News - Xbox 720 will be six times as powerful as Xbox 360

[HEXUS]

Suggested fall 2013 release for Microsoft's new console.

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[Repressor]

Well, I won't need to buy another graphics card for at least 7 more years then...

[kalniel]

Given that a the 1900XT era card in the X360 is still pumping out titles that modern PCs can struggle with I think it's a safe bet to say that efficiency savings through dedicated API/OS and designing for a single system far outweigh sheer power of high end PC cards.

[shaithis]

HD6670 level gfx? I certainly hope they are wrong! The console hasn't even gone into production yet and the gfx chip is already nothing special.....

For me, 6 times more powerful should have been the target if they released in 2010.....for a 2013 release it should be 12-16 times more powerful.

Seems they may be going the Nintendo route...

[Terbinator]

Given that a the 1900XT era card in the X360 is still pumping out titles that modern PCs can struggle with I think it's a safe bet to say that efficiency savings through dedicated API/OS and designing for a single system far outweigh sheer power of high end PC cards.

This is why, in part, I don't buy the rumour so to speak.

The 360 had its GPU cut from the high-end offerings and was still relatively cheap on launch.

MS earn enough through their software and services to completely offset any 'expensive' hardware and will also have the "Best graphics around" line to boot as well.

[Repressor]

Given that a the 1900XT era card in the X360 is still pumping out titles that modern PCs can struggle with I think it's a safe bet to say that efficiency savings through dedicated API/OS and designing for a single system far outweigh sheer power of high end PC cards.

... but with a much reduced resolution and image quality? (shadows/water seem to get picked on alot here)

I suppose it totally depends on the cost at launch as to whether this will be okay or not. £400+ could get you reasonable high-end graphics card updates over the same time period.

I'm not really sure how Xbox games are developed, but does the 6670 being DX11 mean that DX11 wil become mainstream for PC games?

[Hicks12]

Seems very silly, at first i thought i saw 6850 which would be fine but a 6670!? End of the day the 360 was launched at what, £300 - £400? Everyone expects a new console to cost an arm and a leg (relative to console gamers).

I think its safe to say that R&D should have been relatively cheap considering the GUI is already a solid design and they're simply improving the casing and hardware.

Lets do a quick pricing....

CPU: IBM chip iirc? Cant gather how much that will be but youd expect it to be inline with say a cheap i5 or something ~ £100 - £150. And the motherboard will be cheap to...

GPU : If its a 6670 thats a £50 card, MS being the big sellers they are then we can assume they would get a tasty discount say £30 - £40 per card if that.

Ram: again cheap as chips for us and MS will get it even cheaper, ddr3 about £5 a gig.

I/O connectors, pittance... £5 total?
Casing, i will presume its a solid plastic construction like the previous two so like £30 - £50?
Controller, £5 - £10
HDD, cant see an SSD being used so most likely a 500gb @ £20 or something
Power brick, £20

Total: £275 (4gb ram, worst pricing for all items)

Now im probably way way way off and it will ideally be £150 total...

I think if its true then MS have missed the mark, the new generation from both major GPU manufacturers are out soon and so they would be able to pick up say a 76670 that may WIOEJFIOAHJDAWDWTF PWN every card available yet cost £50... .

Regardless, atleast developers can get off the stupid dying horse that is dx9... dx11 should be MUCH better on pc now

[Terbinator]

360 was £279 @ launch with 20GB HDD.

Core was £209.

[Ross1]

Hicks, there is an interesting graphic which shows the % cost of the different components for the 360 at launch... http://photos.pcpro.co.uk/images/fro...to_9970_52.jpg

If the '720' has similar % costs, the whole thing would only cost them about £110 to make RIGHT NOW, never mind how much cheaper it could be by next year. That to me leaves 3 possible conclusions:

1) They are shooting for an uber uber cheap 720
2) The GPU will make up a very small proportion of the 720's cost
3) This is not the GPU that is being used.

[krazy_olie]

While previous generation is not surprising when you put a bit of thought to it, having a mid range version seems a bit unlikely. Although if they did they should be able to drive up the clock speed.
Also as consoles are coded very close to the metal the efficiency gained makes a massive gain on a pc counterpart.

[crossy]

This is why, in part, I don't buy the rumour so to speak. The 360 had its GPU cut from the high-end offerings and was still relatively cheap on launch. MS earn enough through their software and services to completely offset any 'expensive' hardware and will also have the "Best graphics around" line to boot as well.

+1 on this - I can't see MS going for stunningly cheap graphics - if they do, then surely they're going to get squished between Nintendo and Sony - i.e. the '720 is more expensive than the Wii, but not as "hardcore" as the PS4 may be. Given the amount of 720's that MS will probably shift then even if AMD offer them a part at 1p profit they're still going to be quids in. Similarly (and I know I'll get shouted at) if the 720 uses a more modern AMD part then surely that give AMD better performance in those console ports that litter the PC, (and will continue to do so).

Only argument I can see for going to "lower" parts is cooling and power consumption - especially the latter.

On a potentially upsetting note, rumours have also been floating around that the new console may very well embrace Blu-ray technology, a rumour which one would expect to be received positively, however, along with this are suggestions that Microsoft may also deploy anti-used-game technology to prevent the resale or perhaps even lending of games.

Hmm, surely any "anti-used-game" technology would be on shaky ground legally in the EU - after all it's clearly preventing free movement of goods. Unless, of course, MS are also going to offset the lack of 2nd hand market by dropping the initial costs.

PS, please not a focus on 3D. By all means enable it, but by all that's holy don't insist on it.

[capt_cornflake]

PS, please not a focus on 3D. By all means enable it, but by all that's holy don't insist on it.

With 3D TVs still a niche product at the moment they'd be bonkers to make this a core feature.
I'm sure market presence will have increased by the time this gets to market, but I'd be very surprised if it's enough to make this a key feature.

[Hicks12]

thanks terb, i must have been thinking of the release bundles like the ones with project gotham racing etc for nearing the £400 mark... remember when those games were £50 each! :O.

End of the day, its suicide going for a totally cheap performance console, Nintendo have that wrapped up easily and the reason why the xbox in general does well is because it has always been a pretty solid performer in specs(not relative to pc...). Hopefully this is a bad rumour, eitherway it doesnt directly effect me as i gave up with consoles after the first xbox, pc all the way! Now to just hope it effects ports in a good way!.

[Platinum]

Digital distribution of all games on launch day or GTFO tbh.

[Terbinator]

Digital distribution of all games on launch day or GTFO tbh.

The infrastructure isn't here for that yet.

[Hicks12]

maybe when the xbox 1080/1440 comes out we will have the infrastructure for it, until then i think its silly to do digital distribution, pathetic if they did only that method .