Microsoft Durango: Is the next Xbox more powerful than we thought?

[claud3]

Microsoft Durango: Is the next Xbox more powerful than we thought?


XBW investigates the latest rumours as Xbox 720 kits arrive with developers...


By Xbox World 360 for Xbox World Magazine
The new issue of XBW is on sale now.



Development kits for the next Xbox were shipped to developers in March, Xbox World can reveal.
The first devkits were sent out shortly after Microsoft's supposedly top secret developers' conference in London on 28 February of this year. Crytek's senior technical artist Sean Tracy prematurely Tweeted his attendance, saying: "enjoying the Durango developers summit in London. So far, great swag and interesting talks." An hour later, Tracy remembered the secret part of his secret Microsoft Conference invite and deleted the Tweet, albeit slightly too late to avoid confirming the next Xbox is codenamed Durango, and representatives from across Europe were in Britain for a briefing on the new hardware.

The Samaritan demo is already a year old. Next-gen will look better Similar meetings were held for American developers at San Francisco's Game Developers' Conference over the same week without any leaks or slip-ups from from the considerably more discrete attendees, and the first Durango devkits arrived shortly afterwards. Many developers are already working on next generation games with standard PC hardware, but the Durango devkits will let those developers transplant their PC experiments directly onto the next Xbox's hardware. The Durango kits don't resemble the final hardware in appearance, however - the original Xbox 360 devkits were Power PCs in standard PC cases - but the hardware inside is representative of the machineyou can expect to see in late 2013 - and it's a monster.
XBW's sources suggest Durango's devkit is powered by a state of the art 16-core IBM PowerPC CPU with a graphics processor on par with AMD's Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cards. The 360's three-core 3.2Ghz IBM CPU is an antique by current PC standards, but a sixteen core CPU is future tech for even high-end home PC users. AMD launched the world's first 16-core processor for the business market in November of last year. Even if you had a 16-core processor in your gaming PC there are currently no games built to use it, but games for the next Xbox could put all sixteen cores to work on day one for a level of performance far in excess of current gaming PCs. It's a ridiculous amount of power for a games machine - too much power, even. But remember, Kinect 2 could chew up four whole cores tracking multiple players right down to their fingertips, so it'll need a lot of power. Sixteen cores would still leave more processing power than the next Xbox will ever need, even with Kinect's demands.
Durango's AMD GPU is much more reasonable and has been something of an open secret for a while, thanks to leaks at Chinese manufacturing plants. AMD's brand-new 7000-series GPUs hit the consumer market in January of this year, and the higher-end models can run Battlefield 3 in 1080p with Ultra graphics settings at well over sixty frames per second. 360 packs a custom version of the AMD 1800-series GPU, and you already know how that performs - barely managing a consistent 30 frames in Battlefield 3 at a comparatively low sub-720p graphics setting.

Link:http://www.computerandvideogames.com...an-we-thought/

This is one of three Pages on that site, so if you want to know more. Go to the site and read more please

[podsaurus]

Holy crap that's a lot of power there. It would be interesting to see what they can do with the physics of an in game world with that much power.

[claud3]

Agreed mate, its just i guess a taste of the future. If true

But this could be just a DEMO of graphic Compatibilities on their part

[Fedos]

Great article. I'd like to see Microsoft produce a beast of a system myself. Same sentiment applies to Sony. I don't want either of these companies to go the Wii route.

[Dennis Dyack]

I think those that are saying the next gen won't be a big leap ahead are really short-sighted. MS and Sony are in a battle and neither is going to flinch. If either comes out with a machine that isn't state-of-the-art, they're done.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[claud3]

Its cool to know the power if true of these next gen console... But again this could be just a graphical DEMO and many more to come

[*goo]

My feet are still firmly planted in the camp of 'consumers won't pay high end prices for high end hardware in a console' and currently, that's where they'll stay.

[The Sith]

My feet are still firmly planted in the camp of 'consumers won't pay high end prices for high end hardware in a console' and currently, that's where they'll stay.

Normally the dev kits cost mode than the final hardware. Im expecting 8 cores on the new xbox.
IIMO the next xbox may not be a console could be a family PC with windows 8.
I like the approach Microsoft doing with the next gen dev kits by giving developers a chance to maximize there games.

[radgamer420]

If these consoles are going to be a quantum leap over the present consoles then I wonder what price point they will launch at. Consumers already have made it clear that they will not pay a price outside of their comfort zone regardless of the hardware when the PS3 launched at 600 dollars. And we are seeing that again with the PS Vita. MS and Sony will have to be prepared to take some losses initially on their hardware or risk sluggish sales.

[The Sith]

If these consoles are going to be a quantum leap over the present consoles then I wonder what price point they will launch at. Consumers already have made it clear that they will not pay a price outside of their comfort zone regardless of the hardware when the PS3 launched at 600 dollars. And we are seeing that again with the PS Vita. MS and Sony will have to be prepared to take some losses initially on their hardware or risk sluggish sales.

MS is in a better position than Sony financially to take losses on next gen consoles.

[Sub-stance1]

MS is in a better position than Sony financially to take losses on next gen consoles.

True. It wouldn't be wise for Sony to launch like this gen.

[radgamer420]

MS is in a better position than Sony financially to take losses on next gen consoles.

Oh yeah definitely without a doubt.

[MacP]

Actually the Japanese gaming industry joined the west, so they basically sold out.

[J3ff3]

Normally the dev kits cost mode than the final hardware. Im expecting 8 cores on the new xbox.
IIMO the next xbox may not be a console could be a family PC with windows 8.
I like the approach Microsoft doing with the next gen dev kits by giving developers a chance to maximize there games.

16 "cores" is 8 cores.

its like when the 360 was up for release, it was, i think, promoted as a '6 core' console.

its not. its 3 core hyperthreading.

this is what we will see imo. an 8 core console, with a core or two for kinect, and one to back up an underwhelming gpu.

not all that impressive as far as im concerned. by 2013 pcs will be all over it. but that is always the way.

*edit - and i've seen a few people jump in with the 'ps3 is 8 cores.....'. no. no it isn't. not even close. again. more PR.

[mynd]

16 "cores" is 8 cores.

its like when the 360 was up for release, it was, i think, promoted as a '6 core' console.

its not. its 3 core hyperthreading.

this is what we will see imo. an 8 core console, with a core or two for kinect, and one to back up an underwhelming gpu.

not all that impressive as far as im concerned. by 2013 pcs will be all over it. but that is always the way.

*edit - and i've seen a few people jump in with the 'ps3 is 8 cores.....'. no. no it isn't. not even close. again. more PR.

This is correct, expect a 8 core CPU with Hyper threading, and this is not a new rumour.
But a persistent enough one now.

I'm putting money on this guy actually knows something.

The X-Box 3 is going to have an 8-core 64-bit processor (assumedly an i7 or similar design) rated at 1.2 Teraflops. The PS4 will feature a 4-core 32-bit processor. XB3 will be using a GPU running support for DirectX 11, while the PS4 will be using an OpenGL 4 GPU. XB3 is specified to use 4 GB RAM, and the PS4 will be shipped with 2GB.
*
Specifications state that the PS4 will have *NO* hard drive by default, while the XB3 will come with a 500GB Hard Drive with 8GB of Flash memory. The XB3 will also have a 24/7 connectivity system which has not been entirely elaborated on, with coming support for cloud-based connectivity in 2015/2016.

Except I dont think its an i7, its an IBM Power PC.

[Centurion]

This is correct, expect a 8 core CPU with Hyper threading, and this is not a new rumour.
But a persistent enough one now.

I'm putting money on this guy actually knows something.



Except I dont think its an i7, its an IBM Power PC.

How are they getting the 1.2 TFLOPs figure? That is 150GFLOPs per core..

Not so sure about that 32-bit figure for Sony's console. I know games don't use much 64-bit processing, but most of the popular instruction sets now are 64-bit, including ARM. And if they happen to go with 4GB of memory instead of 2GB they'll want to go 64-bit so they have addresses left for memory-mapping devices etc.

[Morganator]

Interesting rumors imho. I doubt either company will launch hardware technology that far and above the current technology. If they do, they can look forward to massive losses in the first three years of each console's respective lifespan. I think what we'll see will be technology that is much more "sedated" than they're touting. I would absolutely love to be proven wrong though. I want beast machines.

[Yungstar 2006]

Interesting rumors imho. I doubt either company will launch hardware technology that far and above the current technology. If they do, they can look forward to massive losses in the first three years of each console's respective lifespan. I think what we'll see will be technology that is much more "sedated" than they're touting. I would absolutely love to be proven wrong though. I want beast machines.

these are consoles that may arrive in nearly 2 years time, tech will have moved on quite a bit by then.

[Morganator]

these are consoles that may arrive in nearly 2 years time, tech will have moved on quite a bit by then.

Possibly. But after this generation's numerous disappointments, I'm not going to believe anything that is said until it's proven physically and irrefutably.

[TGO]

If these consoles are going to be a quantum leap over the present consoles then I wonder what price point they will launch at. Consumers already have made it clear that they will not pay a price outside of their comfort zone regardless of the hardware when the PS3 launched at 600 dollars. And we are seeing that again with the PS Vita. MS and Sony will have to be prepared to take some losses initially on their hardware or risk sluggish sales.

Actually people did pay the price, they just moaned about it
But that's not even the point, people expect more for less these days and refuse to buy cheap crap unless Apple or Nintendo is printed on it, thou I said this before and I'll say it now, my PS3 cost me 400 pounds and that's 600 dollars, did I make a fuss? No because my last two consoles was 300 pounds, and I honestly do think people are mad asking for a 299 DOLLAR console, and that is the problem, it us not Sony & MS, even the used game business is down to us, this gen is the worst for it, people buy with no intention if keeping & sell instead of renting the fucking games out.
the truth, a lot of problems this gen have been brought upon, ya don't like the way DLC is handled?
Games are are too Westernised?
There's nothing but shooters?
Who do you think is responsible, ok for some of us it was here before we got into this gen, but the 360 userbase started the ball rolling with the shit we get now, but it's still us the gamers that are responsible, its like a five dollar whoe sayin she was rapped after she put it in, ya get me?


Sent from my Sony Xperia S

[radgamer420]

Actually people did pay the price, they just moaned about it But that's not even the point, people expect more for less these days and refuse to buy cheap crap unless Apple or Nintendo is printed on it, thou I said this before and I'll say it now, my PS3 cost me 400 pounds and that's 600 dollars, did I make a fuss? No because my last two consoles was 300 pounds, and I honestly do think people are mad asking for a 299 DOLLAR console, and that is the problem, it us not Sony & MS, even the used game business is down to us, this gen is the worst for it, people buy with no intention if keeping & sell instead of renting the fucking games out. the truth, a lot of problems this gen have been brought upon, ya don't like the way DLC is handled? Games are are too Westernised? There's nothing but shooters? Who do you think is responsible, ok for some of us it was here before we got into this gen, but the 360 userbase started the ball rolling with the shit we get now, but it's still us the gamers that are responsible, its like a five dollar whoe sayin she was rapped after she put it in, ya get me? Sent from my Sony Xperia S

I disagree. Alot of people did not pay the price. PS3 sales started off extremely sluggish this gen and theres no denying that. Alot of people were not willing to pay 600 dollars for a console especially in a bad economy. We are seeing the same thing with the Vita which is why Vita sales are doing so poorly. Even Nintendo had to price drop the 3DS before sales would take off. As far as things getting Westernised I'm glad they did otherwise we would still be getting saturated with cookie cutter JRPGs and other Japanese genres that I dont care for. I much prefer Western developed games so I'm glad that both the 360 and the PS3 have gone that route. Thankfully I think Japanese developed games will continue to die out even more next gen.

[J3ff3]

Actually people did pay the price, they just moaned about it
But that's not even the point, people expect more for less these days and refuse to buy cheap crap unless Apple or Nintendo is printed on it, thou I said this before and I'll say it now, my PS3 cost me 400 pounds and that's 600 dollars, did I make a fuss? No because my last two consoles was 300 pounds, and I honestly do think people are mad asking for a 299 DOLLAR console, and that is the problem, it us not Sony & MS, even the used game business is down to us, this gen is the worst for it, people buy with no intention if keeping & sell instead of renting the fucking games out.
the truth, a lot of problems this gen have been brought upon, ya don't like the way DLC is handled?
Games are are too Westernised?
There's nothing but shooters?
Who do you think is responsible, ok for some of us it was here before we got into this gen, but the 360 userbase started the ball rolling with the shit we get now, but it's still us the gamers that are responsible, its like a five dollar whoe sayin she was rapped after she put it in, ya get me?


Sent from my Sony Xperia S

this is a very general statment. yes 'people paid the price' - that's obvious. they sold a large number of consoles. but clearly they didn't sell anywhere near what was expected, or consistantly. - hence the price drop very early on.

this is what people mean by 'consumers not willing to pay the price'. the hardcore are price inelastic, but when your sales taper quickly you realise that you've made a mistake - especially as your main competitor, who is still competitive to this day, released 6 months earlier, with several vendors bundling a game at £300.

i mean people over here were paying £2000 for the ps3. does that mean its a legitimate price point?

no.

[TGO]

this is a very general statment. yes 'people paid the price' - that's obvious. they sold a large number of consoles. but clearly they didn't sell anywhere near what was expected, or consistantly. - hence the price drop very early on.

this is what people mean by 'consumers not willing to pay the price'. the hardcore are price inelastic, but when your sales taper quickly you realise that you've made a mistake - especially as your main competitor, who is still competitive to this day, released 6 months earlier, with several vendors bundling a game at £300.

i mean people over here were paying £2000 for the ps3. does that mean its a legitimate price point?

no.

yeah I agree, £299 is a good price point, yeah we paid £400 for the PS3 but that wasn't really the big deal in 06
to us it was an extra 100 quid, last gen we paid £299 for the PS2 & the US paid $299, that was just wrong, it should have been $399.
we got screwed, this gen they did it right, america never got screwed they just paid the price everyone else was for change, and look what happened, And that what does my head in, it's like that for everything else, US games pay 60 for their games, can imagine if they raised the price from 40 to 60 here to match? it wouldn't be fair we would be paying the companies nearly double what the US is.
but it right the way it now,if anybody thinks PS4/720 are gonna be under 300 dollars even if they launch here for £199 ya another thing coming, I wish people would stop jumping on the US bandwagon, we paid the prices for years & always moaned about why the US got it almost HALF price, and we moan now because the americans are moaning cuz they have to pay what we have to pay, don't hate the companies, hate ya currency.

I hope nobody thinks I'm just being a ass & understand my point here, its something which I'm livid about cuz it has never been address before & people still think is wrong when its not.

[Dennis Dyack]

Sony put a lot of new tech that was expensive at the time that increased their cost.

Blu Ray was expensive, they developed the Cell chip, they had a card reader and a PS2 chipset as well.

It will be different this time around but they can still put out a powerful console and keep the price reasonable.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[TGO]

I disagree. Alot of people did not pay the price. PS3 sales started off extremely sluggish this gen and theres no denying that. Alot of people were not willing to pay 600 dollars for a console especially in a bad economy. We are seeing the same thing with the Vita which is why Vita sales are doing so poorly. Even Nintendo had to price drop the 3DS before sales would take off. As far as things getting Westernised I'm glad they did otherwise we would still be getting saturated with cookie cutter JRPGs and other Japanese genres that I dont care for. I much prefer Western developed games so I'm glad that both the 360 and the PS3 have gone that route. Thankfully I think Japanese developed games will continue to die out even more next gen.

You think the Vita is over priced? Really?
As for Japanese devs dieing out that's a real shame you feel that way, most of my favorite games are Japanese and what was once great games have been reduced to mediocre Western developed reboots. Or sequels that have tainted the original Japanese developed greats, I know Western developers can make great games especially the Europeans, I ain't blind but due to the lack of effort from the Japanese developers I feel we have been left with a lot of mediocre games this gen, with even more mediocre Western developed games being throw out and a few great Western games & very few Japanese classic because the Japanese aren't stepping up, if Japanese developed games got worse or even disappeared next gen, I can see a very generic future ahead of us.
I might even jump ship to Nintendo as although their focus is strongly towards casuals, their core Japanese games still outclasses the west best.
IMO

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