Latest Rumour Suggests PS4 Will Have Half The RAM Of Xbox 720

[itachi73378]

its not unbelievable to think that you could max out 3 gig in the future (i think some current PC games get to around 2, and conversely, the 720 has less bandwidth. so they both could have future, but distinct, limitations.

i'm talking well down the line though...

Comparing memory usage of PC games to console games isn't the way to go. Arguably the best open world game of last gen GTA SA was running on 32mb RAM on ps2. Similarly all console games are optimized to achieve equal or better results than PCs for less memory

[Completely Average]

So far it seems like:

PS4

3.4/5 GDD5 ram for games ( 512 MB for OS)

720


5 GB DDR3 for games ( 3gb for OS is what it is being said, possible it will be lowered with optimisation)

One has a lot better bandwidth(a lot faster, performs better i assume?) and the other just has more ram.

I'm sorry, but anyone who believes that the next-gen Xbox will use the exact same RAM found in the 360 is fooling themselves. The GPU won't even run with that low speed RAM. GDDR3 isn't even in production anymore outside of the 360, and hasn't been for years. GDDR5 released in 2008 and has been the standard graphics RAM every since. Even sub-$100 budget PC cards have GDDR5 these days.

[TGO]

I'm sorry, but anyone who believes that the next-gen Xbox will use the exact same RAM found in the 360 is fooling themselves. The GPU won't even run with that low speed RAM. GDDR3 isn't even in production anymore outside of the 360, and hasn't been for years. GDDR5 released in 2008 and has been the standard graphics RAM every since. Even sub-$100 budget PC cards have GDDR5 these days.

it's DDR3 not GDDR3 that the 360 has
PS4 is said to have GDDR5 & 720 DDR3

[mynd]

it's DDR3 not GDDR3 that the 360 has
PS4 is said to have GDDR5 & 720 DDR3

"If" this thing has dual GPU, Id imagine there will be dedicated GDDR5 for the vram.
Isn't the rumour 1.2 or 1.5 gb of VRAM per GPU unit.
That would 3gb GDDR5+5gb O/S

Which gels as far as I'm concerned with logic and these stupid rumors of the OS using 3gb.
Which I don't think it does, I just think people are assuming that when they see 8gb of ram, 5gb main memory for games, they thinking 3gb reserved.
It probably 3b vram.

That's how my imaginary console would roll

[Completely Average]

it's DDR3 not GDDR3 that the 360 has
PS4 is said to have GDDR5 & 720 DDR3

You're wrong about the Xbox 360.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/xbo...mory,1798.html

And I know the PS4 is said to have GDDR5. I don't doubt it will. That is the standard RAM type used with ALL current GPUs in production.

What I do doubt is anyone claiming the next-gen Xbox will be using obsolete RAM that hasn't been in production for almost 4 years now outside of the current Xbox 360. It sounds like a Sony fanboys fantasy. Well, dream on, because it's NOT going to happen. ATI would have to create a whole new memory management system for their GPUs to make it work.

"If" this thing has dual GPU, Id imagine there will be dedicated GDDR5 for the vram.
Isn't the rumour 1.2 or 1.5 gb of VRAM per GPU unit.
That would 3gb GDDR5+5gb O/S

That would almost be believable, if you assumed that MS was going to ditch the Unified Memory Architecture which they've used for 2 generations now. However, considering that was a real strongpoint of the 360, I don't see that happening.

I'm willing to bet the whole GDDR3 rumors are based on old Alpha dev kits which use old off the shelf hardware. I'm also willing to bet that explains the 8GB total and 3GB for OS rumors as well, debug kits almost always have twice the RAM of the final console with a huge amount reserved for debugging tasks which would explain the OS footprint.

[MonkeyClaw]

All these systems specs are great...but will either of these system be able to play Duck Attack? I think not...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Attack!

[radgamer420]

it's DDR3 not GDDR3 that the 360 has PS4 is said to have GDDR5 & 720 DDR3

Wrong. The 360 uses GDDR3. http://www.anandtech.com/show/1865/3 and also http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GDDR3

[Sub-stance1]

Given a choice i would rather have more slower RAM than faster RAM(if this is all true). I think when it's all said and done both consoles will be plenty powerful but if xbox has the RAM advantage it just may edge out the PS4.

[Soldier 95B]

I saved a bunch of money by switching to Geico...

[MATRIX 2]

You guys do realize that the GDDR3 currently used in the 360 has a similar bandwidth to DDR3 -1600 MHz memory right?

Based on what MS did with the 360, it would be foolish to assume that they would use memory with essentially no improvement over what was used in the 360 instead of GDDR5 which is a significant improvement.

[Vulgotha]

I think its pretty much confirmed they're sticking with DDR3. To alleviate the bandwith problem they have 32MB of ESRAM.

That's it.

They may or may not be using a wider bus for the DDR3, I dunno.

Number thrown around alot is like 62GB\s of bandwidth though for the memory, not including ESRAM bandwidth.

[Soldier 95B]

You're wrong about the Xbox 360.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/xbo...mory,1798.html

And I know the PS4 is said to have GDDR5. I don't doubt it will. That is the standard RAM type used with ALL current GPUs in production.

What I do doubt is anyone claiming the next-gen Xbox will be using obsolete RAM that hasn't been in production for almost 4 years now outside of the current Xbox 360. It sounds like a Sony fanboys fantasy. Well, dream on, because it's NOT going to happen. ATI would have to create a whole new memory management system for their GPUs to make it work.





That would almost be believable, if you assumed that MS was going to ditch the Unified Memory Architecture which they've used for 2 generations now. However, considering that was a real strongpoint of the 360, I don't see that happening.

I'm willing to bet the whole GDDR3 rumors are based on old Alpha dev kits which use old off the shelf hardware. I'm also willing to bet that explains the 8GB total and 3GB for OS rumors as well, debug kits almost always have twice the RAM of the final console with a huge amount reserved for debugging tasks which would explain the OS footprint.

Better stated than I could have.

[MATRIX 2]

I think its pretty much confirmed they're sticking with DDR3. To alleviate the bandwith problem they have 32MB of ESRAM.

That's it.

They may or may not be using a wider bus for the DDR3, I dunno.

Number thrown around alot is like 62GB\s of bandwidth though for the memory, not including ESRAM bandwidth.

I find that hard to believe since the fastest DDR3 memory (DDR3-3000) tops out at 24GB/s.

And seeing as DDR4 will be coming to consumer platforms in 2014, it would be rather shortsighted of MS not to use GDDR5.

[itachi73378]

Without the bandwidth of GDDR5, the 7xxx or 8xxx series GPUs stop being 7xxx or 8xxx GPUs so what's the point of using them?
MS better have some plan or else 720 will suffer

[radgamer420]

You're wrong about the Xbox 360. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/xbo...mory,1798.html And I know the PS4 is said to have GDDR5. I don't doubt it will. That is the standard RAM type used with ALL current GPUs in production. What I do doubt is anyone claiming the next-gen Xbox will be using obsolete RAM that hasn't been in production for almost 4 years now outside of the current Xbox 360. It sounds like a Sony fanboys fantasy. Well, dream on, because it's NOT going to happen. ATI would have to create a whole new memory management system for their GPUs to make it work. That would almost be believable, if you assumed that MS was going to ditch the Unified Memory Architecture which they've used for 2 generations now. However, considering that was a real strongpoint of the 360, I don't see that happening. I'm willing to bet the whole GDDR3 rumors are based on old Alpha dev kits which use old off the shelf hardware. I'm also willing to bet that explains the 8GB total and 3GB for OS rumors as well, debug kits almost always have twice the RAM of the final console with a huge amount reserved for debugging tasks which would explain the OS footprint.

This is the most sensible post in this entire thread.

[TGO]

Wrong. The 360 uses GDDR3. http://www.anandtech.com/show/1865/3 and also http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GDDR3

I thought DDR3 & GDDR3 was different for some reason.
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[radgamer420]

I thought DDR3 & GDDR3 was different for some reason. Sent via Codec

I dont know. All I know is that the 360 uses GDDR3. lol

[MonkeyClaw]

I thought DDR3 & GDDR3 was different for some reason.
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I had thought there we some differences as well, I know for the most part both DDR3 and GDDR3 are the same, but I had though GDDR3 was tweaked more for graphics cards, hence the "G" on the GDDR.

[radgamer420]

I had thought there we some differences as well, I know for the most part both DDR3 and GDDR3 are the same, but I had though GDDR3 was tweaked more for graphics cards, hence the "G" on the GDDR.

Yeah thats what I've always thought.

[TGO]

I dont know. All I know is that the 360 uses GDDR3. lol

Thats what I was referring to, ie the 360 has GDDR3 RAM but the 720 has DDR3
I was just correcting Average because he kept mentioning GDDR3

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[radgamer420]

Thats what I was referring to, ie the 360 has GDDR3 RAM but the 720 has DDR3 I was just correcting Average because he kept mentioning GDDR3 Sent via Codec

Oh ok I understand now.

[Vulgotha]

I find that hard to believe since the fastest DDR3 memory (DDR3-3000) tops out at 24GB/s.

And seeing as DDR4 will be coming to consumer platforms in 2014, it would be rather shortsighted of MS not to use GDDR5.

There are other considerations at play. For one DDR3 is dirt cheap at the moment, for another I think it is becoming clear (totally conjecture!) that they are focusing on more than just gaming with this box. Maybe it will have DVR features or some other special stuff.. If this is the case the CPU is going to need reasonable access to memory in order to adequately perform these functions.

To make up for the lackluster bandwidth they've included special custom silicon to aid the GPU.

I'm not entirely sure I like this direction, but I haven't seen any games yet (or anything for Orbis) so I cannot pass judgment. Until I get something more concrete, though, my opinion here is that MS didn't want to go balls out for performance like they did with the 360 and Xbox with this new device. The Wii made an impression and they'd rather aim for the casual market out of the box, make a profit immediately (or very soon after launch), and target the living room as an entertainment center.

So far I'm not impressed with what I'm seeing. From either side..

[TGO]

It has a HDMI in don't it?
Sounds like a center box in the livingroom for everything to run through to me

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[MonkeyClaw]

It has a HDMI in don't it?
Sounds like a center box in the livingroom for everything to run through to me

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Maybe they are going to have Tru2way or something similar which will allow the system to be used as a cable box and/or DVR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tru2way

[TGO]

Maybe they are going to have Tru2way or something similar which will allow the system to be used as a cable box and/or DVR.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tru2way

Seems possible, this is what MS wants afterall

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