| KHlover said: Why would consoles need 8GB of RAM? Not even a PC fully utilizes that for gaming, and I honestly see that changing in the next few years. Even IF gaming PCs will need 8GB of RAM in the future, consoles still don´t need it because of the better optimisation. My guess remains at 4GB RAM |
I see this argument often.
The reason why PC's don't need that amount for games is simple.
The Video memory and System memory are seperate pools of memory, some games will easily push 3-4gb of ram used just by themselves and then push the Graphics card past 2gb+ of memory used and then on top of that still stream massive amounts of data from the Hard Drive. - This is in stark contrast to the consoles where typically the System memory and video memory are combined pools.
For example... Battlefield 3 on ultra settings at 5760x1080 resolution alone on my system will use 5.2gb of ram and on top of that it pushes my video cards past 2.2gb memory used at 5760x1080 with 8x Anti-Aliasing.
That's 7.4gb used alone all told, not much left over from 8gb is there? Could use the left overs for a stripped down console operating system I guess.
Then you need to factor in that the machine will be around for about a decade and the easiest way for a developer to make improvements is by giving them "wiggle" room and one of the simplest and cheapest ways to do that is via adding more memory.
Personally I would like them to push way past 8gb and go for 16gb or 32gb. - Maybe then textures won't be low resolution and you might actually be able to play games higher than a 1366x768 resolution a few years after the machines life.
--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--
