a specific price.

However, performance wise it should be on par with most mid-high to high end gaming laptops which are on par with mid to mid-high PCs.

So it's a jump, but not the leap from sd to hd. Most improvements will come from ai, effects, lighting, hd textures, scale, environment, improved resolution and fps, and scope. Not game changing graphics, but all things that will make games significantly more enjoyable.

Watch Dogs, Star Wars 1313, and all the games you've seen running beautifully on PC will now be on consoles, still not as beautiful, but incredibly difficult to see the difference with the naked eye.

[hesido]

I agree 640GB is an odd size and standard size HD's cost less to end-users, however, I know a couple of hard-disk manufacturers who can get you great deals when you order several million hard-disks :) So I don't think the number does bad to the validity, although we can't validate it.

[jmac53]

You have to remember this will be a proprietary hard drive from Microsoft and not a company like Seagate. Unfortunately this probably means we won't be able to use off the shelf hard drives like the PS3 and will end up paying $159 for a 1TB official Microsoft hard drive.

[sikbeta]

Like those rumors from months ago:

XBOX infinity = XBOX 8

Sounds Beastly powerful, can't believe people were talking about incremental upgrades, this thing (IF true) is a big leap compared to X360, can't wait!

[AAACE5]

I really hate when people judge consoles like computers. They always want more ram like it is a deciding factor. Pc's need lots of ram because they always have other stuff running in the background. Consoles generally don't have all that much going on in the background.

Not to mention the huge amount of heat 8gb of ram will create.

I know consoles are getting closer to being computers but the fact is they still aren't! They are currently media hubs.

[MikeMyers]

8gb sounds good but I will believe it when I see it.

[M_Prime]

am i the only one that is curious what it will use for games? will we go blueray? will we stay with DVD? I know with increased drive space buying games via the xbox will be easy but as it stands now you can't really get new releases YET. I would really love if then did something like a SD card. I mean blueray holds 25gb per layer. a 32gb sd card is pretty cheap.

i mean according to
http://www.emedialive.com/A...

a blueray disk is about $3 for 1 but of course larger quantities are cheaper

according to a random google search
http://www.dhgate.com/micro...
a sd card is about $5 for 32gb. Now again larger quantities would mean better prices and even Nintendo uses them for the DS. I know it feels like a step back to cartridge but transfer speeds would be awesome and no more scratches (dvds scratch, bluerays are much better i know) and i doubt MS will pay for blueray

[ElectricKaibutsu]

@M_Prime
I'm betting blu-ray. No way would they stick to DVDs! Maybe they'll go with a proprietary blu-ray based drive like Wii U but I'm betting they'll just use a standard one to be able to play blu-ray movies, like the PS3. Though, that means Sony will be getting a couple cents per Xbox since they co-own the blu-ray patent.

Edit: I don't know why consoles don't go with cartridges anymore, even though SD card sizes have caught up. I think when you buy discs in bulk it's still a heckuva lot cheaper than cards. The DS still uses cards because they use a lot less power and there's very short loading times.

[ABizzel1]

LOL at all my disagrees.

Check the specs, the only thing that's remotely advance would be the CPU, but it could easily be an 8 core FX processor (solid CPU's, but very common), and used in most AMD based gaming PC's.

The 8GB of RAM will likely be 2GB GPU, and 6GB system RAM, but even if it is 8GB system/multipurpose RAM that's generally the bare minimal gaming PC's have today (16GB being the standard).

The 8800M series GPU's are nothing, but a republishing of the 7800M series, that consumes less power, but has boost clock which lets the GUP reach higher clock speeds, as long as it's within heat parameters.

All this is great, but it's not running games at 1080p @ 60fps. THe benefit it has is being in a console and being tweaked to specifically playing games, which could help it outperform your a duplicate Laptop / PC, but not blow it out the water.

[DeadlyFire]

640 GB is not to uncommon for a laptop hard drive. They are easy to find.

As far as the CPU goes I am leaning towards Power7+ CPU for Xbox 3.

Well here is how I see Xbox 3/PS4 hardware so far.

8 core Power7+ with 32 threads
AMD 8870M(992 Gigaflops) + Another GPU. I am thinking AMD 8850 (2990 Gigaflops)

Roughly equal to about 3982 Gigaflops

PS4
AMD Kaveri x2(920 Gigaflopsx2 = 1840 Gigaflops) with 8 cores roughly 16 threads
AMD 7970M or other unknown GPU

Roughly equal to about 3940 Gigaflops

I know if you watch rumors like I do. That 1840 number should catch your eye for PS4 spec.

x86 vs. RISC at its best. Honestly if what I have listed is coming it certainly explains why there was an article claiming Xbox 3 would be twice as powerful. Wrongful claim if indeed true specs.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

Windows 8 kernel would make xbox to pc and pc to xbox port easy for devs to port games.

They have xbox live on windows 8 anyway.

But I have no problem moving to linux. PC gamers are not adopting win8 fast. Actually noone is since it's selling slower than vista. And vista sucks.

Seems Blizzard is porting to linux also..

One thing is for sure xbox 720 UI will be tiled based and will be advertised to be used with kinect.

That just sounds like a MS thing to do.

[sourav93]

"Actually noone is since it's selling slower than vista. And vista sucks."

Slower than Vista? Erm, I don't think so. I do agree that PC gamers aren't adopting 8, but to claim that it's slower than windows Vista, is ridiculous.

[BitbyDeath]

'Slower than Vista? Erm, I don't think so'

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech...

[rainslacker]

They wouldn't be using a full version of Win8 for the Xbox anyways. It'd use the kernel, but the rest of the OS would be modified to suit the closed architecture of the system, as well as be tailored for the hardware. The kernel could even be modified to be more efficient.

Comparing a console OS to a PC OS doesn't really translate well when it comes to performance. At most you can look at Win8 and see what they might go for with design and usability.

For MS it makes sense to do this, as it is a way for them to push Windows 8 onto the consumer. It people see benefit in PC/Xbox cross-compatibility, they are more likely to pick up Windows 8. On the other hand, they'll be moving on to Windows 9 a year or two after the Xbox is released, and depending on what kind of wacky scheme they come up with to make it "better" than the last, it may render Win8 irrelevant.

I personally can see some benefit to Win8 in the system when it comes to integration with smart-glass, and would make the UI pretty usable and easy to navigate.

[sourav93]

Sorry sorry, my bad. I guess my eyes aren't what they used to be. I thought you meant the OS being slower.

[mcstorm]

Windows 8 will be fine. What people are not looking at is the bigger picture. Windows 8 has only just come out and a lot of laptops/desktops that are out there for sale with windows 8 on where made for windows 7. Look at CES and you will see that there are some very good looking and well prices Windows 8 machines on the way.

Just because something is not selling well off the mark dose not mean it is a flop. (Look at the PS3 sales for example).

As for the Next xbox these specs seem impressive but I really don't expect them to be as high as they are. I see 2GB of ram not 8.

I do see the next xbox having more ties in with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 though as this will complete the MS eco system to take on Apple and Google.

Look forward to seeing what MS and Sony give us at E3. I think Next gen is going to be even bigger for the games industry as Sony Ninteno and Microsoft will all be gong for the same markets.

[steve30x]

He said its selling slower than Vista. He didnt say Windows 8 was slower than Vista.

[kayoss]

The bigger question is assuming that all these specs are true. How much would the console cost to the consumers. I know Microsoft will take a lost for every console sold but how much of a lost would Microsoft willing to take? If all these specs were in the final product, I dont see how Microsoft can sell this console under $450.

[green]

I think Microsoft can make a loss with some and a profit with others if they offer to the consumer different purchasing methods like what they are now offering with the 360 in NA.

Buying it outright for $500 will result in a slight loss but paying $150 and a monthly repayment of $20 over a 2 year period will result in a profit for Microsoft in the long run because the consumer ends up paying $630.

[LocutusEstBorg]

8800 is bullshit. The consoles are already being manufactured.

[MRHARDON]

The 8800 has in development at least from December 22, 2011.

So AMD probably can provide Microsoft with a well developed architecture of the 8800 to use in the Xbox 720 if they really needed it.

[DeadlyFire]

True, but they could have taken a die from a prototype planned design and sculpted it for the Xbox 3 in 2012 before 8800 started production. The 8000 line is the refresh line so most parts from it are just enhanced versions of 7800 series.

[nirwanda]

The 360 had a protype gpu in it with unified pipelines before those gpus were could be bought on a pc, i expect the new xbox to have some future dx functions to trail in the new xbox

[nukeitall]

8GB would be the bomb, and RAM is cheap now, very cheap.

For fast switching between tasks (or background tasks) such as fast switching to a browser, chatting with your friends on skype, picture in picture and so on you need gobbles of RAM so this could be true.

For reference, Wii U has 2GB which half is for the OS alone.

[GameSpawn]

RAM is getting cheap, but consoles and video cards do not use the RAM that is getting cheap.

DDR3 RAM is general use and as such is manufactured to be cheap and get cheaper until the next iteration replaces it (DDR4).

Video cards, gaming consoles, and servers use RAM that is more tailored to their tasks (GDDR4,5,6, XDR and DDR3 with ECC -- respectively) that also has VERY low latencies and errors and VERY high speeds. These things mean that this type of RAM isn't going to be cheap as it is MUCH more expensive to manufacture.

To put this in perspective 8GB of DDR3 is worth about the same (money-wise) as 2GB of GDDR5. If RAM was as cheap as you think, we'd have video cards with 16GB of RAM for graphics, but this just isn't the case.

[nukeitall]

"Video cards, gaming consoles, and servers use RAM that is more tailored to their tasks (GDDR4,5,6, XDR and DDR3 with ECC -- respectively) that also has VERY low latencies and errors and VERY high speeds"

DDR3 with ECC is actually slower RAM than the regular counterpart due to the error correction it has to do.

A PC uses two types of memory, system and video. No reason why you can't have a similar system with a cache in between.

[GameSpawn]

"DDR3 with ECC is actually slower RAM than the regular counterpart due to the error correction it has to do."

You didn't read carefully did you. I mentioned ECC RAM in the case of Servers. Servers need the error correction. Also you do not have a complete grasp on computer architecture to understand that DDR3 with ECC can actually outperform Non-ECC when total performance is taken into account. Servers are working with much larger datasets than the average computer and if the processor is constantly having to re-poll data from memory because of errors and then subsequently the RAM would have to re-poll from either the hard drive cache or processor cache for corrections, you can see how things build up. With ECC RAM you are heading off the bottleneck, but this is only the case in systems where large amounts of time-sensitive datasets are being moved through the system, aka servers.

"A PC uses two types of memory, system and video. No reason why you can't have a similar system with a cache in between."

All caches exist to reduce bottlenecks (at least in the eyes of the user). The downside is depending on how big or small the cache is you can actually create a worse bottleneck. Also caches are VERY expensive to manufacture; this is the primary reason for the large price difference between processors with say 2MB of cache vs 6MB of cache.

Also RAM doesn't have a cache. The processor's cache (graphics or central) serves as the padding between the processor and the memory. RAM has traditionally, believe it or not, been the cache for the hard drive. However, there still was latency issues between RAM and hard drive so hard drives now have built in caches to help reduce latencies between HDD and RAM (and subsequently the processor) further.

It is hard to draw it out for you but any computer system follows this:
CPU <-> CPU Cache <-> Memory <-> HDD Cache <-> HDD
Graphics Cards are the same, just without the HDD:
GPU <-> GPU Cache <-> Graphics Memory (Depending on the system the GPU or Graphics memory will have a connection to the system bus, usually through the system's north bridge, to move data in and out of system RAM)
In most PCs' case everything fans off the northbridge, which is connected to the CPU and acts as a traffic cop directing data between the CPU, GPU, RAM, and out onto the system bus or to the Southbridge toward the HDD. Gaming consoles such as the PS3 and XBOX 360 do not have northbridges and southbridges per se as tasks that these two chips would have done are absorbed into the custom made CPUs and chipsets that these gaming consoles use -- the basic concept is the same though controllers are in different locations than normally with PCs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[GameSpawn]

(stupid 4000 character limit)

The only thing you need to keep in mind and the picture I always try to paint for people is that personal computers are general use machines that need their hardware to be flexible -- flexible meaning more mass produced cheaper, less efficient components. Gaming consoles are high speed streaming systems that are highly focused on primarily one thing -- games; so their architectures are designed to suit the data they process. In effect with this in mind, PCs are HORRIBLY inefficient systems while gaming consoles are far more efficient systems as less resources are going to waste every processor cycle in a gaming console vs a PC.

Also gaming consoles utilize faster more efficient components such as XDR RAM and GDDR5 and 6 graphics memory to aid in this efficiency over general computers. The downside being that to have the faster more efficient RAM you must sacrifice capacity to maintain the same price being spent on the component. Also if the data is being streamed through the system than 16GB is pointless if at any given time only 2GB is really ever needed. Find me a 16GB graphics card under $500 and well talk about the possibility of consoles having more than 8GB of memory in the near future.

[nirwanda]

@gamespawn your right i think they will use faster ram, the cpu and gpu will probably be on the same die with the clock speed lowered slightly to help with the heat and mass production.this will help with bottlenecks between cpu and gpu and make it easy to share fast memory.

[nukeitall]

@GameSpawn:

First of all, I appreciate that when you believe somebody doesn't understand things well you try to help out instead of bashing them. In my case, I'm a programmer and a trained computer engineer with a degree so I know this very well.

"Also you do not have a complete grasp on computer architecture to understand that DDR3 with ECC can actually outperform Non-ECC when total performance is taken into account."

"Servers are working with much larger datasets than the average computer and if the processor is constantly having to re-poll data from memory because of errors and then subsequently the RAM would have to re-poll from either the hard drive cache or processor cache for corrections, you can see how things build up."

The processor almost always has to fetch data from memory (RAM) because it's internal memory is very very very small. General RAM do not know if it has an error so it doesn't poll from hard drive again.

That is why it is called ECC aka error correcting code. It is an algorithm that is run to ensure correctness to a certain degree.

"All caches exist to reduce bottlenecks (at least in the eyes of the user). The downside is depending on how big or small the cache is you can actually create a worse bottleneck."

You can negatively affect performance with cache if you have constantly have cache misses. That is however up to the programmer to ensure the low amount of cache miss and is relatively independent of the hardware.

In almost all cases do cache improve performance.

"Also caches are VERY expensive to manufacture; this is the primary reason for the large price difference between processors with say 2MB of cache vs 6MB of cache."

It is not the *only* reason, among them yield/die size and mark up.

"Also RAM doesn't have a cache."

A cache is anywhere you put a faster copy of something in front of a storage. CPU registry has (L1-Lx i.e CPU) cache that is again a cache for RAM that is again a cache for hard drive and so on. You can always insert another link.

Keep in mind that consoles are often times a highly specialized design that doesn't always follow PC architecture. A good example of this is the PS3, it has most of the same components, but how to use them is vastly different.

"flexible meaning more mass produced cheaper, less efficient components. Gaming consoles are high speed streaming systems that are highly focused on primarily one thing -- games; so their architectures are designed to suit the data they process."

Yup, although consoles are now evolving to the point of being more generalized and sort of replacing PCs.

"Find me a 16GB graphics card under $500 and well talk about the possibility of consoles having more than 8GB of memory in the near future."

If you look at the PS3, it uses 256 MB general purpose RAM i.e. system RAM, while the GPU has it's own 256 MB dedicated high bandwidth low latency RAM. No reason why next generation console can't have 8GB of general system memory with a connected bus to graphics memory. Still far faster than fetching the data from hard drive or optical disc.

You might not get 4GBs of graphics RAM, but the delay is now a factor of 100-1000 times less due to this caching.

I'm not a hardware engineer, but schemes like that aren't exactly unknown....

[user3915800]

HD size are not hard to do and 640 its reasonable, but the cost of that beast will be like a normal notebook with an I7 ore lol... The price will be around 599 and up, they will loose money for sure, an 8 core cpu ugh... expensive adding an updated hd 8800 gpu? Forget it, will be lucky to pay 599 with MS taking the lost of manufacturing, advertising, and delivery to market... If it was those spec a 800 to 1000 is the fair price for that machine, well its not new that MS take risk, they did the same with xbox 1.

[nirwanda]

Ms will pay for the designs of the chips from AMD and set up there own manufacturing plant to produce the components to cut out any 3rd party costs, and you can save loads of money in the future, alot of amd/intel chip cost go into R+D and ms wont be updating anything except cost cutting once the final specs are finalized.

[ChickeyCantor]

So it's just a PC then?

[Urusernamesucks]

Only cheaper, hopefuly...

[chukamachine]

xbox machines have always been just a pc.

Nothing has changed.

Your going to be playing HALO,FORZA,FABLE,GEARS all over again with the 720p.

But this time in superhd.

[InMyOpinion]

A PC fully dedicated to running games. No different from the Xbox 360 and many other consoles.

[Gamer1982]

W8 would cripple the new xbox.. It uses 2gb alone and the reason consoles last so long is lack of a foundation OS like windows. Look at phones and tablets OS take most of resources. They dont work on consoles.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

All computers have operating systems, including consoles. As Rainslacker stated above, they would probably just use a modified kernel tailored for the Xbox, not run the whole Windows 8 operating system.

[bobshi]

@Ezz2013 the target cost is $299 for the cheapest SKU.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

If its another proprietary Microsoft drive, they'll make it any size they want.

[Cueil]

they'd be paying per plate no?

[fatstarr]

but how much is price?

699 us dollars?

specs are unrealistic... Microsoft wouldn't release an 8 core when they can get passed with a 4 core cpu. GPU wise I can see that happening. ram wise its plausible.

[SilentNegotiator]

Shhhhh! Don't ruin their dreams! People eat unrealistic specs up on this site.

[nirwanda]

The 360 had a triple core cpu while pc's had only duel core processors, and the gpu was an experiment for unified shared tech before it was available on the pc, if you look at it from AMDs point of view MS are paying for chip design of a new dx chip for free (R+D is alot of the cost) and ms gets to make a slightly scared back version of new tech early

[Nafon]

8gb of ram would only be useful if this actually ran windows 8 lol

[clrlite]

yeah Nafon, unless it features some absurdly high tech GPU (and fast ram) that will actually help utilize the RAM properly. Also, if it runs windows 8 it will probably be a modified version of the OS imo.

[Lior]

Hahaha those specs are a joke the gpu is already outdated and I do believe even the ps3 has an 8 core CPU

[tee_bag242]

Lior..Immature much?

[legend911]

It will be AMD, most likely. Just not so much RAM or space. That sounds like someone who is uneducated on consoles threw together an article and called it a rumor.

[UnholyLight]

Not sure why all the dislikes. 640GB sounds about right but you are correct kind of a weird number.

[talisker]

Those are probably the devbox specs. I heard something similar firsthand from a friend working in gamedev. He also said one core will be used exclusively for the system.

[YoungPlex]

If this is the case, 720 will be a beast!

[Munky]

I was thinking the same thing, that mock up is pretty sexy looking. The actual console, not the cheesy "infinity" logo.

[YoungPlex]

I know right! I honestly think that MS has the advantage of selling at a loss. They might not be the best selling in every department but they do have the most headroom to be flexible a bit. I see PS4 being somewhere in the middle realistically, in terms of power of course. However, power is NOT everything, but it will be nice to have a true nextgen system...

[UnholyLight]

Actually that infinity logo is kinda cool. Works well

[ElectricKaibutsu]

@YoungPlex
I agree. If the PS4 is a bit less powerful than the next Xbox, I can't see how that would hurt Sony in any way. It saves Sony money, it saves us consumers money, and they'll still get all the multiplats. Just like the 360 this generation, it was weaker than the PS3 but that didn't actually matter for anything other than fanboy bragging rights.

[greenpowerz]

it kind of has to be a beast. running Next gen motion and being an own the living room Multi media hub for all MSFT's products. IF MSFT is serious the 720 would have to be some soft of Home theater PC hybrid.

@YoungPlex. MSFT dropped the price of the 360 as conservitive as possible and basically milked the price, just for that very reason. I've been saying this for months.

MSFT tested the waters with their subsidized payment plan. I have a feeling they don't like the cost of new generations too often and are trying to future proof as much as possible. The leaked docs claim more of a PC-ish direction with Hardware/upgrading/multi sku

Wouldn't be surprised if this thing scales in the same ballpark as OPPO blu-ray players.

[DivineAssault]

pipe dreams are always fun.. Jus wait til E3 rolls around before u start claiming its validity..

[JBSleek]

Please be true!!

[zebrahim]

A mobile GpU? Mmm...can someone explain this to me? Is the next xbox competing with the ipad? Lol

[Pandamobile]

It's not surprising that consoles use a mobile version of a GPU. If they used the desktop version, the TDP would likely be too high for a little box like a console.

[OpenGL]

That's not what they mean by mobile GPU, they're specifically referring to laptop-class GPUs, some of which are extremely powerful and capable of playing any game out. The Geforce GTX 680MX is a mobile GPU that is almost as fast as a desktop Geforce GTX 670 and has the same shader/rop/tmu count of the GTX 680.

[FlyingFoxy]

I have a 5870M in my laptop, and there hasn't been a revolution in GPU's for years. I mean if you look at performance per card each year it's been about a 10-15% performance increase. it's like the Desktop 5870 which i also have, the 6870 released a year later was actually 10% or so slower than the 5870. So card numbers don't always tell the true story.

However, my laptop plays some games like L4D2 @ 1080P full details and rarely drops below 60FPS. On my desktop i don't think it ever does with the same desktop card. So while it's obvious the desktop equivalent card is better than the mobile card, mobile card's are still decent.

I think they should add an SSD to the consoles though even if it's only 64GB as it would make a large difference to load times in games, it does for sure on PC.

[tee_bag242]

680MX is a beast! I got the 7970M which is pretty beasty too

[EffectO]

$888

[kingmushroom]

$888.99 xbox live not included

[Npugz7]

This thing is gonna be powerful if these are actual specs! Can't wait!

[mrbojingles]

I imagine it won't have 8GB RAM, probably 4GB

[ThanatosDMC]

If it's going to run Win8, it'll need 2.5gb of ram. It'll be interesting if the next gen console do end up with 8gb of ram. We might be able to see beautiful games from first party developers.

[FlyingFoxy]

Yeah but honestly, there is nothing a console has that makes me want to get away from my PC.

it's always the same thing, nothing new. I never played Conker on the N64 but it looks really funny, if they made games like that it would make me want to get away from my gaming rig.. but as consoles stand there are barely any games that make me want to go from my PC to a console. it's just not as fun for me.

[mrbojingles]

Why on earth does a console need to run a PC operating system? That's silly and not going to happen. If anything it could be a small version based off Windows 8, like how the Xbox and Dreamcast had some beginnings in Windows CE.

[ThanatosDMC]

@mrbojingles

I have no idea. They want a pc? or a Steambox? I really dont want a PC OS on my console either. I want it for gaming.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I have no clue if this rumor is real or not...but the amount of rumor leaks these days from numerous different sources all seem to point toward two very common points:

1) 8GB of RAM
2) 8 Core CPU

I think we can fairly safely assume those two tid bits are reality.

The GPU seems to be all over the place and seems to change with each leaked rumor so I am guessing that element was possibly late in the game for finalization.

I think the thing I am most curious about is what do they do to the controller if anything? Will it have some small touch pad window on it? Is it untouched and just the same controller as one rumor suggested? I am guessing they will make some minor change to make consumers have to buy new controllers but I suppose you never know.

Edit: Point taken by @mrbojingles I think this 8GB of RAM while constantly coming up has also been constantly discussed as what is in dev kits. typically dev kits have twice the RAM as the console so this makes me think 4GB is more realistic.

[mrbojingles]

You also have to wonder how much RAM Kinect 2.0 will use, especially if those rumors of interactive glasses prove true. The OS could have a huge portion of RAM reserved to, especially if they try to come up with their own version of Miiverse. And then consider that this will likely share the system and video ram.

Let's say Kinect 2.0 uses 1GB RAM or 4GB.

That leaves us with 3GB, then lets say 512MB is used for OS multitasking features, that leaves us with 2.5GB, then split it 1.25GB going to system mem, 1.25GB for video memory.

[3-4-5]

8GB of ram won't seem like a lot 6 years from now when this thing will still need to be pumping out games.

I can see a huge 500GB HD though if they are trying to make this the end all be all entertainment console.

People will be storing all their movies and music on it as well and I'm guessing there will be ways to then listen to your stored music wirelessely on a different device in a different part of the room.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I am guessing their SkyDrive service will play a major roll in that ability to tap into content where ever.

[strigoi814]

If this is true..this will be expensive and the hate gonna be too much as i will expect to see

[Hanuman]

This year is gonna rock!!

[coolmast3r]

oh.

[Dread]

Ineresting

if we observe the specs closely there are lots of eights.
(1) Eight-core CPU; (2) HD 8800 series GPU; (3) Windows 8; and (4) 8 GB memory.

8 is the same as the infinity symbol, but in an upright position.

conicidence? perhaps, but it would be a clever marketing gimmik to play with the number 8 and the infinity symbol

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Bring on the Xbox Infinite. Xbox gives you infinite possibilities for your home entertainment.

There...I just made MS's Marketing slogan for the next box. Who do I tell my address to for my check? :)

[KwietStorm_BLM]

It doesn't matter who you tell. What matters is my plan, to steal your slogan.

[Tundra]

The specs seem too good to be true honestly. We'll see but all these rumors just tell me the announcement is getting closer and closer. I'm eager to see what MS has this time around.

[Old McGroin]

Christ, another article about the next gen consoles which shows all the specs followed by a question mark. Pointless.

[Cyb3r]

As long as MS dont put a small hard drive in the next console forcing us to buy another console version a few years later like they did with the 20gb pro then the elite then the 250gb slim. That was a very crafty plan they pulled off with the current generation console and nobody even noticed

[shackdaddy]

People actually believe this?

[QuantumWake]

I don't see how these specs are too far-fetched for some people. An AMD 8 Core CPU clocked in at about 2.0GHz, and 8GB DDR3/4 + 32/64MB of eDRAM. The GPU I can't quite put my fingers on. We'll see.

In the end it shouldn't cost an arm or a leg honestly.

[BattleTorn]

I can't help from laughing at the concept artwork used in the article.

It doesn't look bad, not at all actually. But it does have a little lip on the top side, that's obviously meant to look very similar to the original Xbox360s.

That concept art must've been created way back when, cause Xboxes don't have that kind of HHD anymore, and obviously won't in the New Xbox either.

[Captain Tuttle]

$299 with a 2 year contract

[ApexHell]

$299 with no contract because they will make that money back or more off 360 and 720 xbox live subscritpions within 2-6 months time lol.

[Kennytaur]

Next gen consoles should have SSD. It would be amazing.

[ginsunuva]

8 core CPU?

Hahahahahahhahhhahahahahahha

No

[Npugz7]

Hahahaha!! YES!!

[SnakeCQC]

w8 in it is going to be a tough sale

[BattleTorn]

where is the sale?

it will either be included or not (as the OS), and it won't change the price of the New Xbox.

[DA_SHREDDER]

I don't care if it plays games on max, If people with iPads and android tablets, psn, and even the WiiU don't have to pay to play online, neither should I if I decide to buy a new xbox. I don't care what fanboys say about their beloved machine. XBL is not worth it, I don't care if I can find cards for $30 bucks every year. It's not so much the cost as much as it's the principal of it all.

[die_fiend]

Then don't. We won't miss you

[ALLWRONG]

I bet he pays for PSN+

[RuleofOne343]

If you don't want to play Xblive or pay fine , but stop ***ch about it . Also **ck principals ,

[Pillsbury1]

In the leaked 720 documents I thought I read that they want it to look like any other electronic device under your tv so it's going to look like a DVD player.

[dani25pr]

Hahaha much much $$$$

[younghavok]

this thing would be rediculously expensive if these specs are true. Not to mention the inclusion of Kinect out of the box. It would be the price of a launch ps3. No way in hell that would sell in this economy. It would be a beast certainly, but the number of devs who could afford to take advantage of that power are slim. And even with a subscription they would be cutting their market because not everybody is gung ho about adding another bill to the dining room table.

[hivycox]

well said...Microsoft took a similiar risk with the xbox 1 but that were other times...the economy isn't capable enough to sell such a over-priced piece of gaming hardware...sure it works with every iDevice but not for a gaming machine

[RuleofOne343]

Whatever the case I want one or maybe two ,decision,decisions.

[Reaper9937]

If those are the actual specs, definitely a day 1 purchase.

[FlyingFoxy]

For me yes, as long as they have some good funny games like Conker.. as usual it'll probably be boring titles like Halo and other rehashes.

[Freak of Nature]

Halo is not boring to most.... It is a sci fi shooter. Perhaps not everyones cup of tea, but real good in many aspects to most. But I do agree with games like Conker, quirky caricature toon based platformers with style and creativity being needed, a more diverse line up would be great.

I want to see better AI, effects, and advanced new innovative gameplay to go with nicer eye candy, and art direction needs to be a major factor too...

[KMCROC54]

How about some Shadow Complex 2,toy soldiers,more sploision man 2.

[younghavok]

so you'll buy a console day one just based on specs? Nothing about the software just specs huh? To each their own but that just sounds... weird to me.

[Reaper9937]

Good software is a given with the big three so specs is the most important part IMO. If it's a beast of a console I can expect amazing software that will showcase the capabilities of the console.

If it's a manufacturer which isn't MS, Sony of Nintendo then I would have to see the software lineup before deciding on the purchase.

[Jadedz]

Epic influenced Microsoft, no doubt.

[landog]

everything sounds great EXCEPT the mobile gpu, they are ALL weak

i had an asus g74 for a bit (560m gpu), bought it used for a great price, system restored it, put a bunch of games on it, totally excited, starcraft 2, not even medium settings and the things chugging at 1080p, check out bf3....lol.....no freaking way......not even ultra settings, had to turn res down to 900p, turn aa off

point is, thats a $1400 laptop with an i-7 and a 3gb 560m gpu, (i got it for $700, sold it for $900 :), with high end parts, the parts they put in consoles is cheap, bottom of the barrel parts, that gpu concerns me......

this puts the consoles realitive power in line with a 2 year old laptop, not cool, yes MUCH better than the 8 year old 360, but still......

[PopRocks359]

What the hell would this thing cost? An arm and a leg?

[younghavok]

and a lung with tax included

[RandomDude655]

Yep

[Irish_Fella]

For the people who are claiming "it seems way too expensive", wasn't the GPU in the X360 priced at $400 the year before it launched?

Genuinely curious here, as I'm technically inept. Another thing, as the years go by, the price of parts will drop, thus the loss on their product will drop.

[wishingW3L]

this new chip is not even out yet... Some people say the 8000 series is just a re-branding of the old 7000 series so the chip on the next Xbox could be custom made and based on that. We still need a spec sheet though to be able to say anything exactly because the series have tons of different GPU's but based on just this then the next Xbox will only be marginally more powerful than the current Xbox. Specs are weak just like the PS4's.

BTW the re-branding is not a rumor it's actually true: http://www.digitalversus.co...

[Irish_Fella]

I meant to say I'm technologically inept!! Not inept in general! haha, my bad. :p

Yeah, no idea that the GPU is supposedly weak, just going by the other comments, I assumed it was a powerful component.

[Omega Zues]

errrr ya...

Cant believe this rumor. Price tag alone on a system like that would be far to high.

[FightFans]

So if this is true then the spec for consumer would be half of that. Because what I think that person describing was a developer version. That isn't far-fetched.

We will wait and see if this is true, only time can tell.

[TABSF]

It will also have 8GB SSD and 800GB HDD, you see a pattern with this article, all these 8s LOL

I'm saying its gonna be something like: AMD A8, 4GB RAM, and HD 7000 series GPU oh and basic Windows 8

[PurpHerbison]

How long do you think next gen will be graphically relevant? I understand that graphics don't mean everything, so we can put a nail in the coffin of that counter-argument... But if we had to guess at this current point in time?

[TABSF]

If its gonna have 8 cores, 8GB and HD 8800 its gonna cost beyond $500

if they cheap out with a 8600M or something like that its gonna be dead in no time, realistically Online/ Gaikai is the only hope for Consoles now.

PC already has 4096 Unified Shaders on AMD HD 7990 and by the looks of it HD 8970 will have 2560 Unified Shaders.

By the time NXB and PS4 will be out PC GPU with over 1024 Unified Shaders will cost less than $200 and Next Gen consoles will be lucky to have 1024 Unified Shaders in them.

[Cueil]

I don't think people understand how much cheaper AMD's components are compared to Intels... there is a reason everyone is using AMD now and no one is going to use Intel. The 8 core processer is 200 bones at retail and the graphics card is probably about the same... now you strip all the BS off the price and you manufacture it yourself and you're looking at fraction of the retail cost for the comparable PC component. It wouldn't surprise me is Microsoft goes right with an APU... some variation of the A-10 that's already at 45nm and has low power version and a higher powered version. That would allow them to put out the "Xbox TV" version with maybe something more along the lines of an A-6 that still packs enough power for Xbox Live Arcade titles, but wont play most games. It's purely just guess work on my part of course.

[bucky1965]

8core is possible (counting virtual cores)8000M,weak, meant for notebooks. Will struggle to do 1920 x 1080 on high settings. Unlikely they will use 8800M (yields issue).possibly something in between. memory improvements will help. Still overall better than the 360. but not by a lot.

[DudeJets]

Hardware geek calls bull

[TheKayle]

if is true..we find the next gen king or queen ahaha

[Vames]

This bullshit website is not reporting the story correctly. This spec is of the developer kits, the actual console itself always tend to have half the ram of the dev kit, so expect 4GB ram in the consumer product if true. Hard drive size would be lowered as well.

[PumPum]

1GB system memory 1GB video memory. Mark my words.

Anyone who thinks any next gen console will have 8gb is delusional or simply does not have a clue...

[devilhunterx]

inb4yeabutcanitruncrapsis3?

[SITH]

I hope it has a SSD drive.

[tisoyboy2]

SD cards can get pricey depending on what class you get. $5 is for a very low end card which would limit the read/write speeds of the console. I am also interested in knowing what kind of discs the new box will use. Going Blu-ray will somewhat bridge a gap between the consoles but if Blu discs do drive up costs then maybe introducing a quad layer dvd disc will be more plausible. Also, I doubt using a Win8 Kernel will make more simultaneous PC version releases. How unfortunate. Cause some people, like myself, that have a gaming PC still purchase the console version because I hate to wait.