Oh boy, we now finally know a lot more about Microsoft's upcoming "Project Scorpio" Xbox Console
Microsoft released all the details and specs, and let's just say this thing is very impressive
for a console.
Of course, it's no match for a PC, but we need to give credit where credit is due.
So let's go over what we know, based on some exclusive access Microsoft gave the site Digital
Foundry, aka Eurogamer.
We still don't know what it looks like, that will be announced at E3, but we do know pretty
much everything else about the hardware.
It seems like the main objective for Project Scorpio is to do 4K gaming right.
Specifically, they want to run games at 4K, 60fps natively.
This is definitely no small task, seeing as in years past, we know that some games have
struggled to even 30 FPS at 1080p.
And they don't just want this to be for new games, but also games that are already on
the market, which would be upscaled on the new console to 4K.
So whether it's just purely increasing the resolution, or adding in better textures as
well, which obviously requires even more power still.
So how do they plan do even do this?
Well, by making the thing a freaking beast, that's how.
First of all, possibly the most important number is the processing power of their custom
built GPU, which is 6 Teraflops.
Ok so... what does that mean?
Let's put that into perspective.
This basically has around the same processing power as an Nvidia GTX 1070, which has around
5.8 Teraflops.
You might be thinking, "1070?
That's it?
That's not even close to the best Nvidia card".
And you're right, the Xbox Scorpio has around one half the processing power of Nvidia's
top end card, the Titan X Pascal, at 12 Teraflops.
But you need to keep in mind the purpose, and more importantly, the price.
A GTX 1070 graphics card will run you -around- $400, just for one part.
Whereas Microsoft has to build an entire all-in-one system for probably about that same price.
So you have to look at the entire system as a whole, not just the GPU.
Let's take a look at some of the other specs, because this is where things get really impressive.
So the processing power of the GPU is 6 teraflops, but that's not the whole story.
The GPU also has a whopping 12 Gigabytes of GDDR5 Memory, which actually is a LOT.
The GTX 1070 for example has 8, and even that's a good amount.
It's not the faster GDDR5X memory that you see in the top end desktop GPUs, but it doesn't
seem like that will be a problem.
With so much memory, it also has a large memory bandwidth at 326 GB/s, about the same as a
GTX 1080.
So for a console, this ain't too shabby.
As for the CPU, that's pretty exciting as well.
It's custom built and has 8 cores, just like the PS4 Pro and Xbox One, but with a higher
clock speed of 2.3 GHz, compared to the PS4 Pro at 2.1 GHz.
Again, 2.3 GHz on a desktop CPU would be more or less a joke, but for a console, heat is
a huge concern, so they typically have lower clock speeds.
Unlike a huge PC case, you don't have enough room in a console for enormous heat sinks,
multiple large fans, spread out components, and things like that.
Now you might already be kind of impressed by these specs in a console, or maybe not.
But if you want to have your mind blown, get ready.
Look at this chip on the Scorpio motherboard, what do you think that is?
Is it the CPU?
The GPU?
The Memory Controller?
Sound card?
Well actually, the answer is.
Yes.
ALL the main hardware, is shoved into that tiny chip.
So now perhaps you can appreciate the challenge Microsoft had to go through in getting these
specs.
Believe me, I know it's fun to pick on consoles as being inferior to PC gaming.
Mostly because, well, it really is.
You typically have much less processing power, no upgrade-ability, no customization or mods,
having to use a controller...
But you can't deny the fact that PC gaming typically isn't all that cheap when you want
to go high end.
If you only have $400 to spend for a system, I really don't think you'd be able to beat
this.
But anyway, back to the Scorpio specs.
Like I just said, cooling is tough in a console, especially when literally all the main heat
generating components are packed into one unit.
So the Xbox Scorpio uses what is called a "Vapor Chamber" heat sink.
Without getting technical, this type of heat sink is much more efficient than standard
heat pipes or solid metal, but is usually reserved for high end hardware because it's
more expensive.
On top of the heat sink, literally, is also a different type of cooling fan.
Instead of a standard axial front to back fan, it has a centrifugal fan.
You may have seen these on certain graphics cards, and they are also called "blower" fans.
This is because their main advantage is they exhaust hot air directly out of the case,
instead of just blowing it over the heat sink which dissipates back into itself.
The final notable bits of hardware are a 1 teraybyte hard drive, as one would hope, as
well as an integrated power supply.
So THANKFULLY, there will be no massive power brick that we've all come to know and hate.
Now this hardware sounds great and all, but how does it actually end up performing?
4K 60 fps is a tall order, even for gaming PCs.
Well, the short answer is, it works just fine, and for a few reasons.
Microsoft and their studios showed off at least one demo where they were running Forza
Motorsport.
And yes, it was able to handle the full 4K resolution, at 60fps consistently, and with
less than 70% GPU utilization.
So obviously this means that the hardware is MORE than capable, and still has even more
power left to use on better textures or something, not just increasing the resolution.
Apparently, they are able to even push the graphics to the PC equivalent of ultra-quality
graphics levels, and remain under 90% GPU utilization.
There hasn't really been much more talk about performance in other games, probably because
they're still working on optimizations.
But one interesting thing is that they built the GPU around Direct 3D 12, which is part
of DirectX.
And if you're not familiar, it's basically just a framework for running 3D applications,
like games.
Anyway, the main advantage of all this is that games built with Direct 3D 12 can take
advantage of the best optimization features of the framework.
And the result is that those games can cut their CPU utilization
for rendering in HALF.
Another thing that will improve game performance, as I mentioned before, is the additional RAM,
totalling 12 Gigabytes.
Compared to the current consoles, the PS4, PS4 Pro, Xbox One, and Xbox One S, those all
just have 8 Gigabytes.
But it's not like all that memory is going to games, because some of it is allocated
differently.
You see of the 12, four gigabytes will be reserved for system processes, and the remaining
8 for games.
Previously, Xbox One allocated 3 gigabytes to system, and just 5 gigabytes to games.
So with the Scorpio, games will get an extra 3 Gigabytes of RAM than before, and the system
gets one more gigabyte, so it can better handle the native 4K Xbox dashboard and other system
processes.
Alright now all it's pretty obvious that the Xbox Scorpio is going to be amazing as far
as game consoles go.
But there was one thing I realized that kind of surprises me, and I bet some of you will
agree.
And that is, that the Xbox Scorpio isn't actually a new generation of Xbox, it's actually another
refresh of the Xbox One.
Wait a minute, didn't we JUST get the Xbox One S less than a year ago?
What's all this Project Scorpio business about then?
And it got me thinking, do we really even NEED a new generation of Xbox?
Think about it.
Why does it have to be that every several years, we get a new "version" of consoles
that instantly makes the previous ones obsolete?
That certainly doesn't happen with our computers.
Sure we upgrade the operating system, but there's nothing stopping us from running a
new operating system on old hardware, up to a point of course.
What is Microsoft is doing the same thing for Xbox.
Instead of launching a major revision every decade practically, and forcing developers
to accomodate ancient hardware, what if they just release improved iterations every few
years?
You can either buy the new one or not, but the games will still work, as long as you're
willing to tolerate less performance if you have a really old console.
If this sounds crazy to you, just look at what Microsoft did with Windows 10.
They called it the "last version of windows".
And that's because instead of releasing major Windows versions every few years, that you
have to buy, and install, and go through all sorts of work to install, they will be upgrading
Windows 10 incrementally, continuously.
They specifically designed the Windows 10 operating system to be "modular" you could
say, so that they can make major changes to different parts of the software individually.
Therefore, instead of having to release a major upgrade for everything all at once,
they can release whatever upgrades they want, whenever they want.
And it's even been speculated that eventually, Windows 10 will just be renamed to "Windows".
Then what does this have to do with Xbox?
Well, everything.
Because if you didn't know, Xbox One's operating system, Xbox OS, IS Windows 10 at it's core.
In fact, you can now install certain Windows 10 apps from the Windows Store, directly onto
your Xbox One.
Maybe you're starting to see some parallels here.
Now this obviously all speculation, but I think it IS possible Microsoft will move from
a purely "generation" based console timeline, to something that more resembles pre-built
PCs they release every few years.
And maybe they'll start literally doing that, who knows?
Imagine.
Instead of the Xbox platform being centered around one console, they expand it so it's
basically just an Xbox branded gaming PC designed for your living room, and could be more than
just for gaming.
Microsoft has been trying to make Xbox a "multimedia" device for a while now anyway.
I'm definitely getting ahead of things right now, but the signs are there.
They named the console the "Xbox One".
It seemed pretty weird to everyone, why would they name it Xbox "One"?
Maybe they wanted it to be a nice round number, just like they did for Windows 10 by skipping
Windows 9, so they could just remove the number altogether later.
And why would they release so many iterations of the same console, with such drastic hardware
changes?
I can understand the Xbox One S to add 4K HDR support, but ANOTHER iteration just a
year later?
Something seems different.
But I guess, we'll just have to wait and find out.
So that's about it, enough speculation for one day.
Let me know what you guys think, maybe I'm crazy I don't know.
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I'm looking forward to hearing from you, so as usual, thanks for watching, I'll see you
next time, have a good one.