First Details: Inside the Xbox 2

[Knight]

> This VPU is being designed with the latest technologies in mind, > such as GDDR2 SDRAM provided by Samsung running at 1600
> MHz.

I think still by 2006 1600Mhz GDDR2 would still be far to pricey.

http://www.teamxbox.com/news.php?id=4811

[Bakeman]

When I go to that link.. I get..

Warning: Can't connect to MySQL server on '192.168.50.49' (111) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/dbconnect.php on line 3

Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Can't connect to MySQL server on '192.168.50.49' (111) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/dbconnect.php on line 3
Couldn't connect to database!

Warning: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/dbconnect.php on line 7

Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/dbconnect.php on line 7

Warning: MySQL: A link to the server could not be established in /data/users/teamxbox.com/dbconnect.php on line 7

Warning: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/news.php on line 15

Warning: MySQL Connection Failed: Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/news.php on line 15

Warning: MySQL: A link to the server could not be established in /data/users/teamxbox.com/news.php on line 15
Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2)

I haven't been able to get to the front page in a few days..

Warning: Can't connect to MySQL server on '192.168.50.49' (111) in /data/users/teamxbox.com/dbconnect.php on line 3

That's all I get in a borded table with the colors of the site...

[Knight]

Originally posted by Bakeman
When I go to that link.. I get..





I haven't been able to get to the front page in a few days..



That's all I get in a borded table with the colors of the site...

Try it agian, It's working for me. That error looks like a server error.

[Seawolf1]

I have been using the ATI 9700 Pro on my PC gaming rig for almost a year now and for those who are not familiar with PC graphics or ATI your in for a real treat with the Xbox2 using the R500 chip.

btw- I dont want to hear the PS2 fan base talking about how Xbox is nothing but a PC, because well your absolutely right it is and so is the PS2 and 3, the Gamecube, etc they are all PCs so what argument will you use now?

Cant wait to see what they come up with in the next Xbox, should be cool.

[Knight]

Originally posted by Seawolf1
I have been using the ATI 9700 Pro on my PC gaming rig for almost a year now and for those who are not familiar with PC graphics or ATI your in for a real treat with the Xbox2 using the R500 chip.

btw- I dont want to hear the PS2 fan base talking about how Xbox is nothing but a PC, because well your absolutely right it is and so is the PS2 and 3, the Gamecube, etc they are all PCs so what argument will you use now?

Cant wait to see what they come up with in the next Xbox, should be cool.

I'm so happy that ATI got it after the let down that the Geforce FX line is. To bad my Motherboard sucks & will not work with any 9500 or 9700 or 9600. It's all because the aholes never made one bios update for this damn board. If there was a bios update this thing could use a newer video card & up to a 2400+. But I'm getting a whole new system next year.

[Bakeman]

I've tried a couple of times now. I get the same thing everytime.

Strange indeed. And like I said I haven't been able to get to the front page for a few days now. Something is screwy

[Shadow20002]

The next one will be the cake... really big cake.

[Seawolf1]

Well I have been building and tweaking PCs for my gaming needs for several years now and the worst part about it is compatibility issues with your hardware, while the trade off is Speed and visual quality.

I used to own a Playstation1 and always kept going back to my PC because it looked better (plus Im a flight sim fan and PCs are the only place to fly sims right now) but after seeing the Xbox and how good it looked I couldnt resist. The nice thing about consoles now is they look as good as PC games and there is no more of this "I hope this game will work on my PC" worries. If I buy a game for the most part I know it will work. Now whether it is a sorry game or not is up to me to find out, but at least it will work.lol

It's looking like Microsoft is starting to embrace the fact that the Xbox is a PC in a box (as is PS2, Gamecube,etc they all are computers so that argument that its a bad thing is null) and adding more features in the future.
I feel like I am getting my money's worth with xbox and then some and thats not a common feeling these days.
The ATI graphics chips have really shined in the past couple of years and I think MS made the right decision to go with the best out there which is ATI right now.

Originally posted by Knight


I'm so happy that ATI got it after the let down that the Geforce FX line is. To bad my Motherboard sucks & will not work with any 9500 or 9700 or 9600. It's all because the aholes never made one bios update for this damn board. If there was a bios update this thing could use a newer video card & up to a 2400+. But I'm getting a whole new system next year.

[Knight]

Originally posted by Bakeman
I've tried a couple of times now. I get the same thing everytime.

Strange indeed. And like I said I haven't been able to get to the front page for a few days now. Something is screwy

I still can get to the site, but here it is because you can't:
Maybe your brower isn't working right, is there any other sites you can't see right?

Both ATI and Microsoft executives are absolutely refusing to answer questions on the Xbox successor, but that didn’t stop us in our mission to be the “Insider’s Choice for Xbox Information.”

We’re proud to bring you today the very first info on the Xbox 2 GPU. Our highly placed source within the industry informed us that the graphic technology powering the Xbox successor is a derivative of the R500, the successor of the R420 to be unveiled later this year at Comdex.


This graphic chip has been in design for longer than a year at ATI’s Marlborough, Mass. office and much like the Xbox’s nVIDIA GPU, the Xbox 2 graphic chip will also be a custom silicon that will have the R500 as its core technology.

This graphic chip is aimed at the next version of the DirectX API, most probably called DirectX 10, which is already in development and simply code named: DirectX/LH. LH stands for Longhorn, the next major desktop Windows release, which will follow Windows XP.

This same source also told us: “Microsoft chose ATI not just because the publicly known problems with nVIDIA but also because current technology shows ATI is the real winner when it comes to pixel shaders performance.” Something that is correct, as several publications have put in evidence that ATI’s Radeon 9800 Pro surpasses the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra in most Pixel Shaders 2.0 benchmarks.

“And we all know graphics’ future is all about pixel shaders” our source added.

This VPU is being designed with the latest technologies in mind, such as GDDR2 SDRAM provided by Samsung running at 1600 MHz. A 128-bit configuration is capable of providing up to 25.6 GB/s peak bandwidth, while its 256-bit mode brings up to a shocking 51.2GB/s peak bandwidth!!! Samsung’s GDDR2 256-megabit memory will enable graphics memory cards of 512 MB, althought it is impossible to confirm if the Xbox 2 will feature such amount of system memory.

Speculating the Xbox 2 might ship in Christmas 2005, we can be sure its graphic chip will support Pixel Shader 3.0, a model that is a significant improvement over today’s 2.0 version, as well as Vertex Shaders 3.0. This will make the Xbox 2, without a doubt, the most powerful console when it comes to visual performance with a graphic chip that, in hardware terms, is two generations ahead of current technology.

[Bakeman]

Originally posted by Knight


I still can get to the site, but here it is because you can't:
Maybe your brower isn't working right, is there any other sites you can't see right?

Both ATI and Microsoft executives are absolutely refusing to answer questions on the Xbox successor, but that didn’t stop us in our mission to be the “Insider’s Choice for Xbox Information.”

We’re proud to bring you today the very first info on the Xbox 2 GPU. Our highly placed source within the industry informed us that the graphic technology powering the Xbox successor is a derivative of the R500, the successor of the R420 to be unveiled later this year at Comdex.


This graphic chip has been in design for longer than a year at ATI’s Marlborough, Mass. office and much like the Xbox’s nVIDIA GPU, the Xbox 2 graphic chip will also be a custom silicon that will have the R500 as its core technology.

This graphic chip is aimed at the next version of the DirectX API, most probably called DirectX 10, which is already in development and simply code named: DirectX/LH. LH stands for Longhorn, the next major desktop Windows release, which will follow Windows XP.

This same source also told us: “Microsoft chose ATI not just because the publicly known problems with nVIDIA but also because current technology shows ATI is the real winner when it comes to pixel shaders performance.” Something that is correct, as several publications have put in evidence that ATI’s Radeon 9800 Pro surpasses the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra in most Pixel Shaders 2.0 benchmarks.

“And we all know graphics’ future is all about pixel shaders” our source added.

This VPU is being designed with the latest technologies in mind, such as GDDR2 SDRAM provided by Samsung running at 1600 MHz. A 128-bit configuration is capable of providing up to 25.6 GB/s peak bandwidth, while its 256-bit mode brings up to a shocking 51.2GB/s peak bandwidth!!! Samsung’s GDDR2 256-megabit memory will enable graphics memory cards of 512 MB, althought it is impossible to confirm if the Xbox 2 will feature such amount of system memory.

Speculating the Xbox 2 might ship in Christmas 2005, we can be sure its graphic chip will support Pixel Shader 3.0, a model that is a significant improvement over today’s 2.0 version, as well as Vertex Shaders 3.0. This will make the Xbox 2, without a doubt, the most powerful console when it comes to visual performance with a graphic chip that, in hardware terms, is two generations ahead of current technology.

Seems to be the only site I am having problems with.

But thanks for posting that

[wbio]

Samsung’s GDDR2 256-megabit memory will enable graphics memory cards of 512 MB

holy crap, twice as much as the very top of the line crds out now, that's amazing IMO

[gdogg]

they have messing with/updating their servers for the past couple of weeks. I was at the site earlier and read the article, now when i go back i get errors. just try again later/the morning.

[Knight]

Originally posted by Bakeman



Seems to be the only site I am having problems with.

But thanks for posting that

No Problem.
But I still want to know who's doing the sound chip.

[l Maximus l]

Looks like it's shaping up to be a sweet machine. But, a couple huge questions beg an answer: Will game developers actually come to utilize the maximum capability of such impressive hardware specs? And, when will companies finally utilize the capability of the current XBox?

[Bakeman]

Originally posted by Maximus-XBA
Looks like it's shaping up to be a sweet machine. But, a couple huge questions beg an answer: Will game developers actually come to utilize the maximum capability of such impressive hardware specs? And, when will companies finally utilize the capability of the current XBox?

The maximum capability.... probably not. Can anyone really say for sure that any console has ever has it's MAXIMUM capability utilized?

As for the current Xbox, possibly late 2004 or more likely 2005. Let's all hope early 2004 Ninja Gaiden sure looks good so far.

[l Maximus l]

Originally posted by Bakeman



The maximum capability.... probably not. Can anyone really say for sure that any console has ever has it's MAXIMUM capability utilized?

As for the current Xbox, possibly late 2004 or more likely 2005. Let's all hope early 2004 Ninja Gaiden sure looks good so far.

Well, as I stated in another thread, if you compare first generation PSOne games with 7th or even 8th generation PSOne games, there is an amazing difference.

[ramprider0]

Jeez I don't even want to hear about another console I have to dig into my very shallow pockets to buy!

[Bakeman]

Originally posted by Maximus-XBA


Well, as I stated in another thread, if you compare first generation PSOne games with 7th or even 8th generation PSOne games, there is an amazing difference.

Oh yeah, big difference, but is the system being used to it's full capacity...

I don't think anyone for any system will ever truely know the answer

[carlbme]

Based on the R500 core!!

Impressive, I mean the 9800 (and others) are R350, that means at LEAST two steps ahead of the current top of the line cards.

I can't image what they would be capable of!!