Xbox 720 hardware detailed - Report
By
Martin Gaston, News Editor
Microsoft's latest console is rumoured to include 8-core CPU, Blu-Ray, a DirectX 11.1-capable GPU and 8GB of DDR3 RAM.
The rumours surrounding Microsoft's successor to the Xbox continue to mount, with one website claiming to have had access to the machine's specifications in full. According to technical documents acquired by VGLeaks, the console will feature an 8-core CPU, Blu-Ray, a DirectX 11.1-capable GPU and 8GB of DDR3 RAM.
The site also claims that the next Xbox's processor will feature an x64 8-core CPU with a clock of 1.6Ghz. Each "CPU thread has its own 32KB L1 instruction cache and 32KB L1 data cache", while both modules "of four CPU cores has a 2MB L2 cache resulting in a total of 4MB of L2 cache."
On top of that, "each core has one fully independent hardware thread with no shared execution resources" and "each hardware thread can issue two instructions per clock," according to the site.
Elsewhere in the document, the Xbox 720 - codenamed Durango - will allegedly feature 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 6x Blu-Ray drive and 32MB of embedded SRAM.
The GPU will support DirectX 11.1, run at a core of 800mhz and feature 12 shader cores which provide "a total of 768 threads." The document reports that at peak performance "the GPU can effectively issue 1.2 trillion floating-point operations per second."
The document also claims that Microsoft's latest version of Kinect is always present, presumably indicating that the motion-sensor will be build into the machine itself.
Another point mentioned is that a SATA 2.0 "hard drive is always present", suggesting that Microsoft's next machine won't allow for optional hard drives in the way the Xbox 360 did.
Rounding off the rumoured specifications is support for HDMI 1.4a, 802.11n Wi-Fi and USB 3.0 alongside a bevy of codecs, multi-channel echo cancellation for Kinect and "cryptography engines for encryption and decryption, and hashing".
Microsoft is expected to formally announce its next Xbox within the next few months.
Elsewhere in next-gen rumours, last week it was reported that Sony's controller for the PlayStation 4 would include an LCD touch-screen and biometric sensors.
By
Martin Gaston, News Editor
Martin Gaston has absolutely never at all had the song from Beauty and the Beast sung to him at any point during his life, ever.
2183 comments
Gaston, thank you SO MUCH for not speculating on the name of the new Xbox because while Sony trudges down a predictable and typically static path of PS, 2, 3, 4, Microsoft will obviously not call this the 720, nor 540, 1080, or a 1440 McTwist.
They call it Durango for a few months. You call it the successor. Well done.
Lets see if he gonna call this another giant leap to nowhere like he did with PS4. Im really curious
1 Like I don't really care about the negative comments I love my x360 w/ Kinect so im already in... But I love my wiiU and my future PS4 as well! 360 has been rockin since the launch date and still getting better!
Here's how I look at it: I gave up the "Keeping my PC Up-to-Date" game when I got my Xbox.... then upgraded to my 360. It's been what, 7 years since the 360 came out? That's 7 years of technology getting better and cheaper..... I don't care how this stacks up to a Top-of-the-line-Gaming-PC, I just care how much better it will be than my current Xbox 360..... and if 7 years have anything to say about it, it'll be the biggest console-to-console jump I'll probably ever see.
No numbers to back anything up so don't jump on me; I just figure games looked so amazing on the 360 in HD.... I almost can't imagine what things will be like with the Xbox 720 and the PS4. I worry about the Wii U, though.... seems like kinda weird timing to come out with something that's about on-line with current gen stuff RIGHT BEFORE all the next-gen stuff comes out.
1 Like It's crazy that so many of you don't understand that these components in a console are STATIC, so devs can do so much more with it than the same specs on a PC with 40 different brands, extra compnents, programs, OS's, etc where they have to develop (and do QA) for the lowest common denominator (in which PC's hold them back, not consoles - look at the Steam stats). The console makers have to make what they can sell. A console with 24GB of ram, which NO game comes close to using, is utterly ridiculous.
1 Like This Console Should Cost Around 300.00 to 400.00 at most!
And The Game Delevopment kits should push it to its limits.
I want Quality gaming NOT Great Visual Designs!
Gaming and Take ME Away TO PAradise City Were All The People Are Zombies And I Have A few Weapons With Few Survivers!
Guns Blazing And Spreading Democracy With Bullets!
1 Like It's good enough for what it needs to do. This is not a PC. They need to keep costs down, so that's why they aren't putting the top of the line techs in it. You want a game console for under $400 right?
I kinda expected at least 16 core processors, like 24 Gb ram and nonsenses like that... My current PC is almost stronger... but I don't complain...
I do expect at least 10 TB HDD... I plan to buy games digitally, so I'll need a lot of space.
Why all the Console hate? Specs look pretty decent for a console. yes many pc's out there will run games better but at least now we won't be held back as much with crappy ports that underutilized the majority of higher end GPU's.
How i love booting up a game for the first time and the only graphics settings you can set is the resolution.... wtf!! but anyway ill be sure to pick up a new xbox when they come out after a year or so. just to be sure they have got most of the bugs out of the system.
till then my new pc will more than suffice. i5 3570k and gtx 670 which i will be getting another 670 to go in my rig later this year to push how my current rigs life out as long as possible.
2 Like None of this has been officially confirmed, no point sitting here discussing rumours.
This isn't a PC and it's not trying to be a PC. If they were trying to make it a PC it would be better then your PC.
@Lestat_jio @blackace pc elitism is awesome, can i join and set mine down on the table too?
1 Like @Lestat_jio
the sad thing is, this 4 year old, once top of the line gaming rig, is as good as this.....
i guess its good to know that it will be able to keep up with these new generation console games hehehe
@RitsukoEX buy it yourself :P i got mine and... b4 all that "to expensive to buy PC" comes here, bigass PC:$2000, new Xbox: 300-400
PC games:(i spend like $150 and got like 60 in steam) new XBOX:Call of Duty: Modern Black Ops 2, megafap edition like $99. do the math
@Lestat_jio @RitsukoEX i can almost guarantee the new xbox will be more than 300-400 also my pc cost very little and has a gtx 460 which still plays almost any game i play at max settings >.> so no pc gaming isn't expensive and also yes games are ALOT! cheaper
I think its pretty irresponsible to throw out rumor sheets as news of some sort of factual info on the next-gen Xbox giving people the impression that this will be real specs. This whole thing could be a made by some delusional basement nerd fanboy for all we know. Was this leaked from developers or was it leaked from Microsoft? I would hold sources up to the Microscope on this one....such as they are...
@IanNottinghamX Uumm.. I believe they did say that this wasn't official specs in the video.
@IanNottinghamX I believe super dae leaked the info, not positive but I thought I read that somewhere. Anyways hes the guy that sold the MS development kit on ebay for around $20,000
@IanNottinghamX irresponsible to talk about rumors?? What are rumors then? Things to talk about. No where did it say Facts What a stupid Jerk. PS fanboy.
@Irondiesel58 I dont fanboy over consoles its pointless and childish..anyway this article is on the front page of gaming news and people are taking this as what it will really be when we dont know anything at all...and the sources are sketchy at best..if this is rumor it should be on a separate rumor section and the heading should start out saying RUMOR:
@IanNottinghamX remember all the BS rumors that came out before the 360 and PS3 were actually out... same ol sh...
IF this is true, it will be the first time in many generations that a console was releasing with hardware that is significantly slower on the GPU and CPU then what is available on the market right now..
It's all about costs. Sure they could make it as powerful as the Top PC out there, but then were would be paying like $800 for it. The top of the line VideoCard is $350 - $400 by itself.
@jedikevin2 How about the Wii or the Wii U. Both slower then anything on the market. The Wii U is still slower then the PS3 launched almost 10 years ago.
This comment has been deleted
@GamerMani dude specs dont mean shit..are you gonna sit and play specs when the system comes out? Im guessing your gonna want games to play......
1 Like @IanNottinghamX
That's like saying the specs for a car engine doesn't matter because we aren't gonna be driving engine specs. Well, the engine specs will almost directly influence our driving experience - the aspect which actually matters. Console specs will inevitably affect our gaming experience, less you forget that it actually has done so for the past 30 years. What you think defines a generation of gaming if not specs?
@IanNottinghamX
I don't know what rock you've been living under. We're not talking what defines a generation in the sense of what makes us remember about a generation most fondly. The term ' generation' is always refering to 'console generation'. We are currently in the 7th console generation. The ps2 and Xbox were the 6th generation. The ps4 and 720 will be the 8th generation. What defines these generations is always hardware. You can't release a new console and expect it to fall in the next generation if it had the same hardware as the previous. It'd be good if you familiarize yourself with system wars terminologies.
1 Like @jhcho2 Games define a generation of gaming....period..look at the great systems that werent the most powerful but had the most creative developers that made great content despite that..Nes,Ps2,Dreamcast,Snes,Ps1. Games has is and will always define gaming...
1 Like OH God all this shitty argument for no apparent reason I think I just lost 20pts of IQ
2 Like guys guys relax if current machines can run games as sexy as god of war 3 and Max Payne 3 I am pretty sure the next machines are gonna run fantastic stuff plus why are PC dudes angry this is good for you you get better looking games when new gen comes
on an irrelevant subject gyro > bacon
Now, I'm no expert in the technology field, but"the GPU can effectively issue 1.2 trillion floating-point operations per second."...that sounds like a lot.
@craigprime not necesary, is just total brute force, but the issue is how many games can use it.
2 Like Just to give you a heads up. An Nvidia GTX680 - a card which came out early last year, can perform up to 5 teraflops. Mid range cards of the same series can touch 3 teraflops easily...
But just so you're clear, there's more than one way to assess a card's potential than just teraflops alone.
Open Up Your Video Card Take it Apart Remove The Fan And Look At The Cheap Scrap That The Suppliers Put For Cooling Compound! It is an Insult to BUY a 500.00 Video Card With Crappy As Compound I always take mine Apart And Add My Own Colling Solution I just bought this one ARCTIC MX4 Thermal Paste - 4gram
and it drops Temps very good so I can Over Clock my GPU
1 Like In The end Its All About The Games!!
GTA 5
Skyrim
BF3
Call Of Duty
Civ 5
Empire total war
shogun total war
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