IGN Builds their own Project Cafe console

[tarheel91]

HappySqurriel said:

Monteblanco said:

IGN's article is ridiculous as the performance in a customized system is much improved in relation to a PC running Windows. If there is any point in the piece is to show that a poorly designed system with a R700 GPU can outperform the PS3 and 360, something anyone with a little bit of technical knowledge could tell without building that machine.

Also, regarding the point of how much the next Sony and Microsoft consoles can improve, I don't think Nintendo is worried about it. They will all be stuck in the TV's 1080p resolution and thus there isn't much more than can do after they reach 60fps, which the R700 will have no trouble in doing with current games. Polygons are not an issue and it would need much more power to improve lighting in a significant way. I doubt they will add more textures because it would be expensive and games would take a lot of disc/download space and will take forever to load in memory. As such, it is more likely that third parties would follow the Nintendo standard and do minimal improvements in Sony and Microsoft's next platforms.

I think it is simpler than this ...

If you look at the hardware necessary to run a PC game at 1080p @60fps, with the highest level of detail, with 16xAA and 16xAF and then compare the hardware necessary to run the same PC game at 1280x1080 @30fps, with the second highest level of detail, with 8xAA and 8xAF you will see a significant difference in cost and energy consumption; but if you look at how meaningful that difference is to most gamers you will see that they hardly care about the improvements from the better version.

While this does act (to a certain extent) as a disadvantage for Nintendo releasing a system against the HD consoles, if Nintendo positions their console correctly it protects them against anything Sony and Microsoft realistically could release. Basically, it is possible that Sony and Microsoft would have to release a system 1 to 2 years after Nintendo's system at $100 to $200 more than Nintendo's system to have the processing power advantage to have a noticeable improvement in graphics for most consumers.

That's exactly what I was thinking.  My laptop has an ATI HD4850 and it handles multiplat games without even trying.  I maxed out Mass Effect at 1980x1200 and was consistently above 60fps.  Beyond some lazy texturing, I really don't see much of an improvement being necessary in todays graphics.  I feel like Nintendo's kind of chosen just the right amount of power to balance the diminishing returns of high end graphics with the current hardware used by most consumers.  It doesn't matter if the next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft are twice as powerful, as the rumored Project Cafe specs are going to be good for 95% of next gen games.  That's not to say there won't be a few games that try to push the limits on those other consoles, but they're going to be rare and not a major factor, and unless they're going for increases models on screen or advanced physics, the difference is going to be difficult to notice. 

Also, as was mentioned earlier, these specs compliment the current Wii perfectly.  I think you'll see most of the shovelware stay on the Wii to exploit the massive userbase and cheap development costs.  If any console has a chance at a legitimate 10-year life span, it's the Wii.

Edit: This thread is like an old guy's reuinion. O_o  Check out all the members in here who joined in 2007.