Sunday, June 16th 2013

Microsoft Pulls a Fast One with E3 Xbox One Demos

by
btarunr
 Discuss (161 Comments)
With its focus on on-demand entertainment at the expense of gaming prowess, Xbox One didn't impress gamers at E3, who instead flocked to Amazon to pre-order their PlayStation 4, which not only features faster hardware, that could translate to better visuals in gaming, but is also a whole 20 percent cheaper ($499 vs. $399). At E3, Microsoft tried to pull a fast one. It set up several gaming stations allegedly powered by Xbox One, where gamers could play unreleased Xbox One games using the new Xbox One controller, just to get a feel of how rich and smooth the graphics really are. Some of them fell for it, others didn't. When these peeping toms didn't find the screens wired to an Xbox One main unit, they yanked open the cupboards below, only to find a full-fledged Windows 7 gaming PC.

How full-fledged you ask? Keen observers across the forumscape made out a rig powered by an Intel LGA2011 processor, which could at least be a Core i7-3820, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700 series reference design graphics card, which could at least be a GeForce GTX 770. Such a system would obviously give you a rich and smooth gaming experience.
Microsoft Xbox One features a custom-designed application processor by AMD, which combines eight 64-bit x86 cores based on the "Jaguar" micro-architecture, with a GPU that packs 768 Graphics CoreNext stream processors, and a unified quad-channel DDR3-2133 memory interface, holding 8 GB of memory. This memory is cushioned by a large 32 MB SRAM cache on-die. In comparison, Sony's PlayStation 4 features a custom-designed application processor, too, which features the same CPU portion, but a bigger graphics core with 1,152 stream processors, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 8 GB of RAM, which can be used as both main and graphics memory. On top of all that, the PlayStation 4 is $100 cheaper, at $399.
Source: Gaming Blend

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161 Comments on Microsoft Pulls a Fast One with E3 Xbox One Demos

#101
brandonwh64
Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
rtwjunkieExcept for the fact both consoles will be entering the market at basically the equivalent of Entry-level gaming PC's. Brute force can overcome almost anything....which seems to be why MS used a high-end gaming PC to showcase games to look better than they will.
Fixed that for you!
Posted on Reply
#102
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
brandonwh64Fixed that for you!
Entry level with an 8 core proc? Not quite.
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#103
midnightoil
The level of ignorance on what is supposed to be a tech-minded website is quite astounding. It seems to amount to little more than delusional PC-fanboys thinking (hoping for some reason?) that next-gen console hardware is already limiting how games look on PC before they're even released. Nothing could be further from the truth. What will limit how good PC games look for the next 2-3 years is developers not using next-gen engines, and as per usual most of the optimisation work being done for low to mid end PC systems (as it always is and will be) rather than high end.

That some of you think an 8-core Jaguar chip (or even Richland) and 7850/70 on PC is comparable to the same on PS4 is just laughable.
Posted on Reply
#104
Easy Rhino
Linux Advocate
in the grand scheme of things, this isn't really that important. microsoft will reverse direction on some of their dumb policies, it will put out some pretty fun games people will ogle at and this will all be forgotten. i think the ps4 is going to be all around the better system with a much more customer oriented service. time will tell.
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#105
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
MxPhenom 216Entry level with an 8 core proc? Not quite.
An 8-Core AMD CPU that is the equivalent of about a $150 PC CPU. I'd say that is pretty close to entry level gaming PC , and the video card is definitely entry level gaming PC.
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#106
alucasa
Spec doesn't matter. Exclusives or games that don't come to PC are what counts and that is precisely why I own PS3, Xbox360, PS vita, Nintendo 3D, and Wii. I don't have Wii U because there aren't any games.
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#107
MatTheCat II
de.das.dudethis is so true... and yet people keep on wanting to have consoles.
i Really dont get whats so alluring about a console. the way things are now, the consoles are just like PCs, with a diff operating system, and no keyboards and other peripherals XD.
Ease of use, lack of issues, much better value for money than PC gaming, great in-game social networking facilities....sits comfortably in the front room, next to the TV, operated with gamepad on/off
de.das.dudefor 400$ you can build a pretty decent gaming rig!
No, you cannot!
Posted on Reply
#108
Fourstaff
MatTheCat IINo, you cannot!
Everyone has a PC at home, $400 will go a long way into making it gaming ready.
Posted on Reply
#109
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
MatTheCat IINo, you cannot!
You want to bet?
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#110
MatTheCat II
FourstaffEveryone has a PC at home, $400 will go a long way into making it gaming ready.
Not without the couch potatoe console gamer getting to know all about a whole loads of headaches and issues that PC gamers just take like water of a ducks back, and there will be loads more issues besides that, issues that most people wont want to know about...... aside from that......crappy desktops are being replaced by crappy laptops and even tablet devices in the home......
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#111
MatTheCat II
newtekie1You want to bet?
You can barely buy a decent gfx card for that sort of money.

So, I will bet that you could not build a PC for $400, that would compete with the PS4.

Also please bear in mind, that you will be needing about twice the processing power of the PS4 to get the same PS4 level of performance on a Windows based PC....something else about consoles....much better optimised for gaming than PCs will ever be.

best of luck.
Posted on Reply
#112
erocker
*
Easy Rhinoin the grand scheme of things, this isn't really that important. microsoft will reverse direction on some of their dumb policies, it will put out some pretty fun games people will ogle at and this will all be forgotten. i think the ps4 is going to be all around the better system with a much more customer oriented service. time will tell.
Unless Sony can keep Microsoft from selling at Best Buy, Walmart and other retailers plus wipe out "Xbox" from the minds of parents and children, Sony might outsell them. Might.
Posted on Reply
#113
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
MatTheCat IIcrappy desktops are being replaced by crappy laptops and even tablet devices in the home......
Really? Tell that again to everyone here. Your assertion about desktops being replaced is belied by the record levels of sales of cpu's, motherboards, memory, graphics cards and cases, etc...in short, all the parts for building not laptops, but desktops.
Posted on Reply
#114
Easy Rhino
Linux Advocate
erockerUnless Sony can keep Microsoft from selling at Best Buy, Walmart and other retailers plus wipe out "Xbox" from the minds of parents and children, Sony might outsell them. Might.
maybe. it doesn't matter to me how it turns out though since i don't get a cut of the profits from either company :laugh:

this will all be forgotten anyway.

also, i am not sure why people are comparing a desktop pc with a desktop cpu to those chips in the xbox and the ps. they appear to be fundamentally different in the aspect that in the framework of playing games, where the provided console API interacts directly with the instruction set customized for the environment, the next gen consoles will perform quite well at 1920x1080 resolution, better shaders and more expensive textures.
Posted on Reply
#115
erocker
*
rtwjunkieReally? Tell that again to everyone here. Your assertion about desktops being replaced is belied by the record levels of sales of cpu's, motherboards, memory, graphics cards and cases, etc...in short, all the parts for building not laptops, but desktops.
It's true. Bulky desktops that were used for things that can be done on tablets and cheap laptops are being replaced by cheap laptops and tablets.

Obviously PC enthusiasts aren't doing this, nor are they selling off their PC's for consoles.
Posted on Reply
#116
MatTheCat II
rtwjunkieReally? Tell that again to everyone here. Your assertion about desktops being replaced is belied by the record levels of sales of cpu's, motherboards, memory, graphics cards and cases, etc...in short, all the parts for building not laptops, but desktops.
ach c'mon....

This is a PC tech enthusiast website...of course everyone here has a powerful gaming desktop, a powerful gaming laptop or both.

I have both. But I am almost the only person I know who has either. 5 years ago, the non-tech nerds that I knew (almost everyone) all tended to have a sub par PC for their internet access, word processing, digital images/videos, etc. These days, all the casual PC users are on laptops....crappy laptops not at all capable of gaming at any level beyond Plants V Zombies. Some people I know just make do with tablets or even smartphones.
Posted on Reply
#117
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
MatTheCat IIYou can barely buy a decent gfx card for that sort of money.

So, I will bet that you could not build a PC for $400, that would compete with the PS4.

Also please bear in mind, that you will be needing about twice the processing power of the PS4 to get the same PS4 level of performance on a Windows based PC....something else about consoles....much better optimised for gaming than PCs will ever be.

best of luck.
Twice the processing power? Why? Show me a game that requires that much processing power and I'll consider it.
Posted on Reply
#118
rtwjunkie
PC Gaming Enthusiast
MatTheCat IIThese days, all the casual PC users are on laptops
I DO agree with you to a point. My point, is the casual user numbers are going down and the enthusiast numbers going up. How else do you account for such large numbers of parts? How else do you account for the resurrection from near-death of PC gaming (enabled in large part by sites like Steam).
Posted on Reply
#119
MatTheCat II
newtekie1Twice the processing power? Why? Show me a game that requires that much processing power and I'll consider it.
Impossible to prove, but I beleive it is a general consensus amongst games developers that twice as much horsepower is required in a PC to match console gaming performance. The fact that we now have PCs 20 times more powerful than the 360/PS3 makes us forget that....

...when xbox360 came out, I had an XT1950 XT gfx card. In terms of processing power alone, this should have been a good deal better than a 360 in terms of gaming performance, in practice, it was a good deal worse.
Posted on Reply
#120
Fourstaff
MatTheCat IIach c'mon....

This is a PC tech enthusiast website...of course everyone here has a powerful gaming desktop, a powerful gaming laptop or both.

I have both. But I am almost the only person I know who has either. 5 years ago, the non-tech nerds that I knew (almost everyone) all tended to have a sub par PC for their internet access, word processing, digital images/videos, etc. These days, all the casual PC users are on laptops....crappy laptops not at all capable of gaming at any level beyond Plants V Zombies. Some people I know just make do with tablets or even smartphones.
If you see PC as a console, that might change your mindset a bit. There are many MMO and RTS gamers who rely on PC for their fix.
Posted on Reply
#121
remixedcat
I figured Microsoft would pull this with the Xbone. I still think they should have gone with Nvidia. It was wierd how Sony didn't stick with Nvidia does anyone know why?
Posted on Reply
#122
Easy Rhino
Linux Advocate
remixedcatI figured Microsoft would pull this with the Xbone. I still think they should have gone with Nvidia. It was wierd how Sony didn't stick with Nvidia does anyone know why?
nvidia probably didn't tickle sony's ball for a long enough period.
Posted on Reply
#123
crazyeyesreaper
Not a Moderator
Nvidia's problem was as tech got cheaper over time aka the GPU became cheaper and cheaper to produce they did not want to drop the prices aka imaging if you had a CPU at 90nm 65nm 45nm etc you made 0 changes well the chip gets smaller means more chips per wafer Nvidia did this with the RSX in the PS3 and w.e the GPU was in the Xbox to lazy to look it up regardless even tho they got much cheaper to make Nvidia didn't really want to budget on price as such their profit margin was better for this decision. Microsoft and Sony however had to eat that loss. As such they tossed Nvidia to the curb. In todays world money talks bullshit walks and Nvidia was told to take their BS and walk lol.
Posted on Reply
#124
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
MatTheCat IIImpossible to prove, but I beleive it is a general consensus amongst games developers that twice as much horsepower is required in a PC to match console gaming performance. The fact that we now have PCs 20 times more powerful than the 360/PS3 makes us forget that....

...when xbox360 came out, I had an XT1950 XT gfx card. In terms of processing power alone, this should have been a good deal better than a 360 in terms of gaming performance, in practice, it was a good deal worse.
A good deal worse? An X1950XT easily matched the Xbox360. The problem was that people making the comparison often used PC monitor resolutions for the PC and the Xbox360 was only rendering games at 1280x720, sometimes even lower and barely managing a steady 30FPS. Once you dropped the PC resolution that low the X1950XT matched the Xbox360 easily.

Anyway, here is a decent $400 gaming build:
Once You Know, You Newegg

After rebates it is $427, close enough to $400, and it will play anything out and in the reasonable future at 1080p. Also, it comes with 3 current AAA titles, I wonder how many the PS4 will come bundled with...zero...
Posted on Reply
#125
AsRock
TPU addict
newtekie1A good deal worse? An X1950XT easily matched the Xbox360. The problem was that people making the comparison often used PC monitor resolutions for the PC and the Xbox360 was only rendering games at 1280x720, sometimes even lower and barely managing a steady 30FPS. Once you dropped the PC resolution that low the X1950XT matched the Xbox360 easily.

Anyway, here is a decent $400 gaming build:
Once You Know, You Newegg

After rebates it is $427, close enough to $400, and it will play anything out and in the reasonable future at 1080p. Also, it comes with 3 current AAA titles, I wonder how many the PS4 will come bundled with...zero...
Although the PS4 will have a OS which could add a easy $100 for most people.

EDIT: Although with Steam and a like around i think the PC is the cheaper option.
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