HEXUS.beans :: Details on Microsoft’s ‘XBOX-2’ host processor architecture

[PD HEXUS]

Following our earlier HEXUS.bean, setting out some specifics of the UK launch of the Microsoft ‘XBOX-2’, technical details have also emerged...

Originally Posted by PD on Tuesday, 5 April, 2005

In its Press Release on the 9th March 2005, Microsoft stated: “The next-generation Xbox hardware design principles include… … A multicore processor architecture co-developed with IBM Corp. that provides developer “headroom” and flexibility for the HD Era.”

The term ‘a multicore processor architecture’ is very significantly a very clear distinction from the term ‘dual-core’…

So whilst we’re eagerly awaiting the results of all of our AMD and Intel dual-core desktop processor testing, we can confirm info which we understand was probably first posted at GameSpy:

“CPU: Xenon's central processing unit (CPU) has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each is capable of at least two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.”

However the bean we have confirms that the IBM RISC processor based ‘XBOX-2’ is indeed set to feature three physical CPU cores, but that’s not the half of it, or, to be precise, it kind of is… as we believe that each of these physical cores will also support a form of ‘Hyper Threading’ technology, thereby giving six virtual processors.

Check back in a short while, as we have more interesting stuff on this…

[Andy]

Hmm, I can see some Watercooled Xbox II projects coming.....

[iMc]

I can't wait to see how these things are gonna be cooled, and it's supposed to be in a smaller case then the Xbox. hmmmm

[walibe]

Each is capable of at least two instructions per cycle

Hmmmm....

[oralpain]

These are not the same Power PC CPUs that are in Macs. They are stripped down, simplified cores. It may well use less power and produce less heat than the original xbox.

Look at the IPC. Two instructions per clock cycle, max. An athlon is 9, a P4 is 6, a full fleged G5 is 7 or 8. The Xbox 2 processors will also lack most of the instruction sets that are found in desktop CPUs.

[da.Guvna]

Still sounds exciting, even if the cores aren't as powerful as their desktop counterparts.

Remember, the xbox is only running at 700MHz with 64Mb SHARED memory. The latest games to come out for the platform have graphics that are MORE than passable for a console, and the latest shots I've seen for Xbox 2 (such as Huxley) are looking pretty sharp

I wonder how the processors will be used? Would be quite cool if, for instance, they assigned all physiscs calculations to one processor, AI to another, etc.

[Dooms]

Well since every console is going ot be the same game devlopers can look into doing that way... thats the problem with PC's - you couldnt do that because there are that many diff configs.

[Nick]

Which is what DirectX was all about wasn't it?

[Kumagoro]

Im guessing that the xbox will be more programmable in that way and the hardware less constrained than a pc complying with directx? something like that anyway.