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Kotaku: Sony is working on a ‘PS4.5; briefing devs on plans for a more powerful PS4

6 years is a good compromise for me if that is the case. I'm already a PC gamer for several years now though. PC is slowly but surely getting more support from developers. Eventually I won't even have to buy consoles other than some exclusives. It's rather hard to justify spending $300-400 for a handful of games.

Yeah, I'm a PC gamer also and I'm in a similar situation; I haven't purchased a console this generation.

It's difficult isn't it. I know I bout at least 3 PS3's last gen for one reason or another. I also know others who had both PS3 + 360 last gen. I actually started the gen on 360 which I sold for PS3 when Rock Band was released in the US (I'm in the UK, imports).

But on the other hand I'm 40 now, in 20's I'll be 60 and still gaming. My generation isn't going anywhere and there are new generations being born (my nieces and nephews) who have never known a world without games consoles - each as they got older. Then you have emerging and growing markets like China and India.

80m is a little more than the population of the UK.

So is there a large group of users waiting for a price drop? Yes I think so. Is that group mostly made up of casual gamers and larger than the early adopter group? Probably, yes, I think.

Whatever, we're talking millions of potential customers who might turn to Nintendo or Amazon or Apple if the price drop never comes.


¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the end of the day, we're all just speculating.
 
The Panasonic custom HDMI chip supports up to 120 FPS which a coming UHD Blu-ray standard will use and will be used for VR. 120FPS is a HDMI 2 mode and is supported by the launch PS4. Video processing for the VR goggles takes place in Southbridge, the breakout box just provides a HDMI out for a TV and Video out for the goggles. HDMI 2 also support two video streams from the PS4 but HDMI 1.4 doesn't support this so you need the breakout box to separate the two, one for the TV and one for the goggles. The TV needs HDMI 1.4 60 FPS maximum while the VR goggles need 120 FPS with the video distorted for the goggles. Inside Southbridge before the framerate is doubled and video distorted for the googles you have the 60 FPS undistorted video for the TV. Both video streams could exit the PS4 via the HDMI port and the breakout box separates the two. Yes this could easily be supported in the new PS4 eliminating a breakout box. The breakout box is only needed to allow an audience to see what you are seeing and it's features not included in the PS4 an oversight.

My opinion, it's a Firmware update to use the Southbridge Accelerators for all PS4 models and a new cheaper smaller more power efficient PS4 SKU.

There are several developer statements that support this: The PS4.5 will free up one CPU. That's exactly what would happen when Sony publishes the APIs to developers for Southbridge's True Audio for instance. This statement makes no sense in any other context. Up-scaling 1080P games to 4K not rendering them at 4K is another likely speculation by Eurogamer. Tweet line 4-6 read like a firmware update to use the GPGPU that was NOT previously accessible to game developers. "The Console will have more power but is primarily for System + Media + VR".

System + Media + VR means the Southbridge ARM TEE will be used for things like:

Game Audio from the DSP rather than using a CPU
Upscaling to 4k,
converting the Video output for the VR goggles
doubling the frame rate for VR
HTML5 <video> MSE EME, Codecs and Playready 3 for UHD. All have to be in the Southbridge ARM SoC TEE Apps like Netflix will drop in size and when full screen video is being displayed the AMD GPU can be turned off resulting in a less than 20 watt power mode.
A Video chat program integrated into the OS has to be in Southbridge

Finally the PS4 touted launch features are coming.

Hmm thanks for this. Is it possible that the processing/breakout box can actually help in providing 4K content? As in folks owning PS4 (and not PS4K) can get 4K content with a breakout box?
 
Thea allowed Linux for a while on the PS3 so I don't know what your point is.

Sony themselves allowed you to install Linux on PS3 for years until they updated their firmware in 2010. And that's the keywords there, allowed and only for a while. A "PC" that has the software bound and restricted as much as the manufacture dictates. So yeah,

Install an OS.

Oh yes, the ultimate proof of a machine being a PC - you can install Windows! This forum never stops to amaze.

And to note, I found it funny reading that considering you used the word "corridor" to describe a racing which in turn coined the "corridor racer" meme.

It happened to me while I was playing it at Gamescom and yes, it's super-annoying. It starts quite fast when off-track so I wasn't able to really explore in the places where it is not like a corridor.

It was a amazing for all the wrong reasons. One of the most petulant posts you can read on a gaming forum.
 
Hmm thanks for this. Is it possible that the processing/breakout box can actually help in providing 4K content? As in folks owning PS4 (and not PS4K) can get 4K content with a breakout box?
The point is that the Xtensa accelerators in Southbridge are doing the grunt work not the breakout box. The Sony breakout box analog would be the AMD Display Port breakout boxes that allow multiple monitors from one DP connection to an AMD GPU. HDMI 2 uses some DP features ==> The PS4 has a HDMI 2 port.

The HDMI 2 120 FPS standard used for UHD Blu-ray is for 3D multi-view with depth map auto-stereoscopic 4K TVs or VR...VR comes first. There are plans for UHD Blu-ray being used with VR goggles like Museum tours which is why HDMI2 supports 120FPS and UHD Blu-ray HFR = 120 FPS . 120FPS is not needed for anything else.
 
Which isn't gonna happen, because they unlocked one already a few months ago, and the OS has to run on something.
Two different CPU uses: OS and Game Audio. Prior to this 3 CPUs were not available to games, two for the OS and one for game audio. The PS4 OS was using a CPU for for many tasks that could be done by Xtensa accelerators. When the OS started using hardware in southbridge they could free up a Jaguar CPU.

Games currently use a CPU for audio rather than the AMD True Audio DSP in Southbridge. When games use the DSP they free up a CPU for other tasks. This I believe is the new freed CPU.
 
Install Windows

Amazing rebuttal.

Why thank you, It took me a lot of thinking time to come up with that one ;) There are other differences and reasons why Windows won't run without a lot of work by Microsoft - but I really can't be asked to argue the point and it is so unimportant to the main discussion that my feelings on that particular subject is most easily summed up in the words -

Install Windows.
 
Which isn't gonna happen, because they unlocked one already a few months ago, and the OS has to run on something.

Knowing very little about the Playstation OS, it's overheads CPU and RAM requirements - what's wrong with multi-tasking? Does the OS really need to be using a whole CPU core exclusively all the time? I'm sure much more complex OS's like OSX,Windows, and Linux, don't have that requirement.

In my day an entire GUI based OS would run from a 880kb floppy and leave plenty of resources for other tasks to run comfortably on the single processor core...
 
Games currently use a CPU for audio rather than the AMD True Audio DSP in Southbridge. .

Does PS4 have AMD True Audio DSP in Southbridge? A quick search around the net suggest the PS4 has a custom ARM based second CPU in place of the Southbridge.

Edit: scrap that, Wiki suggest the AMD True Audio DSP is an Xtensia acccellerator located on the APU SoC die, actually part of the GPU.
 

Hexa

Member
Why thank you, It took me a lot of thinking time to come up with that one ;) There are other differences and reasons why Windows won't run without a lot of work by Microsoft - but I really can't be asked to argue the point and it is so unimportant to the main discussion that my feelings on that particular subject is most easily summed up in the words -

Install Windows.

That argument makes no sense. Explain to me how "Install Windows" helps your argument at all.
 

OfficerZap

Neo Member
I'm hoping that somewhere, some mod has a growing list of everyone who has gone against Jeff, and if/when this all comes up as predicted, there's a mass #Jeffwasright tag splurge.
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
Clearly the biggest problem Sony are going to face when launching the PS4K will be one of messaging. Stop people thinking it's splitting the userbase and they're onto a winner. The messaging for VR is going to be tough too. Sony have a LOT of marketing to do this year.
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
I'm hoping that somewhere, some mod has a growing list of everyone who has gone against Jeff, and if/when this all comes up as predicted, there's a mass #Jeffwasright tag splurge.

Can you explain to a moron the basics of what Jeff has said and what has transpired since, please. I won't be insulted :)
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
c0de said:
Oh yes, the ultimate proof of a machine being a PC - you can install Windows! This forum never stops to amaze.
It raises a fair point though - what exactly defines current gen consoles as more PC like - we've had full blown x86 built with off-the shelf parts 15 years ago, and any console since at least DC was a fully functional PC with the right software.
And more importantly why would that make "upgrade revisions" easier to make (other hw that isn't PC like at all like portables, has been doing it for years).
 
Two different CPU uses: OS and Game Audio. Prior to this 3 CPUs were not available to games, two for the OS and one for game audio. The PS4 OS was using a CPU for for many tasks that could be done by Xtensa accelerators. When the OS started using hardware in southbridge they could free up a Jaguar CPU.

Games currently use a CPU for audio rather than the AMD True Audio DSP in Southbridge. When games use the DSP they free up a CPU for other tasks. This I believe is the new freed CPU.

Seriously? Devs could've used the DSP for sound but 3 years into the gen they're still using a fucking CPU core? I find it hard to believe. Is there anything to back this claim?
 

Raist

Banned
Seriously? Devs could've used the DSP for sound but 3 years into the gen they're still using a fucking CPU core? I find it hard to believe. Is there anything to back this claim?

There was never 3 cores locked. It was 2, up until late last year when they freed one up.
Even KZSF only used 50% of a CPU core for Audio.
 

jeffram

Member
The Panasonic custom HDMI chip supports up to 120 FPS which a coming UHD Blu-ray standard will use and will be used for VR. 120FPS is a HDMI 2 mode and is supported by the launch PS4. Video processing for the VR goggles takes place in Southbridge, the breakout box just provides a HDMI out for a TV and Video out for the goggles. HDMI 2 also support two video streams from the PS4 but HDMI 1.4 doesn't support this so you need the breakout box to separate the two, one for the TV and one for the goggles. The TV needs HDMI 1.4 60 FPS maximum while the VR goggles need 120 FPS with the video distorted for the goggles. Inside Southbridge before the framerate is doubled and video distorted for the googles you have the 60 FPS undistorted video for the TV. Both video streams could exit the PS4 via the HDMI port and the breakout box separates the two. Yes this could easily be supported in the new PS4 eliminating a breakout box. The breakout box is only needed to allow an audience to see what you are seeing and it's features not included in the PS4 an oversight.

My opinion, it's a Firmware update to use the Southbridge Accelerators for all PS4 models and a new cheaper smaller more power efficient PS4 SKU.

There are several developer statements that support this: The PS4.5 will free up one CPU. That's exactly what would happen when Sony publishes the APIs to developers for Southbridge's True Audio for instance. This statement makes no sense in any other context. Up-scaling 1080P games to 4K not rendering them at 4K is another likely speculation by Eurogamer. Tweet line 4-6 read like a firmware update to use the GPGPU that was NOT previously accessible to game developers. "The Console will have more power but is primarily for System + Media + VR".

System + Media + VR means the Southbridge ARM TEE will be used for things like:

Game Audio from the DSP rather than using a CPU
Upscaling to 4k,
converting the Video output for the VR goggles
doubling the frame rate for VR
HTML5 <video> MSE EME, Codecs and Playready 3 for UHD. All have to be in the Southbridge ARM SoC TEE Apps like Netflix will drop in size and when full screen video is being displayed the AMD GPU can be turned off resulting in a less than 20 watt power mode.
A Video chat program integrated into the OS has to be in Southbridge

Finally the PS4 touted launch features are coming.
Very interesting, and quite compelling. It would seem that PSVR was not quite far enough along when the PS4 launched to have features like the social screen finalized.

So the "one developer" utilizing additional power could simply have the inside track on GPGPU programming.

My only question is why would developers be talking about a new PS4 at GDC rather than the new firmware? It would seem like an easy enough concept to grasp to not have a game of broken telephone distort the truth, and easy enough to clarify to journalists upon questioning. It seems developers and journalists are fairly convinced that new and materially more powerful hardware is coming, and that there are prototypes being shared externally.
 
No doubt in my mind that Windows on PS4 will be done by homebrewers - maybe sooner than later thanks to Sony's security implementation already starting to crack.
Even if they pull it off, Windows will run like ass on that architecture. You need a stripped-down -optimized for the Jaguar cores- Windows version (like the XB1 OS).

Even DX11 games will run like ass on the custom Radeon GPU...
 
Does PS4 have AMD True Audio DSP in Southbridge? A quick search around the net suggest the PS4 has a custom ARM based second CPU in place of the Southbridge.

Edit: scrap that, Wiki suggest the AMD True Audio DSP is an Xtensia acccellerator located on the APU SoC die, actually part of the GPU.
In AMD APUs and the XB1 that is true. Sony when they chose to use GDDR5 had to move the ARM block out of the APU into Southbridge with it's own 256 MB of DDR3. Optimally a ARM TEE has southbridge (ALL IO) as part of the TEE. This is what was done with AMD's Carizzo.

The Movie industry content owners for UHD Blu-ray want AACS through HDCP 2 to take place in the same TEE. This is what the PS4 Southbridge ARM SoC does. It's the root of trust boot for the APU and the Media DRM TEE.
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
In AMD APUs and the XB1 that is true. Sony when they chose to use GDDR5 had to move the ARM block out of the APU into Southbridge with it's own 256 MB of DDR3. Optimally a ARM TEE has southbridge (ALL IO) as part of the TEE. This is what was done with AMD's Carizzo.

The Movie industry content owners for UHD Blu-ray want AACS through HDCP 2 to take place in the same TEE. This is what the PS4 Southbridge ARM SoC does. It's the root of trust boot for the APU and the Media DRM TEE.

200.gif
 
Very interesting, and quite compelling. It would seem that PSVR was not quite far enough along when the PS4 launched to have features like the social screen finalized.

So the "one developer" utilizing additional power could simply have the inside track on GPGPU programming.

My only question is why would developers be talking about a new PS4 at GDC rather than the new firmware? It would seem like an easy enough concept to grasp to not have a game of broken telephone distort the truth, and easy enough to clarify to journalists upon questioning. It seems developers and journalists are fairly convinced that new and materially more powerful hardware is coming, and that there are prototypes being shared externally.
We are dealing with rumors that I think include a new SKU and a Firmware update. It may be that there is a more powerful PS4 coming. Eurogamer says it's not possible to support 4K gaming but a small increase due to efficiencies is possible. In the past Sony has always used these efficiencies to reduce power and heat and to shrink the Console. A new memory like GDDR5X with a higher APU clock is possible. The increase due to GDDR5X and such should be less? than offloading OS tasks to accelerators in Southbridge which all PS4 models will do. Add the two together this time and we could see something.
 

krang

Member
Even if they pull it off, Windows will run like ass on that architecture. You need a stripped-down -optimized for the Jaguar cores- Windows version (like the XB1 OS).

Even DX11 games will run like ass on the custom Radeon GPU...

It might actually be worth MS's time to create a cut of Windows that would support that.

Now I'm not sure where this would stand, legally speaking. I guess there's no legal issues for them creating and releasing something that's wholly on the user if they want to deploy it and contravene any agreement with Sony. So long as they don't provide the tools to do it, just provide the software that plays friendly with the hardware should anyone decide to deploy it.

I guess the sticky spot comes from the fact they would have to breach said agreement to create it in the first place.
 
Even if they pull it off, Windows will run like ass on that architecture. You need a stripped-down -optimized for the Jaguar cores- Windows version (like the XB1 OS).

Even DX11 games will run like ass on the custom Radeon GPU...

Sure, that's more than likely. IIRC Linux on PS3 (not OtherOS) also ran like ass (in that case mostly due to the weak hardware I suppose).
 
Two different CPU uses: OS and Game Audio. Prior to this 3 CPUs were not available to games, two for the OS and one for game audio. The PS4 OS was using a CPU for for many tasks that could be done by Xtensa accelerators. When the OS started using hardware in southbridge they could free up a Jaguar CPU.

Games currently use a CPU for audio rather than the AMD True Audio DSP in Southbridge. When games use the DSP they free up a CPU for other tasks. This I believe is the new freed CPU.

That's blatantly false.

61f4a6bc3e.jpg


I'm going to repost some of my thoughts about this here. I have only read this last page so excuse me if some or all of it is redundant:

PS4K will be a PS4 with 4K video. And if they want, devs (mostly indies) can make games in 4K for it, I guess. The Jaguar APU will stay the same.

In order to play today's 1080p PS4 games at 4K and the same framerate, you'd need a GPU roughly equivalent to a Fury X, which right now is top-tier, plus a better CPU (CPU and resolution load don't scale linearly, but they do scale).

That would likely mean a Polaris+Zen APU in order for it all to fit in a sub-250W TDP. A Polaris GPU with Fury X perf would likely be considered mid-high end, just like PS360 GPUs were at the time, which would mean you can bet your ass the console wouldn't cost $399. And neither Sony nor Microsoft are willing to bleed themselves selling hardware this time.

"But what if the PS4K cost Five Hundred Ninety Nine US Dollars? You can just buy the regular PS4 instead!"

The problem is that Sony's most likely making a new version of the PS4 in order to promote the 4K standard. Current PS4 hardware can already almost handle 4K content; all it needs is a HDMI controller refresh and probably some new encoding/anti-piracy chip, whatever.

Why would Sony make their standard-promoting product more expensive than it needs to be? It makes no sense unless Sony really wanted 4K gaming and 4K video was just a bonus, which is something I find hard to believe since they're comfortably leading this gen. You'll get your PS4 games in 4K - The PS5 is almost guaranteed to have backwards compatibility, after all, and patching in 4K would be pretty easy for most games.
 

rambis

Banned
I just don't think Sony would be making a big deal about this if its mostly for 4K video. You don't prototype a console for new HDMI controllers. You don't brief devs about a spec change and more GPU power if its only to support movie playback. I doubt a dev would even mention this to reporters if this was the case.

People's problem is that they are only thinking inside a small specific box of what this could be when both MS and Sony seem to be planning a mini paradigm shift.
 

THE:MILKMAN

Member
I have asked this before but will ask again.

It seems that 20nm was passed on by AMD/Nvidia and the chip makers moved to 14nm FinFet. Would this mean any die shrink for Sony (and Microsoft, I guess) would require a complete re-design of the chip rather just a 'simple' shrink?

If it is a lot more work/cost would they do it and would it really be worth it to stay at current APU specs until say 2018?
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Could Sony finally put a SATA3 interface in a revised PS4 so we could take full advantage of SSDs? I'd take it just for a boost in loading times but not sure if it's as simple an upgrade as that.
 
No doubt in my mind that Windows on PS4 will be done by homebrewers

We're way off topic here, and I was original commenting on changing Ram from unified back to split system/video. Anyway, since I've inadvertantly created a shit storm I might as well finish it off so we can go back to speculating about the molecula manipulation scent production processor being planned for PS5 (according to my sources - (their aliens from the future, don't tell any body)).

So, I was aware that Linux has already been 'ported' to PS4, I found a Digital Foundary article on it, the FailOverFlow someone mentioned before. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-playstation-4-hack-confirmed-watch-the-linux-demo

Anyway, as if to prove my point, two interesting quotes from the article:

although the Sony hardware is based on PC technology, there are a lot of differences, necessitating over 7000 modifications (and counting) to the Linux kernel

and

the machine's southbridge - responsible for communications with external peripherals - is known as Aeolia. Designed by Marvell, the southbridge varies significantly from PC architecture

And that's in additional to the memory we were discussing, any other customisations Sony requested to the APU, and significant firmware differences.

Like I say, I really can't be asked to have this argument, the main topic of discussion is far more interesting. Just responding to a point as to why moving to HBM wouldn't work, that is all.
 
What's the point of a PS4K if it still renders at 1080p and only up-scales to 4K?

An excuse for people with 4K tv's to have a ps4k. This noise is about nothing people expecting some giant leap or base/premium offering are in for a rude awakening. Come e3 either they show nothing or just present a ps4 that's capable of playing 4K media.. This of course is my opinion.
 
What's the point of a PS4K if it still renders at 1080p and only up-scales to 4K?

What is the average consumers concept of 4k gaming?

If the PS4k has a visually noticeable image fidelity/performance difference over the PS4, and plays UHD content, that will likely be enough to be considered "4k" in their minds.
 

onQ123

Member
That's blatantly false.

61f4a6bc3e.jpg


I'm going to repost some of my thoughts about this here. I have only read this last page so excuse me if some or all of it is redundant:

It's not for videos it's been pointed out by every leak of info that it's games but yet people keep coming back to it being for video lol.


The only way for this to work is for it to push all the games to 4K output
 

LordOfChaos

Member
That's blatantly false.

61f4a6bc3e.jpg


I'm going to repost some of my thoughts about this here. I have only read this last page so excuse me if some or all of it is redundant:



I believe the confusion is Jeff is saying one of those visible cores would be running audio. Not that we'll magically have access to all 8 cores (the OS and background processing has to sit somewhere, and the ARM core is notoriously underpowered, it's why standby takes more power than expected, the APU has to stay on because the ARM core can't even handle full speed downloads), rather that it's currently 7 game cores with 1 game core running audio processing. 7 free to the dev, but one having to be fully or partially tied to audio.

You'd still have 7 free in this hypothetical, but the one that is being used for audio could be freed up.


That being explained - Jeff, is there any indication TrueAudio is not currently being used? Why would it not be, two years in? I assumed audio was already unloaded to the DSP. I remember that cited as an advantage over the 7th gen, where at least on the 360 the third core was partially/wholly tied up with audio.
 
It's not for videos it's been pointed out by every leak of info that it's games but yet people keep coming back to it being for video lol.

Just like "leaks" pointed out that Durango would destroy Orbis, that Sony was in talks about always-online DRM right before E3, etc? Did any one of those leaks give a damn good reason as to why it would happen?
 

Guymelef

Member
Just like "leaks" pointed out that Durango would destroy Orbis, that Sony was in talks about always-online DRM right before E3, etc? Did any one of those leaks give a damn good reason as to why it would happen?

iirc in all lekaks Orbis was better than Durando (minus the 4GB GDDR5) or maybe you are talking about mistexmedia nonsense...
 

rambis

Banned
What's the point of a PS4K if it still renders at 1080p and only up-scales to 4K?
Who said it would? Sony are likely going for hardware that will get then significantly closer to 4k. Even if they have to shave pixels or fidelity. And don't forget PSVR.


Just like "leaks" pointed out that Durango would destroy Orbis, that Sony was in talks about always-online DRM right before E3, etc? Did any one of those leaks give a damn good reason as to why it would happen?
There's alot of leaks. You have to learn how to discern between credible leaks and the BS ones instead of grouping them into a hive.
 

GribbleGrunger

Dreams in Digital
Would be a huge fail if they call it that and then most games end up being upscaled to 4K rather than a native render though.

It's perfect because it enables them to split the name and then continue on with just 'Playstation'. 4K is always going to be associated with TVs.

PS4K
PS 4K
PS/4K perhaps. (now just known as Playstation)
PS/8K at a later date.
 
My point is that "leaks", unless backed up by some really strong evidence, are in the end just slightly stronger rumors. Handwaving away logical reasons as to why it wouldn't have radical hardware changes because two different sites reported something that implies it would is just silly.

I believe the confusion is Jeff is saying one of those visible cores would be running audio. Not that we'll magically have access to all 8 cores (the OS and background processing has to sit somewhere, and the ARM core is notoriously underpowered, it's why standby takes more power than expected, the APU has to stay on because the ARM core can't even handle full speed downloads), rather that it's currently 7 game cores with 1 game core running audio processing. 7 free to the dev, but one having to be fully or partially tied to audio.

He explicitly said 3 cores were unavailable to games - we know for a fact that none of the 6 (now 7) cores is exclusively tied to audio, so it's an incorrect assertion. That's all I pointed out.
 
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