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cybrdude
11-14-2006, 10:46 PM
I wrote and posted this on my site today after reading the misleading information on CNET today..

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CNET has released the a comparison of the PS3 vs XBOX 360 (http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6464_7-6551960.html?tag=cnetfd.mt). The so called Senior Editor John P. Falcone is completely clueless as a gamer and does not understand the architecture of the XBOX 360. In his specs for the consoles, he lists the Video Ram for the PS3 at 256MB and the XBOX 360 as 10MB. 10MB is the memory embedded in the GPU that is used for frame buffer (cutting edge stuff) and not the available graphics memory. The 10MB is used to offload stress on the GPU and Memory plus allow for AA to be used with out penalty. The GPU in the 360 can even read and write from the CPU cache which reduces overhead (better performance).

The PS3 has 256MB dedicated to graphics and 256MB dedicated to the system. The graphics memory on the PS3 is locked at 256MB, PERIOD. On the 360, the 512MB of memory is "Unified", meaning the developer can use the memory AS he or she sees fit, which in most cases means the dev will use more than 256MB to produce killer textures (see GEARS OF WAR). In fact, developers such as Starbreeze Studios (The Darkness) have stated that the 360 will have better textures because of more available memory. The GEARS team started that they could not get GEARS to run in it's current state on the PS3 because of the lack of graphics memory. The game would need to be modified. Do not confuse this with the ability of the PS3 to run the Unreal 3 engine (as it can, it just cannot run GEARS).

Today, comparision screens of Ridge Racer (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/14/riiiiiiiiiiidge-racer-xbox-360-vs-ps3-screens/) for 360 and PS3 were released. The PS3 version is clearly lacking detail and objects in the environment. This is because of a lack of texture memory and the CELL "cannot" compensate for this. Even though the game is Ridge Racer, it gives you can idea of what the lack of available graphics memory means and also the difficulty of developing for a more complicated machine (as the team had plenty of time to make this game the same or better than 360). Also the comparison images on the site are 720p 360 vs 1080p PS3.
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The CNET dude is trippin and should be FIRED for being STUPID..

Later..

CarGuy
11-15-2006, 09:35 PM
I read that both systems can use system mem for graphics

greenpyro
11-15-2006, 10:19 PM
also, i'm pretty sure the 360 got ridge racer 6, and the ps3 gets ridge racer 7. what i'm trying to say is of course the ps3 one woul dhave better graphics, they've had a full extra year to make it. whatever, crappy series anyways.

(don't quote me on this, i just remember reading somewhere that 360 doesn't get ridge racer 7, only ps3)

cybrdude
11-16-2006, 12:06 AM
I read that both systems can use system mem for graphics

PS3 graphics memory is locked 256MB.. The OS and Cell require along of memory which is why they locked the OS to 256MB as well.. The 360 is "unified". Not system or graphics, but unified.. Available for all needs...... :)

Later..

cybrdude
11-16-2006, 12:18 AM
I read that both systems can use system mem for graphics

I should clarify a little. The GPU in the PS3 can access the system memory but it is not optimized for the function and will most likely result in a performance penalty. Also taking more than the CPU or OS expects will cause trouble too. In the unified world, it is free memory for the taking by CPU and GPU (optimized)..

Later..

carlbme
11-16-2006, 07:06 AM
also, i'm pretty sure the 360 got ridge racer 6, and the ps3 gets ridge racer 7. what i'm trying to say is of course the ps3 one woul dhave better graphics, they've had a full extra year to make it. whatever, crappy series anyways.

(don't quote me on this, i just remember reading somewhere that 360 doesn't get ridge racer 7, only ps3)

Look at the screenshots for the games. RR7 (PS3)has the same exact lvl's as RR6 (360). The only thing is that RR6 looks a good bit better than the newer RR7 from the screenshots.

cybrdude
11-16-2006, 10:21 AM
Look at the screenshots for the games. RR7 (PS3)has the same exact lvl's as RR6 (360). The only thing is that RR6 looks a good bit better than the newer RR7 from the screenshots.

Yes, texture memory is everything.. The CELL cannot make up for this at all.. People do not realize.. And also the GPU is more powerful which again makes all the difference in the world.. ;)


BTW: Here is the memory breakdown for PS3 vs 360:

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Everything comes at a cost and here are the costs for the 360.

32MB of the 512mb of available GDDR3 RAM
3% CPU time on Core1 and Core2 (nothing is reserved on Core0)
Microsoft still has room left from what they’ve already reserved for future updates.

Transitioning to the PS3’s Operating system here is what the resource allocation looks like.

Sony of course has decided to match Microsoft by using a constantly running in the background Operating system and here is what it includes. Again I will not be going into what it offers as most already know by now.

The costs for the PS3’s operating system are as follows

32mb of the 256mb of available GDDR3 memory off the RSX chip
64mb of the 256mb of available XDR memory off the Cell CPU
1 SPE of 7 constantly reserved
1 SPE of 7 able to be "taken" by the OS at a moments notice (games have to give it up if requested)

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So basically of the 256MB available for graphics on the PS3, 32MB is lost for OS, leaving only 224 MB for graphics.. The 360 only loses 32MB from it's 512MB total leaving 480MB free for AI, Graphics, etc.. Most devs are using way more than 256MB on the 360 (as in GEARS). If EPIC had to convince MS to go with 512MB over 256MB.

Later..