Like the hat?
Banned
I can't wait for more os details, 1gb for the os alone sounds pretty crazy
Rumor: Wii U final specs
- Thread starter EatChildren
- Start date
DragonSworne
Banned
32MB for Xbox throughout the whole console life
Ps3 is around 50MB now
PS3 started at 120MB
Yeah I could definitely handle a DK64 sequel that looked like a little sharper version of Nuts & Bolts.
I'm reading online 32 MB. The GPU has 10 MB of memory so some 490 MB for games?
MadeInBeats
Banned
So no amount of RAM is ever good enough, there could always be more? So far we have on record developer comments saying they loaded their whole game into the RAM once and didn't need to query the disc drive again; Sonic Racing team positive comments on RAM, Rayman creator "almost unlimited RAM"... forgive me, but so far I see no problem here.
Or the DS devouring the PSP
Or the Wii devouring the PS3
Or the Wii devouring the 360
Or the PS2 devouring, well, everything.
etc
Lupin the Third
Member
Nice job removing where I said that exact same thing at the beginning of my post. What's your problem?
Edit: Also, if the hardware's worth buying, I'll pick it up. I bought a 360 and a PS3 this generation. If the games are there, I'll buy the system. For Sony's and MS's sakes, I hope their systems are worth what I expect will be a high asking price. My conclusions are reasonable.
My point exactly; they changed the price in response to changing conditions. Likewise, I believe they've changed their decision not to initially sell gamepads separately in response to requests from third parties.
He said that at E3. Things change.
Just woke up. IDK why they need 1GB of system RAM, but so far haters have been pwned. Nindrones +1.
I actually suggested this a while back. I think I might have proposed that Nintendo didn't think the full 2GB would be needed, especially since most developers would be working on ports and double the RAM would probably be enough. Maybe 512MB or more will be freed up later?
Glorified G
Member
xbox 360 spec wise was far more advanced than the Wii for only $50 more when it launched.
RAM is something Devs can never get enough. Hence Crytec's comment that you would need 8 GB for a true next gen experience. Now, the closer you go to zero RAM, the worse off you are. For a "next-gen" system, 1 GB just doesn't cut it. But I see the Wii U as more of a current generation system in terms of capability, that's why you have positive comments from devs working on what amount to being current generation games. So yes, a dev could dump their an entire not terribly impressive current gen level into memory without accessing the disc.
Team Filler
Member
Just woke up. IDK why they need 1GB of system RAM, but so far haters have been pwned. Nindrones +1.
I think the preferred nomenclature is Ninthings.
And MS lost a bucket load of money on the 360.
Interesting to see if they are willing to do the same again.
A modern mobile quad core CPU can be 25-35W, but would the WiiUs be more or less effecient if they are based on older architecture? Do we know the current draw of the broadway for instance?
I hope so. I was expecting 1.5GB of total RAM, and if we were lucky 2GB total and 1.5GB for Games as a late addition.
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
300K vertices does not equal '100K - 200K approx' of triangles for average trilists, if the mesh was done by a professional. Actually, for some closed topologies you can have higher numbers of triangles than vertices. And the 'math for strips and fans' that you can't be bothered to do is fairly 1:1 verts/triangles, my friend. Also, the FPS is not a function of a single argument being number of vertices. The complexity of pixels has only been increasing since the beginning of computer graphics. And I'm not even mentioning such rudimentary vertex use-cases like point-sprites where the fps is entirely fillrate-bound.
In a single scene? Examples?
Actually, don't bother- I've seen worse pathological cases (during development). This proves nothing. And I see you did not say a word about tessellation and how that would affect your 100MB of meshes.
At ratios in magnitudes of 10:1 to 20:1 in favor of textures? Yes, meshes are something that can definitely pose an issue, if your textures were already eating 99.9% of the available BW.
And I explained why. Chill out.
Bony Manifesto
Member
Oh, didn't see that! Still, that makes it even more strange that you're using the Wii U pricing to cast aspersions on the viability of Sony and Microsoft's next-gen consoles.
Osiris
I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
He also said it at the event earlier today.
It won't be a problem until the PS4/720 have 3-4x the RAM and developers max its out consistently. Then it will become an issue for ports potentially. It's" unlimited" now because they aren't used to having so much to work with. Eventually they will expect more and more, that's just human nature.
if they start with 1GB, and end up with around 1.5GB within 12 months, that will help a lot with textures and models. If they do that then I think 720/PS4 really need to have 4GB - especially if thats only 3.5GB available to games due to OS reservation
An Xbox 360+ seven years into current gen is not a balanced console, especially considering the fact that Wii U is going to be around at least until 2017/2018.
And we as a consumer got more for our money.
More than Four times the RAM says otherwise.
DragonSworne
Banned
8 gigs of ram is ridiculous. What's the point of having a disc drive then?
No competent developer needs that much.
Lupin the Third
Member
This is an actual counter-argument, thank you.
It didn't include anything resembling data storage at 300 and had a wireless controller. The kit was certainly brought down in price, but I don't expect MS can even get away with a wired controller for next-gen...or can they? I'm not even so sure myself how they'll configure the 360's sequel system to get a cheaper model out, but I suppose it's possible. If the 16-core CPU thing is true (and I honestly don't know which rumors are most likely or accepted right now), I would be VERY impressed if they get it down to $300 in any usable way.
Glorified G
Member
And they ended up making a profit. That's the loss leading model.
They tripled they're userbase by doing this strategy. So most likely they will.
Basileus777
Member
Half of that is dedicated to the OS.
MadeInBeats
Banned
You're concerning yourself with a problem that doesn't exist, and may never. If someone in the future says Wii U isn't getting a game, but it would if it had 500Mbs more RAM, then I'll complain too... until then though, no problem with RAM exists.
Basileus777
Member
Are we back in 2008 where this argument was still being used?
RAM is like crack, need it or not, you want it. Considering the supposed capabilities of the Wii U (2-3x rendering ability vs. the 360), this thing would really sing with 2 GB of RAM for games. Hopefully the OS gets shrunk to 512 MB.
I mean fuck mang, the 360 uses 32 MB and the PS3 uses 50.
Basileus777
Member
The 360 doesn't have a tablet or an OS designed for multi-tasking use.
Well MS doesn't only make games so they can take that risk if it has benifits.Like having control of the American market for the HD twins.
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Toward the end of their lifespans. Guess how much OS-reserved mem PS3 started out with.
I know, but still, having 30 times more ram allocated to the OS is a bummer. Again, the Wii U would really sing with 2 GB of RAM.
Wasn't it like 128 then dropped to 96 then to 50?
Also, Nintendo has a precedent of lowering OS resources. Again, I hope they free up 512 MB.
That's actually not all that different compared to PS3 when it was released.
Lupin the Third
Member
Not necessarily their viability. If their consoles are worth what they ask, they will sell units. I just know I'll need more convincing to pay, say, $400-500 for a Microsoft or Sony console than I would a $250 Nintendo console at launch. Yes, that may rightfully paint me as a fanboy, but if Nintendo's console were $400 they'd need to have a pretty darn appealing lineup too to get me to bite year 1. The library will always be the main draw, (almost) regardless of pricing.
I'm just voicing personal concern. The market is healthy when there's competition. Sure, I like to root for Nintendo, but I hope MS and Sony don't both price themselves higher than their target audience is willing to support. Sony suffered from this this gen for a few years, and I don't want them to make the same mistake all in the name of forcing high-end specs which might not be as visual a leap to the casual onlooker as we all think it is...
Does that make sense? I hope so. I only got a few hours sleep and have had insomnia, which is an unusual problem for me....
Uh, when???????
Fair enough, although I'm guessing that he's only referring to Nintendo published games (or that Madden is the only one and it's not a launch game in Japan). In any case, we'll find out in an hour or two.
I'm just catching up to this thread and had to laugh at this post. Couldn't agree more Durante. =)
lol Know how you feel.
I doubt it'll be GDDR3, the price of those chips would actually go up in price over the course of the Wii-U's life.
The GPU can access the 490MB of RAM as well. The 10MB is the eDRAM is where the backbuffer is stored while the front buffer is in the 490MB.
A console doesn't have to be performance competitive to be considered balanced.
No, that's too much. I wouldn't be surprised if a big part of that 32MB of EDRAM is used for that purpose and such usage has a big part to do of why be aren't seeing many 1080p games.
Exactly. Imagine all the next-gen features they can pack on that 1GB OS footprint.
And only about 1/3 over the Xbox with a less featured GPU. What's your point?
Bony Manifesto
Member
It makes sense, and there's plenty of reasons why it's going to be harder for Sony and Microsoft's consoles to have significantly more power than this generation, but I think the price of the Wii U is an encouraging sign if anything. If Nintendo can release a console more powerful than the 360/PS3 in a tiny form factor, with an extremely expensive controller at the same price they launched the Wii at, then Sony and Microsoft should be able to do a lot more with a reasonable budget (and a more expansive case design).
because the disc holds 50-100GB of data?
A lot is limited by what the GPU can draw at any one time. If the RAM isn't fast enough, or the GPU isn't powerful enough to use it, then its a waste. Thats for a game where everything
Assuming that streaming engines become more prevalent for larger worlds, then it becomes a factor of how quickly you can fill the ram Vs how quickly you can move in the world. That will vary depending whether you're reading directly off the bluray, or off a HDD.
So eg if your RAM can transfer at 30GB/second, and your game runs at 60fps, you can transfer a maximum of 500MB per frame. So for a game like Tekken, where the entire world is held in memory, there is no point having 8GB RAM.
But for an open world like GTA, that 500MB limit is just for what you can immediately see around you. As you walk forward, you need to stream new data in from your fast memory pool, and then backfill from your slower HDD/bluray drive. So the RAM is useful as a buffer for that.
Not sure 8GB is necessary really, but I'd say 4 would be useful.
frankie_baby
Member
Lots if people are suggesting that some vast amount of the system memory must surely be used for a buffer to stream to the pad, just how many frames would realistically be needed? A whole second would only take 70mb
And storing 1 second would produce 1 second of lag. Horrible.
Osiris
I permanently banned my 6 year old daughter from using the PS4 for mistakenly sending grief reports as it's too hard to watch or talk to her
I'm expecting 4GB for the next offerings from MS & Sony, with about 512MB (1GB worst case scenario) on each reserved for the OS.
Which will leave the Wii-U with anywhere from 50% to 66% less usable memory for games than the competition, not a good sign as far as ports go IMO.