8th Generation: Predict specs

[jetrii]

Groucho said:

jetrii said:

Groucho said:

jetrii said:

Groucho said:

XBox370: same, smaller package, and with a new controller. Maybe a faster GPU, and maybe 768MB unified memory. 320GB HDD.

PS4: Same CPU, but with all 8 SPUs unlocked, instead of just 7. Hella faster "RSX 2" GPU, and 1GB memory (512/512). 320GB HDD.

Wii HD: 1.5 GHz "Super Broadway", 2x 350 MHz "Super Flipper Bros". Has HDMI, has DVD playback. 80GB SSD add-on. Okay, yes, I'm making a joke with the GPU, but it might be close, depending on costs.

Yep. I'm predicting the next gen will merely solidify its ability to play HD games, and not jump the gun with crazy new tech and costs, for both the console manufacturer and developers. 1080p at 60Hz is all that's needed, and I think the console makers will do only what's necessary to hit that bar. Nintendo won't, because I don't think they care.

Interesting predictions. Sounds like you think every console maker will take the Wii route and release a console that is only slightly more powerful than the last. However, I think that with the exception of the Wii, both the Xbox and PS4 would fail. That Xbox 370 could be achieved with 30 dollars over the current one. Even if Microsoft takes a tiny leap, it will most certainly be a lot more powerful than that. Also, neither one of those consoles is powerful enough for real 1080P games at 60 FPS. Sure, certain games like basketball and tennis will work at 1080P, but the vast majority simply won't look good. Not enough memory or processing power.

 

That's why I upped the memory a bunch, and its really the GPUs that are keeping the current consoles (esp the PS3, which has plenty of CPU power) from hitting 1080p with every game.  The only thing that really taxes the CPU these days is physics and animation, and both of those features will be available in hardware, on GPUs, shortly.  NVidia owns PhysX, and Intel owns Havok, if you weren't aware.  They have some plans.

 

Actually, it is mainly memory that is keeping that consoles from 1080P. Textures simply take too much memory. Also, with the introduction of CUDA and other environment, developers are moving away from the CPU for physics. GPUs are absolutelty amazing at physics. In fact, next generation engines already have the physics running on the GPU. 

 

So you totally agree, it sounds. =)

 

I think you need to read my post again. I disagreed with you, claiming that memory is the biggest barrier for this generation of consoles. None of the specs you listed can realisticly handle 1080P without much trouble. The games would seriously be confined. I did agree that GPUs are becoming more important for physics, however, I fail to see how that is relevant to the topic we were discussing.

 

Groucho said:
I think you are missing the upcoming nanotech wall for tech advancement. All three console makers will want to release a console before those problems get solved, let alone before they are affordably solved.

That does not make any sense at all. Could you restate that?

Groucho said:

Keep in mind that the PC CPUs have a LOT more hardware than chips like the Xenos do. The Xenos lacks out-of-order instructions, and has a really cheap branch predictor, as well as a pretty small cache, relative to PC cores.

No one will use a next gen Intel, AMD, or IBM processor out of the box. They will minimize it to a huge degree before putting it in a console, and that will cost a lot of R&D money.

Xenos is a GPU, not a CPU. I am assuming that you're talking about Xenon. And yes, every console this generation uses in-order execution, so I am not fully sure what point you are making. I fully expect the next generation to also use in-order execution to lower costs. It's not like Microsoft is just going to take a normal POwer 7 CPU, it will obviously be customized a bit.