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Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

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Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#41

Post by monocasa »

Grazester wrote: post #4

Direct X CPU instruction that were handled by the CPU is now handled by the GPU! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE2hNrq1Zxs&feature=youtu.be...

Eh, that's not the biggest deal, it's basically always been like that on consoles, and that's the whole point of Mantle/Metal/Vulkan/DX12. ie. the fact that GPUs have MMUs these days, so user space can just write raw to the command buffer without being second guessed by the kernel drivers.

The switch to DX12 is just that you can write the same sort of code on Windows and Xbone (the 360 had enough extensions that you sort of had to have separate rendering backends for 360 and Windows, despite them both potentially being DirectX 9).

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#42

Post by kbenson »

snuxoll wrote: post #37
kbenson wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> From here on out, expect new hardware every couple years that will be compatible with your existing library So, basically a computer, but limited, and a lower bar to entry. I understand the use case for those that might not have a traditional computer or a very old one, but presumably everyone here would be better served by either shelling out an extra $100-$200 every couple years for a better video card in their l…

You're not exactly wrong, but you're not 100% right either. Consoles have one thing that PC's don't, a streamlined experience tailor made for your TV. People do more than just play games on a console, they stream Netflix, interact with their friends through sharing videos and clips, listen to music on their home entertainment system that's already connected to the TV. Valve has been trying REALLY hard to get to this…

Yeah, I understand for the general public, and I wasn't trying to imply there's no place for the new consoles, just that I figure most the people reading HN could probably get away with putting that money towards their main computer platform more effectively. That does, of course, assume mostly single use, and that's a rather large caveat I didn't cover. I have three kids, and for a set-top box, ease of use is extremely important, since it's not just me using it.

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#43

Post by joshuamorton »

nailer wrote: post #38
joshuamorton wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A big part of it is the type of graphics card. FirePro (the kind in workstations) are much more expensive than normal general purpose graphics cards, which are again more expensive than custom SoCs which can be developed barebones for a specific use. Reason being that a calculation error that results in a dead pixel is fine when you are playing a video game. It'll be there for 1/60s and then be gone, never seen again…

> Reason being that a calculation error that results in a dead pixel is fine when you are playing a video game. It'll be there for 1/60s and then be gone, never seen again. The same error in a disney film or a 3d scene rendered for a poster needs to be pixel perfect, so workstation class cards have a much lower threshhold for error, and cost accordingly. I've heard this a lot, and I don't doubt that it's correct, but…

Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough to give you a conclusive answer. One big thing is that most consumer-class GPUs use normal memory, whereas workstation-class use ECC memory, which can correct for bitflips that might occur during normal operation.

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#44

Post by snuxoll »

nightski wrote: post #40
emdowling wrote: post #35

I'm glad we're seeing utilisation at the 66% level. That extra power is going to be mighty useful for VR. It's going to be really interesting to see what Microsoft reveal there. I have an Xbox One and a Switch. Personally, I love this combination and Scorpio could be a great upgrade depending on the VR story. While I do miss out on some PS4 games I'd love to play, I don't have enough hours to play the games I already…

Actually it feels like the trend you are starting to see is that AAA studios can't even keep up (aka Mass Effect Andromeda, and other recent high profile releases). The graphics burden just seems too high that everything else suffers. But it's not all bad. I feel like, especially on the PC, smaller indie studios have been flourishing and some of the best games in recent times are not AAA nor graphical powerhouses.

> Actually it feels like the trend you are starting to see is that AAA studios can't even keep up (aka Mass Effect Andromeda, and other recent high profile releases). The graphics burden just seems too high that everything else suffers.

The problem with Andromeda was animations, not AAA graphical fidelity. I don't think many people are unhappy with the current level of flashy effects, we're mostly just looking at higher resolution assets (which likely exist already).

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#45

Post by Analemma_ »

It's interesting that, for the second time this week, a big company has given journalists an exclusive and sort of intimate look at their future roadmap instead of saving it for big keynote surprises.

Between leaks making nothing ever a surprise anymore and the general jadedness at products never living up to their keynote claims, I wonder if this signals a kind of paradigm shift in "how to hype a product". Certainly all the Apple commentators seemed very pleased that Apple was breaking with their traditional radio silence, and this made me much more interested in Scorpio than I was recently, since I can see from a skeptical source that it's not just hot air.

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#47

Post by onli »

thoughtpalette wrote: post #27
thoughtpalette wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why but some of your previous comments are showing up [dead] in the threads.

Replying to the dead comment below, his post history looks great to me, which is why I felt compelled to point out the dead flag.

OT, but I'll keep it short, and the user should now it is okay now: you are right. I vouched for the comment in this thread and that seems to have helped.

Looking at the history, it's probably the anti-trump comment that got flagged.

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#48

Post by simonswords82 »

kbenson wrote: post #42
snuxoll wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not exactly wrong, but you're not 100% right either. Consoles have one thing that PC's don't, a streamlined experience tailor made for your TV. People do more than just play games on a console, they stream Netflix, interact with their friends through sharing videos and clips, listen to music on their home entertainment system that's already connected to the TV. Valve has been trying REALLY hard to get to this…

Yeah, I understand for the general public, and I wasn't trying to imply there's no place for the new consoles, just that I figure most the people reading HN could probably get away with putting that money towards their main computer platform more effectively. That does, of course, assume mostly single use, and that's a rather large caveat I didn't cover. I have three kids, and for a set-top box, ease of use is extrem…

I'm a typical HN user I suppose. Own/run a software company, we even code in Microsoft's tools! However, I do 99.9% of my work on a Mac laptop.

I've installed Steam on said laptop but it's just not the same as having a console.

I love my XB1, it just works. I buy a game, pop the disc in, download a metric shit tonne of updates for a couple of hours (a rant for another time) and I'm good to go.

I don't care about 60FPS or 4k resolution. I care about being able to use my minimal spare time to shoot teenagers on COD. I'll sacrifice an optimal gaming experience, for ease of access.

Just another thought.

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#49

Post by jd20 »

BatFastard wrote: post #8

This should provide some amazing graphics on a 4K screen! The console programmers do some incredible feats with the resources they have available.

What I find interesting, is the parallel in movie content, where 4K UHD content just became available late last year (while 4K movie content was available earlier, all the stuff I'd seen was poorly encoded or heavily compressed). I see a lot of people on AVSForum complaining that there's absolutely no visual difference between 4K or 1080p, sitting on a couch at normal distances, based on scientific arguments of the human eye's resolving power, or their own subjective experiments.

Given that the market reception to 4K TV's and UHD players seems to have been tepid at best, I find it interesting that Microsoft thinks 4K will be such a huge draw to consumers. Is it just bragging rights (my 4K's bigger than your 1080p)? 4K rendering will really make the 1080p look that much better? People playing these things will sit 1-2 feet from the screen? Or maybe VR headsets will benefit the most?

Re: Inside the next Xbox: Project Scorpio tech revealed

#50

Post by kbenson »

simonswords82 wrote: post #48
kbenson wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I understand for the general public, and I wasn't trying to imply there's no place for the new consoles, just that I figure most the people reading HN could probably get away with putting that money towards their main computer platform more effectively. That does, of course, assume mostly single use, and that's a rather large caveat I didn't cover. I have three kids, and for a set-top box, ease of use is extrem…

I'm a typical HN user I suppose. Own/run a software company, we even code in Microsoft's tools! However, I do 99.9% of my work on a Mac laptop. I've installed Steam on said laptop but it's just not the same as having a console. I love my XB1, it just works. I buy a game, pop the disc in, download a metric shit tonne of updates for a couple of hours (a rant for another time) and I'm good to go. I don't care about 60FP…

> I've installed Steam on said laptop but it's just not the same as having a console.

So, assuming the games you want to play are available on Steam for the Mac (a big if, likely), how bad is an Xbox USB controller, HDMI out to your TV, and Steam Big Picture mode? Is it sub-par, or have you never bothered because you have the xbone (or because it doesn't have what you want to play)? I have neither, so I honestly don't have any data on this, and I don't use Big Picture because I do my gaming on a desktop.

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