Post by Ethan Hawkeye on Nov 13, 2005 22:37:12 GMT -5
In this new generation of consoles Microsoft intends from the very start to do things differently. Different than Sony, Nintendo, 3D0, or Sega before it. Starting with the hardware, the company once known for its operating systems and word documents has created an internal beast of an engine and an external design that appeals to a mass worldwide audience. While Microsoft's strength is, and has always been, software, the giant corporation has had to bear down and create a console that can create fantastic graphics, incredible sound, and handle multiple functions simultaneously. This means from receiving voicemail from a friend online while playing a game, to playing online with 31 other players, to cranking out millions of polygons a second -- all at the same time.
What kind of machine can do that? For all intents and purposes, one that you've never seen before. Thus, getting to know the innards of console you're going to buy is important. First, it means you'll have a better understanding of the power and sophistication behind the flashy polygons on screen, and second, you'll have better ammo with which to backwardbrag to your friends. In all seriousness, the Xbox 360 console may be the first console to start this generation, but like Sony's PlayStation 3, one of the most significant aspects of its construction, of its architecture, is its specifications.
But first a short summary of the Xbox 360. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is its second console in the worldwide market, designed to play videogames, music, movies, and to play online games. Microsoft will ship the system on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 in North America at the core system price $299.99 (Xbox 360, one standard wired controller, a faceplate, and a standard AV cable, but no hard drive), or the premium price, $399.99 (Xbox 360, a detachable 20-GB hard-drive, a wireless controller, faceplate, headset, a component HD AV cable, an Ethernet cable, and for a limited time, a remote controller).
In Europe, the premium and core systems will sell for, respectively, £279.99 and £209.99 in the UK and €399.99 and €299.99 in the rest of Europe. The Japanese launch date is Saturday December 10. The price excluding tax is 37,900 yen (about $350) and every console will come with hard drive, remote control, and wireless controller. While X360 launches globally this holiday in North America, Europe, and Japan, the launch unfortunately doesn't include all world territories. In calendar year 2006, X360 will launch in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and Colombia. Microsoft would not clarify what quarter, month, or date "calender year '06" was.
The system plays 12X dual-layer DVD-ROMs now, though Bill Gates said the system might support different storage media in the future.
Below are the official specifications for Xbox 360:
Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
# 3 symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
# 2 hardware threads per core; 6 hardware threads total
# 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core; 3 total
# 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
# 1 MB L2 cache
CPU Game Math Performance
# 9 billion dot product operations per second
Custom ATI Graphics Processor
# 500 MHz
# 10 MB embedded DRAM
# 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines
# Unified shader architecture
Polygon Performance
# 500 million triangles per second
Pixel Fill Rate
# 16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X MSAA
Shader Performance
# 48 billion shader operations per second
Memory
# 512 MB GDDR3 RAM
# 700 MHz DDR
# Unified memory architecture
Memory Bandwidth
# 22.4 GBs memory interface bus bandwidth
# 256 GBs memory bandwidth to EDRAM
# 21.6 GBs front-side bus
Overall System Floating-Point Performance
# 1 TFLOP
Storage
# Custom detachable and upgradeable 20 GB hard drive, sold with Xbox 360 tier, or separately from the Core System.
# 12X dual-layer DVD-ROM
# Memory unit support starting at 64 MB
I/O
# Support for up to four wireless game controllers
# 3 USB 2.0 ports
# 2 memory unit slots
Optimized for Online
# Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, Gamer Profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies or listening to music.
# Built in Ethernet Port
# Wi-Fi Ready: 802.11 A, B and G
# Video Camera Ready
Digital Media Support
# Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
# Stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, Windows XP PCs
# Rip music to Xbox 360 hard drive
# Custom playlists in every game
# Windows Media Center Extender built in
# Interactive, full screen 3D visualizers
HD Game Support
# All games support 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
# Standard definition and high-definition video output supported
System Orientation
# Stands vertically or horizontally
Customizable Face Plates
# Interchangeable to personalize the console
Parental Controls
# Parental Controls to restrict the games and movies that are played; Xbox Live controls to manage Friends List, voice and video communication, and Gamer Profile sharing
ORIGINAL ARTICLE LOCATION AT xbox360.ign.com/articles/663/663045p1.html
What kind of machine can do that? For all intents and purposes, one that you've never seen before. Thus, getting to know the innards of console you're going to buy is important. First, it means you'll have a better understanding of the power and sophistication behind the flashy polygons on screen, and second, you'll have better ammo with which to backwardbrag to your friends. In all seriousness, the Xbox 360 console may be the first console to start this generation, but like Sony's PlayStation 3, one of the most significant aspects of its construction, of its architecture, is its specifications.
But first a short summary of the Xbox 360. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is its second console in the worldwide market, designed to play videogames, music, movies, and to play online games. Microsoft will ship the system on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 in North America at the core system price $299.99 (Xbox 360, one standard wired controller, a faceplate, and a standard AV cable, but no hard drive), or the premium price, $399.99 (Xbox 360, a detachable 20-GB hard-drive, a wireless controller, faceplate, headset, a component HD AV cable, an Ethernet cable, and for a limited time, a remote controller).
In Europe, the premium and core systems will sell for, respectively, £279.99 and £209.99 in the UK and €399.99 and €299.99 in the rest of Europe. The Japanese launch date is Saturday December 10. The price excluding tax is 37,900 yen (about $350) and every console will come with hard drive, remote control, and wireless controller. While X360 launches globally this holiday in North America, Europe, and Japan, the launch unfortunately doesn't include all world territories. In calendar year 2006, X360 will launch in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and Colombia. Microsoft would not clarify what quarter, month, or date "calender year '06" was.
The system plays 12X dual-layer DVD-ROMs now, though Bill Gates said the system might support different storage media in the future.
Below are the official specifications for Xbox 360:
Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
# 3 symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
# 2 hardware threads per core; 6 hardware threads total
# 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core; 3 total
# 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
# 1 MB L2 cache
CPU Game Math Performance
# 9 billion dot product operations per second
Custom ATI Graphics Processor
# 500 MHz
# 10 MB embedded DRAM
# 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines
# Unified shader architecture
Polygon Performance
# 500 million triangles per second
Pixel Fill Rate
# 16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X MSAA
Shader Performance
# 48 billion shader operations per second
Memory
# 512 MB GDDR3 RAM
# 700 MHz DDR
# Unified memory architecture
Memory Bandwidth
# 22.4 GBs memory interface bus bandwidth
# 256 GBs memory bandwidth to EDRAM
# 21.6 GBs front-side bus
Overall System Floating-Point Performance
# 1 TFLOP
Storage
# Custom detachable and upgradeable 20 GB hard drive, sold with Xbox 360 tier, or separately from the Core System.
# 12X dual-layer DVD-ROM
# Memory unit support starting at 64 MB
I/O
# Support for up to four wireless game controllers
# 3 USB 2.0 ports
# 2 memory unit slots
Optimized for Online
# Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, Gamer Profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies or listening to music.
# Built in Ethernet Port
# Wi-Fi Ready: 802.11 A, B and G
# Video Camera Ready
Digital Media Support
# Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
# Stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, Windows XP PCs
# Rip music to Xbox 360 hard drive
# Custom playlists in every game
# Windows Media Center Extender built in
# Interactive, full screen 3D visualizers
HD Game Support
# All games support 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
# Standard definition and high-definition video output supported
System Orientation
# Stands vertically or horizontally
Customizable Face Plates
# Interchangeable to personalize the console
Parental Controls
# Parental Controls to restrict the games and movies that are played; Xbox Live controls to manage Friends List, voice and video communication, and Gamer Profile sharing
ORIGINAL ARTICLE LOCATION AT xbox360.ign.com/articles/663/663045p1.html