Posted on 12/17/2012 10:32:59 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Developers are currently taking receipt of a new PlayStation 4 dev kit, VG247 has been told today, with a final version slated to appear in January. Yes, it’ll have Blu-ray. No, it isn’t being made in Japan.
Multiple sources have confirmed to VG247 today that a new version of the Orbis kit is now shipping to developers, and that it’s housed in a normal PC case.
There are to be four versions of the dev kit, we were told. A previous version was essentially just a graphics card. The version shipping now is a “modified PC,” and the third version, appearing in January, will be close to final spec. A final version will be delivered to developers “next summer”.
Some US developers attended a “disclosure meeting” at Sony’s offices this week, with a further meeting to take place in the coming weeks. The purpose of the meeting is for Sony to tell studios what the machine is designed to do, to detail hardware and to show a set of presentations.
Our source told us that Sony is only calling the machine Orbis, and is not using the words “PlayStation 4″ in these meetings at all.
Orbis, we were told today, is based on the AMD’s A10 APU series. An APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) is a combined CPU and GPU.
PS4′s APU was described today as a “derivative” of existing A10 hardware. The hardware is “based on A10 system and base platform”.
The “ultimate goal” for the hardware, we were told, is for it to be able to run 1080p60 games in 3D with “no problem,” to create a machine that’s powerful enough for “today and tomorrow’s market”.
The dev kits have “either 8Gb or 16Gb of RAM. Deduce from that what you will.”
The hardware is not being made in Japan, it was said.
When asked if PS4 will have an optical drive, specifically Blu-ray, our source responded: “Of course it has.” We’ve been told the hard drive will be 256Gb “as standard,” but it’s not clear if it’ll be a normal HDD or a solid state drive.
We were told that Sony’s aim with Orbis is to avoid problems involved in launching PS3 by creating something “very affordable” but that “isn’t a slouch”.
The machine has WiFi and Ethernet connectivity and HDMI out. Our source said the was “no difference” between PlayStation 3 and Orbis input/output.
The UI, however, has been revamped. It was said today that players will now be able to press the PS button mid-game and travel “anywhere” on the system. An example given was buying DLC from the PS Store mid-game then seamlessly returning to play.
“They’re trying to make it as fluid as possible,” our source said.
We were also told that the machine will be designed to accept system and product updates in the background, and that it’ll “always be in standby mode”. When you set the console up, we were told, you’ll be asked if you want to allow background downloads. You can, of course, disallow them.
No details have been given on the pad as yet. Confirmation is expected this month.
Orbis is expected to be announced at an event “just before E3″ next year.
Mark me down for one pl0x!
PS4 release date, news and rumours
By James Rivington November 6th 28 comments
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Updated Is the Sony PlayStation 4 destined for a Christmas 2013 release date?
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Sony is yet to confirm the existence of the PS4 games console, but it exists out there somewhere.
The real questions are; when will the PS4 hit the shelves? What sort of hardware will it pack? And will it even be called the PlayStation 4?
There have been rumours doing the rounds suggesting that Sony is calling the PS4 'Orbis'. This comes from a source speaking to Kotaku "who is not authorised to talk publicly about next-gen hardware but has shared correct information" with them before.
I’ll wait until prices drop and bugs are worked out.
So if we don’t like Obamaworld, we can go into the matrix.
“I know Kung Fu...”
Many of the PC Gamers have said AMD is going belly up.....if so why is it that AMD "stuff" seems to be involved with even the last (rumored) game console that will arrive on the market.?
“if so why is it that AMD “stuff” seems to be involved with even the last (rumored) game console that will arrive on the market.? “
My guess is cost. I’ve seen AMD tied to Microsoft’s new console, but those are just silly rumors. I think both companies want to use PC hardware this time around to facilitate SW development. I suppose AMD would be cheaper than Intel and ATI’s graphics cores are probably better than anything Intel has to offer (that’s just speculation BTW ... I do not know for sure). More bang for fewer bucks. But, again, that’s just guessing.
Also, if the PS4 doesn’t have a true sequel to Warhawk (Starhawk was utter garbage), I hope it fails :-).
AMD sells cheaper than Intel.
People building game rigs are looking to build the fastest systems, AMD doesn’t provide that anymore.
Console builders are looking for fast enough at the lowest cost, AMD is probably a perfect fit.
The Article linked at post #3.....is apparently is dated from Nov 2011.....
Xbox 720 Processor Details Rumored to Have Been Leaked
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Hold on to your seat, folks, this ride might get a little bumpy. According to known hacker Hector Martin or otherwise known as "Marcan," the Xbox 720 is set to have a 1.66GHz CPU (Central Processing Unit).
This was in reference to his outing of the Wii U's processor as "just' being at 1.2GHz, while the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is at 549MHz. He posted the statement over on Twitter and when people started pointing out how "weak" Nintendo's Wii U was, he tweeted the following (via NeoGAF).
If you want more evidence that MHz isn't everything, a little birdie points out that Durango (Xbox 720) is specc'ed to have a 1.6GHz CPU.
Food for thought. (And don't bother asking me who that little birdie is.)
For reference, the current-gen Xbox 360 is at 3.2GHz, broken down to one CPU with three cores running at 3.2GHz and each one is capable of two threads.
So, if you're like me, chances are you've noticed the numbers and now wondering why Microsoft would make it weaker compared to the console they have now. First off, keep in mind that this is a rumor, so there is a possibility that Marcan's "birdie" told him wrong or was mistaken. Secondly, clock speed is just one thing and we still don't have a clue how many cores the Xbox 720 will even have. And while I'm not a technical person by any means, there's obviously a lot more regarding this than just the speed determing how strong the CPU is...in short, don't jump the shark and don't overreact.
Keep in mind, though, that up to now, Microsoft has yet to confirm, deny or say something regarding any of its next-gen plans and the rumors surrounding it. So again, take all this with a grain of salt. The last we heard of the Xbox 720 or Durango's processor was way back in September when we posted this report on how purported chip-maker AMD is having troubles having its chips pass the testing phase.
Hopefully, they sorted that little snag out. I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with bad memories when it comes to Xbox's and faulty hardware (read: 3RL).
So, what do you think of this "rumor?" Could it be true but we just don't know the whole story yet? For those who in the know, is this even a cause for concern at all?
RUMOR: Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 Updated Codenames Revealed, 720 ‘Oban’ Chip Delayed
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By Matthew Bennett, Associate Editor
Posted on December 11, 2012 AT 06:39am
A new report has revealed the updated internal codenames for Microsoft’s and Sony’s next-generation consoles, the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. The report also offers new details on the chips that both consoles will use.
SemiAcurate is reporting (via internal sources) that Microsoft is now referring to the next Xbox console as “Kryptos” instead of the more widely known “Durango” name that has appeared in several previous reports. The site’s sources also claim that Microsoft’s next console will use an AMD chip codenamed “Oban,” however production issues have caused component quality to be “painfully low,” which could lead to delays.
Wii U launch: Software and battery life woes, and more hardware details emerge
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By Sebastian Anthony on November 19, 2012 at 8:40 am
This is it, ladies and gentlemen: Following this weekend’s release of Nintendo’s Wii U console, the eighth generation of video game consoles is finally here. It’s been a long time coming — seven years, to be exact; the longest generational gap ever in the history of games consoles — but hopefully the wait will be worth it. With the Wii U selling out across the US, and games retailers seeing record numbers of pre-orders, early reports are generally good, with a handful of negative caveats that mostly involve the Wii U’s tablet Gamepad and a beefy, hours-long firmware update.
With video game consoles, their exact hardware specifications are always a bit mystical. Prior to their actual launch, console makers rarely tell us more than the absolute minimum, such as “it will be backwards compatible” or “it will be much faster than its predecessor.” As soon as the console goes on sale, though, we can finally tear the thing open and find out what’s actually under the hood — which is exactly what Anandtech did.
We already knew that Nintendo had opted for an AMD GPU/IBM CPU multi-chip model (MCM) in the Wii U, but we now have the exact die sizes: 5.2mm x 6.3mm (32.76mm2) for the CPU, and 12.2mm x 12.7mm (156.21mm2) for the GPU. There is also a third, absolutely tiny (1.79mm x 1.48mm) die on the MCM, which Anandtech speculates is off-chip memory.
Wii U logic board, showing the IBM/AMD multi-chip module, and Hynix RAM
As for the exact specifications of the CPU and GPU, it’s still a bit of a guessing game. From a previous teardown by Nintendo, we know that the Radeon-derived GPU has some on-chip memory, no doubt increasing the die size considerably. If we start with a 104mm2 Redwood core found in the Radeon HD 5670, then pile on some megs of eDRAM, we approach the 156.21mm2 die size of the Wii U’s GPU. This assumes that a 40nm process is being used (and considering the relative cost/scarcity of 28nm production, it’s almost certainly 40nm). A Radeon HD 5670 with on-die memory would be a fairly beastly GPU, far outstripping the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 — but hey, those consoles are seven years old now.
On the other hand, the tiny, multi-core Power-based CPU isn’t going to win any performance prizes. Beyond the fact that it’s manufactured on IBM’s 45nm SOI process and has on-die eDRAM, we know very little about the CPU’s exact specifications. Due to the fact that the Wii U is backwards compatible with the Wii (i.e. they have the same instruction set architecture (ISA)), the persistent rumor is that the Wii U simply takes the Wii’s Broadway core, and multiplies it by three. Throw in a few tweaks and a few process node improvements (from 90nm down to 45), and the Wii U CPU should be fairly competent. Ultimately, though, as we all know, the CPU clock speed and core count are ultimately just footnotes: For the Wii U’s new and shiny 1080p HD output, that beefy GPU is far more important.
Rounding out the hardware spec, Wii U teardowns have revealed that there’s a Samsung NAND flash chip for user storage (32GB or 8GB), a Toshiba NAND chip for non-user storage, and 2GB of Hynix DDR3-1600 RAM on a 16-bit interface surrounding the MCM, providing peak memory bandwidth of 12.8GB/s. This is twice as fast as the Wii, but for 2012 it’s pretty slow — though, with the on-die eDRAM, the DDR3 bus shouldn’t see too much usage.
By all accounts, the Wii U Gamepad is the centerpiece of Nintendo’s new console — and yet, curiously, every tech publisher (including ET) has failed to report on a massively vital caveat: battery life. It turns out that the Wii U Gamepad, with its large, 6.2-inch resistive touchscreen display, only has a 5.6 watt-hour battery (1500mAh @ 3.7V). Early reports suggest that the Gamepad only lasts 3-4 hours between charges — okay for casual gameplay, but it may put a serious dent in prolonged gaming sessions if you have to stop and recharge. The good news is that the battery is replaceable — and we’re sure it’s only a matter of weeks until larger, third-party batteries are made available.
Better yet, how about making one that can play the older games.
I need my AMD stock to go back up. A lot.
I wouldn’t worry about CPU clock speed. First, current CPUs are able to do more per cycle and second, GPU performance is going to be more important. And the same rules for GPU performance apply.
Plus they are only looking to achieve adequate 1080p performance, they won’t have to worry about driving 4k monitors. Middle of the road PCs can do that now.
Microsoft remembers the RRD well, they are going to get their performance with the slowest clock and most efficient processors they can find so they don’t design heat death into the product.
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