Rumor: MS to Make 'Huge' Xbox 720 Announcement at CES

[DroKing]

Oh yay more dragggging along technology for PC world. Just great. I wish consoles never existed.

 

[ta152h]

here's an ugly rumor it's using some form of Windows, a virus that has afflicted PCs for decades now. It's spreading.

If it is, they'll be leaving a lot of performance so Microsoft can save development money. Windows NT was never a good gaming platform (nor was it ever intended to be), and whatever advantages consoles have in running slimmed down operating software would be lost if Windows bloat afflicted it as well. That's their only real advantage, so let's hope Microsoft doesn't just move a business operating system to gaming console. PCs have the power to handle it, but a gaming console does not.

 

[Chef_Boyardee]

They'll finally be gaming at 1080. Why not call it the xbox 1080? And I think the graphics chip will be pretty powerful. I remember seeing COD2 on the 360 and was instantly jealous and mad that my FX-55 with SLI 7800GTXs were basically getting outgunned for a fraction of the cost.

 

[RipperjackAU]

Well on the plus side it's using AMD/ATi hardware. Now game designers will have to design for ATi and NOT for nVidia, as has been the last few releases like Skyrim and RAGE. Maybe from the release of the XBox 720, I won't have to regret getting an ATi card and not have to see how nVidia cards perform better in my newly acquired game.

 

[TEAMSWITCHER]

Stereoscopic 3D is a absolute must, otherwise every title will be nothing more than a slightly better version of some game that I have already played. Also, ditch the Kinect! I hate it in just about every way imaginable. It was a horrible idea, stop trying to tell me it's great....it's not.

 

[ahnilated]

I wonder how long it will take before this thing does the red ring of death.

 

[Supertrek32]

The RAM strikes me as a bit low, though you can never really be sure with the massive amounts of console optimization.

 

[Supertrek32]

[citation][nom]TEAMSWITCHER[/nom]Stereoscopic 3D is a absolute must, otherwise every title will be nothing more than a slightly better version of some game that I have already played. Also, ditch the Kinect! I hate it in just about every way imaginable. It was a horrible idea, stop trying to tell me it's great....it's not.[/citation]
I feel the same way about 3D, lmao

 

[Guest]

Dual Gpu its a great solution for the new xbox, remember one of the biggest problems of GPUS are related to temperature, so it makes sense having two regular-small chips instead of a big one. Scalling its doing so much better this days.

 

[eddieroolz]

The Xbox 360 was the first off the line and so it's only right that the 720 will be the first one off the line too.

 

[blubbey]

Could the GPU be something like a 4870x2? That's possibly what... 2-3x the power of the 360's graphics. RAM, not a surprise here. Probably 1600MHz since it's so cheap (on the scale they're getting it probably $10 per stick assuming they're using a single 2gb stick). Hexa-core CPU, possibly 32nm, maybe even 22? Due to the amount of cores and the probability games will be 'optimised' for all the cores, perhaps it runs 2.4-3.2GHz to save power and reduce heat? Can't imagine anymore than that. Nice to see the upgrade but ffs, it took long enough. Like 7/8 years?

[citation][nom]warezme[/nom]minimal graphics would have to be equivalent to 6990 for AMD to assure it does not become obsolete within 2 years. CPU wouldn't have to be as extreme since for the most part you are talking about 1920x1080 as your max target resolution which is generally not going to be CPU bound with anything quad core that moves along at around 3Ghz. The only way I would be impressed is if it maxes out GPU beyond current PC standards.[/citation]

You sir are a total derp. Why would they do that? They'd make no money unless they price it at like £750/$1000 or something ridiculous. Learn about the basics of business.

 

[Guest]

It can run Crysis with kinect !!! lol

 

[captainnemojr]

Get ready for $69.99 games...

 

[Silmarunya]

Is it me or does the theory posted above about the 720 having some sort of Bulldozer CPU sound a little odd? The PS3, Nintendo Wii and Wii U and especially the Xbox 360 all use some sort of RISC CPU. Moving back to x86 seems an odd move, especially considering RISC made huge leaps forward in recent years (thanks to the succes of IBM PowerPC, Fujitisi SPARC and especially ARM).

Don't forget consoles are strongly TDP-bound: they need to run cool and quiet and that's impossible with Bulldozer. And for a low-ish yet high performance CPU, just about any RISC architecture is better than x86.

Then there's the 2GB of RAM: that's very little. If the aim is to keep costs down, there are better targets than something as cheap as RAM.

Dual GPU: possible. It would certainly keep costs down compared to a single high performance part and it might lead to more evenly divided heat output, making cooling easier. On the other hand, it would dramatically increase power consumption (and overall waste heat) and practically difficult in a space constrained device like a console.

In other words, I doubt this post is to be taken seriously.

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]das_stig[/nom]The only way M$ can put in a Bulldozer based cpu if they get it cheap from AMD, probably a special 95 watt 4-core AMD Bulldozer FX-4x00 series.I wouldn't be surprised if they go the next generation Llano, something a bit more powerful than the current A8-38x0 sereies that has integrated HD6550D GPU.[/citation]
Who says the CPU will be AMD or Intel? The current Xbox uses a Tri-Core PowerPC CPU.

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]molo9000[/nom]I think it's extremely unlikely that they're going to go with power hungry Bulldozer chips... or x86 chips in general. Has any gaming console in history ever used an x86 processor?Wasn't the rumor a few weeks ago that it's going to be an ARM based CPU with specialized co-processors on the same die? That would explain the 6 "cores".Dual GPU sounds weird though...[/citation]
Original Xbox used a Pentium III CPU so yes at least one console has used x86.

 

[Guest]

I'm thinking it will include two low / mid range 7900 series graphics cards, which makes sense considering the original had roughly the equivalent of an x1900 in it when the x1900 had just been released. It will probably also use Rambus so that will further be a speed boost.

[citation][nom]gamerk316[/nom]Not shocked at the 2GB RAM; doesn't make sense for consoles to have any more. I do find dual-GPU's interesting though, and wonder how much poor scaling will affect the long-term viability of the console...[/citation]

Dual gpu's for the 720 would be the best thing to happen for those that have crossfire in their pc's. If the Windows 8 integration is true, you're looking at cemented support for crossfire for all PC games from that point on!

 

[DroKing]

[citation][nom]Netherscourge[/nom]Until Sony and MS pull the plug on the 360/PS3, most multiplatform developers will just use the 360/PS3 for it's development base so they can make more money. The 720 will get a lot of watered down ports.It'll be up to exclusive, 1st party developers to make full use of the console's hardware.[/citation]

That is exactly what will happen No matter how new the technology is that get crammed into a newer console. COD franchise is gonna use the same engine for other 20 yrs at this rate which make new consoles USELESS! WE NEED a system that put a boot to developers asses to start using new engines that require newer technology!

 

[dimar]

Microsoft should include a feature to enable anti-aliasing for the original xbox and xb360 games.

 

[aznjoka]

Dual AMD GPU's? I expect these consoles to be pushing out 2560 x 1440 if it's true.