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Next-Gen PS5 & XSX |OT| Console tEch threaD

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LordOfChaos

Member
They wanted to make development easier for apps like Netflix etc.

Same for GNMX (DX11-like API that overtaxes the Jaguar CPU). It's all about making their platform more appealing to less skilled devs. Long are the days of Demoscene assembly wizardry, lol.

No reason writing the main UI at a lower layer would have prevented third party apps from going higher level just the same as they do now.

macOS, iOS, Windows, pretty well every OS with a significant graphical user interface does that.
 
No reason writing the main UI at a lower layer would have prevented third party apps from going higher level just the same as they do now.

macOS, iOS, Windows, pretty well every OS with a significant graphical user interface does that.
It's also easier for Sony devs I guess. The PS4 firmware is still being developed in Japan and we know Japanese devs aren't the best when it comes to low-level coding.

There's also this factor:


The PS4 OS constantly pulls data from the PSN servers (friend list, messages). It wasn't like that on the PS3 (that's why there was a limit of 100 friends and messages weren't accessible from every device).

Lots of trade-offs that could be fixed with Azure (?)
 

SonGoku

Member
The thing is, Lockhart will be the dev baseline for next-gen 3rd party/multiplatform games, just like XB1 is today for current-gen ones.
I think lockart will be the odd one out for 3rd parties
PS5 & SNEK will have the biggest combined user base and they'll also share a more common spec (memory and gpu), the way i see it devs will target ps5/snek as base hw and downport to lockart just like they do with the switch.
PS4 video files are easily 1GB. There goes your precious RAM!

We may hate this RAM expenditure, but it has helped immensely in regards to social media/brand awareness (more PS4 consoles sold = more PS4 games released). It's word of mouth advertising.
They can include 4GB DDR4 for such tasks. (i hope)
 
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xool

Member
PS4 video files are easily 1GB. There goes your precious RAM!
I measured a full capture payload once for this reason - it is ~1GB .. Still using 3.5-1 = 2.5GB - seems way too much imo

If one Zen 2 core is equal to 4-5 Jaguar cores and considering the fact they reserve 1-1.5 Jaguar cores for the OS, then I guess 0.5 Zen core should suffice for next-gen.
My thought is that the actually underlying OS shouldn't be using anything like that much .. When a game stars background apps stop (?) (maybe not chat, and what else?) - its basically one application at a time. The multitasking/threading kernel should be using single figure percentages of a CPU (like it does under windows) .. not really use why they ever needed to reserve 2 cores ??

Maybe they include HDD IO / decompression in "OS" functions - idk
(Video capture is zero CPU afaik - there's a function unit on the GPU part right ?)

Most people agree that PS4 has a faster UI vs PS3.

Probably - though I think [on PS4] there's start up lag when the first button presses are made, or maybe when returning to the dashboard - I associate this with a JIT based machine getting started (is there some JS code in the Webkit/WebGL mix?) - but I really don't know what causes it.
 
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They said that? Where? If yes please post here.
What kind of source do you want?

Lockhard will NOT be a streaming machine, that's a given.

It's a waste of power and money to use a Zen/Navi APU for streaming purposes. An ARM SoC would be far more appropriate and cost-effective.

I think lockart will be the odd one out for 3rd parties
PS5 & SNEK will have the biggest combined user base and they'll also share a more common spec (memory and gpu), the way i see it devs will target ps5/snek as base hw and downport to lockart just like they do with the switch.
$299 vs $499 will be a huge price gap for casuals. No way Anaconda will have the biggest user base. Anaconda is for enthusiasts, just like X.

Switch dev baseline targets 720p in portable mode and they use the rest of the power in docked mode for resolution enhancements. Leaks indicate that MS will follow the same strategy (Lockhart = baseline/1080p, Anaconda = 4k enhancements).
 

SonGoku

Member
$299 vs $499 will be a huge price gap for casuals. No way Anaconda will have the biggest user base. Anaconda is for enthusiasts, just like X.
I said ps5 and snek combined user base will be bigger than lockart, they will also share a more common spec. So it makes sense for devs to target the common spec that just so happens to have the biggest combined user base and downport to lockart
Switch dev baseline targets 720p in portable mode and they use the rest of the power in docked mode for resolution enhancements. Leaks indicate that MS will follow the same strategy (Lockhart = baseline/1080p, Anaconda = 4k enhancements).
That's why im not convinced lockart is 4tf/12gb, i don't think it will be enough to maintain parity at 1080p with the 4k twins assuming they have 12tf/24gb
 
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CyberPanda

Banned

I said ps5 and snek combined user base will be bigger than lockart, they will also share a more common spec. So it makes sense for devs to target the common spec that just so happens to have the biggest combined user base and downport to lockart

That's why im not convinced lockart is 4tf/12gb, i don't think it will be enough to maintain parity at 1080p with the 4k twins assuming they have 12tf/24gb
Yea they will work on high end consoles, and scale down.
 

Fake

Member
What kind of source do you want?

Lockhard will NOT be a streaming machine, that's a given.

It's a waste of power and money to use a Zen/Navi APU for streaming purposes. An ARM SoC would be far more appropriate and cost-effective.
I never said will be a entire streaming machine mind you.
What I said is he 'could' use cloud for some game features/game pass alike. A mix of hardware and cloud tech, not a entire cloud machine.
Thats could explain if this little machine can come very cheap.
As I said before, Microsoft still don't give up entire of promoving cloud service. Dunno in what format this will be, but its my guess. Man... we even don't know the specs. Relax dude.
It's all speculation at this point
Sure, but still he keep coming breaking my speculation. If those windows central info is right, Microsoft will push the Azure, dunno if will be in that way I posted, but anw, 'Speculation'.
Thank god E3 is coming.
 
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CyberPanda

Banned
CyberPanda CyberPanda

Every time i see 16gb in leaks i die a little inside lool
fb0.jpg
 
We still need to wait a bit to see just how "new" RDNA truly is.

Totally new architecture from the ground up? Or tweaked GCN + marketing?
 
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I said ps5 and snek combined user base will be bigger than lockart, they will also share a more common spec. So it makes sense for devs to target the common spec that just so happens to have the biggest combined user base and downport to lockart
How it's gonna be bigger when Lockhart is supposed to be cheaper?

The majority still has 1080p TVs. The only "risky" aspect of Lockhart (from a consumer standpoint) is the lack of disc drive. We'll see how it pans out. It could be a total flop or an "XBOX 360 Core/Arcade" level of success. All bets are off.

PS5/SNEK will be $499 consoles. $200 is a lot of money for many people that don't care about having the best possible specs.

That's why im not convinced lockart is 4tf/12gb, i don't think it will be enough to maintain parity at 1080p with the 4k twins assuming they have 12tf/24gb
You're thinking of downporting and Anaconda being the lead platform, while I'm thinking of the exact opposite, just like the leak says:

"- Microsoft recommends using any leftover headroom on the Xbox Infinite Value GPU to increase resolution."

4TF is 1/3 of 12TF. It could be possible. 4k is 4 times 1080p. CPU is the same, just like Switch portable/docked mode.

My thought is that the actually underlying OS shouldn't be using anything like that much .. When a game stars background apps stop (?) (maybe not chat, and what else?) - its basically one application at a time. The multitasking/threading kernel should be using single figure percentages of a CPU (like it does under windows) .. not really use why they ever needed to reserve 2 cores ??
Party chat uses the TrueAudio DSP.

Maybe they include HDD IO / decompression in "OS" functions - idk
Not many people know this, but decompression is also handled by an ASIC (Zlib/LZ77).

(Video capture is zero CPU afaik - there's a function unit on the GPU part right ?)
Yeah, it's the AMD VCE/UVD block, which has been been replaced by VCN in Raven Ridge APUs.

I never said will be a entire streaming machine mind you.
What I said is he 'could' use cloud for some game features/game pass alike. A mix of hardware and cloud tech, not a entire cloud machine.
Thats could explain if this little machine can come very cheap.
As I said before, Microsoft still don't give up entire of promoving cloud service.
I don't buy "hybrid local & cloud" rendering solutions. There's too much latency/packet loss to make it reliable.

They had promised this for Crackdown 3 destruction effects, but they never delivered.

It's either 100% local or 100% cloud, nowhere in between. Take your pick.

If by promoting Azure you meant Game Pass (downloadable games, not streaming), then I agree with you. That will be the selling point of Lockhart, I think.
 
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16GB would be really disappointing.

Can't think of any other gen where they only added x2 the amount of RAM. Other gens have seen far more dramatic increases in the amount of RAM.


PS1 - 3 MB of RAM
PS2 - 36MB - a x12 increase
PS3 - 512 MB - a x14 increase
PS4 - 8000MB - that's a x16 increase over PS3.

And we are really expecting only a x2 increase for the PS5? Even 24GB would be a very small jump considering previous gens.

Imagine another x16 increase. We lookin at 128GB of RAM boyz :messenger_sunglasses:
 

Fake

Member
How it's gonna be bigger when Lockhart is supposed to be cheaper?

The majority still has 1080p TVs. The only "risky" aspect of Lockhart (from a consumer standpoint) is the lack of disc drive. We'll see how it pans out. It could be a total flop or an "XBOX 360 Core/Arcade" level of success. All bets are off.

PS5/SNEK will be $499 consoles. $200 is a lot of money for many people that don't care about having the best possible specs.


You're thinking of downporting and Anaconda being the lead platform, while I'm thinking of the exact opposite, just like the leak says:

"- Microsoft recommends using any leftover headroom on the Xbox Infinite Value GPU to increase resolution."

4TF is 1/3 of 12TF. It could be possible. 4k is 4 times 1080p. CPU is the same, just like Switch portable/docked mode.


Party chat uses the TrueAudio DSP.


Not many people know this, but decompression is also handled by an ASIC (Zlib/LZ77).


Yeah, it's the AMD VCE/UVD block, which has been been replaced by VCN in Raven Ridge APUs.


I don't buy "hybrid local & cloud" rendering solutions. There's too much latency/packet loss to make it reliable.

They had promised this for Crackdown 3 destruction effects, but they never delivered.

It's either 100% local or 100% cloud, nowhere in between. Take your pick.
You think I buy? Gosh. Neither I believe that, but its important to note the Microsoft have a historic in this 'cloud' area. They could do that, believe you or not.
Can be a mix, can be other, who knows... I not taking any pick. Again, calm down dude. Its just speculation.
 

SonGoku

Member
How it's gonna be bigger when Lockhart is supposed to be cheaper?
If lockart surpasses PS5 sales, MS wins next gen.
My theory of devs treating ps5/snek as lead is assuming Sony remains sales leader.
You're thinking of downporting and Anaconda being the lead platform, while I'm thinking of the exact opposite, just like the leak says:
Im thinking ps5 and snek together will be lead platforms since they'll share a more common spec, its the most convenient thing to do for devs.
Of course ms would prefer devs target lockart as lead so it doesn't get shoddy/inferior ports but they can't force devs.
 
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16GB would be really disappointing.

Can't think of any other gen where they only added x2 the amount of RAM. Other gens have seen far more dramatic increases in the amount of RAM.


PS1 - 3 MB of RAM
PS2 - 36MB - a x12 increase
PS3 - 512 MB - a x14 increase
PS4 - 8000MB - that's a x16 increase over PS3.

And we are really expecting only a x2 increase for the PS5? Even 24GB would be a very small jump considering previous gens.

Imagine another x16 increase. We lookin at 128GB of RAM boyz :messenger_sunglasses:
32GB is the max they can offer with GDDR6, but 256-bit would be slower vs 384-bit 24GB (good compromise + 4GB DDR4 for the OS).

Unless they go all out with 512-bit, which is highly unlikely.

64GB would require HBM3 and 128GB would require HBM4. Pure fantasy right now. Maybe on PS6 (not even PS5 Pro).
 
32GB is the max they can offer with GDDR6, but 256-bit would be slower vs 384-bit 24GB (good compromise + 4GB DDR4 for the OS).

Unless they go all out with 512-bit, which is highly unlikely.

64GB would require HBM3 and 128GB would require HBM4. Pure fantasy right now. Maybe on PS6 (not even PS5 Pro).

I know. I don't expect anything near what I posted. Still, I do wonder why the jump this time will be so much less than previous gens.

Just imagine if we only had a x2 or x3 jump in RAM from PS3 to PS4. We would have got a PS4 with 1GB to 1.5GB of RAM instead of the 8 we actually got.

It's weird that a meager x3 jump up to 24GB seems like some lofty expectation.
 
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SonGoku

Member
24GB would be a very small jump considering previous gens.
24GB would be the perf/buck sweet-spot considering the fast ssd will act as an extension of ram for streaming assets so less ram will be wasted to do cache/preloading of assets.
I know. I don't expect anything near what I posted. Still, I do wonder why the jump this time will be so much less than previous gens.
If we get 20GB usable for games (4gb reserved) it would be a 5x jump
PS3 to PS4 was a 10x jump (512mb to 5gb)

So half the jump plus super fast ssd makes it not so bad
 
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If lockart surpasses PS5 sales MS wins next gen
My theory of devs treating ps5/snek as lead is assuming Sony remains sales leader.

Im thinking ps5 and snek together will be lead, its the most convenient thing to do for devs
Of course ms would prefer devs target lockart as lead so it doesn't get shoddy/inferior ports but they can't force devs.
Personally I'm only interested in PS5 & Anaconda, but I realize I'm not the majority.

PS4 won because it was $100 cheaper and luckily it was also more powerful. Price comes first, power comes second. If you can have your cake and eat it too that's fine, but it rarely happens.

Regarding devs, just wait and see them supporting PS4 until 2022-2023 at least (Sony has confirmed this in their latest presentation). Why shouldn't they treat Lockhart as the next-gen baseline (assuming it sells well)? 299 > 499.

If it flops, fine. As an enthusiast myself, I don't feel like I have a dog in this fight. What I see is that MS is determined to win the next-gen race with an unconventional strategy (2 SKUs catering to 2 different audiences). It worked for them during the XBOX 360 era (Core vs Pro/Premium SKUs).
 

Gamernyc78

Banned
With MS PR, every statement comes with a hidden asterisk. It's been like that for ages, from sales numbers to transistors.

Like seriously Phil isn't Sony Ceo or works for their R@D so his words mean nothing especially with some of their claims in the past amounting to disappointment. Phil doesn't get benefit of the doubt on this one.
 

Munki

Member
I think performance-wise the consoles will be pretty even, if you look at performance pr. dollar, but as we've seen with the XBX vs. the PS4Pro the engineering on the XBX is just on another level. Perhaps the performance jump was to be expected, but this whole vapor cooling thing? Compare that to the jet-engine that sits in the PS4Pro and you'd know that Microsoft has some serious chops when it comes to designing hardware.

Panos’s team knows how to make amazing hardware. He is still in charge right?
 

SonGoku

Member
Regarding devs, just wait and see them supporting PS4 until 2022-2023 at least (Sony has confirmed this in their latest presentation). Why shouldn't they treat Lockhart as the next-gen baseline (assuming it sells well)? 299 > 499.
Because ps5 and snek would share a common spec, its more practical to design your game around the common spec and then downport to the odd one out.
If ps5 + snek surpass lockart by a considerable margin that's extra incentive
 
If we get 20GB usable for games (4gb reserved) it would be a 5x jump
PS3 to PS4 was a 10x jump (512mb to 5gb)

...Depending on how you look at it.

It's fair to say that the PS4 had only 5GB (for games), but did the PS3 not have similar limitations?

I remember that MOST games used only 256 of the 512 ( because of the split pool ) and that caused a lot of problems.

And that would make the jump from PS3 to PS4 increase from x 16 to a x19 jump. ( 256MB to 5000MB ).

Agreed that the new and faster SSD is nice but still, a x3 increase still seems very meager. AFAIK a x3 jump in RAM from one gen to another has never happened before. Imagine how this gen would have gone if the PS4 had only 1.5GB ( with probably 0.5GB reserved for the OS ) of RAM. :messenger_grimmacing_ Even a fast SSD wouldn't have made up for that.
 
I remember that MOST games used only 256 of the 512 ( because of the split pool ) and that caused a lot of problems.
Nope, the OS consumed 50MB only (32MB on XBOX 360):


It is what it is, everyone wishes RAM was cheaper, but alas, it isn't.

For me next-gen goes like this:

SSD > CPU > 3D audio > GPU > RAM
 

SonGoku

Member
I remember that MOST games used only 256 of the 512 ( because of the split pool ) and that caused a lot of problems.

And that would make the jump from PS3 to PS4 increase from x 16 to a x19 jump. ( 256MB to 5000MB ).
No. PS3 had 256MB GDDR3 for the RSX and 256MB XDR for CELL, the difficulty was this static division meant devs coulnt use more than 256MB for the GPU but later in the gen i believe devs used tricks to get the rsx to use some of the xdr memory. Also keep in mind CELL was no traditional CPU as it handled GPU tasks (vertex workloads and post-process effects).

The 360 had 512mb gddr3 unified memory and served as lead platform for most 3rd parties
x3 increase still seems very meager.
24gb with 20gb available for games would be a 5X jump not 3x
 
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Nope, the OS consumed 50MB only (32MB on XBOX 360):


It is what it is, everyone wishes RAM was cheaper, but alas, it isn't.

For me next-gen goes like this:

SSD > CPU > 3D audio > GPU > RAM

I wasn't talking about it being reserved for the OS. I remember that MOST of the 3rd party games only used 256MB putting multiplats at a pretty serious disadvantage much of the time when compared to the 360 version which had a unified pool of 512.
 
No. PS3 had 256MB GDDR3 for the RSX and 256MB XDR for CELL, the difficulty was this static division meant devs coulnt use more than 256MB for the GPU but later in the gen i believe devs used tricks to get the rsx to use some of the xdr memory. Also keep in mind CELL was no traditional CPU as it handled GPU tasks (vertex workloads).
The exact same static division also exists on gaming PCs and nobody complained about it. I agree that UMA is better though, especially for combined CPU/GPGPU tasks.

The difference is that on the PS3 the CPU can also access the VRAM and the RSX can also access the XDR. There was a 16MB/s bottleneck in the former, but it could be worked around.

Anyway, I think the RAM amount is fine. I feel like 8GB this gen has been wasted to saturate the market with open world sidequest fetchathons. If this trend continues, then bigger RAM is gonna be wasted too...

I wasn't talking about it being reserved for the OS. I remember that MOST of the 3rd party games only used 256MB putting multiplats at a pretty serious disadvantage much of the time when compared to the 360 version which had a unified pool of 512.
No, this isn't true. It's just that initially the PS3 OS consumed 120MB of RAM with almost zero features, so devs had less RAM to work with.

Not a bad thing if you enjoyed 7th gen linear games. :)
 

LordOfChaos

Member
We still need to wait a bit to see just how "new" RDNA truly is.

Totally new architecture from the ground up? Or tweaked GCN + marketing?

Less than the former and more than the latter with 80% confidence imo.
The SIMD group/shader engine setup change was a core enough change that just calling it another evolution of GCN would be underselling it, while it's also not a clean sheet design, that still seems like "next gen", where the soup to nuts changes will come.

But yeah they haven't confirmed much. Those 1.25x IPC gains wouldn't have come from something minor though.
 
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SonGoku

Member
Anyway, I think the RAM amount is fine. I feel like 8GB this gen has been wasted to saturate the market with open world sidequest fetchathons.
24GB (20GB usable) would be fine, 16GB would be aneminc
I remember ND commenting how quickly they filled the available 5GB and how they had to make the most out of it, they are not known for wasting resources.
 
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No. PS3 had 256MB GDDR3 for the RSX and 256MB XDR for CELL, the difficulty was this static division meant devs coulnt use more than 256MB for the GPU but later in the gen i believe devs used tricks to get the rsx to use some of the xdr memory. Also keep in mind CELL was no traditional CPU as it handled GPU tasks (vertex workloads).

The 360 had 512mb gddr3 unified memory and served as lead platform for most 3rd parties

24gb with 20gb available for games would be a 5X jump not 3x
??? You start your post with "No" but then seem to agree with me?

Agree with you about it being a x5 jump.

I don't think I agree with your general premise that a fast SSD will in some way make up for having less RAM. SSDs and RAM really do perform separate functions and are not interchangeable.

Let's go with a x5 jump. ( assuming that's what it winds up being ) now let's go back to PS3 - PS4.

Assuming 256mb ( which functionally was true most of the gen for most of the games ) of usable RAM a x5 jump would have left us with 1.25GB of RAM for the PS4. ( and then minus whatever was reserved for the OS ).
Assuming a full 512mb of usable RAM a x5 jump would have left us with 2.5GB of RAM for the PS4, minus anything reserved for the OS.

Now just imagine how dramatically different this gen would have played out if we were limited to only 2.5GB of RAM. And would putting an SSD in the PS4 have made up for that difference? No.


I'm not bashing the PS5 with this post. I'm just looking at how this next gen is evolving. It looks like the increase in both RAM and GPU power will be less of a jump than previous generations but the jump in CPU power and HDD speed will be higher than average. I guess we'll see where this takes us.
 
Less than the former and more than the latter with 80% confidence imo.
The SIMD group/shader engine setup change was a core enough change that just calling it another evolution of GCN would be underselling it, while it's also not a clean sheet design, that still seems like "next gen", where the soup to nuts changes will come.

But yeah they haven't confirmed much. Those 1.25x IPC gains wouldn't have come from something minor though.
Some people argue that GCN (7xxx) is an evolution of VLIW4 (6xxx).

Is there any truth to that?

4xxx/5xxx series was VLIW5 (one SIMD core had 5 x 16 ALUs), which later became VLIW4 (4 x 16 ALUs = 64 just like GCN CUs) for efficiency reasons.

Maybe it's something similar this time around...
 

SonGoku

Member
I don't think I agree with your general premise that a fast SSD will in some way make up for having less RAM. SSDs and RAM really do perform separate functions and are not interchangeable.
I agree its not ideal but its the best we can get without breaking the bank. Half the jump (5x vs 10x) is cushioned by the very fast ssd cache 5GB/s+ vs 20MB/s
??? You start your post with "No" but then seem to agree with me?
I disagree with your assumption that most ps3 games only used 256mb
Devs had access to both xdr and gddr3 they just had a hard limit for cpu and gpu compared to the more flexible 360 setup where devs could decide how much memory they allocated to cpu and gpu

killzone3.jpg.jpg

This was a PS3 game that pushed hw to the limit, still impresses me today.
 
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bitbydeath

Member
What kind of source do you want?

Lockhard will NOT be a streaming machine, that's a given.

It's a waste of power and money to use a Zen/Navi APU for streaming purposes. An ARM SoC would be far more appropriate and cost-effective.

I thought this too but why is Stadia packing real hardware with already specified hardware limitations?

I don’t get it...
 
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I thought this too but why is Stadia packing real hardware with already specified hardware limitations?

I don’t get it...
I was talking about the client hardware, not the backend.

If you want an 100% streaming device, then the cheapest Snapdragon SoC is enough for that.

Do they need a target for cloud though?
I mean why not say 20TF if they want to cap it to keep it above everything else?
It doesn't matter, unless they plan to make exclusive games for Stadia that are not possible anywhere else, including PS5/XB2 and their custom sauce. Do they plan to do that? We'll see.

AC Odyssey (which was a demo showcase) has a current-gen baseline (Jaguar 1.6 GHz, Radeon 1.31 TF).
 

ethomaz

Banned
RDNA is the first time AMD changed the core engine of their Arch after GCN 1.0.

Everytime the core engine is changed it said it is a new architecture... it is change equal to when they moved from Pixel/Vertex shaders to Unified Shaders... the base of the Arch changed.

The Ceo from AMD spoke about what type of memory the NAVI Gpu will use? I missed that.
Navi PC launched next month will use GDDR6.
 
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