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Now, All the Spec-Freaks out there its time to tell you some of the juicy things the Xbox holds, After a few arguements in the Nintendo forum I decided to rewrite this to show the Xbox's power.
Xbox Processor - Custom Intel 733mhz
Graphics Processor - nVidea NV2 GPU (Graphics Processing unit)
RAM - 64MB
Sound - 256 Channels with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support
Storage Medium - 8GB Hard Drive (Roughly 8,192MB)
Online Connectivity - Ethernet port, Allowing access to broadband gaming through a service called "Xbox Live"
Added extras - DVD Drive using 7GB DVD9 Discs, access to DVD home movies via remote (£19.99 RRP)
All of this allows: -
116.5 million polygons per second at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080, full-screen pixel-free anti-aliasing, Surround sound through both home theatre and stereo speakers.
You control this via: -
Fully analogue forc-feedback control pad, 4 controller ports, which support 4-way simultaneous play.
Xbox is the most powerful console ever and its been designed primarily for one thing - TO PLAY GAMES!
Background Information: -
Microsoft maybe new into the console market, but over the past few years its quietly becoming one of the worlds most important PC game developer/Publisher. This allowing the company to have an ideal position to move up and take on the Console market with Japanese giants - Sony and Nintendo
Comparisons: -
Processor speed: -
Microsoft Xbox - 733 Mhz
Sony Playstation 2 - 295 Mhz
Nintendo Gamecube - 405 Mhz
The Graphics chip or "GPU" allows things only other companys could dream of, It allows developers to use Vertex Shading, Anti-aliasing, Graphics routing,Real-time shadows, Reflection Mapping, Texture definition, Bump-Mapping, Superior polygon processing, Texture compression,Simultaneous Textures.
The advantages of this "hardwiring" of routines is that they can be put with the game software without additional strain on the Processor. The processor is left solely to the pure-power the heavy mechanics of the game allowing programmers to build convincing game enviroments and detailed scenarios.
Polygon count comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox- 116.5 Million polygons per second
Sony Playstation 2- 66 Million polygons per second
Nintendo Gamecube- 8 Million polygons per second all effects enabled
The Xbox is the first console to come with a built in hard drive, allowing persistant internal memory. The 8 Gigabytes of available memory has huge implications for the types of games made for Xbox and the different expericances they'll be able to offer to the player.
The benifits of the Hard drive are huge, and simple thanks to the management system on the Xbox dashboard. The hard drive allows quick loading times, Huge gameworlds and tempory information can be stored during play to load textures and big levels quickly without interering with save game files. Also the hard drive enables upgrades and downloads though the Online service. Even music CD's can be saved to the Hard Drive, letting you listen to them whilst playing certain games.
Hard Drive Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 8Gb built-in Hard-drive
Sony Playstation 2 - No Hard drive, One available as optional extra (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube- No hard drive.
Memory Bandwidth Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 6.4GB per second
Sony Playstation 2 - 3.2GB per second
Nintendo Gamecube - 2.6GB per second
Networking and connectivity Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 4 controller ports, Broadband built-in, Xbox Live service
Sony Playstation 2 - 2 controller ports, Multi tap avalable (£20), Broadband gaming via additional purchase (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube - 4 Controller ports, Online service rumoured
Sound comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 256 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound in-game!
Sony Playstation 2 - 48 Audio channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 during FMV sequences
Nintendo Gamecube - 64 Audio channels - Dolby Pro Logic 2 in-game
Resolution Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 1920x1080
Sony Playstation 2 - 1280x1024
Nintendo Gamecube - 640x480
Phew! There you have it, Then theres all the excellent games,
Xbox Processor - Custom Intel 733mhz
Graphics Processor - nVidea NV2 GPU (Graphics Processing unit)
RAM - 64MB
Sound - 256 Channels with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support
Storage Medium - 8GB Hard Drive (Roughly 8,192MB)
Online Connectivity - Ethernet port, Allowing access to broadband gaming through a service called "Xbox Live"
Added extras - DVD Drive using 7GB DVD9 Discs, access to DVD home movies via remote (£19.99 RRP)
All of this allows: -
116.5 million polygons per second at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080, full-screen pixel-free anti-aliasing, Surround sound through both home theatre and stereo speakers.
You control this via: -
Fully analogue forc-feedback control pad, 4 controller ports, which support 4-way simultaneous play.
Xbox is the most powerful console ever and its been designed primarily for one thing - TO PLAY GAMES!
Background Information: -
Microsoft maybe new into the console market, but over the past few years its quietly becoming one of the worlds most important PC game developer/Publisher. This allowing the company to have an ideal position to move up and take on the Console market with Japanese giants - Sony and Nintendo
Comparisons: -
Processor speed: -
Microsoft Xbox - 733 Mhz
Sony Playstation 2 - 295 Mhz
Nintendo Gamecube - 405 Mhz
The Graphics chip or "GPU" allows things only other companys could dream of, It allows developers to use Vertex Shading, Anti-aliasing, Graphics routing,Real-time shadows, Reflection Mapping, Texture definition, Bump-Mapping, Superior polygon processing, Texture compression,Simultaneous Textures.
The advantages of this "hardwiring" of routines is that they can be put with the game software without additional strain on the Processor. The processor is left solely to the pure-power the heavy mechanics of the game allowing programmers to build convincing game enviroments and detailed scenarios.
Polygon count comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox- 116.5 Million polygons per second
Sony Playstation 2- 66 Million polygons per second
Nintendo Gamecube- 8 Million polygons per second all effects enabled
The Xbox is the first console to come with a built in hard drive, allowing persistant internal memory. The 8 Gigabytes of available memory has huge implications for the types of games made for Xbox and the different expericances they'll be able to offer to the player.
The benifits of the Hard drive are huge, and simple thanks to the management system on the Xbox dashboard. The hard drive allows quick loading times, Huge gameworlds and tempory information can be stored during play to load textures and big levels quickly without interering with save game files. Also the hard drive enables upgrades and downloads though the Online service. Even music CD's can be saved to the Hard Drive, letting you listen to them whilst playing certain games.
Hard Drive Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 8Gb built-in Hard-drive
Sony Playstation 2 - No Hard drive, One available as optional extra (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube- No hard drive.
Memory Bandwidth Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 6.4GB per second
Sony Playstation 2 - 3.2GB per second
Nintendo Gamecube - 2.6GB per second
Networking and connectivity Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 4 controller ports, Broadband built-in, Xbox Live service
Sony Playstation 2 - 2 controller ports, Multi tap avalable (£20), Broadband gaming via additional purchase (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube - 4 Controller ports, Online service rumoured
Sound comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 256 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound in-game!
Sony Playstation 2 - 48 Audio channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 during FMV sequences
Nintendo Gamecube - 64 Audio channels - Dolby Pro Logic 2 in-game
Resolution Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 1920x1080
Sony Playstation 2 - 1280x1024
Nintendo Gamecube - 640x480
Phew! There you have it, Then theres all the excellent games,
Page:
gamezfreak wrote:
> Now, All the Spec-Freaks out there its time to tell you some of the
> juicy things the Xbox holds, After a few arguements in the Nintendo
> forum I decided to rewrite this to show the Xbox's power.
>
> Xbox Processor - Custom Intel 733mhz
> Graphics Processor - nVidea NV2 GPU (Graphics Processing unit)
> RAM - 64MB
> Sound - 256 Channels with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support
> Storage Medium - 8GB Hard Drive (Roughly 8,192MB)
> Online Connectivity - Ethernet port, Allowing access to broadband
> gaming through a service called "Xbox Live"
> Added extras - DVD Drive using 7GB DVD9 Discs, access to DVD home
> movies via remote (£19.99 RRP)
>
'Custom Intel 733mhz' actually means a pentium 3 with the same cache of as a celeron. Its not quite as bad as a celeron but its also not as good as a true pentium 3. The pentium 3 has either 256k or 512k cache so 128k is cutdown.
> All of this allows: -
>
> 116.5 million polygons per second at a maximum resolution of 1920 x
> 1080, full-screen pixel-free anti-aliasing, Surround sound through
> both home theatre and stereo speakers.
>
Fair enough but so far Wreckless is the big polygon game with 15 million textured polygons on screen. The gamecube is managing a respectable 12 million in rogue leader. So in real terms the xbox is only ahead of gamecube by 25%. Also wreckless is a bit wierd looking with a lowish resolution.
> You control this via: -
>
> Fully analogue forc-feedback control pad, 4 controller ports, which
> support 4-way simultaneous play.
>
> Xbox is the most powerful console ever and its been designed primarily
> for one thing - TO PLAY GAMES!
>
I think you'll find thats the case with most consoles.
> Background Information: -
>
> Microsoft maybe new into the console market, but over the past few
> years its quietly becoming one of the worlds most important PC game
> developer/Publisher. This allowing the company to have an ideal
> position to move up and take on the Console market with Japanese
> giants - Sony and Nintendo
>
> Comparisons: -
>
> Processor speed: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 733 Mhz
> Sony Playstation 2 - 295 Mhz
> Nintendo Gamecube - 405 Mhz
>
Gamecube is actually 485mhz, it has 256k cache and uses 1t-ram with incredibly low latency. Basically the xbox cpu operates on a 133mhz bus giving a maximum throughput of 1 gig a second. The gamecube gekko operates on a 162mhz fsb and has a maximum throughput of 1.3gig a second. The xbox and gamecube are fairly even here because even though the xbox cpu is faster on mhz the gekko is technically a better cpu and is enhanced upwards rather than cutdown.
> The Graphics chip or "GPU" allows things only other companys
> could dream of, It allows developers to use Vertex Shading,
> Anti-aliasing, Graphics routing,Real-time shadows, Reflection Mapping,
> Texture definition, Bump-Mapping, Superior polygon processing, Texture
> compression,Simultaneous Textures.
>
It seems the only console capable of doing anti-aliasing easily is the dreamcast but it still has a performance hit of at least 10% possibly as high as 30%. The xbox has no dedicated video memory and therefore anti-aliasing would require a large slice of memory bandwidth as it would require multiple frames stored in memory. Result xbox doesn't anti-aliase. The gamecube is the best anti-aliasing console after dreamcast. Remeber although it sounds stupid that the old dc does anti-aliasing the best remember it has 8meg video memory which compares well to the xbox's 0 dedicated video memory, the gc's 3meg and the ps2's 4meg.
> The advantages of this "hardwiring" of routines is that they
> can be put with the game software without additional strain on the
> Processor. The processor is left solely to the pure-power the heavy
> mechanics of the game allowing programmers to build convincing game
> enviroments and detailed scenarios.
>
> Polygon count comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox- 116.5 Million polygons per second
> Sony Playstation 2- 66 Million polygons per second
> Nintendo Gamecube- 8 Million polygons per second all effects enabled
>
>
Real world result with textures; xbox 15 million, gc 12 million and ps2 about 6-8 million.
> The Xbox is the first console to come with a built in hard drive,
> allowing persistant internal memory. The 8 Gigabytes of available
> memory has huge implications for the types of games made for Xbox and
> the different expericances they'll be able to offer to the player.
>
> The benifits of the Hard drive are huge, and simple thanks to the
> management system on the Xbox dashboard. The hard drive allows quick
> loading times, Huge gameworlds and tempory information can be stored
> during play to load textures and big levels quickly without interering
> with save game files. Also the hard drive enables upgrades and
> downloads though the Online service. Even music CD's can be saved to
> the Hard Drive, letting you listen to them whilst playing certain
> games.
>
> Hard Drive Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 8Gb built-in Hard-drive
> Sony Playstation 2 - No Hard drive, One available as optional extra
> (£100+)
> Nintendo Gamecube- No hard drive.
>
Hard drive is a big plus for xbox no mistake but the gamecube drive is far faster than the xbox's dvd drive and acess time is also very quick due simply to the smaller surface area.
> Memory Bandwidth Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 6.4GB per second
> Sony Playstation 2 - 3.2GB per second
> Nintendo Gamecube - 2.6GB per second
>
The xbox has a maximum of 6.4gig for everything however texture compression I believe is 6 to 1 in hardware (possibly 8 to 1) so its upto 40gig a second for textures. Gamecube is 10.4 gig a second for texture cache (1meg), 10.4gig a second for frame buffer (2 meg), 2.6gig a second for main 24meg 1t-ram, about 0.5gig a second for its slower 16meg of dram memory (mainly used for sound). It also has the same hardware texture compression as xbox at 6 to 1. Result is Gamecube has memory bandwidth approaching 30gig a second plus 60gig a second for textures. Gamecube latency is also far superior to xbox of about 10ns which compares to about 30ns for xbox. Latency is overall response time from memory not memory speed of chips. 1t ram is basically as fast as cache sram. Note the ps2 has about 40gig of bandwidth in its video memory so its overall bandwidth is 40gig plus 3.2 gig main memory however it has no hardware texture compression.
> Networking and connectivity Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 4 controller ports, Broadband built-in, Xbox Live
> service
> Sony Playstation 2 - 2 controller ports, Multi tap avalable
> (£20), Broadband gaming via additional purchase (£100+)
> Nintendo Gamecube - 4 Controller ports, Online service rumoured
>
> Sound comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 256 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
> in-game!
> Sony Playstation 2 - 48 Audio channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 during FMV
> sequences
> Nintendo Gamecube - 64 Audio channels - Dolby Pro Logic 2 in-game
>
> Resolution Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 1920x1080
> Sony Playstation 2 - 1280x1024
> Nintendo Gamecube - 640x480
>
Xbox renders at a dvd resolution I believe of about 800x600 or just below. The gamecube like the dc renders at 640x480. The ps2 renders at about 640x200 but doubles the horizontal pixels by a blending effect to give 640x400. However the ps2 can also render at a true 640x400 or even render at 320x200 like Ridge Racer V (rendered at 320x200 and blended to a 320x400 on screen resolution).
> Phew! There you have it, Then theres all the excellent games,
Xbox is about twice as powerful as ps2 overall and the gamecube is in the region of 80-90% power of xbox. This can be seen in games.
> Now, All the Spec-Freaks out there its time to tell you some of the
> juicy things the Xbox holds, After a few arguements in the Nintendo
> forum I decided to rewrite this to show the Xbox's power.
>
> Xbox Processor - Custom Intel 733mhz
> Graphics Processor - nVidea NV2 GPU (Graphics Processing unit)
> RAM - 64MB
> Sound - 256 Channels with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support
> Storage Medium - 8GB Hard Drive (Roughly 8,192MB)
> Online Connectivity - Ethernet port, Allowing access to broadband
> gaming through a service called "Xbox Live"
> Added extras - DVD Drive using 7GB DVD9 Discs, access to DVD home
> movies via remote (£19.99 RRP)
>
'Custom Intel 733mhz' actually means a pentium 3 with the same cache of as a celeron. Its not quite as bad as a celeron but its also not as good as a true pentium 3. The pentium 3 has either 256k or 512k cache so 128k is cutdown.
> All of this allows: -
>
> 116.5 million polygons per second at a maximum resolution of 1920 x
> 1080, full-screen pixel-free anti-aliasing, Surround sound through
> both home theatre and stereo speakers.
>
Fair enough but so far Wreckless is the big polygon game with 15 million textured polygons on screen. The gamecube is managing a respectable 12 million in rogue leader. So in real terms the xbox is only ahead of gamecube by 25%. Also wreckless is a bit wierd looking with a lowish resolution.
> You control this via: -
>
> Fully analogue forc-feedback control pad, 4 controller ports, which
> support 4-way simultaneous play.
>
> Xbox is the most powerful console ever and its been designed primarily
> for one thing - TO PLAY GAMES!
>
I think you'll find thats the case with most consoles.
> Background Information: -
>
> Microsoft maybe new into the console market, but over the past few
> years its quietly becoming one of the worlds most important PC game
> developer/Publisher. This allowing the company to have an ideal
> position to move up and take on the Console market with Japanese
> giants - Sony and Nintendo
>
> Comparisons: -
>
> Processor speed: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 733 Mhz
> Sony Playstation 2 - 295 Mhz
> Nintendo Gamecube - 405 Mhz
>
Gamecube is actually 485mhz, it has 256k cache and uses 1t-ram with incredibly low latency. Basically the xbox cpu operates on a 133mhz bus giving a maximum throughput of 1 gig a second. The gamecube gekko operates on a 162mhz fsb and has a maximum throughput of 1.3gig a second. The xbox and gamecube are fairly even here because even though the xbox cpu is faster on mhz the gekko is technically a better cpu and is enhanced upwards rather than cutdown.
> The Graphics chip or "GPU" allows things only other companys
> could dream of, It allows developers to use Vertex Shading,
> Anti-aliasing, Graphics routing,Real-time shadows, Reflection Mapping,
> Texture definition, Bump-Mapping, Superior polygon processing, Texture
> compression,Simultaneous Textures.
>
It seems the only console capable of doing anti-aliasing easily is the dreamcast but it still has a performance hit of at least 10% possibly as high as 30%. The xbox has no dedicated video memory and therefore anti-aliasing would require a large slice of memory bandwidth as it would require multiple frames stored in memory. Result xbox doesn't anti-aliase. The gamecube is the best anti-aliasing console after dreamcast. Remeber although it sounds stupid that the old dc does anti-aliasing the best remember it has 8meg video memory which compares well to the xbox's 0 dedicated video memory, the gc's 3meg and the ps2's 4meg.
> The advantages of this "hardwiring" of routines is that they
> can be put with the game software without additional strain on the
> Processor. The processor is left solely to the pure-power the heavy
> mechanics of the game allowing programmers to build convincing game
> enviroments and detailed scenarios.
>
> Polygon count comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox- 116.5 Million polygons per second
> Sony Playstation 2- 66 Million polygons per second
> Nintendo Gamecube- 8 Million polygons per second all effects enabled
>
>
Real world result with textures; xbox 15 million, gc 12 million and ps2 about 6-8 million.
> The Xbox is the first console to come with a built in hard drive,
> allowing persistant internal memory. The 8 Gigabytes of available
> memory has huge implications for the types of games made for Xbox and
> the different expericances they'll be able to offer to the player.
>
> The benifits of the Hard drive are huge, and simple thanks to the
> management system on the Xbox dashboard. The hard drive allows quick
> loading times, Huge gameworlds and tempory information can be stored
> during play to load textures and big levels quickly without interering
> with save game files. Also the hard drive enables upgrades and
> downloads though the Online service. Even music CD's can be saved to
> the Hard Drive, letting you listen to them whilst playing certain
> games.
>
> Hard Drive Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 8Gb built-in Hard-drive
> Sony Playstation 2 - No Hard drive, One available as optional extra
> (£100+)
> Nintendo Gamecube- No hard drive.
>
Hard drive is a big plus for xbox no mistake but the gamecube drive is far faster than the xbox's dvd drive and acess time is also very quick due simply to the smaller surface area.
> Memory Bandwidth Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 6.4GB per second
> Sony Playstation 2 - 3.2GB per second
> Nintendo Gamecube - 2.6GB per second
>
The xbox has a maximum of 6.4gig for everything however texture compression I believe is 6 to 1 in hardware (possibly 8 to 1) so its upto 40gig a second for textures. Gamecube is 10.4 gig a second for texture cache (1meg), 10.4gig a second for frame buffer (2 meg), 2.6gig a second for main 24meg 1t-ram, about 0.5gig a second for its slower 16meg of dram memory (mainly used for sound). It also has the same hardware texture compression as xbox at 6 to 1. Result is Gamecube has memory bandwidth approaching 30gig a second plus 60gig a second for textures. Gamecube latency is also far superior to xbox of about 10ns which compares to about 30ns for xbox. Latency is overall response time from memory not memory speed of chips. 1t ram is basically as fast as cache sram. Note the ps2 has about 40gig of bandwidth in its video memory so its overall bandwidth is 40gig plus 3.2 gig main memory however it has no hardware texture compression.
> Networking and connectivity Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 4 controller ports, Broadband built-in, Xbox Live
> service
> Sony Playstation 2 - 2 controller ports, Multi tap avalable
> (£20), Broadband gaming via additional purchase (£100+)
> Nintendo Gamecube - 4 Controller ports, Online service rumoured
>
> Sound comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 256 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound
> in-game!
> Sony Playstation 2 - 48 Audio channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 during FMV
> sequences
> Nintendo Gamecube - 64 Audio channels - Dolby Pro Logic 2 in-game
>
> Resolution Comparison: -
>
> Microsoft Xbox - 1920x1080
> Sony Playstation 2 - 1280x1024
> Nintendo Gamecube - 640x480
>
Xbox renders at a dvd resolution I believe of about 800x600 or just below. The gamecube like the dc renders at 640x480. The ps2 renders at about 640x200 but doubles the horizontal pixels by a blending effect to give 640x400. However the ps2 can also render at a true 640x400 or even render at 320x200 like Ridge Racer V (rendered at 320x200 and blended to a 320x400 on screen resolution).
> Phew! There you have it, Then theres all the excellent games,
Xbox is about twice as powerful as ps2 overall and the gamecube is in the region of 80-90% power of xbox. This can be seen in games.
The resolution of XBox can only go to 800x600 on a TV so basically anything above is a waste. Only HDTV uses the max resolution and I think HDTV is only available in America, or on the £3000+ TVs.
Basically the specs for all machines are different yet they are all practically the same power overall.
XBox does have the advantage and is considered the best but the GC is not far behind. Plus the GC processor is a RISC and not a CISC which means that its basically as powerfull if not more powerfull than the XBox processor.
Basically the specs for all machines are different yet they are all practically the same power overall.
XBox does have the advantage and is considered the best but the GC is not far behind. Plus the GC processor is a RISC and not a CISC which means that its basically as powerfull if not more powerfull than the XBox processor.
The GC specs there are sooo wrong.
But, I don't care.
But, I don't care.
Specs are important but it's the devellopment that really counts.
Despite it's messed up game design, Starfox stil impressed in the visual department.
Now I've not played the Xbox's more recent examples of eye-candy (Splinter Cell for example), but Starfox does easily out do the likes of Halo and DOA3 when it comes to graphics (so does Resi, but's that's cheating because the backgrounds aren't 3D! :-)).
So if Rare can out-do Xbox power on a Gamecube, when they start doing Xbox games...
Despite it's messed up game design, Starfox stil impressed in the visual department.
Now I've not played the Xbox's more recent examples of eye-candy (Splinter Cell for example), but Starfox does easily out do the likes of Halo and DOA3 when it comes to graphics (so does Resi, but's that's cheating because the backgrounds aren't 3D! :-)).
So if Rare can out-do Xbox power on a Gamecube, when they start doing Xbox games...
Now, All the Spec-Freaks out there its time to tell you some of the juicy things the Xbox holds, After a few arguements in the Nintendo forum I decided to rewrite this to show the Xbox's power.
Xbox Processor - Custom Intel 733mhz
Graphics Processor - nVidea NV2 GPU (Graphics Processing unit)
RAM - 64MB
Sound - 256 Channels with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support
Storage Medium - 8GB Hard Drive (Roughly 8,192MB)
Online Connectivity - Ethernet port, Allowing access to broadband gaming through a service called "Xbox Live"
Added extras - DVD Drive using 7GB DVD9 Discs, access to DVD home movies via remote (£19.99 RRP)
All of this allows: -
116.5 million polygons per second at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080, full-screen pixel-free anti-aliasing, Surround sound through both home theatre and stereo speakers.
You control this via: -
Fully analogue forc-feedback control pad, 4 controller ports, which support 4-way simultaneous play.
Xbox is the most powerful console ever and its been designed primarily for one thing - TO PLAY GAMES!
Background Information: -
Microsoft maybe new into the console market, but over the past few years its quietly becoming one of the worlds most important PC game developer/Publisher. This allowing the company to have an ideal position to move up and take on the Console market with Japanese giants - Sony and Nintendo
Comparisons: -
Processor speed: -
Microsoft Xbox - 733 Mhz
Sony Playstation 2 - 295 Mhz
Nintendo Gamecube - 405 Mhz
The Graphics chip or "GPU" allows things only other companys could dream of, It allows developers to use Vertex Shading, Anti-aliasing, Graphics routing,Real-time shadows, Reflection Mapping, Texture definition, Bump-Mapping, Superior polygon processing, Texture compression,Simultaneous Textures.
The advantages of this "hardwiring" of routines is that they can be put with the game software without additional strain on the Processor. The processor is left solely to the pure-power the heavy mechanics of the game allowing programmers to build convincing game enviroments and detailed scenarios.
Polygon count comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox- 116.5 Million polygons per second
Sony Playstation 2- 66 Million polygons per second
Nintendo Gamecube- 8 Million polygons per second all effects enabled
The Xbox is the first console to come with a built in hard drive, allowing persistant internal memory. The 8 Gigabytes of available memory has huge implications for the types of games made for Xbox and the different expericances they'll be able to offer to the player.
The benifits of the Hard drive are huge, and simple thanks to the management system on the Xbox dashboard. The hard drive allows quick loading times, Huge gameworlds and tempory information can be stored during play to load textures and big levels quickly without interering with save game files. Also the hard drive enables upgrades and downloads though the Online service. Even music CD's can be saved to the Hard Drive, letting you listen to them whilst playing certain games.
Hard Drive Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 8Gb built-in Hard-drive
Sony Playstation 2 - No Hard drive, One available as optional extra (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube- No hard drive.
Memory Bandwidth Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 6.4GB per second
Sony Playstation 2 - 3.2GB per second
Nintendo Gamecube - 2.6GB per second
Networking and connectivity Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 4 controller ports, Broadband built-in, Xbox Live service
Sony Playstation 2 - 2 controller ports, Multi tap avalable (£20), Broadband gaming via additional purchase (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube - 4 Controller ports, Online service rumoured
Sound comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 256 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound in-game!
Sony Playstation 2 - 48 Audio channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 during FMV sequences
Nintendo Gamecube - 64 Audio channels - Dolby Pro Logic 2 in-game
Resolution Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 1920x1080
Sony Playstation 2 - 1280x1024
Nintendo Gamecube - 640x480
Phew! There you have it, Then theres all the excellent games,
Xbox Processor - Custom Intel 733mhz
Graphics Processor - nVidea NV2 GPU (Graphics Processing unit)
RAM - 64MB
Sound - 256 Channels with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround support
Storage Medium - 8GB Hard Drive (Roughly 8,192MB)
Online Connectivity - Ethernet port, Allowing access to broadband gaming through a service called "Xbox Live"
Added extras - DVD Drive using 7GB DVD9 Discs, access to DVD home movies via remote (£19.99 RRP)
All of this allows: -
116.5 million polygons per second at a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080, full-screen pixel-free anti-aliasing, Surround sound through both home theatre and stereo speakers.
You control this via: -
Fully analogue forc-feedback control pad, 4 controller ports, which support 4-way simultaneous play.
Xbox is the most powerful console ever and its been designed primarily for one thing - TO PLAY GAMES!
Background Information: -
Microsoft maybe new into the console market, but over the past few years its quietly becoming one of the worlds most important PC game developer/Publisher. This allowing the company to have an ideal position to move up and take on the Console market with Japanese giants - Sony and Nintendo
Comparisons: -
Processor speed: -
Microsoft Xbox - 733 Mhz
Sony Playstation 2 - 295 Mhz
Nintendo Gamecube - 405 Mhz
The Graphics chip or "GPU" allows things only other companys could dream of, It allows developers to use Vertex Shading, Anti-aliasing, Graphics routing,Real-time shadows, Reflection Mapping, Texture definition, Bump-Mapping, Superior polygon processing, Texture compression,Simultaneous Textures.
The advantages of this "hardwiring" of routines is that they can be put with the game software without additional strain on the Processor. The processor is left solely to the pure-power the heavy mechanics of the game allowing programmers to build convincing game enviroments and detailed scenarios.
Polygon count comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox- 116.5 Million polygons per second
Sony Playstation 2- 66 Million polygons per second
Nintendo Gamecube- 8 Million polygons per second all effects enabled
The Xbox is the first console to come with a built in hard drive, allowing persistant internal memory. The 8 Gigabytes of available memory has huge implications for the types of games made for Xbox and the different expericances they'll be able to offer to the player.
The benifits of the Hard drive are huge, and simple thanks to the management system on the Xbox dashboard. The hard drive allows quick loading times, Huge gameworlds and tempory information can be stored during play to load textures and big levels quickly without interering with save game files. Also the hard drive enables upgrades and downloads though the Online service. Even music CD's can be saved to the Hard Drive, letting you listen to them whilst playing certain games.
Hard Drive Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 8Gb built-in Hard-drive
Sony Playstation 2 - No Hard drive, One available as optional extra (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube- No hard drive.
Memory Bandwidth Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 6.4GB per second
Sony Playstation 2 - 3.2GB per second
Nintendo Gamecube - 2.6GB per second
Networking and connectivity Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 4 controller ports, Broadband built-in, Xbox Live service
Sony Playstation 2 - 2 controller ports, Multi tap avalable (£20), Broadband gaming via additional purchase (£100+)
Nintendo Gamecube - 4 Controller ports, Online service rumoured
Sound comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 256 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound in-game!
Sony Playstation 2 - 48 Audio channels, Dolby Digital 5.1 during FMV sequences
Nintendo Gamecube - 64 Audio channels - Dolby Pro Logic 2 in-game
Resolution Comparison: -
Microsoft Xbox - 1920x1080
Sony Playstation 2 - 1280x1024
Nintendo Gamecube - 640x480
Phew! There you have it, Then theres all the excellent games,
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