Xbox 2 Architecture Unveiled

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:37 am

If you're an Xbox fan like myself, you're probably saying to yourself right now "well it's about damn time!" And you'd be right, they've hinted, poked, and left bread crumbs about the architecture on the Xbox 2 for a long time now. But ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over, and now we can all sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery as people start to complain that they didn't go with this option or that one. Here's a quick rundown of what we know so far:

Name: Xbox 2 (the "Xenon")
Processor: IBM's POWER 64-bit Processor
Graphics Chip: ATI Developed
I/O Controller: Silicon Integration Systems (SiS) Developed

Ok, so it's going to be 64-bit right? Ahhh, but this "POWER 64-bit" processor is supposed to handle 2 threads at the same time, which makes it much like a dual-processor system all in one. So 2 threads, that sounds good, great for making sure we don't get into a processor bottleneck, then I took a closer look at the posted schematic. They want to have THREE of these processors in their box! Yeah, that's right, 6 threads at the same time, heck, I might just have to find a way to mod one of these suckers as my new desktop! I mean heck, imagine running Unreal Tournament 2004 on a rig like that?

So, Xbox fans, head on over and check out all the juicy details here.

Crazed Fan Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 268 Location: RC MI

Hmmmmm..... Will it have a keyboard and mouse?

I doubt I'll be over-joyed about a console system until they get a decent set of controls to go with it.

Every time a console system come up with these "super-specs", it is soon matched by PC hardware. I can only hope that by the time the console is released, we'll be able to play on a comparable PC.

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 11:33 am

Not to rain on your parade Peoii but having a comp like that will only work if the software (in this case UT2k4) was coded to take advantage of it. Otherwise, it will only use one thread since it was written for a single processor system. You may get lucky if it was written for dual (due to hyperthreading) but I doubt six.

Either way, it will be interesting to see if computers like this will debut in the consumer market anytime soon. The biggest hurdle I have heard is getting software developers to start writing applications that take advantage of such a setup so as to show off the performance capabilities to others. If no one writes software catered to this kind of setup then actual tests of performance will be abysmal.

That was part of Intel's strategy when they created hyperthreading. The performance boost wasn't all that great but it has caused developers to think beyond the single processor setup. Mostly Intel just wanted them to get used to the idea of writing for more than one processor so that when the time comes (for computers in excess of dual procs) it may be a smoother transition and people will actually see worth in multi-processor computers.

Microsoft can create such a console without any worries because everything created for the XBOX will be created to take advantage of multiple processors. Hopefully, endeavors like this will catch others' attention so that they might start seriously considering desiring the multi-processor computer.

(Thanks for reading my novel Razz

)

Cheers, Cool

Kharn

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 1:20 pm

I of all people know this, heck, I've got 2 dual-processor systems in the house right now Smile

I was just having some fun dreaming.... and oh what a dream it would be Wink

Heck, prior to any of that, you'd have to get it to run an OS, and that'd be a challenge in of itself.

Crazed Fan Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 268 Location: RC MI

I'm sure this thing will be a while in coming to the market. I'm equally sure that MS will create or modify an OS to take advantage of it.

The question about developers making games to take advantage of it is very true. There are lots of games out there which don't need half the system's proccessing power. The game just doesn't need that much in order to be fun.

I think the developers will have to begin thinking "outside the box" as it were, in order to start developing new and exciting games to use that much power. We aill probagbly see more realistic sports games first. The first thought for many developers is "Can we take existing titles and make them look like a real event" Football, Autoracing, soccer, basketball, etc.

Those titles are big sellers and are based around reality so would benefit most from an advance in realistic graphics and physics.

Still, I don't care if the console has a hard drive, Cable Internet connection, and a quadzillion -channel-pipline graphics card. If it doesn't have a keyboard/mouse control system, I think they are going to miss a sales. That's the only think really missing from a FSP game on the console... proper control.

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:10 pm

i dont know about anyone else, but the reason i like games is because they are NOT realistic.. thats why i love unreal so much.

dont get me wrong, i LOVED BF:1942 and Call of Duty, but realism can only go so far....

Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:43 pm

One of the things I love about the xbox is the ease of modding a keyboard and mouse to use with it. It's VERY simple since their connector is pretty much a USB cable wrapped differently. Heck, I've got a keyboard and mouse for one of my xbox's, how else do I use linux on it? Wink

And for a lot of things, even some FSP, the xbox controller is fine, you just need to get used to it. And for a LOT of games, it's far better than a keyboard and mouse.... Take for instance Prince of Persia. I absolutely love it on the xbox, but on the pc, things just don't feel quite right.

Eh, it's all a matter of personal preference. I'm not saying that I'll be replacing my keyboard and mouse for UT2k3 or anything, but I definately see a place for both in the book.