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IGN rumour: PS4 to have '2 GPUs' - one APU based + one discrete
- Thread starter gofreak
- Start date
-ImaginaryInsider
Member
Ditto. Possible leaked early dev-kit specs maybe?
-Pyromaniac-
Member
first week of june
brain_stew
Member
Size and power is irrelevant in a dev kit and disabling functional units either in hardware or software would be simple enough for Sony/AMD to do. GCN is a pretty significant shift away from all of AMD's previous architectures, you'll want to maximise developer exposure to it as much as you can.
DICE may already have complained to Sony. DICE said 2GB RAM is not enough for the next-gen consoles and it's looking likely that the PS4 will only have 2GB RAM.
Seriously? Are you really linking to off the shelf ddr3 from newegg when referencing console ram?
Embedded gddr3 gddr5 xdr xdr 2 etc are not the same thing, and the prices are NOT analogous.
brain_stew
Member
No SI GPU's will ever be that weak. Apart from some future APUs perhaps.
There should be at a minimum 4GB of main memory for next-gen consoles.
Yes, if you see my post after that, I took that into account. The APU is going to be so cheap that it should be able to more than offset a good amount of higher performance memory at faster speeds.
The actual chips may be cheap (but not Newegg cheap, you don't want that stuff in your console), but you can't just glue them into the case. They need to be soldered on, have wires attached to them, take up space and cooling, be addressed by a memory controller in the CPU and so on.
RAM in consoles is expensive. Don't bring up Newegg again for this stuff, please.
papersleeves
Member
Llano A8-3850 is a budget cpu that isn't that great. In fact it's pretty terrible compared to Core i7, i5, or even Phenom II. I guess Cell is faster than that stuff. So big WTF....
Many people associate "Southern Islands" with the 7xxx series, even though most 7xxx cards actually use Northern Islands GPUs.
Projectjustice
Banned
This is why i said this could be another PS2, GCN, Xbox generation.
This would be rather underwhelming, really. One can forget about 4K altogether and real FullHD would be at least as challenging for devs as HD is now, or even worse.Hopefully not true.
It'll definitely be able to push 4k video. Hell, an 8800GT can produce 4k video. Games? Lolz, no.
DragonKnight
Member
Well i'm graduating college and fortunate enough to have a job lined up right after. Bring it on.
Not necessarily. Assuming these rumors are even true (and set in stone) ... this is only listing what consumer products the system will be based on. There's nothing stopping them from going with a unified memory architecture.
I'm not bringing up newegg as a means to say Sony should just pop in two DDR3 memory modules and be done with it; I'm saying RAM is cheaper than it was a few years ago, and combined with the fact that the APU is going to be very inexpensive, that should more than offset the cost of a decent amount of high performance memory.
Its not just the price, its board complexity. Unless they are using 3d stacking your talking about an incredibly complex board in comparison just to get to 4 GB. That drives up the cost as well.
Im guessing 2gb baseline for all the next gen consoles, with Nintendo maybe doing some kind of esoteric shit again with a smaller amount of stupid fast ram because they like to be different. ( I kid I kid... sorta..)
After giving it some thought, I wouldn't be surprised if this setup is a stand for a Trinity based apu in the final system, the actual performance should be similar between this cobbled together design and a trinity based setup.
Isn't Portal 2 Steam compatible on the PS3 and not the 360?
AllIsOneIsNone
Banned
I want so much to believe you.
GhostTrick
Banned
Sure, but not this weak...
Its nice seeing gaf metdowns by looking at the limmitations of the of the shelf PC hardware.
Both CPU and GPU will be modified, there will be no 1gb vram limitation, cache sizes will change, bandwith between chips, clocks of cpu, integrated apu, dedicated gpu, etc etc. And im still hoping for stacked chips.
Both CPU and GPU will be modified, there will be no 1gb vram limitation, cache sizes will change, bandwith between chips, clocks of cpu, integrated apu, dedicated gpu, etc etc. And im still hoping for stacked chips.
So getting the board to support 4GB of RAM is going to make PS4 $500-600 as some people suggest...? I don't really buy that.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
Big part of it would be the ability to run Open CL well on it, which is the kind of stuff Cell SPUs are used for anyway, bu the AMD approach there would be far friendlier and easier. For the general computing, the four core 3850 should be far better than the crummy main core that's in Cell
That was a complained aimed probably against MS and Sony both. It makes so much financial sense for them use 2GB of RAM in their machines right now.
brain_stew
Member
This wouldn't be a new console generation. It'd be a pathetic leap for a 7 year gap.
The systems need to be affordable and shouldn't set your house on fire, though.
I know what you mean. But maybe price of entry at the next gen will be a crucial factor in the momentum these consoles gain. Once they're at, I dunno, 10million+ units in the hands of consumers publishers are onboard and work with what is there. At least that's my opinion.
As a gadget freak, with no technical knowledge, of course I'd want my new toy to be packed to the brim with tech but it probably won't happen.
Nah sorry, didn't mean to imply that it would be super expensive, but it would definately be more complex and your looking at increased cost from that.
With these specs I could see a $350-$399 launch price, although it should be lower then that.
lmao
iSurvivedTheOutage
Member
Gonna start saving soon..
bigtroyjon
Member
You think Epic is getting it's info on next gen hardware from IGN?
$250-300 seems reasonable. There's a lot of ways to make the money back these days. And it's more than likely not going to be like PS3 where Sony was losing hundreds of dollars on every console sold.
It is, and very well integrated too, fast, smooth, easy. But I still don't have faith in Sony to hand the reigns of online to Valve. If they do, it would be a significant upper hand over MS.
brain_stew
Member
They can still do that with a ~2 teraflop GPU.
nordique
Member
People who don't understand console hardware development need to keep in mind that, if accurate (and as ridiculous as IGN are, they generally have solid sources), these specs very much make sense.
First off, Sony is not in a position to be losing money on the latest and greatest in graphics card technologies. They have a new president, they have a new vision, and they likely want to make money from the get-go. Their old business model made them lose a lot of money, and when a company like Nintendo comes along and redefines the very video game business model that seemed to initially work, while making hundreds of millions of dollars doing so, from a business perspective (which is what Sony is at the end of the day: a business), it makes sense to go with lower end hardware. Sony themselves stated not too long ago their next home console won't produce graphics drastically superior than the PS3. Next Gen is going to be more about interface and delivery than just graphics improvement
Second off, the systems will be developed in a closed system environment. The graphics will look better than current HD systems, and when tools are optimized, the systems will all display an improvement over what is currently on the market. These specs are much better than the PS3 for example. The GPU alone is a large improvement.
Third, and important to note, is that Sony did not wake up a few months ago and start designing a system. They've been working on their next gen specifications since before they launched the redesigned PS3. While we were all waiting for Uncharted 2 to come out in 2009, Sony was researching what would make the most sense for next gen. They don't just make a plan and go with it; there are multiple options they have and they look at their needs and desires and goals, and build hardware around that.
Sony is a technology company but they have also been bleeding a lot of money. People do not realize how dire their situation can become if they have another PS3-style level of losses. Their home consoles before that were one of the few areas where the company as a whole made money. The design behind the Vita is more about best-bang-for-buck, not cutting edge graphics.
These Orbis/PS4 games will still look better than the PS3's best. That will happen.
Its just the realities of the video game business presently is that upgrades will not be as everyone hoped. Just like the Nintendo fanboy dreams of 10x 360, the Sony/Microsoft fanboy dreams of 10x 360 aren't going to be true either.
That said, consider the context: tools need to be optimized (look at what optimization did for the PS3 and 360, and that is very likely the real reason certain Wii U developers are complaining about graphics power from that system -- because they did not optimize their tools specifically for the Wii U)
and under a closed system environment, with optimized graphics, specifically tailored for the PS4, we will see a system creating graphics that are and will be a noticeable step up from the PS3.
Context is key. This may be underwhelming to some, but completely expected to those who understand the bigger picture industry trends.
First off, Sony is not in a position to be losing money on the latest and greatest in graphics card technologies. They have a new president, they have a new vision, and they likely want to make money from the get-go. Their old business model made them lose a lot of money, and when a company like Nintendo comes along and redefines the very video game business model that seemed to initially work, while making hundreds of millions of dollars doing so, from a business perspective (which is what Sony is at the end of the day: a business), it makes sense to go with lower end hardware. Sony themselves stated not too long ago their next home console won't produce graphics drastically superior than the PS3. Next Gen is going to be more about interface and delivery than just graphics improvement
Second off, the systems will be developed in a closed system environment. The graphics will look better than current HD systems, and when tools are optimized, the systems will all display an improvement over what is currently on the market. These specs are much better than the PS3 for example. The GPU alone is a large improvement.
Third, and important to note, is that Sony did not wake up a few months ago and start designing a system. They've been working on their next gen specifications since before they launched the redesigned PS3. While we were all waiting for Uncharted 2 to come out in 2009, Sony was researching what would make the most sense for next gen. They don't just make a plan and go with it; there are multiple options they have and they look at their needs and desires and goals, and build hardware around that.
Sony is a technology company but they have also been bleeding a lot of money. People do not realize how dire their situation can become if they have another PS3-style level of losses. Their home consoles before that were one of the few areas where the company as a whole made money. The design behind the Vita is more about best-bang-for-buck, not cutting edge graphics.
These Orbis/PS4 games will still look better than the PS3's best. That will happen.
Its just the realities of the video game business presently is that upgrades will not be as everyone hoped. Just like the Nintendo fanboy dreams of 10x 360, the Sony/Microsoft fanboy dreams of 10x 360 aren't going to be true either.
That said, consider the context: tools need to be optimized (look at what optimization did for the PS3 and 360, and that is very likely the real reason certain Wii U developers are complaining about graphics power from that system -- because they did not optimize their tools specifically for the Wii U)
and under a closed system environment, with optimized graphics, specifically tailored for the PS4, we will see a system creating graphics that are and will be a noticeable step up from the PS3.
Context is key. This may be underwhelming to some, but completely expected to those who understand the bigger picture industry trends.
They might be trying to approach a future APU performance, but yeah, the architecture doesn't fit that purpose as you said. Maybe they are talking about a down-clocked 7700's?
Wow really? The other 4 freaking "Wish upon a star for WiiU specs" threads aren't enough to bottle that discussion up? It needs to extend its tentacles into this one as well?
Haunted
Member
That's too long! I can't take all this speculation!
64 Gamecubes, 6 rolls of duct tape. Approximately.
mysteriousmage09
Member
These rumors are getting stupid as hell. This is just full fledged "give us site hits!" stuff now.
And a tube of Gorilla Glue.
clutch.as.it.gets.
Member
Yes, it has to and i think we will get it with Durango. MS is asking and listening to their third party developers and those made i more than clear that 2 GB of RAM won`t get the job done for what they are targeting for. Epic wants it, Crytek wants it, Dice wants it.... and if you consider that those guys will provide the engines for most next gen games, i`m confident MS will make sure that their console can run those engines the best again.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I think they talk a lot of shit (devs and ign).
Sure, if there's backwards compatibility.
Krauser Kat
Member
Please stop talking you are out of your realm.
Ram inside consoles is faster and soldered to the board. Take a stick of ram and lay in on its side then double that area. All of that space would have to be dedicated to just ram. Its a watse of space for a console that is most likely only going to do 1080p and running on an os that uses less than 200mb. You halve that with 512 stacks but they are going to use ram faster than ddr3.
Not to mention sticks of ddr3 are mass produced by the millions. You cant ramp up the creation of entire mother boards with cpus and ram and two 2 gpus on it like you can on a stick of ram.