• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Anandtech: Tech analysis -- PS4 vs Xbox One, PS4/Xbox One's CPU performance

E

ekim

Member
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6972/xbox-one-hardware-compared-to-playstation-4

Yesterday Microsoft finally took the covers off the new Xbox, what it hopes will last for many years to come. At a high level here’s what we’re dealing with:

- 8-core AMD Jaguar CPU
- 12 CU/768 SP AMD GCN GPU
- 8GB DDR3 system memory
- 500GB HDD
- Blu-ray drive
- 2.4/5.0GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n, multiple radios with WiFi Direct support
- 4K HDMI in/out (for cable TV passthrough)
- USB 3.0
- Available later this year

While Microsoft was light on technical details, I believe we have enough to put together some decent analysis. Let’s get to it.
Click to expand...

untitledxcstj.png


Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). We’ll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that it’s usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms.

On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques.

Differences in the memory subsytems also gives us some insight into each approach to the next-gen consoles. Microsoft opted for embedded SRAM + DDR3, while Sony went for a very fast GDDR5 memory interface. Sony’s approach (especially when combined with a beefier GPU) is exactly what you’d build if you wanted to give game developers the fastest hardware. Microsoft’s approach on the other hand looks a little more broad. The Xbox One still gives game developers a significant performance boost over the previous generation, but also attempts to widen the audience for the console. It’s a risky strategy for sure, especially given the similarities in the underlying architectures between the Xbox One and PS4.
Click to expand...
 
P

pixlexic

Banned
Specs didn't matter In any of the previous generations. consoles will be judge on the games they have and don't have.
 
M

Majanew

Banned
shinra-bansho said:
Did MS confirm the clock speeds? Or is Anand just assuming based on the leaks to get the FLOPS?
Click to expand...

Yeah, they're assuming. Dammit, I want to know the actual FLOPS of the CPU and GPU in Xbox One. Someone that knows, please share. NDA should be lifted on specs, no?
 
M

Majanew

Banned
pixlexic said:
Specs didn't matter In any of the previous generations. consoles will be judge on the games they have and don't have.
Click to expand...

They mattered to me. And guess what... that's all I care about. Me.


bobbytkc said:
8gb is confirmed. 12 cu is confirmed. 3 gb reserved for os is confirmed. 8 core cpu is confirmed. The rest, I don't know.
Click to expand...

1.2 TFLOPS it is then. Did Sony catch MS with their pants down? Was MS not expecting Sony to try?
 
V

vio

Member
"Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4"
PS4 will be even bigger.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Y2Kev said:
So much generosity with language. Their focus is more "broad." Lol.

Price please.
Click to expand...

Broad... as in wide. Xboxone hueg.

This reveal is consistently more disappointing every time i think about it.

1.2 TF? That makes about or less powerful than a 560Ti... jeez.
 
iceatcs

iceatcs

Junior Member
I would be very surprised if Sony manage same price as Xbox one. Maybe it is possible, due with kinect, that I don't think it is cheap as PSEye. DS4 sound cost more than new xpad. Hard to work out.
I don't think there will be a big price gap, maybe within $75 or less.
 
The Jason

The Jason

Member
Pretty big difference.

1.23TFLOP to 1.84TFLOPS of GPU throughput

68.3GB/s to 176GB/s memory bandwidth

32MB of eSRAM will help, but not much against the 8GB of GDDR5.
 
E

ekim

Member
Tim Stevens 2:25 PM
[41548] Nick is saying that "to get all of this processing out of the box" is a challenge too.The new CPU core can do six CPU operations per core per cycle, on an eight-core CPU.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-architecture-panel-liveblog/

via http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=62867&page=133

The Jason said:
1.23TFLOP to 1.84TFLOPS of GPU throughput

68.3GB/s to 176GB/s memory bandwidth

Pretty big difference.
Click to expand...

Don't dismiss the ESRam. In the post show they said they have 200 GB/sec bandwidth
 
R

RamzaIsCool

The Amiga Brotherhood
Do we know anything about the GPU changes that MS made? Like what Cerny did with PS4 GPU, increasing pipelines and stuff. Also it seems that these devices have alot of dedicated hardware, which should also be factored in. Especially when talking about the CPU/ compute performances of the consoles.

It's save to say that the PS4 is more powerfull. The question is tho by how much.
 
N

netBuff

Member
pixlexic said:
The masses don't .. Only people on gaming forums.
Click to expand...

Your claim is extremely reductionist.

Specs certainly did matter in previous generations, processing power was a big part of PlayStation 2s appeal (when it got lapped later it was already too much of an industry force).
You could also argue that the fact multiplatform games tended to be better on 360 (especially early on) tipped the cards in Microsofts favour (= more powerful system).

This time, neither console will have a tangible release time advantage, but the Xone will be heavily disadvantaged in terms of processing power.

RamzaIsCool said:
Do we know anything about the GPU changes that MS made? Like what Cerny did with PS4 GPU, increasing pipelines and stuff. Also it seems that these devices have alot of dedicated hardware, which should also be factored in. Especially when talking about the CPU/ compute performances of the consoles.

It's save to say that the PS4 is more powerfull. The question is tho by how much.
Click to expand...

50% more FLOPS, you can pretty much count on it at this point.
 
E

Endo Punk

Member
Glass Rebel said:
Me personally? PS4 obviously.

Me as the CEO of a multimillion dollar company? The lower-spec device and "upport".
Click to expand...

There wont be extra cost due to how similar they are. PS4 as target simply because it's more poweful makes far too much sense for a multimillion dollar company.
 
B

Bradach

Member
what the list doesn't take into account is kinect. whether we like it or not it is now a component of the Xbone and there seems to be a lot of tech in there too (a lot more than PSeye).
diverting some of their resources to kinect tech might explain why they've compromised on some of the innerds of the box itself.
 
A

artist

Banned
Some choice quotes left out by the OP unsurprisingly;

Memory Bandwidth gap;
To make up for the gap, Microsoft added embedded SRAM on die (not eDRAM, less area efficient but lower latency and doesn't need refreshing). All information points to 32MB of 6T-SRAM, or roughly 1.6 billion transistors for this memory. It’s not immediately clear whether or not this is a true cache or software managed memory. I’d hope for the former but it’s quite possible that it isn’t. At 32MB the ESRAM is more than enough for frame buffer storage, indicating that Microsoft expects developers to use it to offload requests from the system memory bus. Game console makers (Microsoft included) have often used large high speed memories to get around memory bandwidth limitations, so this is no different. Although 32MB doesn’t sound like much, if it is indeed used as a cache (with the frame buffer kept in main memory) it’s actually enough to have a substantial hit rate in current workloads (although there’s not much room for growth).
Click to expand...

Microsoft's funny math;
According to their data, there’s roughly 50GB/s of bandwidth in each direction to the SoC’s embedded SRAM (102GB/s total bandwidth). The combination of the two plus the CPU-GPU connection at 30GB/s is how Microsoft arrives at its 200GB/s bandwidth figure, although in reality that’s not how any of this works.
Click to expand...

Memory subsystem approaches;
There are merits to both approaches. Sony has the most present-day-GPU-centric approach to its memory subsystem: give the GPU a wide and fast GDDR5 interface and call it a day. It’s well understood and simple to manage. The downsides? High speed GDDR5 isn’t the most power efficient, and Sony is now married to a more costly memory technology for the life of the PlayStation 4.

Microsoft’s approach leaves some questions about implementation, and is potentially more complex to deal with depending on that implementation. Microsoft specifically called out its 8GB of memory as being “power friendly”, a nod to the lower power operation of DDR3-2133 compared to 5.5GHz GDDR5 used in the PS4. There are also cost benefits. DDR3 is presently cheaper than GDDR5 and that gap should remain over time (although 2133MHz DDR3 is by no means the cheapest available). The 32MB of embedded SRAM is costly, but SRAM scales well with smaller processes. Microsoft probably figures it can significantly cut down the die area of the eSRAM at 20nm and by 14/16nm it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Click to expand...
 
P

PsihoPerihelion

Member
Oh dear, that PS4 is one fucking sexy piece of hardware. It's so unfortunate that I don't give a damn about any of Sony's franchises or I would buy one immediately, and I still don't know how I feel about the Uno.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

IGN / NXGamer: Hogwarts Legacy Performance Review: Nintendo Switch vs Xbox One
31
5K
Lucifers Beard replied
Was 8 CPU cores enough for 9th gen consoles? Strix Halo, the prefect console.
Opinion Analysis 2
62
3K
Tertullian replied
[Jez Corden] If Microsoft really IS bringing Steam, Epic Game Store, etc. to Xbox consoles, it needs to answer these big questions
2 3 4
155
8K
sachos replied
Xbox Series S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch cannot run Naruto x Boruto Connections at 60fps
Drama Cringe Hardware
7
2K
Vognerful replied
IGN/NXGamer: Assassin's Creed: Mirage PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S vs PS4 vs Xbox One Performance Review
2
70
8K
Gambit2483 replied
Top Bottom