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Machiavellian on 16 April 2013
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VGKing said:
Machiavellian said:

For the SOC, its not hard to believe that MS can do this.  Its how they would handle being able to use both at the same time for Nextbox games.  With Unified memory, its more believable that MS could make calling the SOC no different than calling another GPU.  The API deals with the underneath stuff so it should be transparent to the developer.  You have to realize this is what MS do and they have the best tools when it comes to development so its not out of scope that this can be done.  If the Durango CPU and GPU can access the same memory the SOC works on then just threading your code should allow developers to use both at the same time.

 

I didn't question Microsofts ability to do this, I know its very much possible. What I'm saying is that why would they do it? It only makes development more complex and the console more expensive. What kind of benefit will they really get from doing this? Xbox 360 components aren't exactly state of the art and using them in parallel with the Durango specs won't really make a huge difference. They would be better off upping the clock speeds in the Durango APU, or just redesigning it to be more powerful to begin with. 

The VgLeaks rumor about a mini XBox being used for backwards compatibility is a much better idea. It gives people b/c without actually increasing costs of entry for those who don't want it and will never use it.


I do not understand why it would make development more complex.  As stated MS has an API, the API handles the underneath stuff, while the developers can code to the SOC just like they would code to a Compute Unit on a GPU.  If developers are already threading their games for the latest GNC cores from AMD, why would throwing another one in the mix be more complex.  This is why MS has an API to ease development and its one of the things that MS is good at.

When you really think about it, it makes more sense for MS to actually use the SOC for graphical and game related task besides just using it for BC.  I consider it smart engineering if they are actually doing this and forward thinking as they can continue to leverage the Current 360 and its digital library.  You have developers who have cut their teeth on the 360 and now those skills will still be revelant.

You are right that adding the SOC will increase the cost of the 360.  If the SOC was only for BC it might not be worth it if the cost is to much either bring the next box to retail at a high price or MS eating more cost then they want.  Having the SOC as another GPU/CPU that can be leverage with Nextbox games t least lend the chip to more fuction, increases the Durango capability which could provide that extra next gen push MS might need when their games get compared to the PS4.