BlueFalcon said:
Yes, except on paper and in real world the GPU in the Xbox 360 is more powerful. The Cell is just a 1-core CPU with 6 SPE supporting engines. The Xbox 360 has a 3-core 6-threaded CPU, where each of the 3 cores is as powerful as the single main core in the Cell. That means without insane optimizations on the Cell's SPE/SPU engines (using them to aid in graphical calculations for the slower RSX GPU), PS3 CPU and GPU were collectively less powerful. Not to mention the GPU was gimped by just 256MB of VRAM vs. 512MB for Xbox 360. Therefore, the claims that PS3 was the more powerful console were simply wishful thinking in practical terms where developers faced time and budget contraints. It's like having a 750 hp muscle car and non-sticky tires, where you can't put the power to the ground. For the few developers like Naughty Dog that spent millions of dollars learning the Cell and having more flexible launch schedules, they could extract the full power of the Cell (as they will with the Last of Us). However, these cases are far and few between for the PS3. This time things we aren't comparing 2 different CPUs with 2 different GPU architectures. The CPUs are rumored to be identical and the GPUs come from the same family. The comparison of PS3 vs. 360 doesn't really apply here. It's akin to comparing 2 different PCs with identical CPUs but one has a more powerful GPU. Of course all these rumors could be entirely false.
The 360 vs. PS3 case is unique because the SPE engines in the Cell can be used for vectorized code to perform graphical effects. But if you do not utilize them, the Xbox 360 is the more powerful console, which is why in practice most multi-platform titles do look better on the 360. Even if you compare exclusives, for instance, Forza 4 has better graphics than GT5, Halo 4 > Uncharted 3 on a technical level. In very rare cases, the PS3 can outperform Xbox 360 if all 6 SPEs are active. For example the dynamic lighting of the flashlight in the Last of Us. So in rare cases the combined power of the PS3 was probably slightly higher but in practice it was lower for most developers. I do not agree that the console with the best looking 3rd party games is automatically the most powerful but in the context of rumored specs of PS4 vs. 720, it would be true. As you said the rumored specs could be false, which is why I should emphasize my point "assuming those specs are accurate." |
if a console always get better looking ports it's probably more powerful or atleast on par, especially this gen, we got so much third part games that pushed both systems, yet ps3 near really showed its advantage, sure excusive look slightly better but that because sony developers are amazing IMO.
